A former senior staffer for Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) who helped craft energy provisions in President Joe Biden‘s estimated $1.2 trillion Inflation Reduction Act is now working in an energy policy role at a major lobbying firm, records show.
Through his six-figure salary as a staff member on the Manchin-led Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, Peter Stahley advised the lawmaker on “mineral policy, critical minerals and supply chains, and permitting reform,” among other energy policies, and was “responsible for major provisions of the Inflation Reduction Act and Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act,” according to Stahley’s LinkedIn account. Now, Stahley has cashed in on his key congressional experience, scoring a senior vice president role at Cassidy & Associates, where he will work on various energy-related issues, the Washington, D.C.-based firm says on its website.
Stahley’s timely transition from top Manchin aide to Cassidy & Associates senior VP underscores how the “revolving door” in the nation’s capital can prove to be financially fruitful while also posing potential conflicts of interest, according to Craig Holman, an ethics expert and lobbyist for the left-wing Public Citizen think tank. Ex-senior Senate staffers are prohibited from contacting their former colleagues with the intent of influencing official actions for one year from their departure during what’s known as a “cooling off” period, according to 2012 guidance on file with the Senate Ethics Committee.
Still, the rule is difficult to enforce due to the access outside groups informally obtain with congressional offices, particularly because lobbying disclosures filed with the Senate are barebones, Holman said, adding there “have been widespread violations.”
Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act and Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act have been a windfall to left-wing groups aligned with Democratic policy priorities related to energy and climate.
Cassidy & Associates, which Politico reported earned at least $23 million in revenue in 2023, counts one of its clients as the law firm Perkins Coie in connection to Mountain Valley Pipeline, LLC., an initiative that was approved in 2022 thanks to a Manchin-led provision through an agreement with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), according to multiple reports. Equitrans Midstream, a gas pipeline company partnered on the initiative, retained Cassidy & Associates for lobbying help in 2023, documents show.
Employees at political action committees linked to NextEra Energy, a company also partnered on Mountain Valley Pipeline, donated $302,600 to Schumer and $60,350 to Manchin in the 2022 election cycle, the New York Times reported.
Meanwhile, Stahley is hardly the only ex-Manchin aide to face scrutiny recently while heading to the private sector.
Sam Runyon, who was a spokeswoman for Manchin, departed for Exxon Mobil at the start of 2024, E&E News reported. Manchin’s former chief of staff Lance West headed in February of last year to be vice president for federal government relations at the American Petroleum Institute, and Jonathan Kott, a former Manchin aide, went to work in 2021 at Capitol Counsel, a firm that has represented Exxon, the American Prospect reported.
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Late last year, Manchin announced he will not seek reelection in 2024, setting up what is sure to be a competitive race in the Mountain State. Marine Corps veteran Zach Shrewsbury is running on the Democratic side to fill the seat, and Gov. Jim Justice (R-WV) and Rep. Alex Mooney (R-WV) are running on the GOP side.
Stahley, spokespeople for Manchin, and Cassidy & Associates did not return requests for comment.
