Joe Crowley, the congressman who lost in a stunning primary upset to Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez last year, will step down from his role as chairman of the Queens Democratic Party, Queens Democrats confirmed Tuesday night. The move came after Squire Patton Boggs, one of the largest lobbying firms in Washington D.C., announced Crowley as their new hire earlier that day.

For a brief moment on Tuesday, it appeared Crowley would remain as county leader while going to potentially lobby on behalf of some of America’s largest corporations, like Coca-Cola, Proctor & Gamble and UnitedHealth. This would not be unprecedented in New York City politics: the leader of the Manhattan Democratic Party, former Assemblyman Keith Wright, directs governmental relations for Davidoff, Hutcher & Citron, one of New York’s most well-connected lobbying firms.

Wright’s decision to lead the Manhattan Democrats, where he can play a role in picking judges and setting the agenda for the party, while working for a lobbying firm drew scathing condemnations from good government groups and reformers in the party. Wright, unlike Crowley, was undeterred by the criticism. (Wright did not return a request for comment, neither did Crowley.)

Throughout Tuesday, progressive members of Queens’ county committee were calling on Crowley to resign. “We can’t even pretend this charade is any kind of democracy,” Erica Manney, a county committee member from Oakland Gardens, told Gothamist.

It’s unclear whether Crowley was motivated by these calls at all or he decided it simply didn’t make sense for him to lead the Queens Democrats while working as a lobbyist and no longer representing the borough. “It’s the right choice for my life,” Crowley told the Daily News.

Crowley lives in Virginia, and the move to K Street, following his loss to Ocasio-Cortez last June, was long anticipated. Still, he was re-elected county leader in September.

In the short term, there will be no seismic political changes in Queens. June Bunch, a party loyalist, will be the interim chair until a new county leader is selected by the borough’s 72 Democratic district leaders. (Several posts are vacant.)

Gregory Meeks, a Democratic congressman, is already vying to replace Crowley. Meeks, who has been embroiled in various ethics scandals, has long been a power broker in heavily African-American Southeast Queens, which has traditionally been where the most Democrats show up to vote in the borough. Another Southeast Queens politician, State Senator Leroy Comrie, has also been floated, as well as newly-elected State Senate John Liu. (Congresswoman Grace Meng was mentioned as a contender in a news report but can’t seek the post because she isn’t a Democratic district leader.)

All would be the first person who isn’t white to lead the Queens Democrats. Crowley was the handpicked successor of Tom Manton, the powerful Queens congressman who died in 2006.