WASHINGTON, Jan. 19 (UPI) -- Many of the soon-to-be laid-off political appointees of U.S. President George Bush are scrambling to find new jobs, Republican Party veterans say.
The Washington Post reported Monday high-ranking Bush White House political operatives have inundated Washington job-hunting specialists with pleas for help at a time when corporations and non-profit organizations have stopped hiring. And lobbying firms, once a sure source of employment for Republican job-seekers, have trimmed their golden parachutes, the newspaper said.
"For Republicans, the inn is full," veteran GOP operative Ron Kaufman told the Post. "You have lots of folks in the House and Senate on the streets and 3,000 administration appointees on the streets at a time when the job market is shrinking anyways. It's just not a fun time."
Political appointees who have remained through the final days of the Bush administration are facing a collapsed job market, the newspaper said.
"It's a bear market out there, no question, for Republicans leaving the Hill or the administration," said Tom Korologos, a longtime Republican adviser. "In this political business, you live by the sword and die by the sword."
