K Street powerhouse Capitol Counsel has a new House Republican guru, Towner French, who recently left Capitol Hill after nearly 15 years.
He most recently served as the chief of staff for the House Rules Committee under Chairman Pete Sessions (R-Texas), who is also the former chairman of the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC).
French starts as a principal at the firm on Monday.
“One of my main focuses is going to be on healthcare, but to be frank – the Rules Committee is a strange place,” he told The Hill. “Any bill that goes on the floor goes through the Rules Committee. As a result, the folks up here never have a specific area of interest.”
“The fun thing about [being on] the committee, for me, is that it makes you very dangerous at cocktail parties because you know 60 percent to 70 percent of every issue that’s out there,” French added. “The process of the House is something that interests me greatly. I hope to be able to translate that in a little bit downtown.”
French also spent nine years working for former Rep. Lincoln Diaz-Balart (R-Fla.) – moving from various legislative positions to chief of staff – and has also served on the House Homeland Security Committee under Rep. Peter King (R-N.Y.).
“Towner French is highly regarded by a number of my former colleagues in the House of Representatives as a person who is smart, works hard, and pays attention to detail and getting the job done right,” former Rep. Jim McCrery (R-La.), a partner at Capitol Counsel, said in a statement.