Government
Jun. 7, 2017
State Assembly ends contract with Eric Holder
California Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon confirmed Thursday that his side of the Legislature will end its contract with former US Attorney General Eric H. Holder.
Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon confirmed Thursday that his side of the Legislature will end its contract with former U.S. Attorney General Eric H. Holder.
The state Senate will continue working with Holder, according to Dan Reeves, chief of staff to Senate leader Kevin de León.
"Covington's advice and guidance has been very valuable to the Senate in responding to the Trump administration's sustained attack on California's policies and values," Reeves wrote in an emailed statement. "We currently have a number of ongoing projects with Covington and plan to continue that valuable relationship."
The Legislature hired Holder and Covington & Burling LLP, the firm where he's now a partner, in January to give legal advice as "special counsel" on how to resist the Trump administration's policies on immigration, health care, and environmental issues. At the time, Covington announced it would provide legislators access to a variety of regulatory experts as part of the deal and specified that the firm was not being hired for litigation.
It's unclear how the Assembly's decision to end the relationship will change the compensation Covington receives. The original contract was a three-month agreement at $25,000 a month, which was extended by one month when it ran out in May. The two halves of the Legislature split the expense on the original deal.
"We have received valuable guidance from Covington & Burling over the past four months," Rendon said in an emailed statement confirming the end of the contract. "We will continue to seek their guidance as the need arises."
Joshua Seboldn
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