At least three lobbyists have left President-elect Donald Trump's presidential transition operation after the team imposed a new ethics policy that would have required them to drop all their clients.
CGCN's Michael Catanzaro, who was responsible for energy independence; Michael Torrey, who was running the handoff at the Department of Agriculture; and Michael McKenna of MWR Strategies, who was focused on the Energy Department, are no longer part of the transition, POLITICO has learned.
Lobbyists who piled into the transition when it was being run by New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie were caught off-guard Wednesday by a new ethics policy requiring them to terminate their clients...
Mike McKenna, a Republican energy lobbyist, told POLITICO that he "couldn't in good conscience deregister. I understand why transition did what they did. I'm not angry or annoyed or outraged."
He said he was reluctant to step down, but added, “at the end of the day, I needed to make sure that my clients, my business and my family were taken care of. I anticipate helping out as much as they will let me.”
McKenna focused on the Energy Department, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission for the transition. A former lobbyist for Koch Cos. Public Sector, McKenna now lobbies for Engie (formerly GDF Suez), Southern Co. and Dow Chemical.
Southern Co. is a major U.S. nuclear power utility, owning and operating Plants Farley (two reactors in AL), Hatch (two reactors in GA), and Vogtle (four reactors in GA -- including Units 3 & 4, currently under construction; if they ever actually operate someday, Vogtle would then become the largest nuclear power plant in the U.S.).
Engie is also a major nuclear utility in Europe, with international expansion plans.