Squire Patton Boggs offices in Washington, D.C. (Photo: Mike Scarcella/ALM)

Squire Patton Boggs has added former U.S. Reps. Joseph Crowley, D-New York, and Bill Shuster, R-Pennsylvania. The duo is joining Squire's global public policy practice.

Crowley was the fourth-ranking Democrat in the U.S. House of Representatives and a potential successor to Speaker Nancy Pelosi of California, before losing to a primary challenger, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York.

Speculation that the duo planned to team up in their move back to the private sector fueled rumors about what their future plans could be. They formally ended the guessing game Tuesday, when Squire announced they would be joining the firm.

“We were honored to hear from many of the great firms in town since leaving Congress, and chose what we think is the very best place to continue our careers,” Crowley said in a statement. “Serving in Congress was an honor of a lifetime and I look forward to working on many of the same issues in this new role.”

Crowley, who represented New York from 1999 until 2019, added that he was excited to be joining Squire with his friend.

Shuster, who chaired the U.S. House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee for six years, served in Congress from 2001 until he retired at the end of 2018. His father, Bud Shuster, spent 28 years in Congress before him, making 2019 the first year in 46 years that Pennsylvania did not send a Shuster to Congress.

“Joining Squire Patton Boggs gives Joe and me an opportunity to work with the best in the business on tackling some of our nation's most pressing needs, including prioritizing an infrastructure agenda,” Shuster said in a statement.

At Squire, Crowley and Shuster are joining a bipartisan cadre of D.C. insiders such as former House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, former Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott, R-Mississippi, Sen. John Breaux, D-Louisiana, and former Secretary of Transportation Rodney Slater, who served under President Bill Clinton.

Lott and Breaux, co-chairs of the firm's public policy practice, issued a joint statement calling Crowley and Shuster “two of the most effective legislators of their generation” and labeling the move a “blockbuster addition” for the firm.