Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) has tapped a former Reagan administration official to head his campaign’s search for a vice presidential nominee.
Senate Republican Conference Chairman Lamar Alexander (Tenn.) told The Hill that Arthur Culvahouse, who was Reagan’s White House counsel from March 1987 to January 1989, will be helping McCain vet candidates and develop a list.
Alexander and Culvahouse have known each other for decades and both have connections to former Senate Majority Leader Howard Baker (R-Tenn.).
“It’s Arthur B. Culvahouse, that’s who’s heading the search,” Alexander said.
Culvahouse refused to comment to The Hill, as did the McCain campaign.
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“John McCain is heading his search committee, and other than that we don’t talk about it,” said Charlie Black, a top McCain adviser.
Culvahouse is a partner at O’Melveny & Myers and works in the law firm’s Washington, DC office. He has practiced law with O’Melveny & Myers from 1976 to 1984, and from 1989 to the present. From 1982 to 1984, he was a partner with the law firm of Vinson & Elkins.
The Senate Office of Public Records does not list him as a current lobbyist though he did lobby for Lockheed Martin in 1999 and Fannie Mae in 2005. Last month, O’Melveny & Myers submitted a document to the Senate records office stating that Culvahouse no longer lobbies for the Civil Justice Reform Group, which has pressed Congress to pass tort reform.
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