Firm says word Paul Laxalt Group closing is false

CARSON CITY — Word from one daughter of Paul Laxalt that the powerhouse Washington, D.C., lobbying firm he founded was shutting down because of his health problems was denounced late Tuesday by a representative of the firm.

Michelle Laxalt said her father's declining health forced the decision to close the Paul Laxalt Group by the end of the year.

"The report from earlier today that the Paul Laxalt Group is 'shutting down' is completely false," company representative Tom Loranger said in a statement. "We look forward to working with our wonderful clients in the years ahead."

Michelle Laxalt, 61, said her father left her specific instructions.

"Dad was such an incessant planner, a fastidious planner, that he put pen to pad and spelled out precisely what he demanded of me should a situation like this occur," she said. "And I am honoring that."

The elder Laxalt, who turned 93 in August, fell at his Virginia home three years ago. Michelle Laxalt said he had a pacemaker installed, and doctors expected him to fully recover.

"Hope, love and many prayers notwithstanding, our dad has honestly not recovered from this surgery," she said.

But others said Michelle Laxalt's pronouncement was wrong.

Michelle Laxalt said her father receives round-the-clock nursing care at the home he shares with his wife, Carol, in McLean, Va.

The son of an immigrant Basque sheepherder, Paul Laxalt was raised in Carson City. He was Nevada lieutenant governor from 1963 to 1967, governor from 1967 to 1971, and served in the U.S. Senate from 1974 to 1987.

Shortly after leaving the Senate, he formed a lobbying group in the nation's capital.

Over the years the group represented such clients as Lockheed Martin, Sirius Satellite, Martin Marietta, the American Gaming Association, and the Altria Group, the parent company of Philip Morris, Michelle Laxalt said.

Michelle Laxalt is the mother of Nevada Attorney General Adam Laxalt. She also has two daughters, Victoria Shea Laxalt, 23, who works for Democratic Minority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., and Terese Michelle Laxalt, 21, who works for Republican strategist Robert Uithoven.

Contact Sandra Chereb at schereb@reviewjournal.com or 775-687-3901. Find her on Twitter: @SandraChereb