I know you were worried. Could these two ex-Senators find work, one a rookie, the other a veteran? Leaving the Senate nest is always precarious, whether it’s voluntary (as Joe Lieberman can claim, not having sought re-election) or not (as Scott Brown must attest, having lost to Elizabeth Warren).

Well, worry not. Both these esteemed gentlemen have found paying gigs with organizations in Washington that will probably make very good use of their service to their country.

First, Short Ride Joe has found employment with the American Enterprise Institute (pull up your waders, it gets deep):

American Enterprise Institute (AEI) president Arthur Brooks announced today that former Connecticut Senator Joseph Lieberman will join AEI Visiting Fellow Jon Kyl as co-chair of the American Internationalism Project, an important new effort from AEI’s Marilyn Ware Center for Security Studies. The Project’s focus will be to rebuild and reshape a bipartisan consensus around American global leadership and engagement.

“Senator Joseph Lieberman’s knowledge, deep commitment and vision for American greatness is all too rare in Washington,” said AEI president Arthur C. Brooks. “The American Internationalism Project, under the leadership of Senator Lieberman and Senator Jon Kyl, is critical to opening a discussion about the challenges facing America in the coming decades–and strategizing about how to meet them.”

Survey says: War On Iran! By the way, the New Republic‘s Jonathan Chait wins the prediction sweepstakes on JoeLie, even though he hedged his bet more than two years ago, with a corresponding ‘liberal version’ of his guess about Rape Gurney Joe‘s future:

I’m guessing he has a sinecure at a foundation or think-tank dedicated to promoting hawkish foreign policy or centrism. The right-wing version of this career plan would be an AEI fellowship where he will produce a book and a series of op-eds on the theme I Did Not Leave The Democratic Party, The Democratic Party Left Me. The left-wing version is a Brookings fellowship consisting largely of providing quotes to the mainstream media bemoaning the decline of bipartisanship, punctuated by service on a large number of blue ribbon panels. Or, again, possibly some kind of foreign policy-centered think-tank.

On to Cosmopolitan nude model and short-time Senator Scott Brown. Unsurprisingly, he’s found work with Goldman Sachs’ law firm!

During his nearly three years in the U.S. Senate, Scott Brown (R-MA) frequently came to the aid of the financial sector — watering down the Dodd-Frank bill and working to weaken it after its passage — and accepted hundreds of thousands of dollars in campaign cash from the industry. Now, the man Forbes Magazine called one of “Wall Street’s Favorite Congressmen” will use those connections as counsel for Nixon Peabody, an international law and lobbying firm.

The Boston Globe noted Monday that while Brown himself will not be a lobbyist — Senators may not lobby their former colleagues for the first two years after leaving office, under the Honest Leadership and Open Government Act of 2007 — “he will be leaning heavily on his Washington contacts to drum up business for the firm.” The position will also allow him “to begin cashing in on his contacts with the financial services industry, which he helped oversee in the Senate.”

Among the lobbying clients represented by Nixon Peabody is Goldman Sachs, the Wall Street behemoth that reportedly skirted the Dodd-Frank rules . Brown received $10,000 in PAC contributions from Goldman and more than $100,000 in contributions from its employees.

I wonder if he’ll find mates for his daughters among the equity partners at the firm.

Photo by aresauburn under Creative Commons license