Corey Lewandowski on his new D.C. firm: ‘I will not be a swamp creature’

Corey Lewandowski, Donald Trump’s first campaign manager, announced Wednesday that he and another Trump campaign veteran are launching a government relations and political consulting firm. In a conversation with Yahoo News, Lewandowski said the company, Avenue Strategies, will back candidates “who support the Trump agenda” and help corporate clients “navigate” the new government.

Lewandowski insisted his new venture isn’t a break with Trump’s campaign pledge to “drain the swamp” and change the traditional Washington scenario in which former politicos cash in on their connections.

“I can promise you I will not be a registered lobbyist,” Lewandowski said. “Yeah, I can promise you I will not be a swamp creature.”

The launch of Avenue Strategies was first reported by the Washington Examiner’s David Drucker, who said Barry Bennett, Lewandowski’s partner in the firm, would be registering as a lobbyist.

The two partners sent out a press release Wednesday touting the fact their firm will be “just a block from the White House,” in the same building as the D.C. headquarters of Trump’s presidential transition team.

Lewandowski worked with Trump from the earliest days of his long-shot presidential bid last year. He was fired in June after months of controversy that included battery charges after he allegedly grabbed the arm of a female reporter at a Trump campaign event in Florida. The state attorney’s office declined to prosecute Lewandowski for the incident.

Despite his exit from the campaign, Lewandowski, who went on to work as an election commentator for CNN, has remained close with Trump. He regularly provided advice during the final months of the presidential race and has met with the president-elect during the transition. In the press release announcing Avenue Strategies’ launch, Lewandowski said he “will always be President-elect Trump’s biggest supporter.” Lewandowski told Yahoo News that he decided to launch the company after turning down “multiple opportunities” to take a job in Trump’s White House.

“If you ask anybody who has happened to know me for the last 20 years, they will tell you that I am not the type of person to traditionally go inside an agency or an administration. That’s not where I can produce the best value,” said Lewandowski. He added, “I think my value proposition is best where I can help coordinate outside entities to support an administration or to support objectives of that administration, whether that’s grassroots activities or grasstops activities, something of that nature.”

Lewandowski would not say whether he discussed plans for the company with Trump.

“I don’t want to talk about any private conversations which I may or may not have had with the president-elect,” Lewandowski said.

Prior to leading the Trump campaign, Lewandowski worked for multiple campaigns, as a lobbyist and as a marine patrol officer in his home state of New Hampshire. He also held positions with the conservative advocacy group Americans for Prosperity, a major force behind the tea party movement. Bennett managed Ben Carson’s presidential campaign before becoming a senior adviser to Trump when Carson left the race. Trump nominated Carson for the position of secretary of housing and urban development earlier this month.

Lewandowski and Bennett first met roughly 20 years ago when they were both working as chiefs of staff for Ohio congressmen. Lewandowski called Bennett a “very, very capable operative” and praised his work on Carson’s campaign.

“They raised an enormous amount of money. They were very successful, and they built a long-term opportunity for Dr. Carson,” Lewandowski said.

On the political front, Lewandowski said their goal would be helping other candidates tap into the movement started by Trump.

“That movement was not harnessed in a way until the very end because many of the people fell outside the traditional political structure. So, in other words, they didn’t identify themselves as Republicans or Democrats,” Lewandowski said. “They identified themselves as Americans, and Donald Trump tapped into the desire to make America great again and put America first. And I want to make sure that that movement continues.”

Trump’s campaign was distinctive because the candidate was able to generate significant media coverage through social media posts and comments made in rallies and interviews rather than paying for television advertisements. Lewandowski said he would aim to help candidates connect with voters through social media, but he cautioned that Trump’s approach can’t necessarily be replicated by another politician.

“Donald Trump brings a unique perspective to the media, and his ability to drive the narrative is unlike anybody else I have ever seen,” Lewandowski said.

Lewandowski said incumbents shouldn’t be concerned about him backing candidates who will run against them — as long as they toe Trump’s line.

“It’s not about being worried because Donald Trump wants to bring people together, but what I do think is fair to do is to hold people accountable if they’re not supporting the agenda, which is the president’s agenda,” Lewandowski said.

While Lewandowski told Yahoo that political campaigns will “take up a lot of my focus,” he also has plans to work with corporate clients at Avenue Strategies.

“The other part of our business model is helping corporate clients receive a fast answer from the government — whether it’s the answer they want or the answer they don’t want. You know, government stagnation has been more of a detriment to small businesses than anything,” said Lewandowski. “Not getting a fast answer often requires companies falling into what they call the valley of death, where they’ve got a little bit of money, but they don’t have enough money, and they’re in that in-between. … We can be helpful where companies can get a fast ‘no’ rather than a long ‘maybe.’”

Currently, Lewandowski lives with his family in New Hampshire. While Avenue Strategies will be headquartered in Washington, Lewandowski isn’t ready to commit to moving just yet.

“I think I’m going to have to spend a lot more time in Washington than I have for the last two years. That’s for certain,” he said.