As of 2011[update], he serves as a senior policy advisor for the Washington, DC law firm Arent Fox LLP.

[10] He introduced, with varying levels of success, several amendments to end the U.S. prohibition on travel to Cuba, and to terminate funds for anti-Castro broadcasting.

[11][12] He also persuaded the U.S. Geological Survey to conduct and release the first official estimate of recoverable oil in the Bakken Formation in North Dakota.

He has served as co-chairman of the Eno Center for Transportation project exploring ways to reorganize the Air Traffic Control function at the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) in order to accelerate the movement to the next generation air traffic control system using GPS as a replacement for ground-based radar.

[14] As a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, Dorgan earmarked substantial funds to create a Red River Valley Research Corridor to bring new high-tech jobs to that region.

He wrote the cover story for the Washington Monthly magazine titled "Very Risky Business" warning of the danger to the economy of the wagers that large financial institutions were making by trading in unlimited derivatives.

[17] During debate on that 1999 legislation, in a speech on the Senate floor,[18][19] he said that, "it will in my judgement raise the likelihood of future massive taxpayer bailouts" (cited in John Lanacaster, Whoops, London, 2010, p. 161).

On September 26, 2008, against a backdrop of growing economic turmoil caused by the Credit Crunch, David Leonhardt of The New York Times singled out a quotation made by Dorgan in 1999[17] during the US Senate's repeal of the Glass–Steagall Act.

[citation needed] In 2007, Dorgan was a major supporter of net neutrality legislation in the Senate, seeing it as essential to keeping the Internet open and democratic.

[25] In 2009, Dorgan sided with fellow Democrats to make funds available to modify or build facilities to allow Guantanamo detainees to be brought to the United States.

In it, he insisted that the "... decision [was] not a reflection of any dissatisfaction with my work in the Senate, nor [was] it connected to a potential election contest [in the fall of 2010] (frankly, I believe if I were to run for another term I would be reelected).

[29] Following his departure from the Senate, Dorgan announced the creation of a non-profit organization to help Native American youth living on Indian Reservations.

He donated $1 million of unused campaign funds to create the Center for Native American Youth (CNAY),[30][31] which is housed as a separate program at the Aspen Institute.

The center works on teen suicide prevention, providing educational opportunities, and additional issues with Indian youth in the United States.

In November 2005, Dorgan was accused of receiving campaign contributions from people who worked for companies connected to lobbyist Jack Abramoff.