After three decades in Congress, and less than six weeks since voters put him out of office, Rep. Dana Rohrabacher plans to move to the state farthest away from his coastal Orange County district.
“His plan is to move to Maine, where he can write and do other non-political things,” Rohrabacher spokesman Ken Grubbs said Wednesday.
Rohrabacher lost in November to Democrat Rep-elect Harley Rouda as part of a momentous election that saw congressional Republicans swept from power in Orange County as Democrats flipped at least 40 seats to take control of the House of Representatives. Rohrabacher, 71, plans to move sometime after Jan. 3, when Rouda will be sworn in and Rohrabacher’s time in Congress will officially end.
News of Rohrabacher’s move was first reported by the Wall Street Journal, which wrote that Rohrabacher told senior staff members that he plans to form a consulting company named R&B Strategies with Paul Behrends, one of his top aides.
Grubbs told the Orange County Register that Rohrabacher is considering “other options, including consulting, but he has nothing definitive to say about any of it now.” Grubbs didn’t say why Rohrabacher – the self-dubbed “surfing congressman” – chose Maine.
Behrends, a former lobbyist for the controversial military contractor Blackwater, has worked for Rohrabacher’s office on and off dating back to at least 1990, when he served as the congressman’s foreign policy advisor.
In July 2017, Behrends was ousted from his post as staff director for the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Europe, Eurasia and Emerging Threats – which is chaired by Rohrabacher – after news agencies reported that Behrends had encouraged Rohrabacher to make contact with Russian officials and alleged Russian operatives. Behrends’ removal came as Rohrabacher faced increased scrutiny for those meetings, and for his defense of Moscow, amid a special counsel probe of Russia’s interference in the 2016 U.S. election.
One of Rohrabacher’s meetings was with Maria Butina, a Russian gun-rights activist, who on Thursday pleaded guilty to conspiring in an organized effort with Russian officials to influence the 2016 election and infiltrate Republican circles to push Russia-friendly policies.
Following Behrends removal last year, Rohrabacher defended his aide and continued to advocate for friendlier relations with Russia, telling the Orange County Register, “Paul Behrends and I both know that the Cold War is over.”
Prior to news of Rohrabacher’s departure for the East Coast, the congressman said he’d also been working on film scripts.
On Wednesday, Rohrabacher joined his outgoing GOP congressional colleagues from California in saying goodbye on the House floor. During his speech, he emphasized his cannabis advocacy, which has included supporting the marijuana industry and blocking the Department of Justice from using resources on medical cannabis prosecutions in some states. Rohrbacher said those efforts have reduced the cost and negative impacts of America’s drug war.
“I’ve served here since 1989. It has been the best life I could have ever, ever imagined,” Rohrabacher said. “I’ve been so proud to be part of that great debate to direct the future of this country.”
Reporter Casey Tolan contributed to this report.
