October 23, 2007 1:50 PM

Just Another Spin Through D.C.'s Revolving Door

From Roll Call:

"Memo to lobbying groups from Sen. Max Baucus (D-Mont.): Hands off my staffers! Or, more to the point, if you want to hire away my staff, at least give me a courtesy call. Baucus was peeved to learn that Judy Miller, his senior pension adviser and one of the top brains in her field on the Hill, had been lured away for a private-sector job at the American Society of Pension Professionals & Actuaries. According to a Senate staffer familiar with the incident, Baucus was upset that the group’s top lobbyist, Executive Director Brian Graff, hadn’t called him or his other top staffers to give them the heads-up about the poaching. When he got word last week that the group had nabbed one of his most trusted advisers, Baucus abruptly canceled a breakfast fundraiser scheduled for this morning that the pension group had planned. Baucus apparently felt the surprise hiring constituted a breach of unwritten etiquette, the Senate staffer tells HOH. Lobbying groups with relationships with Congressional offices often seek the Member’s blessing when stealing away top talent, a practice akin to a prospective groom getting his girlfriend’s father’s OK before popping the question."

Yup, that's just another day in D.C. for you. A top staffer to the Senator chairing the committee that oversees pension policy goes and becomes a lobbyist for the pension industry.