Former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty is resigning as a national co-chairman of Republican Mitt Romney's presidential campaign to lobby for the financial services industry.
Pawlenty will become the head of the Financial Services Roundtable, a U.S. bank lobbying group that represents JP Morgan Chase & Co and Wells Fargo & Co, among other financial companies, the group said on Thursday.
After giving up his own bid for the Republican presidential nomination, Pawlenty quickly backed Romney and has been a national co-chairman of Romney's campaign. Pawlenty, a former governor of Minnesota, was passed over to become Romney's vice presidential running mate in favor of Wisconsin Congressman Paul Ryan.
Pawlenty takes over as president and chief executive officer of the industry group on November 1, it said in a statement. He will replace outgoing CEO Steve Bartlett, whose departure was announced earlier this year.
Pawlenty said in a statement released by the Romney campaign that Romney has his full support and continued faith in his vision and policies.
"My new position as CEO of The Financial Services Roundtable does not allow me to participate in partisan campaign activities. For that reason, I am stepping down from my position as co-chair of Mitt Romney's presidential campaign," Pawlenty said.
Romney called Pawlenty a dear friend who will be missed.
The Financial Services Roundtable said in a press release that Pawlenty was stepping down from the campaign because the group is a bipartisan organization.
The Financial Services Roundtable represents 100 integrated financial services companies and accounts for $92.7 trillion in managed assets, $1.2 trillion in revenue, and 2.3 million jobs, according to the group.
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