Senator Tim Scott’s Former Chief of Staff Joins Holland & Hart

The chief of staff for Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC) has a senior role on Holland & Hart’s lobbying team, the latest in a string of GOP-friendly hires at law firms since President Donald Trump took office for a second term.

Charles Cogar took the job of senior director of federal affairs in the firm’s Washington DC office, he said in an interview. Leaders at the Denver-founded law firm said they are looking for Cogar to advocate on behalf of the firm’s financial services and energy clients.

“A lot of clients who want to build things, when you work out West—in many instances they have to get federal permits,” said Andrew Wheeler, a former EPA administrator in Trump’s first term who is now a partner at the firm.

Cogar’s hire shows the value lobbyists and attorneys with ties to Trump and his GOP allies have in DC’s law firm hiring market. Holland & Knight hired a senior policy aide for House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) to advise clients on tech and data privacy legislation, the firm announced earlier this month. Also this month, DLA Piper announced it recruited Jake Greenberg, former chief counsel for investigations at the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee.

Wheeler said leaders at the Denver-based firm hired him in in 2024 to build the firm’s presence in Washington DC, where it only had two lobbyists. Cogar is the ninth professional added to the firm’s DC office since Wheeler joined, said Chris Balch, Holland & Hart’s chair, in a statement.

Cogar spent more than 10 years in the inner circle of Scott, first as legislative director from 2013 to 2023 and then as a chief of staff since last July. “When the powers levers in DC are held by Republicans, it’s useful to have people who understand what those levers are interested in,” Cogar said.