Three former local legislators have coasted to a soft landing in the private sector, proving once again that there is a lucrative life after politics.

Recently retired U.S. Sen. Pat Toomey, 61, of Zionsville, Lehigh County; former U.S. Rep. Charlie Dent, 62, of Allentown, and former state Sen. John Yudichak, 52, of Swoyersville, Luzerne County, have all begun the next phase of their lives which likely will take them close to or into retirement.

Toomey and Dent are Republicans, although former President Donald Trump has referred to both as RINOs - Republicans in Name Only - since they were both strongly critical of him and toward some of his policies. Yudichak is a former Democrat who changed to an independent in 2019 before he announced that he would not seek re-election in 2022. Yudichak, who then caucused with the Republicans, saw his district, which was solidly Democratic when he first ran, morph into a Republican stronghold during the Trump era. This was no doubt a factor in his change of politics.

Toomey was one of seven GOP senators to vote to convict Trump during his second impeachment trial on Feb. 13, 2021, after the House of Representatives had impeached him for his role in inciting the insurrection at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. The Senate failed to get enough votes to convict Trump.

Some political observers believe that this vote sealed Toomey’s political fate since Trump vowed revenge against the seven by encouraging other Republicans to run against them in the next senatorial primary if they sought re-election.

Toomey, however, had indicated when he was first elected to the Senate in 2010 that he would serve just two six-year terms, which he did, declining to seek re-election in 2022.

The seat was flipped when former Democratic Pennsylvania Lieutenant Gov. John Fetterman defeated Republican nominee, Dr. Mehmet Oz, by about 5 percentage points last November.

Last month, Apollo Global Management Inc. announced that Toomey had been appointed to its board of directors. In addition, Toomey’s face has been seen recently and frequently on TV networks discussing the financial crisis precipitated by the failure of Silicon Valley and Signature banks.

Toomey served on the Senate’s banking and finance committees and was highly regarded as a knowledgeable fiscal conservative when it came to monetary issues, policies and strategies. As a member of the U.S. House of Representatives before his Senate tenure, Toomey was a member of the House’s budget committee.

Toomey’s appointment to the Global board comes at a chaotic time for private equity firms which have struggled in the face of high inflation, rising interest rates and geopolitical turmoil, such as the war in Ukraine.

Dent resigned on May 12, 2018, before the completion of his seventh two-year term, then joined the DLA Piper law firm as a non-lawyer senior policy adviser in June 2019. Under House ethics rules, former members of the House may not lobby either chamber for one year.

Dent is also a frequent political analysis contributor to CNN. Another Republican who became a target for Trump’s anger, Dent famously once said in 2019 why he pushed back so often against Trump and his administration, ``Because my nose is not a heat-seeking missile for the President’s backside…’’

At the time of his appointment to DLA Piper, a company executive praised Dent for his “many strong relationships with elected officials from both parties” and “his deep understanding of Congress and a range of international and domestic issues.” In his role at the firm, Dent provides strategic advice and counsel to clients at all levels of government about issues ranging from appropriations to homeland security.

About a week after his term in the state Senate ended, GSL Public Strategies Group announced that Yudichak was joining the firm as a senior adviser. Yudichak had served three four-year terms in the Senate representing Carbon and part of Luzerne County.

Business leaders hailed Yudichak in helping to transform Northeastern Pennsylvania into one of the leading economic development areas in the nation. Yudichak’s 12 years in the Senate followed 12 years in the state House of Representatives.

By Bruce Frassinelli | tneditor@tnonline.com

The foregoing opinions do not necessarily reflect the views of the Editorial Board or Times News LLC.