David Hebert, who until last month was chief of staff to House Majority Whip Roy Blunt (R-Mo.), has returned to K Street as a lobbyist for the law firm Alston & Bird.

Hebert served as Blunt’s top aide for less than a year after succeeding longtime chief of staff Gregg Hartley last summer.

Hebert formerly worked as a lobbyist for the American Association of Nurse Anesthetists and the National Association of Insurance Agents and Financial Advisors.

In April, Blunt tapped longtime Capitol Hill aide Brian Gaston to serve as chief of staff, saying that Hebert’s tenure was intended to be temporary.

Others said that Hebert, who had little experience in the House Republican leadership, had difficulty settling into the role.

At Alston & Bird, Hebert joins such prominent lobbyists as former Senate Majority Leader Bob Dole (R-Kan) and Tom Scully, the former head of the Bush administration’s Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services.