Former Defense Secretary Mark Esper is returning to the lobbying world following his stint leading the Pentagon during the Trump administration, joining Squire Patton Boggs as a senior adviser. Esper won’t register to lobby for the firm, but will offer strategic advice to clients on the nexus between national security and domestic and foreign policy.
Mark Esper was first tapped by former President Donald Trump as Army secretary starting in 2017 before being elevated to Defense secretary in 2019, but his hire isn’t exactly an attempt by Squire to bolster its ties to Trump in case of his reelection — after butting heads over the role of the military in quelling civil protests throughout 2020, Trump fired Esper days after the election. Esper has since become a vocal critic of his former boss, even being featured in a debate-day ad from Vice President Kamala Harris’ campaign last week.
Prior to joining the Trump administration, Esper spent over a decade in the influence industry, working for the Aerospace Industries Association and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce before becoming a top lobbyist at defense contractor RTX. Since leaving office, Esper has served as head of the national security practice at venture capital firm Red Cell Partners — a role he’s holding on to — while also joining a number of different think tanks and public policy boards, including the global advisory council for crypto exchange Coinbase.
Squire spokesperson Angelo Kakolyris told PI that Esper’s work at the firm will focus on national and multinational companies, and that there is “no prospect” at the moment of Esper performing any FARA work for the firm, whose foreign clients include the Angolan government, the South Korean Embassy and the Palestinian Authority.
Esper is the latest in a string of national security-focused hires by the firm, which aims to become a “compelling destination for clients who confront a sharp increase in national security challenges resulting from an increasingly turbulent geopolitical environment,” global CEO Mark Ruehlmann said in a statement.
“Economic security is now national security,” Ed Newberry, the firm’s global managing partner, said in a statement, touting Esper’s “unrivaled understanding of how national security and economic policy — including international trade, technology, and investment policy — impact regions and industries” as an “invaluable asset” to the firm’s clients.
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