We don't know what Barack Obama will do after leaving office. (Any countries need presidents? You know he's got the work experience.) But Kay Hagan is all set. The former North Carolina senator started off 2016 by joining Akin Gump; we spoke with her on Wednesday during her third day in the office.
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"The bipartisan nature of Akin Gump is very appealing to me," Kay tells us. After 16 years in public office, she is a senior policy consultant, splitting time between DC and her home state. A Wake Forest law school grad, Kay was a lawyer and VP early in her career for North Carolina's largest bank, which is now part of Bank of America. At the end of 2016, her two-year cooling off period is up and she says she'll consider then whether to register as a lobbyist. (She left the Hill in late 2014 after losing a re-election.) Akin Gump was the top lobbying firm of 2015, according to the Center for Responsive Politics, with $29.6M in lobbying income in the first three quarters of the year.
Politics and public service come naturally to her, says Kay. Her father was the mayor of their town in Florida, and her uncle was "Walkin' Lawton" Chiles, a US senator and Florida governor who campaigned by walking across Florida. When you're growing up with people who are involved with politics, you're campaigning: they spent many a day as a family walking or handing out bumper stickers. "I had great respect for my dad and uncle in their positions and always held them in such high regard. For me, it was never 'if,' it was always 'when.'"
To the next generation of politicians—particularly women—Kay says, "It never is a perfect time to run, but you have to just jump in there." As for her own career in public service—which has included chairing the Subcommittee on Emerging Threats and Capabilities of the Committee on Armed Services, and the Subcommittee on Children and Families for the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions—she tells us "there is life on the other side," but never say never. In the meantime, she's looking forward to spending time this weekend with her 2-year-old and 4-week-old grandchildren, who might just end up also being that next generation of public servants.
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