Is Los Angeles mayor Antonio Villaraigosa boning up on his foreign policy credentials in the case of a future run for federal office?
While in Washington D.C. this week to testify before the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, Villaraigosa dined with National Security adviser James L. Jones, The Daily Caller has learned.
National Security Council spokesman Michael Hammer confirmed that the private dinner, which included several other couples, took place.
Villaraigosa — who considered, but then opted against a run for governor in California this year — was elected mayor in 2005, but will be term-limited in 2013.
A spokeswoman for Villaraigosa did not immediately return multiple requests by phone and e-mail to comment.
“I think it’s possible he’s out there trying to figure out what his next job will be,” said Chip Hanlon, a political observer who runs California’s Red County politics blog.
Dr. Raphael Sonenshein, a professor of political science at California State University in Fullerton, said discussion, on the other hand, could have just centered around potential security threats to Los Angeles.
But while Sonenshein said “some of the bloom is off the rose from the early days,” he said Villaraigosa could make a serious run for a U.S. Senate seat or even for governor in the future.
“He’s still a viable politician, I’d say.”