Former Republican Speaker of the House John Boehner has joined the board of directors of tobacco company Reynolds American, according to The Hill.
The former Ohio representative, a longtime smoker, will be on the board's corporate governance, nominating, and sustainability committees.
A Reynolds American spokesman said, "RAI is striving to transform the tobacco industry through innovative strategies that include speeding the decline in tobacco use among young people and reducing the harm caused by smoking. These are objectives Speaker Boehner supports and looks forward to helping RAI advance through his service on the board."
The job is the first corporate position Boehner has taken since exiting his job as speaker in October 2015. Since then, he has been fundraising on behalf of Republicans and doing paid speeches.
Boehner was first elected to Congress in 1990 and became speaker of the House in 2011. He has been supported by tobacco companies before. In his 2014 reelection bid, tobacco company Altria and its employees were among his top 10 donors, according to The Center for Responsive Politics.
In 1996, before a vote on federal subsidies for the tobacco industry, he handed out campaign contribution checks from tobacco lobbyists. There was no rule against it at the time, but Boehner later said he regretted handing out the checks.
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