Report: Pawlenty to lead bank lobbying group; former governor rules out any race in 2014

Fresh off the news that he would not be a vice presidential nominee, Tim Pawlenty is not sitting around waiting to be part of a Romney administration cabinet.

Politico reports that the former Minnesota governor and one-time GOP presidential nominee has been tapped to be the new chief of The Financial Services Roundtable, a lobbying group that works on behalf of major players in the world of finance.

Pawlenty also says he won’t run for Senate or – or governor again – in 2014, the Associated Press reports.

Politico says Pawlenty will help raise the profile of the lobby group, which is already influential voice in Washington. The 100-year-old organization recently produced a report on how its members have fueled the U.S. economy in the last century.

In the report, Steve Bartlett – whom Pawlenty is replacing – writes that since he took the job in 1999, “the Roundtable has been at the forefront of every major piece of legislation to advance a strong economy and a robust, competitive financial marketplace.”

The news was first reported by American Banker editor Barb Rehm on Twitter.