Former Attorney General and one-time Sen. John Ashcroft (R-Mo.) is putting out a shingle on K Street. Ashcroft is set to open the Ashcroft Group, along with longtime Chief of Staff David Ayres and former Senior Policy Adviser Juleanna Glover Weiss, who will leave her job as a lobbyist at Clark & Weinstock.

“We’re picking out office space” in Washington, said Weiss, who added that the new shop will be a “broad view strategic consulting firm.”[IMGCAP(1)]

Missouri voters elected Ashcroft to the Senate in 1994. He lost his re-election bid to then-Gov. Mel Carnahan (D), who had died just weeks before the election. Carnahan’s wife, Jean, served an abbreviated term in her husband’s place.

As attorney general, Ashcroft built on his reputation as a conservative hard-liner, and he made key decisions, many of them controversial, regarding the administration’s war on terror.

Weiss’ résumé includes serving as press secretary for Vice President Cheney and a stint as an aide to Rudy Giuliani’s short-lived New York Senate bid. Weiss’ current clients include Microsoft, eBay and the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America.

Ayres served as Ashcroft’s chief of staff on Capitol Hill and at Justice. “He is one of the most respected and esteemed folks on both sides of the aisle,” Weiss said of Ayres. “I couldn’t be more honored to work with him and the attorney general.”

Weiss said she expects the firm will “grow as needed.”

Place Postage Here. House lawmakers are seeking to honor the 200th anniversary of artist Constantino Brumidi’s birth with a postage stamp depicting his likeness.

“Constantino Brumidi, who has been dubbed ‘the Michelangelo of the Capitol,’ left an indelible mark on the interior of the United States Capitol,” Reps. Steve Israel (D-N.Y.) and John Mica (R-Fla.), who are leading the effort, wrote in an April 27 “Dear Colleague” letter.

In the letter, the House Members said they are urging the Citizen’s Advisory Committee, which recommends subjects for stamps to the Postmaster General, to nominate the Italian-born artist.

“The issuance of a stamp by the U.S. Postal Service would be a fitting tribute to this important American,” states the letter, which listed 38 additional supporters. “The year 2005 marks the 200th anniversary of the birth of Constantino Brumidi, as well as the 150th anniversary of the beginning of his artistic career in the Capitol and the 125th anniversary of his death.”

— Kate Ackley and Jennifer Yachnin