brendan buckAmerican's Health Insurance Plans, the Washington trade group for the health insurance sector, has recruited Brendan Buck, press secretary to House Speaker John Boehner, as spokesman and VP of communications.

He takes a slot vacated in April by Robert Zirkelbach, who decamped for a senior VP/comms. role with the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America.

Buck served Boehner since the 2010 Republican takeover of the House of Representatives, leaving for a 2012 term on the Romney presidential campaign.

He was previously communications director for the Republican Study Committee and press secretary for Rep. Tom Price (R-Ga.).

Boehner's office released a statement praising Buck's tenure, noting his key role in the PR work around the 2010 mid-tern elections that gave the GOP the House. "Brendan was an absolutely crucial part of that process," said Boehner. "Then, he took a leading role in our communications shop, holding the White House accountable in the middle of some of the biggest fights this town has seen in quite a while. I’ve appreciated his advice, his energetic advocacy, and his wit every step of the way."