Zinke, Lewandowski join Trump veterans’ lobbying firm

Former Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke and former Trump campaign manager Corey Lewandowski are joining a lobbying firm led by former campaign aides to President Trump.

Both men are now senior advisers at Turnberry Solutions, a lobbying firm founded in 2017 by Jason Osbourne, Mike Rubio and Ryan O’Dwyer, aides to Trump’s 2016 presidential election campaign, the firm said Wednesday.

“It is great to have my friends Corey Lewandowski and the Honorable Ryan Zinke to expand the reach of our government relations practice. These two individuals have accomplished much to Make America Great Again,” Osbourne, a partner at the firm, said in a statement.

Turnberry did not specify what clients Zinke and Lewandowski would work for. Zinke is prohibited from lobbying the executive branch for the time being, so his work will focus on Congress, and the firm said Lewandowski will lobby.

Zinke’s hiring came weeks after he resigned as Interior secretary under pressure from numerous alleged breaches of ethical standards. He has consistently denied that he violated any rules.

“I am excited to join Turnberry Solutions and I look forward to helping companies navigate the Washington, D.C., bureaucracy,” Zinke said in the statement.

Turnberry’s lobbying clients include entities that deal with Interior, such as the Northern Mariana Islands government and the Center for Sportfishing Policy, according to lobbying disclosures filed with Congress.

Zinke was previously a House member representing Montana, a Montana state legislator and a Navy Seal.

This is Zinke’s second job since leaving the administration. He also works for Artillery One, an investment firm focused on cryptocurrency.

Lewandowski, meanwhile, will focus on business development and strategic advice at Turnberry, the firm said. He hasn’t registered as a lobbyist since 2011.

His connection to the firm has been questioned because advised T-Mobile, a client of Turnberry’s, in May 2018 on a merger with Sprint. Additionally, Turnberry’s offices were in the Capitol Hill townhouse Lewandowski’s stays in when he’s in DC, Politico reported in Nov. 2017.

Before Trump’s campaign, Lewandowski worked for the Americans for Prosperity and as an aide to former Republican lawmakers including Sen. Robert Smith (N.H.) and Reps. Peter Torkildsen (Mass.) and Robert Ney (Ohio).

He previously worked with Osborne at the lobbying firm Lewandowski founded, Avenue Strategies. Lewandowski teamed up with former Trump campaign senior adviser Barry Bennett to launch the firm in 2016. Lewandowski and Osborne both left in 2017.

Politico first reported on Zinke and Lewandowski’s hirings Wednesday.