When Sen. Rob Portman (R-Ohio) took his Senate seat at the beginning of this year, he pulled his chief of staff back through the revolving door from K Street.
Portman hired Rob Lehman as his top staffer, plucking him from Squire Sanders and Dempsey.
Lehman is the most prominent of the 12 revolving door connections LegiStorm has found for Portman, including eight people who worked for Portman in his House or Senate office and have also lobbied. The others worked for Portman at the trade representative's office or on his campaign.
Portman is one of three Republican senators on the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction, or "super committee." LegiStorm is profiling the revolving door ties for all the super committee members in a three-week series.
According to Lehman's financial disclosure from earlier this year, he earned $440,000 as a lobbyist for Squire Sanders last year, representing clients such as Owens Corning, Nationwide Insurance and Limited Brands, the parent company of Victoria's Secret. As Portman's chief of staff, Lehman's salary is capped at about $169,000. Lehman previously worked for Portman at the Office of Management and Budget, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative and as Portman's chief of staff when Portman was a member of the House of Representatives.
