STAFF 2

age of trump 11/17 see main

SEE REVOLV DOOR

see mafia mcconn staff

poster boy? the McConnell Mafia rides again on drug prices 420

no merri

morano OG inhofe staffer

bannon declares war on moore/strange

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GGL 6 26

Staff Pipelines: The Koch apparatus acts as a political training ground, with many former staffers and network leaders moving into senior roles on Capitol Hill (such as the Senate Finance Committee) and inside presidential administrations. [1]

DIRECTORIES

https://www.legistorm.com/pro/staffers/by/state.html $

https://www.congress.org/advocacy-101/congressional-staff-titles/

Legislative Director, Senior Legislative Assistant, or Legislative Coordinator:

The Legislative Director is usually the staff person who monitors the legislative schedule and makes recommendations regarding the pros and cons of particular issues. In some congressional offices there are several Legislative Assistants and responsibilities are assigned to staff with particular expertise in specific areas. For example, depending on the responsibilities and interests of the member, an office may include a different Legislative Assistant for health issues, environmental matters, taxes, etc.

http://65thcgm.weebly.com/email-congressional-staff.html

US Senators list (Email 2 of them): _{http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm}_**:{

US House of Representatives list (Email 1 of them): http://www.house.gov/representatives/find/}:

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SEDER 7 26

John Blasto uh named who used to

48:41

48 minutes, 41 seconds

be the chief of staff for Andrew Cuomo and is now a top staffer for the leader of the Democrats in the Senate, Chuck

48:47

48 minutes, 47 seconds

Schumer, who said last year that they are building a strategy to ensure that quote pro- crypto voices are heard in

48:55

48 minutes, 55 seconds

key races all across the country. So this is the top of the Democratic party endorsing corrupting cryptocurrency money in primaries.

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KOCH

Summary

A congressional staffer during the 2017 tax cut negotiations left Congress in January and immediately began to lobby on the tax bill’s implementation for Koch Industries

At every step of the way, the political network of billionaire industrialists Charles and David Koch has stood behind the Republican effort to massively reduce taxes for the wealthiest Americans and corporations. Lobbying records reviewed by Sludge show that the business that has made the brothers each worth roughly $51.6 billion continues to weigh in on the implementation of the December legislation.

In mid-2017, the Koch network spent millions of dollars promoting the idea of major tax cuts. Then, after the U.S. House passed its tax cut bill, Charles and his wife, Elizabeth Koch, showered House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wisc.) with nearly $500,000 in donations to his joint fundraising committee. Once Congress passed the compromise tax bill and it became law, the Koch network announced plans to spend another $20 million on ads to promote the alleged benefits of the law to the public.

Because the tax bill is long and complicated, and it was rushed through Congress at the end of 2017, it requires additional legislation to improve its implementation, including technical fixes to various provisions. That process opens up the bill to more special interests seeking favorable tax treatment. A March appropriations bill included a few fixes to the tax law, but there is more to be done, and special interests are weighing in.

The Koch brothers didn’t want yet another opportunity to influence the tax bill to get away from them. Koch Industries hired former congressional staffers who passed through the revolving door to K Street and are lobbying Congress and the Treasury Department on the implementation of H.R. 1, the tax cut bill—including one lobbyist who left Congress right after the tax bill became law. These lobbyists have close ties to key Republican lawmakers in the tax cut implementation process.

Salim Alameddin was a legislative assistant to Republican Texas congressman Will Hurd through December 2017, when the tax cuts became law. The next month, Alameddin left Congress to join lobbying firm Crossroads Strategies, where he’s a vice president. In the first quarter of this year, Alameddin lobbied on behalf of Koch Companies Public Sector LLC, Koch Industries’ public affairs firm, on the tax bill implementation and on S.2155, the banking deregulation legislation that became law in May, among other issues.

Before working for Hurd, Alameddin was a staff member for Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) from July 2015 to January 2017. According to International Business Times, Cornyn—a member of the Senate Finance Committee, which marked up its version of the tax bill, and the House-Senate Conference Committee, which negotiated the final law—inserted a special tax deduction for oil and gas investments into the Senate’s tax legislation, a break that would financially benefit 16 of his congressional colleagues. Koch Industries owns these types of oil and gas investments, called master limited partnerships, including Koch Pipeline Company LP, Flint Hills Resources LP, and PetroLogistics LP, a subsidiary Flint Hills Resources.

Other former government employees are now lobbying for Koch Industries and other corporate interests.

From 2005 to 2008, Christopher Javens was tax counsel to the Senate Finance Committee under former chairman Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), who is no longer chairman but remains on the committee. Javens left Congress for Capitol Tax Partners in 2008 and as recently as the first quarter of this year was lobbying Congress, and possibly his old boss, on behalf of Koch Companies Public Sector LLC on the tax bill.

After a stint in the U.S. House, Jason Goggins joined the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) as chief of staff to Commissioner Christopher Giancarlo. The CFTC regulates the trading of commodities including oil and gas. In October 2016, Goggins joined the Daly Consulting Group, where he lobbied on legislation about commodity trading regulation on behalf of Koch Industries and other clients. In April 2018, Goggins moved on to work for Fidelity Investments.

Matthew Lavoie, Koch Industries’ current director of trade policy, once worked for two Republican leaders in Washington. From March 2006 to April 2007 he was a press assistant for then-Congressman Mike Pence (R-Ind.), who is now the vice president. For three months in 2008, Lavoie worked as Rep. Ryan’s press secretary. Ten years later, Lavoie is potentially rubbing shoulders with his former employer as he advocates Koch Industries’ trade and foreign investment interests. Lavoie joined Koch Industries in February and began lobbying that quarter.

And the revolving door swings both ways: Former lobbyist Hazen Marshall, who represented Koch Industries on tax policy in 2014, is now policy director for Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.). In the first quarter of 2015, Marshall lobbied on tax issues for Koch Companies Public Sector.

Alex Kotch

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Mitch McConnell's staff abandons him to support Trump - Alternet.org

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comm dr jake johnson

this Is Corruption’: Manchin Chief of Staff Now Chief Lobbyist for Big Oil

“’Shocking!’ said absolutely no one,” responded one climate advocate.

Jake Johnson

Jan 13, 2023

The top aide of Sen. Joe Manchin, a close ally of the fossil fuel industry, is leaving the West Virginia Democrat’s office to work directly for Big Oil as a lobbyist at the American Petroleum Institute, one of the most powerful influence-peddling organizations in the United States.

Axios, which first reported the news of Lance West’s departure to API on Thursday, noted that “through the on-again and off-again Build Back Better negotiations, he developed a reputation as a fierce advocate for Manchin’s positions.”

Advocates Warn of ‘Forced Labor’ Camp for Homeless People in Utah Designed to Enforce Trump Order

Manchin, the top recipient of oil and gas industry donations in Congress, ultimately succeeded in killing the Build Back Better package, which contained more ambitious climate measures than the recently passed Inflation Reduction Act, a law packed with fossil fuel giveaways that Manchin helped secure.

That the aide who helped Manchin fight for the industry’s interests in Congress is moving on to work as an oil lobbyist hardly surprised watchdogs and progressive critics, who cast the transition as a glaring example of Washington’s ever-spinning revolving door.

“This is corruption. Period,” tweeted Nina Turner, a senior fellow at the Institute on Race, Power, and Political Economy and a former co-chair of Sen. Bernie Sanders’ (I-Vt.) 2020 presidential campaign.

Others, including Jamie Henn of Fossil Free Media, reacted with mock astonishment:

IFrame Content

West, who will be API’s vice president of federal government relations, joins the ranks of other former Capitol Hill staffers and lawmakers who have left Congress to represent the industries they were previously tasked with overseeing and regulating.

According to data compiled by OpenSecrets, more than 60% of oil and gas lobbyists in Washington, D.C. previously worked for the federal government in some capacity—from entry-level aide to chief of staff for members of the U.S. House and Senate.

API, which spent $3.6 million on lobbying in 2022, has been sued by New York City and the state of Minnesota for its role in misleading the public about the climate crisis.

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readsludge paywall

Joe Manchin has landed his K Street gig, with a Wall Street gig on the side. The 77-year old retired senator, a former Democrat turned independent, will join lobbying, consulting, and investment firm Bondi Partners as a senior advisor, the company announced on Friday.

The news comes on the back of the announcement, earlier this month, that Manchin had been named an advisor to investment giant Apollo, on matters including energy markets, and that he would join the board of its insurance arm, retirement services company Athene.

Bondi Partners, founded by former Australian Ambassador Joe Hockey, has also brought on several former Trump administration officials in recent years. Its announcement of Manchin touts its “growing” U.S. team: its staff already included former White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney, former principal deputy chief of staff Emma Doyle, and others.

Bondi Partners has offices in Sydney and Washington D.C. and advises clients seeking to expand into the U.S. market. In addition to lobbying and policy analysis, the firm’s services include reputation management and arranging access to capital, from sources ranging from private equity firms to global banks.

“Senator Manchin’s extensive knowledge of energy markets and economic policy will be invaluable to our clients and partners,” its announcement said.

The firm has a lobbying arm, Pacific Partners, which touts its senior advisor Doyle’s nickname as “the Trump whisperer,” due to her insight into the president’s management style. It also has an investment fund, 1941 Fund, focused on the defense and cyber industries, a joint initiative with Australia-based Ellerston Capital.

Manchin was a key centrist figure in Capitol Hill drama since joining the U.S. Senate in 2010. He frequently broke from his Democratic colleagues to halt major legislation and was opposed to reforming the Senate rules to eliminate the de facto filibuster that has increasingly made passing bills difficult for both parties over the past decade or so. In the first years of the Biden administration, he gained notoriety for doling out favors to his fossil fuel industry donors and raking in corporate PAC donations.

Bondi Partners is not a large Capitol Hill lobbying shop, but its top federal lobbying client represents many of the largest companies in the world....

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lever

late last week, after Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) obliterated much of what was left of President Joe Biden’s agenda by refusing to support his party’s scaled-back social safety net, climate, and tax package, some observers wondered what was in it for Manchin, the corporate Democrat who holds all the power in the divided Senate.

As The Lever has previously documented, the Democratic rotating villain role that Manchin is playing typically ends with a cushy landing spot on K Street working for big business. That’s certainly already true for one of Manchin’s longtime aides.

Jonathan Kott went from working as Manchin’s senior advisor to leading a well-funded dark money group that spent millions to crush Sen. Bernie Sanders’ (Ind.-Vt.) 2020 presidential bid, and then back to Capitol Hill. Now, Kott is a corporate lobbyist for health insurers, drug companies, the fossil fuel industry, and Fox News, while the media calls on the so-called “Manchin whisperer-for-hire” to offer commentary about what has motivated his former boss to repeatedly obstruct his party’s agenda.

Kott’s path through Washington’s proverbial “revolving door” showcases the lucrative career opportunities available to Democratic Hill staffers: If you work for conservative Democrats who protect corporate interests and loyally attack progressives, corporate America will come calling with a big bag of cash.

Kott did not respond to The Lever’s request for comment.

The trend of those working in Congress — whether as lawmakers or aides — leveraging their Capitol Hill connections and experience to work on behalf of wealthy special interests is not new, and the phenomenon has grown over time. The pattern is a stark reminder of the disingenuousness of the political establishment, which purports to prioritize the needs of constituents while getting rewarded by corporate interests for preserving the status quo.

A 2019 Public Citizenstudy found that nearly two-thirds of lawmakers who had retired or were defeated at the ballot box went on to work in the influence industry. Nearly 60 percent of these former members of Congress had taken up work for lobbying firms, consulting firms, trade organizations, or business groups to influence — and impede — federal government action.

Not surprisingly, staffers who move to K Street are likely to earn more money based on how many personal connections they retain on Capitol Hill, according to a 2017 study.

An Anti-Progressive Dark Money Project

Kott’s career path is a cautionary tale of how our political system — and its perverse incentives — chews up bright-eyed, bushy-tailed individuals who think they can effect change in the lives of real people through public service, only to get swept up in the game of trying to profit off their public sector experience through protecting the interests of the elite.

Kott’s career in public service began with an internship in the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), where he worked to address homelessness.

“When I went to HUD, I realized I could help homeless people get a place to live, and that’s what I thought I would spend my time in politics doing,” he told The Hill. “But I got drawn into the press side, and that’s where I wound up.”

Kott went on to intern for Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), and then served as a press aide for the presidential campaign of former Connecticut Sen. Joe Lieberman, the most notorious rotating corporate villain of the Obama era.

According to The Hill, Kott then went to work for the corporatist think tank Third Way, where he apparently “helped craft moderate messaging and policy.” Kott got the job by contacting Third Way co-founder Jonathan Cowan, who ran HUD while Kott interned there.

By 2013, Kott was back in the public sector, working as the communications director for Manchin, the coal-baron-turned-senator. For some time, he simultaneously worked for both Manchin and Sen. Chris Coons (D-Del.), a conservative Democrat and close Biden ally. Kott would go on to serve as Manchin’s senior advisor, too.

In the fall of 2019, Kott left Manchin’s office, according to Legistorm. He soon founded the Big Tent Project Fund, a dark money group focused on crushing Sanders’ presidential campaign.

The nonprofit spent $4.8 million on digital ads attacking Sanders, including those under the name United We Succeed. The ads criticized Sanders as a socialist who wanted to increase taxes on the middle class, saying that voting for him would mean Americans “losing our private health care.”

Kott told *Politico* of the ad campaign: “Despite over 50 years in public life, Bernie Sanders has never been fully vetted. The Big Tent Project will shed light on his record of politically toxic policy proposals starting in Nevada and South Carolina.”

The Campaign Legal Center, a Washington-based campaign finance group, filed a complaint with the Federal Election Commission (FEC) in 2020 alleging that the Big Tent Project Fund’s primary purpose was defeating Sanders, and the group had thus violated election laws by not registering as a political committee and not publicly disclosing its donors. CLC last year sued the FEC for failing to take action.

According to a copy of its tax return obtained by The Lever, the Big Tent Project Fund raised more than $12 million in 2020.

While the organization is not required to disclose its funding sources, its tax return makes clear it was financed by just a dozen donors. More than 80 percent of its cash came from just three donors who gave at least seven figures, including one who donated more than $6 million.

In addition to its anti-Sanders ads, the Big Tent Project Fund reported donating nearly $3 million to Center Action Now, a dark money group created by Tim Miller, a past campaign aide to Republican presidential candidate Jeb Bush.

Center Action Now’s digital ads were designed to target center-right Republicans and independents with messages attacking Sanders and boosting then presidential candidate Joe Biden as the moderate choice. Some of the ads contained general messages encouraging people to vote. The group never filed independent expenditure reports with the Federal Election Commission.

The Big Tent Project Fund also reported donating $1.3 million to the Progressive Policy Institute, a corporate-aligned, ostensibly centrist think tank.

The only independent contractor Big Tent Project Fund listed in its tax return is a Delaware-based company called CMP Partners, LLC, which Big Tent paid $4.9 million. According to Delaware incorporation documents for CMP Partners obtained by OpenSecrets, the company listed “Terrence Walsh” as its authorized representative.

Terrence Walsh appears to be Terry Walsh, president of the The Strategy Group, who was a top campaign advisor to former President Barack Obama.

CMP Partners’ only other appearances in FEC records have been related to two additional outside groups attacking progressive candidates: The company handled direct mail for Americans For Tomorrow’s Future, a super PAC that attempted to defeat Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) in the 2020 primary, and also ran digital ads for Third Way against progressive Nina Turner in 2021, according to FEC independent expenditures filings.

Walsh did not respond to a request for comment.

“Slogans And Yelling Isn’t The Way It Works”

After the 2020 primary campaign, Kott returned to Capitol Hill, serving once again as a top aide to Coons. He soon decamped for K Street, becoming a partner at the corporate lobbying firm Capitol Counsel last June.

“Jon was a very effective communications director and trusted senior advisor for seven years,” Manchin said in a press release issued by the firm. “He is a thoughtful communicator and tactician with a true understanding of the importance of bipartisanship. I’m excited for him to be taking on this new role.”

Coons, for his part, said in the press release, “I’ve relied heavily on [Kott’s] candid advice, strategic insights, and vast media and political network. I wish him the very best in his new role at Capitol Counsel and look forward to maintaining our close friendship.”

In this new role, Kott has lobbied for oil and gas giant ExxonMobil as well as the American Fuel and Petrochemical Manufacturers, a lobbying group that represents oil, gas, and chemical interests.

He’s also lobbied for the Healthcare Leadership Council, a group representing prominent health insurers and drug companies opposed to universal health care, and pharmaceutical company Biogen. Kott’s work for Biogen has involved lobbying on efforts by Democrats to allow Medicare to negotiate prescription drug prices.

In June, Kott registered to lobby for Fox Corporation, the parent company of Fox News, including on “corporate tax issues.”

Kott is hardly the only recent example of a corporate Democratic aide who traded in public service for an influence industry gig. For instance, Sen. Kyrsten Sinema’s (D-Ariz.) former communications director John LaBombard left her office to become senior vice president at ROKK Solutions earlier this year — moving from an office allied with the drug industry to a public relations firm that has worked for Big Pharma.

While Kott now works as a corporate lobbyist, news outlets have regularly invited him on their programs to defend his former boss, Manchin, as the senator works to impede the Democratic Party agenda on issues like climate change and health care.

In a January appearance on CNN, Kott sought to explain away Manchin’s refusal to end the Senate legislative filibuster, a rule that requires 60 votes to advance most legislation. This position puts Manchin on the side of powerful corporate lobbying groups, but Kott framed Manchin’s position as “looking to preserve how the Senate works and force them to work in a bipartisan way.”

He added, “Slogans and yelling isn’t the way it works.”

Kott told The Daily Beast in April that Manchin “doesn’t really care about party affiliation and is just focused on what he’s hearing from his constituents. And that’s basically how he handles his votes. He goes home most weekends. He talks to as many people as he can, comes back and decides how he’s gonna vote. And that’s basically what he does.”

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Staffers behind Mayorkas impeachment outed as veterans of Christian nationalist groups - Alternet.org

an 3 24

the impeachment trial of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas is likely to begin in the US Senate this week. It is expected to be quickly tabled or dismissed by Democrats, who hold the majority and have criticized House Republicans for bringing the case to trial despite a lack of "high crimes and misdemeanors" the Constitution requires to necessitate impeachment.

Both Senate Democrats and Republicans have criticized the Mayorkas impeachment as a political stunt. Sen. Kevin Cramer (R-North Dakota) said his Republican counterparts in the House of Representatives were engaging in the "worst, dumbest exercise and use of time" for an impeachment that was "obviously dead on arrival." Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Massachusetts) dismissed it as "political theater from a Republican Party that can't do any real legislative work."

And as if to underscore that point, one journalist has exposed the staffers who authored the articles of impeachment as seasoned veterans of far-right, Christian nationalist groups.

In a thread on X (formerly Twitter), Jonathan Larsen — who most recently worked for The Young Turks and MSNBC — tweeted multiple pieces of evidence tying the staffers who steered impeachment efforts to several prominent Christian right groups he described as having a "theocratic" agenda. He noted that the leaders of these groups have "used lies to dispatch political foes," like Mayorkas.

Stephen Siao, who is the staff director of the GOP-controlled House Homeland Security Committee, is also the chief of staff for Rep. Mark Green (R-Tennessee), who chairs the committee. Larsen found that Siao is the former grassroots director of Heritage Action (the political arm of the far-right Heritage Foundation, which is behind the controversial Project 2025 campaign). He has additional experience with Hillsdale College — led by board chairman Pat Sajak of Wheel of Fortune fame — which is one of the leading organizations behind the evangelical right's crusade against LGBTQ+ rights. Siao also began his DC career at the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, which has played an influential role in numerous Supreme Court decisions benefiting the religious right — like the 2014 Burwell v. Hobby Lobby Stores case in which corporations were given a "religious exemption" for denying employees' contraception care.

Siao is also a member of the Council for National Policy (CNP). As Larsen reported, CNP executive director Bob McEwen is a member of the secretive far-right organization The Family (also known as The Fellowship), which is the primary organizer of the annual National Prayer Breakfast. That organization was notably a prominent backer of Uganda's legislation to implement the death penalty for members of the LGBTQ+ community.

According to Larsen, both Siao and his own deputy recently attended educational sessions hosted by the Faith & Law Project. Larsen tweeted a description of the Faith & Law's 2022 conference, in which the organization sought to help "thought leaders and policymakers" apply a "Biblical worldview" to their "public square vocation." That conference was entitled "Christian Faithfulness in Public Service: Essential characteristics of a Christ-follower on Capitol Hill." Larsen also tweeted a statement from a female staffer on Green's committee, who wrote that she "frequently ask[s]" how her "personal faith should influence" her legislative work, and that the Faith & Law retreat would help her "answer that question."

The ideology of Christian nationalism asserts that the United States was founded as a Christian nation (many of the founding fathers were actually Deists) and that public policy should be crafted for the explicit promotion of Christianity. A 2023 survey by the Public Religion Research Institute and the Brookings Institution found that more than half of Republicans polled said they wanted the US to be an explicitly Christian nation.

After he was officially elected as Speaker of the House, Rep. Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana) invited anyone curious about his politics to "go pick up a Bible." He also said that the separation of church and state was a "misnomer" in a CNBC interview.

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Trump-allied group wants J6 committee staffers blacklisted - POLITICO

2/23/2023

A conservative non-profit group allied with former President Donald Trump urged “Hill staffers and their colleagues” to cut off meetings with any former Jan. 6 committee staffers who have since joined firms that lobby.

In a letter sent to hundreds of recipients on the Hill, the dark money group American Accountability Foundation listed the names of the former committee staffers and their titles — along with their new employers and links to their firms’ clients — all of whom they urged to blacklist.

“AAF has put together a cheat-sheet below outlining their new firms and the firm’s clients so you can be sure you (and your staff) aren’t inadvertently taking a meeting with a company that hires staff that hates your boss,” says the memo sent by Thomas Jones, the group’s president and founder. In his letter, Jones noted recent reporting by POLITICO on the January 6 committee staffers being hired by law and lobbying shops.

“It is important to remember that even if one of these former J6 investigators is not listed as a lobbyist on this specific account, the billings brought in by the clients listed below benefit all staff at the J6 investigator’s new firm,” he added.

It remains to be seen how effective the gambit will be, as the letter was sent only this past Wednesday. K Street firms have a major presence on Capitol Hill and their hires include figures on all sides of the political spectrum. But the group’s play illustrates the intense desire that exists among some conservatives to exact political retribution for those staffers who helped unearth extraordinary evidence of Donald Trump’s bid to subvert the 2020 election.

Jones confirmed the authenticity of the memo in an email to POLITICO. He railed against the January 6 committee’s use of investigative power, claiming that the committee and the F.B.I. forced some to “spend tens — sometimes hundreds — of thousands of dollars defending themselves from an overreaching and weaponized government.” He argued that conservatives should not be taking meetings with these lobbyists’ clients.

“My email was just a short list of people and companies they should stop working with,” he said.

“Until conservatives are willing to fight back against the swamp — in this case cutting off the lifeblood of lobbyist access — the swamp will never be drained,” he contended.

:{:{Among those listed on the memo include Casey Lucier, former investigative counsel for the committee, who was hired at McGuireWoods, a firm that represents Hertz Global, Perdue Foods, Sinclair Broadcast Group, and others.}:

:{:{Other names listed were Kevin Elliker, another former investigative counsel, who was hired by Hunton Andrews Kurth. That firm represents Koch Companies Public Sector, NCTA – The Internet & Television Association, and Southern Company Services.}:

Former committee staffers Marcus Childress, Heather Connelly, and Michelle Kallen had all been hired by Jenner & Block, the email noted, which represents T-Mobile and the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma.

In his message, Jones also noted that the memo’s recipients were free to send over additional names.

Led by Jones, an alumnus of Sen. Ted Cruz’s (R-Tex.) presidential campaign, and Matt Buckham, a veteran of the Trump White House, the American Accountability Foundation has taken on controversial tactics to undermine Biden’s nominees. The New Yorker reported links between the American Accountability Foundation and the Conservative Partnership Institute, which has been affiliated with former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows and attorney Cleta Mitchell. Notably, Meadows’ attorney George Terwilliger works for McGuireWoods, one of the firms listed in the memo.

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intercept

silicon Valley Bank Used Former McCarthy Staffers to Weaken Regulations, Lobby FDIC

Ken Klippenstein

Two senior aides to House Speaker Kevin McCarthy were among the top lobbyists for the bank at the center of a new financial crisis.

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https://www.alternet.org/2021/11/joe-manchin-2655486530/

no lnx

Joe Manchin’s former aides are lobbying Congress for oil, gas, tobacco and pharma companies

Meaghan Ellis November 03, 2021

As Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) works tirelessly to roll back President Joe Biden's Build Back Better agenda, several of his former aides are lobbying Congress on behalf of their corporate clients.

According to CNBC, dozens of filings to Congress indicate "at least six former aides and advisors lobbying members of Congress, including senators, for power players in industries such as coal, pharmaceuticals, oil and gas, tobacco, and finance, according to more than two dozen filings to Congress."

CNBC highlighted the current work of Jonathan Kott, Manchin's former senior advisor who now works for Capitol Counsel and is lobbying for ExxonMobil.

"Kott, Manchin's senior advisor, and communications director for seven years, now works for lobbying giant Capitol Counsel.Kott started lobbying for gas giant ExxonMobil in the third quarter after he was hired by Capitol Counsel in June 2021, according to lobbying disclosures.

"Kott and his colleagues at the firm were paid $10,000 by Exxon to lobby the House and Senate, which included activities such as 'monitoring legislation impacting energy development and production" and lobbying on 'issues related to tax reform, energy taxes and taxation of U.S. multinational corporations.'"

Third-quarter lobbying disclosures also indicate that Kott received a total of $50,000 from the American Fuel & Petrochemical Manufacturers.Per the company's website, they are described as "a trade association 'representing the makers of the fuels that keep Americans moving and the petrochemicals that are the essential building blocks for modern life.'"

The group's board consists of high-ranking representatives from some of the country's largest oil and gas corporations, including ExxonMobil, Chevron, Badische Anilin- und SodaFabrik (BASF), and Dow Chemicals, Inc.

Patrick Hayes, Manchin's former chief of staff and current partner at Kountoupes Denham Carr & Reid, has been lobbying Congress for "mix of clean energy companies and the Industrial Minerals Association, which according to its website is a 'premier trade association representing the interests of North American companies that mine or process the industrial minerals.'"

Read the full report at CNBC.

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ref

https://www.cnbc.com/2021/11/02/joe-manchin-former-aides-lobby-congress-for-oil-gas-pharma-giants.html

no lnx

Joe Manchin’s former aides lobbied Congress for oil, gas and pharma while he fought to shrink Biden’s economic plans

PUBLISHED TUE, NOV 2 20216:24 PM EDTUPDATED WED, NOV 3 202

Brian Schwartz

@SCHWARTZBCNBC

KEY POINTS

Sen. Joe Manchin has been working to shrink or eliminate key elements of President Joe Biden’s social spending and climate proposal as several of his former advisors lobby Congress.

Manchin has at least six former aides and advisors lobbying members of Congress for power players in industries such as coal, pharmaceuticals, oil and gas, tobacco, and finance, according to more than two dozen filings to Congress.

One of lobbyists, Jonathan Kott, has said that he has privately called Manchin. The senator has said Larry Puccio, another former advisor currently lobbying the Senate, is a “dear friend.”

VIDEO02:51

House Dems put paid family leave back into social spending plan

Sen. Joe Manchin has been working to shrink or eliminate key elements of President Joe Biden and the Democratic Party’s massive social spending and climate proposal as several of his former advisors lobby Congress for their corporate clients.

Manchin, the moderate West Virginia Democrat, has at least six former aides and advisors lobbying members of Congress, including senators, for power players in industries such as coal, pharmaceuticals, oil and gas, tobacco, and finance, according to more than two dozen filings to Congress.

The lobbying disclosure reports reviewed by CNBC span the third quarter, which started in July and concluded at the end of September.

Manchin, who is also the chair of the Senate Energy Committee, has been fighting pieces of the now-$1.75 trillion social spending and climate plan that Biden supports. If passed by Congress, many pieces of that plan could significantly impact the companies that his former aides are lobbying for.

...

Democrats on Tuesday overcame one of their biggest hurdles, as they reached a breakthrough agreement on lowering prescription drug prices.

The lobbying disclosure reports do not say whether Manchin or his office have been directly targeted by his former advisors. Yet one of lobbyists, Jonathan Kott, has said publicly that he has privately called the West Virginia senator. Manchin has said that Larry Puccio, another former advisor currently lobbying the Senate, is a “dear friend.”

At least two lobbyists who used to work for Manchin are barred from engaging directly with him or his office, as Senate rules say former staffers must wait a year after leaving a congressional office before lobbying their former colleagues. As long as they didn’t hit a certain salary threshold while working in Congress, they are allowed to lobby other members of the Senate.

Neither Manchin’s office nor any of the lobbyists mentioned in this story returned requests for comment before publication.

Kott, Manchin’s senior advisor and communications director for seven years, now works forlobbying giant Capitol Counsel. Kott started lobbying for gas giant ExxonMobil in the third quarter after he was hired by Capitol Counsel in June 2021, according to lobbying disclosures.

Kott and his colleagues at the firm were paid $10,000 by Exxon to lobby the House and Senate, which included activities such as “monitoring legislation impacting energy development and production” and lobbying on “issues related to tax reform, energy taxes and taxation of U.S. multinational corporations.”

Kott has said he knows how to get in touch with Manchin. “I try not to call him because he’s a busy man but I know he’s available when needed,” Kott told The Washington Post in September.

Exxon’s lobbying efforts against Biden’s agenda have included a more than $275,000 Facebook ad campaign targeting tax hikes Democrats have proposed. Exxon’s CEO Darren Woods told progressive House lawmaker Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., during a recent hearing that he has participated in calls with members of Congress as lawmakers put together a spending bill that includes $550 billion to fight climate change, as well as their separate $1 trillion infrastructure bill.

Kott and the firm that employs him also was paid $50,000 in the third quarter to lobby Congress by the American Fuel & Petrochemical Manufacturers, a trade association “representing the makers of the fuels that keep Americans moving and the petrochemicals that are the essential building blocks for modern life,” according to their website. The group’s board of directors includes representatives from many of the top oil and gas giants, including ExxonMobil, Chevron, BASF and Dow Inc.

Patrick Hayes, a partner at Kountoupes Denham Carr & Reid, was once Manchin’s chief of staff. He has has been lobbying for a mix of clean energy companies and the Industrial Minerals Association, which according to its website is a “premier trade association representing the interests of North American companies that mine or process the industrial minerals.”

The mining trade association paid Hayes and his team $30,000 to lobby on issues related to the coronavirus pandemic and the ongoing budget disputes, among other items.

Some of the solar and clean energy companies – including Breakthrough Technologies, which was founded by tech billionaire Bill Gates – had Hayes lobby Congress on the Democrats infrastructure bill, according to third quarter filings.

Puccio, who was once Manchin’s chief of staff when he was governor of West Virginia, registered to lobby at the federal level in February.

One of his more recent clients is Sandy Bay Partners, an investment management firm based in Florida. “We manage and sponsor investment programs focused on private equity and real estate development,” their LinkedIn page says.

In the third quarter, Puccio was paid $10,000 by Sandy Bay to specifically lobby the Senate on “conservation easements,” according to the third quarter disclosure. Puccio was also paid $75,000 over the past few months to lobby for the Appalachian Natural Gas Operators Coalition, which is described on a lobbying registration report as a West Virginia company that focuses on “oil and natural gas.”

The report says that in the third quarter Puccio lobbied the Senate and Biden’s Department of Energy on “energy infrastructure, proposed taxes and fees related to energy production.”

Puccio has been close to Manchin for years. In a 2020 interview with a local news outlet in West Virginia, the longtime lobbyist discussed their friendship.

“Joe and I are very close. I think the world of Joe. I hope you print that. I’ve always been supportive of Joe Manchin. Joe knows me and I know Joe,” Puccio said at the time.

Thomas J. Lucas, who became a vice president at Crossroads Strategies this year after working in Manchin’s office for the past six years, lobbied lawmakers for two massive pharmaceutical firms and the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, a trade group that represents the pharmaceutical industry.

For the drugmaker Merck, Lucas and his team lobbied lawmakers on a variety of issues in the third quarter including those “related to health care, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), 340B Program, drug pricing, importation of biopharmaceuticals, international pharmaceutical supply chain,” according to the latest disclosure report. Crossroads Strategies was paid $40,000 for their most recent work for Merck.

Drugmaker Bristol-Myers Squibb paid $40,000 for Lucas and his colleagues to lobby on similar issues last quarter. PhRMA, the trade association, invested $60,000 for their lobbying services.

Elliot Howard, who worked for Manchin on the Senate Energy Committee, joined Massie Partners earlier this year. He lobbied the House and Senate in the third quarter for a several corporate giants including oil and gas behemoth BP, Colonial Pipeline, NRG Energy and Magellan Midstream Partners.

Howard’s work helped bring in over $150,000 for Massie Partners.

see cash for economists

omg 1986 13 hours billed nancy pelosi 250$/hr dir of editorial services ?!

1985 SeptThe address and telephone number on the letterhead of this letter from James Savarese & Associates, dated September 1985 is identical to that of Ogilvy & Mather (O&M). They were both effectively running the Committee on Taxation and Economic Growth (CTEG) under some joint agreement.

1986 MayOgilvy & Mather are still handling James Savarese's billings/charges to the Tobacco Institute. He has a billing rate of $115 per hour as a 'consultant, which is only marginally below O&M's Vice President and General Manager, Marcia Silverman at $125 per hour.

Three other O&M staff working for tobacco Richard Marcus, Lynn Snoddon and Keith Tarr-Whelan charge at $100-$110/hr

Nancy Pelosi (Californian Democratic Party) is a consultant to O&M with the top charge rage of $250 per hour. [5]

rev dr pelosi

https://thehill.com/business-a-lobbying/443724-ex-pelosi-staffers-in-demand-on-k-street

2019

businesses and trade groups are turning to former aides to Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) as they look to push their priorities in the Democratic House.

Seventeen former Pelosi staffers were active registered lobbyists during the first quarter of 2019, according to the Center for Responsive Politics.

And the two top lobbying shops for the first quarter of the year, Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld and Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck, both boast former Pelosi aides: Arshi Siddiqui, a former senior policy adviser, and Nadeam Elshami, a former chief of staff, respectively.

Former Pelosi staffers in the influence world found themselves in the spotlight after she regained the Speaker's gavel. But even as K Street enjoys a financial bump under President Trump and a Democratic House, former staffers' ties to the most powerful Democratic leader in Washington also bring tough questions.

The Democratic base is increasingly pushing back on the influence world — and 2020 candidates are disavowing lobbyist or corporate special influence money. Pelosi has accepted PAC donations and lobbyist money, though the numbers amount to a tiny fraction of the massive haul the prodigious fundraiser brings in for her party.

Pelosi's office did not comment for this story.

The new scrutiny on lobbyists in Democratic circles doesn't appear to be affecting work downtown for former Pelosi aides, as first quarter numbers remained strong.

“Our clients want results and are much more savvy than to think one policymaker, no matter how important, can unilaterally save the day,” Siddiqui, who left Pelosi's office in 2010 after seven years and has been a partner at Akin Gump for nine, told The Hill.

Sources who talked to The Hill said Pelosi, who has been House Democratic leader since 2003, has never had the reputation of a K Street creature. They said Pelosi doesn't have regular meetings with former staffers-turned-lobbyists, unlike many other lawmakers.

“She has a national base of support and a national network of experts that can be relied on for a range of topics. It helps to be from California, where there is every kind of industry, every academic institution, state and local governments,” a lobbyist told The Hill.

“Pelosi staff who go downtown are hired because they are super smart and know how things work, not because they have special access to her,” a former Democratic House aide told the Hill.

Still, former Pelosi aides who become lobbyists are seen at the top of their game and touted for their connections to Capitol Hill.

“Former Speaker Pelosi aides working as lobbyists are probably fully aware that their relationship with the Speaker doesn’t guarantee them any support or nonsupport when it comes to legislative priorities," a Democratic lobbyist told The Hill.

But the lobbyist acknowledged that a "working relationship with the Speaker’s office would be more helpful than not when it comes to flagging important matters for staff to be aware of."

“Speaker Pelosi is a strong leader, and it make sense that firms want to project that they have strong ties to her whether they move the needle on issues or not,” a former House aide who is now a lobbyist told The Hill.

“Experience suggests that Speaker Pelosi will only do what is in her party’s and constituents’ interest, but big firms want to market the perception that they provide access to the Speaker.”

Democrats under Pelosi have also pushed an ambitious series of electoral and money reforms, the first dubbed H.R. 1, which passed the House in March. The bills are dead in the GOP-controlled Senate but had many on K Street worried about tough new restrictions on lobbying.

“Speaker Pelosi passed H.R. 1 to start the Congress because it was a top priority for Democrats during the campaign last year. Democrats believe this was an important step to restoring confidence and accountability in our elections and in Washington," another former House aide-turned-lobbyist told The Hill. "The last thing on her mind was how this might affect former staffers.”

Another lobbyist said the anti-lobbying fervor among Democrats had not hurt Pelosi's reputation with former aides.

“Like more good bosses, Speaker Pelosi has a reputation for wanting to see her former staff succeed, whether inside or outside government,” the Democratic lobbyist said.

The influence of former Pelosi staffers runs deep and wide in the lobbying world.

Among Siddiqui's clients this quarter are Comcast Corporation on telecom issues, as well as CVS Health and the Business Roundtable. Elshami has been working for Johnson & Johnson, the Cannabis Trade Federation and high-speed rail industry groups.

Dean Aguillen, senior vice president at Ogilvy Government Relations, spent five years working for Pelosi, including as senior adviser and director of member services. Last quarter, he registered withPhRMA to work on prescription drug affordability, an issue on which President Trump and Pelosi are calling for reforms.

Another notable Pelosi aide-turned-lobbyist is Anne MacMillan, a partner at Invariant — Heather Podesta’s firm.

A number of former Pelosi aides also work as in-house lobbyists for high-profile companies. Alexandra Veitch, who’s alobbyist for Tesla, was a senior adviser to Pelosi; Tom Manatos, who lobbies for Spotify, was her senior adviser for member services; and Catlin O’Neill, who now works in Facebook’s Washington, D.C., office, was her chief of staff before leaving in 2013.

Amy Rosenbaum, who left Pelosi's office in 2010, went on to run legislative affairs for then-President Obama and is now at CVS Health.

In the trade association space, Michael Bloom is vice president of federal government affairs at theInternet Association. He was Pelosi’s senior adviser and left in 2017 after more than 11 years with her.

And the influence of former Pelosi aides extends beyond lobbying. Many are not registered lobbyists but do advocacy work for nonprofits or are in academia or other congressional offices.

Pelosi's second stint as Speaker is a new world for many of her old hands. The speaker must now contend with a much more vocal and empowered progressive wing, willing to challenge her on their priorities.

“Lobbying Democrats requires a mix of sound policy and politics combined with the right timing," Siddiqui told The Hill.

It was important to have a "nuanced understanding of how consensus is built in the Democratic Caucus" in her work, she added.

Aguillen said the biggest boost from working with Pelosi was "the perspective of knowing the Hill from the inside" and now being able to share that with clients.

"You are able to advise people if they are approaching an issue the right way because you understand the thinking inside the caucus,” he said.

[brendan daly? VISA?

all sr staff cos cgc clark etc

also manchin as kingmaker DINO

https://www.alternet.org/2021/09/joe-manchin-2655063636/

Ever since he entered the U.S. Senate in 2010, Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia has made it abundantly clear that he will often cross party lines and vote with Republicans — and during the Biden era, the decidedly centrist Democrat has been a frequent source of frustration to the more progressive members of his party. Manchin is unpredictable, sometimes voting with fellow Democrats and sometimes voting with Republicans. And efforts by lobbyists to influence Manchin is the focus of a Washington Post report by journalists Theodoric Meyer and Jacqueline Alemany.

One of those lobbyists, Meyer and Alemany explain in an article published on September 20, is Jonathan Kott — a former Manchin senior aide who is now with the firm Capitol Counsel.

Kott told the Post, "Don't assume he's going to vote any way until he actually casts his vote. I went with him to almost every vote, and there were times when he made up his decision when he walked onto the floor. There's no way to sort of predict what he's going to do."

Kott, according to Meyer and Alemany, is "one of a handful of former Manchin aides now on K Street who now spend much of their time serving as professional Manchin whisperers, advising clients on how Manchin thinks and, in some cases, lobbying his office."

Meanwhile, Patrick Hayes, the 74-year-old Manchin's former chief of staff, is now with the lobbying firm Kountoupes Denham Carr & Reid.

"Larry Puccio, Manchin's longtime friend and former chief of staff while he was West Virginia's governor and secretary of state, registered as a federal lobbyist for the first time in February," Meyer and Alemany note. "Some Manchin alumni who were already downtown, meanwhile, picked up new clients, includingHayden Rogers, a former Manchin chief of staff whom Qatar's government hired in March as a foreign agent. The country's contract with Rogers' firm is worth a hefty $30,000 a month."

If Democrats had a larger majority in the U.S. Senate, trying to sell Manchin on President Joe Biden's Build Back Better Agenda wouldn't be so high a priority. But the Democratic Senate majority is razor-thin, making Manchin a key swing vote — along with another centrist Democrat: Sen. Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona.

"Divining which way the Senate's swingiest vote will go is the Washington parlor game of the moment," Meyer and Alemany observe. "And Manchin isn't exactly making it easier for those who want to see inside his head.He recently called for a 'strategic pause' on President Biden's $3.5 trillion budget bill, and made it clear he won't support 'anywhere near' that number 'without greater clarity about why Congress chooses to ignore the serious effects inflation and debt have on existing government programs.'"

gop staffer rev dr

off bs

https://www.cgcn.com/

THE CGCN TEAM

MATT RHOADES

CO-CEO

Romney/Ryan 2012 Presidential Campaign Manager

Co-founder of a bipartisan cybersecurity initiative, Defending Digital Campaigns

Past leadership positions inPACs, the Republican National Committee and at the White House

SAM GEDULDIG

CO-CEO

Former Senior Advisor to then Majority Whip Roy Blunt

Former staffer for the House Financial Services Committee and then Speaker John Boehner

Successful record of building unconventional coalitions and issue advocacy campaigns

MICHAEL CATANZARO

PRESIDENT AND CHIEF POLICY OFFICER

Former Special Assistant to the President for Domestic Energy and Environmental Policy, White House National Economic Council

Former Deputy Staff Director, Senate Environment and Public Works Committee with Sen. Jim Inhofe

Former Senior Policy Advisor to then Speaker John Boehner

STEVE CLARK

FOUNDER AND CHAIRMAN

Former Manager of Government Affairs for Ohio Bell Telephone Co

Former Vice President of Public Affairs forAmeritech/ SBC

Recognized by The Ohio Chamber of Commerce as Ohio’s Top Corporate Lobbyist

ANTONIA FERRIER

CHIEF STRATEGIC COMMUNICATIONS OFFICER

Former senior aide forLeader Mitch McConnell, the Senate Finance Committee, and then Majority Whip Roy Blunt

Experienced communications professional the Washington Post called “A top Republican message guru”

JOHN STIPICEVIC

CHIEF ADVOCACY OFFICER

Former Deputy Chief of Staff to LeaderKevin McCarthy for Floor Operations and Member Services

Former Director of Floor Operations to then Majority Whip Kevin McCarthy

Former floor aide to then Majority Whip Roy Blunt and Minority Whip Eric Cantor

MIKENIELSEN

CHIEF FINANCE AND MANAGEMENT OFFICER

Accomplished financial services and appropriations advisor

Professional Staff and Subcommittee Staff Director on the Senate Banking Committee for over a decade.

Extensive work as a Senate staffer and outside consultant on appropriations issues.

JAY CRANFORD

SENIOR PARTNER

Former committee and leadership policy aide

Accomplished energy, environment, technology and telecommunications policy advisor

Client services approach enhanced by private sector experience in both the corporate and trade association space

EVA BANDOLA

VICE PRESIDENT

Former Senior Communications Director at Definers Public Affairs

Former Senior Account Manager at Trident DMG

JULIA COMISKEY

SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT

Former Vice President, Partnerships & Special Assistant at Definers Public Affairs

Former Deputy War Room Director at Romney for President

JANELLE GARDNER

SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT OF OPERATIONS

Over a decade of experience inside the federal government, both in Congress and the Executive branch

Served as a key member ofPresident Trump’s beachhead team facilitating the transition at the Department of Labor,

AMANDA HORNE

ASSOCIATE

Former Staff Assistant to Leader Mitch McConnell

Former intern at the Environmental Protection Agency Office of Public Affairs

TIM KILLEEN

PARTNER

Experienced communication professional with experience in energy, healthcare, and financial services

Former campaign advisor toRep. Liz Cheney and Republican National Committeeofficial

AMBER KIRCHHOEFER

PARTNER

Former Deputy Chief of Staff toSen. Pat Roberts

Experienced policy advisor in health care, appropriations, agriculture and trade

TATUM MARTINEZ

DIRECTOR OF CLIENT RELATIONS

Works to streamline every facet of client relations at CGCN to remove friction and deliver results.

Severs as Executive Director for CGCN Partner United By Interest

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Expertise in Human Resource Management

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Experienced in nearly every aspect of digital communication strategy

Former Senior Digital Director at Definers Public Affairs

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TIM PATAKI

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Former Assistant to the President and Director, White House Office of Public Liaison

Former Senior Advisor & Director of Coalitions and Member Services, House Energy & Commerce Committee, then Chairman Fred Upton

Former leadership aide to then Majority Whip Kevin McCarthy and Majority Leader Eric Cantor

ALEX RENJEL

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Former aide to Sen. Jim Inhofe

Former senior aide for Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, where he helped pass multiyear transportation legislation

SCOTT RIPLINGER

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Accomplished financial services, tax, appropriations and commerce policy advisor

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Former Brokerage Investment Professional at Vanguard

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Expertise in a variety of administrative duties, including scheduling and coordinating meetings for partners and clients

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https://theintercept.com/2020/04/14/one-nation-pfizer-lobbyist-drug-prices/

one NATION, ONE of the dark-money groups spending the most to back Republican candidates for Senate, added a former Pfizer lobbyist and U.S. Chamber of Commerce board member to its board of directors at the end of 2019. One Nation has spent $1.7 million already this year on ads praising the efforts of Republican senators, including the push for lower drug prices, a cause both Pfizer and the Chamber have lobbied against.

The group is part of the network of conservative fundraisers — under the “Crossroads” umbrella — launched by Karl Rove and Ed Gillespie after the Supreme Court’s 2010 decision in Citizens United. Former staffers for Crossroads GPS, the 501(c)(4) wing of Rove and Gillespie’s Super PAC, American Crossroads, started One Nation in 2015 after a yearslong fight with the Internal Revenue Service for tax-exempt status. Crossroads eventually received that status in 2016. Although the group has been relatively dormant since 2014, it maintains fundraising efforts and ended 2019 with $35.5 million cash on hand.

Ken W. Cole,who has long worked in government relations for companies like General Motors and Honeywell, as well as the pharmaceutical giant Pfizer, joined the board of One Nation last year. The group listed Cole as a director on its latest annual report, filed to the Virginia State Corporation Commission in March, but he’s not yet listed publicly on its website.

Cole lobbied on behalf of Pfizer as senior vice president of government relations from 2010 to February 2018, on issues including drug pricing and drug shortages. Pfizer has placed the blame for high drug prices on health care providers and insurers, while it has fought recent legislative efforts aimed at reducing drug prices. Since at least 2014, Cole has also served on the board for the Chamber of Commerce, which has similarly opposed legislative efforts to cut drug costs or allow the government to fine companies for inflating prices.

Pfizer and the Chamber of Commercehave collectively spent just under $1 billion on lobbying over the last decade, with Pfizer typically spending around $10 million each year, and the Chamber spending more than $60 million. In recent years, that included efforts to kill legislation aimed at lowering the cost of prescription drug prices, including a bipartisan prescription drug-pricing bill put forward last September by Iowa Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley and Oregon Democratic Sen. Ron Wyden. President Donald Trump has praised the bill and earlier this year called on Congress to pass legislation to address rising drug costs. The Senate bill, which Grassley has accused Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell of sabotaging, remains deadlocked, while a companion bill in the House, which Pfizer and the Chamber also lobbied against, passed last year. The Chamber, meanwhile, supported a separate drug-pricing bill from Idaho Republican Sen. Mike Crapo, saying that it “would help reduce drug prices without resorting to destructive price controls,” citing “inflation cap penalties” in the Grassley-Wyden bill and “government negotiation provisions” in the House bill.

Cole is currently the CEO and managing director of Cactus Consulting LLC, a firm registered in January 2019 in the District of Columbia, with principal offices based in Florida.

One Nation defended its board appointment of Cole, claiming that his work for Pfizer was not a conflict since he left the company early last year. “Ken has been a respected leader in a variety of different companies and industries. After he retired, we sought him out for his breadth of management experience and judgment,”One Nation President Steven Lawsaid in a statement to The Intercept. “Our boards provide guidance on macro issues like financial controls, budgets, compensation and management policies. They do not direct day-to-day activities.”

Law, the CEO of Crossroads GPS, American Crossroads, Senate Leadership Fund, and One Nation, is also a former chief of staff to McConnell and a former legal officer for the Chamber of Commerce.

AS A 501(C)(4) GROUP, One Nation is not required to disclose its donors, but voluntary disclosures from a number of interest groups shed light on its funds. The dark-money group received major contributions of $1 million in 2016 and 2017 from Andeavor, an oil company bought in 2018 by an Ohio petroleum conglomerate. In 2018, One Nation also received $50,000 from the American Petroleum Institute, and another $50,000 from the Real Estate Roundtable in 2017.

**One Nation**is the single largest group contributing to the Senate Leadership Fund, the McConnell-aligned Super PAC backing Republican Senate candidates. It’s the political action committee’s second-largest donor overall this cycle, after Blackstone CEO Stephen Schwarzman. It has also contributed to conservative groups working on policy issues like abortion and gun rights, like the National Rifle Association and the Susan B. Anthony List:{, an anti-abortion group. The group has spent more than$1 million already this year backing Maine Sen. Susan Collins, including }:{ in}:January:{, }:February:{, and }:March:{ highlighting “Collins’ effort to lower the price of insulin.” Democrats note that Collins — like almost every other Republican — }:voted repeatedly against:{ the }:Affordable Care Act:{ and closing the Medicare Part D coverage gap. Collins has taken }:$431,604:{ from the pharmaceutical industry throughout her career. }:

Collins, whose chances of securing a fifth term became less certain after her vote to confirm Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh in 2018 and increased criticism over her stance on abortion rights, is facing a challenge from Maine House Speaker Sara Gideon, backed by the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, and Betsy Sweet, backed by Justice Democrats. In the wake of Collins’s vote to confirm Kavanaugh, activist Ady Barkan helped raise more than $4 million to support whoever wins the state’s Democratic primary in July.

In addition to Collins, One Nation is backing Iowa Sen. Joni Ernst:{and started running }:{ supporting her last year.}: On March 18, One Nation announced another $970,000:{ in television, radio, and digital ads praising Ernst as a champion for lower drug prices. Ernst said she supported, but did not sponsor, the Wyden-Grassley bill that Pfizer and the Chamber lobbied against, but voted against a 2017 }:bill:{ that would have allowed the U.S. to import cheaper drugs from Canada. }:

Ernst in 2018 co-sponsored a Republican-led bill as part of a party effort to assuage fears among its base after its successful repeal of parts of the Affordable Care Act. Republicans said the bill would protect people with preexisting conditions, but it would still have allowed insurers to discriminate against patients for other reasons, or sell policies that don’t cover other medical problems, HuffPost reported.

Critics say it’s unsettling, if not unsurprising, that a McConnell-aligned dark-money group would add a former pharmaceutical lobbyist to its board while running ads celebrating Republican senators for pushing lower drug prices, a cause McConnell himself has stymied in Congress.

“One Nation’s mission is to make sure that Republicans hold their majority in the Senate. They are going to craft their message around that,” said Robert Maguire, research director at Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington. “It does not mean that One Nation has staked out that policy. They think that voters in Maine want to hear that.”

admin tool: https://www.alternet.org/trump-appointees-lied-their-financial-disclosure-forms-according-their-own-resumes-report

MCCONN

https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2018/6/10/1770745/-Surprise-Surprise-GOP-Staffers-Who-Wrote-GOPTaxScam-Are-Cashing-In-With-K-Street-Lobbying-Jobs

the #GOPTaxScam is making Republican staffers who helped write it wealthy.

What a surprise, right? Not.

This is the Republican tax scam that lavished the wealthy few, including Donald Trump, Bob “Kickback” Corker with tax cuts. The scam that crippled the ACA into skyrocketing health care premiums. The tax scam that blew up the debt by $1.5 trillion dollars.

This is K Street’s gift to those who lavished them and their clients with tax cuts.

Top-level GOP aides who helped write the new tax law are now leaving the Hill in droves to cash in as lobbyists on K Street and other marquee private-sector destinations.

Powerhouse accounting firm PwC landed one of the biggest prizes, announcing Monday that Mark Prater, the Senate Finance Committee's longtime GOP chief tax counsel, is the new managing director of its tax policy services group.

Others who have made the switch include a top aide to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), Brendan Dunn, who joined Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld in May as a partner in its public law and policy practice. Some less visible tax aides from both chambers have also gone through the revolving door to companies hoping to rake in new business and more profits from the package of tax cuts and legal changes.

And it's not just a Hill phenomenon.

Down Pennsylvania Avenue, Shahira Knight, who was at the negotiating table on behalf of the White House as the tax bill developed, is heading to The Clearing House, a banking policy and lobbying group, that company said Monday. Knight has previously worked as a lobbyist, as well as a Ways and Means staffer.

For many like Prater and Dunn, the time is right: Tax cuts they helped develop and shepherd through Congress have been signed into law, and demand is peaking for their services outside of Congress, meaning they can earn much more than the roughly $170,000 annual salaries they were each making, according to data from LegiStorm.

Meanwhile to pay for the #GOPTaxScam the Republican Party is cutting $7 billion from the Children’s Health Insurance Program, at the direction of Donald Trump.

Children in need of health care paying for tax cuts and K Street jobs. Priorities.

This folks, is evil.

House Republicans voted Thursday to cut $7 billion from the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP). The measure passed the House of Representatives with only Republican votes, 210-206.

The CHIP program provides health insurance to millions of low-income children and pregnant women.

Trump tweeted in support of “historic” legislation that cut “wasteful spending.” He described the so-called rescissions package as a sign “we are getting our government back on track.”

omfg

https://www.nrdc.org/trump-watch/pruitt-packing-epa-fellow-climate-deniers

If you thought bringing fossil fuel lobbyist Samantha Davis and science denier David Schnare on board at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency was bad,

https://www.nrdc.org/trump-watch/epa-critic-david-schnare-returns-agency-hes-been-trying-sabotage

Administrator Scott Pruitt’s pro-polluter posse has gotten even bigger. As reported by the *New York Times*, Pruitt is filling his new agency with staff drawn heavily from the offices of his friend, Senator James Inhofe, one Congress’s most infamous science illiterates and snowball throwers. Amanda Gunasekara, the person who handed Inhofe that infamous snowball, will now be advising Pruitt on air and climate issues. Aside from being an outspoken critic of the Obama administration's Clean Power Plan, Gunasekara has also publicly :{vowed:(style="box-sizing:inherit"):}: that Republicans would “pick apart” the Paris climate agreement after President Obama signed it. Ryan Jackson, once Inhofe’s chief of staff, will now be Pruitt’s chief of staff. Byron Brown, who led multiple investigations against the EPA for Inhofe, will serve as Jackson’s deputy. Meanwhile, Andrew Wheeler, a fossil fuel lobbyist who is also a former Inhofe chief of staff, is a finalist to be Pruitt’s deputy. Wheeler played a key role in helping Inhofe defeat climate legislation in the Senate in 2008.

Others slated to slide into senior positions are a pair of Trump campaigners from Washington State: Don Benton, a former state senator who will be the agency’s senior liaison to the White House, and current senator Douglas Ericksen, who has fought against legislation to reduce climate-killing pollution in his state. Ericksen, by the way, is in line to be the regional administrator of the EPA’s Pacific Northwest office. Wait, there’s more. David Kreutzer is yet another Trump transition official likely headed to the EPA soon. Kreutzer is a senior fellow at the polluter-funded Heritage Foundation who favors more Arctic drilling and claims that increasing carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is good for the planet. (It’s not.) With friends of Pruitt like these, this agency has all the enemies it needs.

https://news.yahoo.com/why-did-rightwing-troll-charles-c-johnson-want-to-meet-with-commerce-secretary-wilbur-ross-090000636.html

the year 2018 was not an especially auspicious one for Charles C. Johnson, a Holocaust denier whom the Boston Globe has deemed “one of the country's most notorious Internet trolls.”

a Michigan father and son his site had accused of having been responsible for the killing of protester Heather Heyer during the Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, Va., the year before, despite their having nothing to do with the murder. The murder was actually committed by a white nationalist." data-reactid="23" style="margin: 0px 0px 1em; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 18px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">In June, Johnson agreed to pay a settlement reported to have been as high as $25,000 to a Michigan father and son his site had accused of having been responsible for the killing of protester Heather Heyer during the Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, Va., the year before, despite their having nothing to do with the murder. The murder was actually committed by a white nationalist.

That same summer, Freestartr, a site Johnson founded that was used to raise money for Nazis and extremists, shut down. GotNews.com, a font of fake news that he ran, also met its demise.

who had been informally involved with the Trump campaign — remained an influential figure, a kind of right-wing martyr maligned by media and technology elites. Even so, he retained untrammeled access to the highest reaches of the Trump administration." data-reactid="25" style="margin: 0px 0px 1em; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 18px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Despite that, Johnson — who had been informally involved with the Trump campaign — remained an influential figure, a kind of right-wing martyr maligned by media and technology elites. Even so, he retained untrammeled access to the highest reaches of the Trump administration.

That much is clear from his surprising exchange with Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross on June 25, 2018.

“Hi Secretary Ross,” the markedly informal email sent by Johnson that day begins. “Great chatting with you the other day.” Johnson proceeds to say that he would be “speaking before about 30 congressmen on tech issues” in Washington and “would love to meet” with Ross as well.

Ross responded about three hours later, in an email apparently typed from his iPhone. He explained that he had to fly to Wisconsin in order to attend the groundbreaking for a plant opened by Foxconn, the Chinese electronics manufacturer. He urged Johnson to schedule a time for them to meet by going through Macie Leach, a senior adviser to the commerce secretary who had overlapped with Johnson at Claremont McKenna College, a small and prestigious California liberal arts university with a reputation for a conservative student body.

“Sounds good,” Johnson replied, copying several Commerce officials, as well as another email account belonging to Ross. The subject line of his email was “Tech discussion with Sec Ross.”

Ross and Johnson did meet that summer, according to a person familiar with the matter, but Johnson’s request for a subsequent meeting in October was turned down.

It is not known what they discussed, but Johnson is a vocal critic of what he views as bias against Republicans and conservatives in the tech and social media world, while the Department of Commerce oversees the National Telecommunications and Information Administration. President Trump has amplified such complaints, raising them recently in a meeting with Twitter founder and chief executive Jack Dorsey.

well known. Three years before, he had been booted off Twitter for threatening to “take out” Black Lives Matter activist DeRay McKesson. His fundraising sites welcomed campaigns by neo-Nazis like Richard Spencer and Andrew Anglin." data-reactid="39" style="margin: 0px 0px 1em; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 18px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">The Department of Commerce would not confirm that a meeting between Ross and Johnson took place. Questions remain about why a high-ranking government official would entertain a figure as divisive as Johnson, especially since by late 2018 Johnson’s affiliation with white supremacists and other fringe figures was well known. Three years before, he had been booted off Twitter for threatening to “take out” Black Lives Matter activist DeRay McKesson. His fundraising sites welcomed campaigns by neo-Nazis like Richard Spencer and Andrew Anglin.

rejected Johnson’s bid to have his Twitter ban lifted. (Johnson may have found a way around the ban; shortly after an exchange with Johnson, this reporter was followed on Twitter by @charles46532569, an account purporting to belong to “charles johnson.” The account followed, and shared messages from, accounts associated with several right-wing figures. Johnson denied to Yahoo News that the account was his, replying with an emoji of a sunglasses-wearing visage.)" data-reactid="40" style="margin: 0px 0px 1em; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 18px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">The exchange with Ross came several days after a California superior court rejected Johnson’s bid to have his Twitter ban lifted. (Johnson may have found a way around the ban; shortly after an exchange with Johnson, this reporter was followed on Twitter by @charles46532569, an account purporting to belong to “charles johnson.” The account followed, and shared messages from, accounts associated with several right-wing figures. Johnson denied to Yahoo News that the account was his, replying with an emoji of a sunglasses-wearing visage.)

Johnson headed to Washington amid these defeats, though it’s not known which members of Congress he tried to brief, and on what subject. No evident record of such a meeting exists, but Johnson clearly relished the access he had to the Trump administration and conservative members of Congress.

In 2017, he had posted on Facebook, “10 years ago I came to California with $50. I knew no one. Now the money I made and saved from odd jobs, poker, and risk taking has made me a multimillionaire before I turned 30 and bitcoin has hit $10k. Now I hang out with cabinet members and congressmen. What a country.” It is not clear which cabinet members, or legislators, Johnson was referencing.

“It's concerning that a reputed Holocaust denier is familiar enough with Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross that he can apparently reach the Secretary via a private email account,” said Charisma Troiano, communications director for Democracy Forward, a progressive group that obtained Ross’s emails through the Freedom of Information Act. “The public deserves to know why.”

Ross’s email address is redacted in the documents reviewed by Yahoo News. However, Democracy Forward had specified in its Freedom of Information request that it sought “all communications sent to or from any nongovernmental email address established, controlled, or used by the Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross.” The back-and-forth with Johnson, therefore, had to have been conducted at least in part via an email address affiliated with Ross but not issued by the federal government.

Several high-ranking Trump administration officials have been found to have used private emails for government business." data-reactid="54" style="margin: 0px 0px 1em;">During the 2016 presidential campaign, Trump frequently castigated his Democratic competitor, Hillary Clinton, for using a private, off-site email server while serving as secretary of state for President Obama. Several high-ranking Trump administration officials have been found to have used private emails for government business.

In a text-message exchange with Yahoo News, Johnson expressed concern that he would be “falsely” accused “of being a troll or worse,” which made him hesitant to “engage with the #fakenews.”

Johnson later sent a statement denying that he was a Holocaust denier and claiming that he was a supporter of Jewish causes. He also pointed out that one of his lawyers was an Orthodox Jew, presumably as proof that he harbored no anti-Semitic tendencies.

Johnson also depicted himself as a free speech advocate, not a supporter of extremist causes. And he said that he was not the author of the false GotNews.com report about the Charlottesville killing. He said the settlement in the case was for a lower amount than what has been reported elsewhere (that is, $25,000).

who once authored a book on President Calvin Coolidge, would have the standing to discuss with Ross. The Department of Commerce has broad oversight of U.S. trade, though Trump has ceased to seek Ross’s counsel on that issue." data-reactid="58" style="margin: 0px 0px 1em;">Of his exchange with Ross, Johnson would only say it was “a national security matter.” It is not clear what topic pertaining to national security Johnson, who once authored a book on President Calvin Coolidge, would have the standing to discuss with Ross. The Department of Commerce has broad oversight of U.S. trade, though Trump has ceased to seek Ross’s counsel on that issue.

Johnson reached out to Ross again in October 2018, saying he had “something of international import to discuss.” Leach, the senior Commerce adviser, appears to have handled the request, forwarding it from her personal email address to her Department of Commerce one. This time, however, Johnson was not as fortunate as he had been over the summer. “The requested meeting did not occur,” a Commerce spokeswoman said.

Ross remains the commerce secretary, though his credibility has been seriously tarnished by his handling of the Trump administration’s effort to include a citizenship question on the 2020 census. He is routinely spoken about as on the verge of losing his job.

Johnson’s current occupation is unclear, though he told Yahoo News he wants to be called an “entrepreneur.” The substance of his present-day entrepreneurial activity is unknown.

The Trump administration has recruited officials to fill its top energy and environmental staff positions from fossil fuel lobbying groups, Koch brothers-funded think tanks, and climate-denying lawmakers’ offices, according to a new database from the Center for American Progress Action Fund.

Launched Monday, the project tracks political appointments to energy and environment positions and their past affiliations. Of the more than 100 political staff working on energy and environmental issues, close to one-third have ties to the fossil fuel industry and petrochemical billionaires Charles and David Koch, according to the tracker.

Their industry ties often put them at odds with the stated missions of their agencies, especially for appointees working to address air and water pollution and protect federal lands, raising questions about the policy goals of their bosses?—?Energy Secretary Rick Perry, Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke, and Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt.

Influx of anti-regulation political appointees turns EPA’s mission on its head

Trump’s EPA viewed as most anti-environment in a generation.

“These staffers are tasked with making decisions about the air we breathe and water we drink, yet many of them have worked for industries and organizations that have been fighting for years to undo environmental protections and prolong the life of dirty energy,” Erin Auel, research associate for the Center for American Progress Action Fund, said in a statement. ThinkProgress is an editorially independent news site housed within the Center for American Progress Action Fund.

The website, DirtyDeputies.org, will maintain a running list of political appointees for energy and environment and their previous employers. It will allow users to sort the political appointees by their special interest affiliations. The public is invited to submit tips on any of the appointees or new staff who have been hired.

“It’s not surprising that the Trump administration is the next stop on the career paths of old hands in the big oil, Koch, and climate denial networks,” Kevin Connor, director of the Public Accountability Initiative, a nonprofit group that researches business and government corruption, said in an email to ThinkProgress. “This kind of capture of the federal regulatory apparatus is something they’ve been preparing for, and something that will have real consequences for public health and the environment, as we’ve seen play out on the state level.”

“This kind of capture of the federal regulatory apparatus… will have real consequences.”

Given the backgrounds of the officials filling these high-level positions, “we should be prepared for them to be particularly extreme in their abdication of responsibility to the public, in favor of their masters in polluting industries,” Connor warned.

David Bernhardt, one of political appointees listed in the Dirty Deputies tracker, is awaiting confirmation by the full Senate to become the second-highest ranking official at the Department of the Interior. Bernhardt, who runs the natural resources department at lobbying and law firm Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck, has spent the last several years working on behalf of oil and gas companies and large agribusiness to weaken environmental protections.

“A vote for Bernhardt is a vote for the Koch brothers and big industry and a vote against public lands, people and health,” Randi Spivak, public lands program director for the Center for Biological Diversity, said in a statement.

Doug Matheney now works as a top assistant to Perry after previously serving as the state coordinator for the Count on Coal initiative. He also worked as a coordinator for the Koch-funded Americans for Prosperity.

The database also lists Mandy Gunasekara, who joined Pruitt’s staff at the EPA in March as a top adviser. Gunasekara worked as the National Association of Chemical Distributors’ senior director of legislative affairs where she lobbied for reforming the Toxic Substances Control Act. She also previously worked as a staffer for Sen. James Inhofe (R-OK), a position in which she handed a snowball to Inhofe on the Senate floor. The Republican senator argued the existence of the snowball in winter disproved global warming.

Matt Kasper, research director at the Energy & Policy Institute, emphasized that the Trump administration’s appointed staffers now represent the mainstream of Republican ideology. “The Republican Party has adopted positions that deny the science behind climate change, wants to gut the EPA in order to prevent it from carrying out its mission, and prevent further air and water safeguards,” Kasper told ThinkProgress.

According to the Center for American Progress Action Fund, the tracker will help increase transparency of the political appointees who are “pulling the strings on Trump’s dirty energy agenda.”

https://dirtydeputies.org/

lost urls

First	Last	Department/Agency	Current Title	Previous Affiliations	Connections	Notes	TagsAll staffersoil and gascoalfossil fuelKochExxonInhofeclimate denierTrump familyFormer lobbyistnominee
Joe	Balash	Department of the Interior	Assistant Secretary of Lands and Minerals	Sen. Dan Sullivan (R-AK); AK Commissioner of Natural Resources	Went on a trip to China, South Korea, and Japan with BP officials to market LNG		oil and gas; fossil fuel
Erik	Baptist	Environmental Protection Agency	Senior Deputy General Counsel	American Petroleum Institute; Federal Energy Regulatory Commission; McDermott Will & Emery	The American Petroleum Institute is the only national trade association that represents all aspects of America's oil and natural gas industry		oil and gas; fossil fuel
Preston	Beard	Department of the Interior	Advisor in the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement	Louisiana Mid-Continent Oil and Gas Association; Scott Angelle for Congress; Friends of Mary Landrieu; Copestone	Was the PAC Manager for the Louisiana Mid-Continent Oil and Gas Association	Worked for Republican Scott Angelle and Democrat Mary Landrieu on their political campaigns	oil and gas; fossil fuel
Nancy	Beck	Environmental Protection Agency	Deputy Associate Administrator, Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention	American Chemistry Council	ACC members include Exxon.		Exxon; oil and gas; fossil fuel
Kathleen	Benedetto	Department of the Interior	Senior Adviser, Bureau of Land Management	House Natural Resources Committee aide; geologist at Bioxy Research		Started Women's Mining Coalition	coal; fossil fuel
David	Bernhardt	Department of the Interior	Deputy Secretary of the Interior	Lobbyist at Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck	Lobbied for mining companies, oil and gas companies, and water users in the West	Additional list of mining and oil and gas clients available here.	coal; oil and gas; fossil fuel; Former lobbyist
Megan	Bloomgren	Department of the Interior	Communications	DCI Group; U.S. Chamber of Commerce	DCI Group represented Exxon Mobil; U.S. Chamber of Commerce receives Koch funding.	Additional information on Bloomgren's ties to industry can be found here.	Exxon; oil and gas; Koch; fossil fuel
Liz	Bowman	Environmental Protection Agency	Public Affairs	American Chemistry Council	ACC members include Exxon.		Exxon; oil and gas; fossil fuel
G. Michael	Brown	Department of Energy	Executive Adviser	Ben Carson campaign; Cheseapeake Energy; American Coalition for Clean Coal Electricity			oil and gas; coal; fossil fuel
James	Cason	Department of the Interior	Associate Deputy Secretary	Unifrax Corporation President		Cason's 1989 nomination to USDA position was defeated due to his close ties to industry.	oil and gas; fossil fuel
Mike	Catanzaro	White House National Economic Council	Special Assistant for Domestic Energy and Environmental Policy	Lobbyist for the oil and gas industry	Koch Industries; oil and gas industry	Catanzaro has published several articles denying the existence of human-caused climate change.	Koch; oil and gas; climate denier; fossil fuel; Former lobbyist
Jeffrey Bossert	Clark	Department of Justice	Environment and Natural Resources Division	Kirkland & Ellis	Clients include oil companies and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, a Koch-affiliated group.	Involved in litigation to block the Clean Power Plan; Represented BP in legal challenges from Deepwater Horizon spill; Challenged the endangerment finding for greenhouse gas emissions	fossil fuels; oil and gas; Koch
Susan	Combs	Department of the Interior	Assistant Secretary of Interior Nominee	Former Texas State Comptroller; Texas Public Policy Foundation	The Texas Public Policy Foundation is a Koch-funded organization; it is also funded by Exxon	Reported to be an active opponent of the Endangered Species Act; reportedly used 'used her budget to finance studes on species that some academics criticized as politically skewed'	Koch; oil and gas; Exxon; fossil fuel; nominee
Tucker	Davis	Department of the Interior	Unknown title. Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement	Trump campaign; Faces of Coal			coal; fossil fuel
Blake	Deeley	Department of the Interior	Advisor for the Office of Congressional and Legislative Affairs	Rep. David McKinley (R-WV); Congressional Coal Caucus; Kentucky Chamber of Commerce	Was the lead staffer for the Congressional Coal Caucus		coal; fossil fuel
Doug	Domenech	Department of the Interior	Assistant Secretary, Insular Affairs	Texas Public Policy Foundation	The Kochs and Exxon Mobil have funded the TPPF.	Wrote, "Speaking truth to power, these experts had a common message in response to the age-old questions: Is climate change real? Yes, it has happened in the past and will happen in the future. Is man making an impact on the climate? Perhaps but in very small ways. But the overarching consensus remains the climate change we are experiencing is by no means catastrophic."	Koch; Exxon; oil and gas; fossil fuel
Samantha	Dravis	Environmental Protection Agency	Associate Administrator for Office of Policy	Rule of Law Defense Fund; Republican Attorneys General Association; Freedom Partners	Freedom Partners is a Koch organization; RAGA received funding from the oil and gas industry.	Dravis is the designated regulatory reform officer.	Koch; oil and gas; fossil fuel
George	Fibbe	Department of Energy	Deputy General Counsel for Litigation, Regulation & Enforcement	Sunnova Energy; BHP Billiton; Yetter Coleman LLP	BHP Billiton mines coal and drills for oil and gas		coal; oil and gas; fossil fuel
Travis	Fisher	Department of Energy	Assistant to the Secretary	Institute for Energy Research; American Energy Alliance	The Kochs and Exxon Mobil have funded the Institute for Energy Research and the American Energy Alliance.	On his financial disclosure form, Fisher listed Charles Koch Industries as a contributor to a 401k; authoring a DOE grid study which is attempting to demonstrate that renewable energy will harm conventional fossil fuel sources	Koch; Exxon; oil and gas; fossil fuel
Alex	Fitzsimmons	Department of Energy	Senior Adviser	Institute for Energy Research; American Energy Alliance; Fueling U.S. Forward (Koch-funded, pro fossil fuel campaign)	The Kochs and Exxon Mobil have funded the Institute for Energy Research and the American Energy Alliance.	As communications director for Fueling U.S. Forward, he wrote numerous articles praising fossil fuels and even wrote an article about supposed "green energy cronyism"	Koch; Exxon; oil and gas; fossil fuel
Dennis Lee	Forsgren	Environmental Protection Agency	Deputy Assistant Administrator for the Office of Water	HBW Resources		Was a lobbyist for HBW Resources, which staffed an advocacy group working on behalf of the Dakota Access Pipeline and offshore drilling projects	oil and gas; former lobbyist; fossil fuel
Leila	Getto	Department of the Interior	Deputy Director of Scheduling and Advance	U.S. Chamber of Commerce; Department of Energy; Abraham for Senate; McCain 2000	Worked for the Chamber's Global Energy Institute, which advocates for increased oil, natural gas, and coal production and consumption		coal; oil and gas; fossil fuel
Richard	Goeken	Department of the Interior	Deputy Solicitor for Parks and Wildlife	Smith Currie & Hancock LLP; Federalist Society	His online Martindale profile stated, "Rick represents members of the forest products, construction, and oil and gas industries ... Rick also protects clients' private property rights from needlessly burdensome federal environmental law and regulation."	Worked with timber companies to oppose a legal challenge filed by the Center for Biological Diversity over the extent of protections for the northern long-eared bat; also defeated an attempt by environmentalists to block the longing of centuries-old trees in Alaska's Tongass National Forest	oil and gas; fossil fuel
Amy	Graham	Environmental Protection Agency	Deputy Associate Administrator for Public Engagement	Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV); CRC Public Relations	CRC represents Koch-funded organizations and oil and gas companies.		Koch; oil and gas; fossil fuel
Kathleen	Hartnett White	White House Council on Environmental Quality	Nominee for Chair	TheTexas Public Policy Foundation; Former Chairwoman of Texas Commission on Environmental Quality	The Texas Public Policy Foundation is funded by ExxonMobil, the Heartland Institute, and the Koch brothers.	Hartnett White has denounced climate science and stated that fossil fuels caused the end of slavery. She owns oil leases.	nominee; fossil fuel; oil and gas; Koch; Exxon; climate denier
James	Hewitt	Environmental Protection Agency	Special Adviser for Public Affairs	Dezenhall Resources, Ltd.; Republican National Committee	Dezenhall Resources clients included Enron executives; the firm was allegedly hired by ExxonMobile to incite the IRS to audit Greenpeace		oil and gas; fossil fuel
Millan	Hupp	Environmental Protection Agency	Deputy Director for Scheduling and Advance	Liberty 2.0 PAC; Oklahoma Strong PAC; Pruitt Political Consultant	Ran Liberty 2.0 PAC and Oklahoma Strong PAC, which accepted contributions from Murray Energy and other fossil fuel companies		coal; oil and gas; fossil fuel
Suzanne R.	Jaworowski	Department of Energy	Assistant to the Secretary	Trump campaign; Sunrise Coal			coal; fossil fuel
Katie	Jereza	Department of Energy	Deputy Assistant Secretary, Transmission Permitting & Technical Assistance	Edison Electric Institute; McLeod Group; Energetics Incorporated	Edison Electric Institute is the trade association for utilities, including those that use coal and natural gas power plants		coal; oil and gas; fossil fuel
Daniel	Jorjani	Department of the Interior	Principal Deputy Solicitor	Freedom Partners	Freedom Partners is a Koch-funded organization.		Koch; oil and gas; fossil fuel
Troy	Lyons	Environmental Protection Agency	Associate Administrator for Congressional and Intergovernmental Relations	Hess Corporation; BP			oil and gas; fossil fuel
Doug	Matheney	Department of Energy	Assistant to the Secretary	Ohio Director for Count on Coal Campaign; Americans for Prosperity	Americans for Prosperity is a Koch-funded organization.		coal; Koch; fossil fuel
Brian	McCormack	Department of Energy	Chief of Staff	Edison Electric Institute	The Edison Electric Institute is the trade association for the utilities industry. Several of its vice chairs are employed by fossil-fuel utility companies like Duke Energy and Exelon.	Helped draft model legislation for ALEC to phase out net metering, which would cripple programs that helped grow rooftop solar markets; spearheaded study that would "examine" how renewable energy "may be hurting conventional sources like coal, oil, and gas"; appointed a IER economist to author the study	fossil fuel
Mark Wesley	Menezes	Department of Energy	Undersecretary for Energy	Berkshire Hathaway Energy; Hunton & Williams LLP; Central and South West Corp.	Lobbied for Koch Industries and Southern Company, a coal and natural gas utility company		coal; oil and gas; fossil fuel; former lobbyist; Koch
Brandon	Middleton	Department of Justice	Counsel for the Environment and Natural Resources Division	Fmr. Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-AL); Pacific Legal Foundation	According to the Center for Media and Democracy, the Pacific Legal Foundation has received $110,000 from ExxonMobil since 1998		Exxon; oil and gas; fossil fuel
Christian	Palich	Environmental Protection Agency	Deputy Associate Administrator, Office of Congressional and Intergovernmental Relations	Ohio Coal Association			coal; fossil fuel
Chris	Prandoni	White House Council on Environmental Quality	Associate Director for Natural Resources	Senator Mike Lee (R-UT); Americans for Tax Reform	Americans for Tax Reform has received funding from Koch foundations and fossil fuel associations such as the American Petroleum Institute and the American Natural Gas Alliance.	Former Breitbart contributer	Koch; fossil fuels; oil and gas
Dan	Simmons	Department of Energy	Assistant to the Secretary	Institute for Energy Research; American Energy Alliance; Heartland Institute; ALEC	Simmons was Vice President for Policy at the Institute for Energy Research and affilated with the Heartland Institute and the American Energy Alliance, which receive funding from the Kochs and Exxon and deny climate change.		Koch; Exxon; oil and gas; fossil fuel
Melissa	Simpson	Department of the Interior	Special Assistant to the Secretary	Safari Club International; Congressional Sportsmen's Foundation; Department of Interior (Pres. George W. Bush)		The Congressional Sportsmen's Foundation has taken contributions from oil and gas companies and trade associations	oil and gas; fossil fuel
George	Sugiyama	Environmental Protection Agency	Deputy Associate Administrator for Policy	Senator James Inhofe (R-OK), Troutman Sanders	At Troutman Sanders, Sugiyama lobbied for the National Mining Association.		coal; Inhofe; fossil fuel; Former lobbyist
Heather	Swift	Department of the Interior	Press Secretary	Rep. Ryan Zinke (R-MT); DCI Group	DCI Group represented Exxon Mobil; U.S. Chamber of Commerce receives Koch funding.	Was a member of the Interior Beachhead Team; served as Zinke's congressional Communications Director and Deputy Campaign Manager	Exxon; oil and gas; Koch; fossil fuel
Patrick	Traylor	Environmental Protection Agency	Deputy Assistant Administrator, Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance	Hogan Lovells	Clients included TransCanada, several electric utilities, Venture Global LNG, and two Koch subsidiaries	Helped secure permits to expand a coal mine on the Navajo Nation	fossil fuels; coal; oil and gas; Koch
Steve	Wackowski	Department of the Interior	Senior Advisor for Alaska Affairs	Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK); Sen. Ted Stevens (R-AK); Tulugaq II, LLC		Tulugaq II, LLC is a company that does remote sensing for the oil and gas industry	oil and gas; fossil fuel
Bill	Wehrum	Environmental Protection Agency	Assistant Administrator for the Office of Air and Radiation	Hunton & Williams; Acting Assistant Administrator for Air and Radiation under George W. Bush	Was a lawyer for the American Petroleum Institute, the American Fuel & Petrochemical Manufacturers, the American Chemistry Council, and the National Association of Manufacturers	"Wehrum has also expressed doubt that the EPA has the authority to regulate greenhouse gas emissions under the Clean Air Act, despite the Supreme Court’s 2007 Massachusetts v. EPA decision stating otherwise."	oil and gas; fossil fuel
Andrew	Wheeler	Environmental Protection Agency	Nominee for Deputy Administrator	Lobbyist at Faegre Baker Daniels; Senator James Inhofe	Clients include Murray Energy, a coal company		Nominee; lobbyist; fossil fuel; coal; Inhofe
Steve	Winberg	Department of Energy	Assistant Secretary of Energy, Office of Fossil Energy	Battelle Memorial Institute; CONSOL Energy; FutureGen Industrial Alliance	Was on the board of FutureGen Industrial Alliance, a coalition of coal companies and electricity generators that tried to build a coal-fired power plant that would use carbon capture and sequestration technology	CONSOL Energy describes itself as "a leader in the natural gas industry"	fossil fuel; coal; oil and gas
David	Zatezalo	Mine Safety and Health Administration	Assistant Secretary of Labor for the Mine Safety and Health Administration	Rhino Resource Partners LP; Consolidation Coal Co.	Was the former CEO of a coal company		coal; fossil fuel