The door of an elevator was closed by Senator Joe Manchin after a Democratic policy luncheon.
Lobbyists who worked for Sen. Joe Manchin are scoring big, influential clients as their ex-boss battles President Biden's agenda.
Three of Manchin's previous advisors have recently registered to lobby for at least five new clients, including gas and oil giant Hess, media powerhouse Comcast, and an organization partially funded by Andrew Yang. The billionaire gave $5 million to a pro-Biden political action committee.
According to disclosure reports reviewed by CNBC, the former aides registered to lobby for some of the new clients as recently as December.
Manchin had his own influence grow. Manchin, a conservative Democrat from West Virginia, was opposed to some of the proposals of President Joe Biden. The child tax credit, income tax and greater access to broadband are some of the issues listed on the lobbying disclosure forms. Lobbying registration reports don't say if these representatives are against or for the proposals.
In December, Manchin said he wouldn't vote for Biden's plan. Manchin is a crucial vote for Democrats in the Senate. The lawmaker from West Virginia said he had no talks with the Democrats about the plan.
Several of the Manchin-linked lobbyists have worked on Capitol Hill on behalf of power players in industries such as coal, pharmaceuticals, oil and gas, tobacco and finance.
A spokeswoman for the company didn't comment. The representatives for the new clients did not return calls.
Larry Puccio, who counts himself as a friend of Manchin, was hired by the company to lobby on the topic of broadband deployment and adoption. Puccio was Manchin's chief of staff when he was governor of West Virginia.
Biden recently signed a $1 trillion infrastructure bill that includes $550 billion in new money for transportation, broadband and utilities.
In a 2020 interview with a local news outlet in West Virginia, Puccio discussed his friendship with Manchin. We are very close. I think of the world of Joe. I hope you print that. I have always supported Joe Manchin. At the time, Puccio said that he and Joe knew each other.
Patrick was Manchin's chief of staff until 2019. In December, he registered to lobby. According to the registration form, he is focused on global intangible low-taxed income. The Senate has been unable to pass the bill due to Manchin's opposition.
The chair of the Senate Energy Committee, Manchin, profited from his ties to the coal industry. He does not support key climate provisions in the bill.
Two influential nonprofits were picked up by Puccio and Hayes.
The firm of Kountoupes Carr & Reid has a new lobbyist in the form of Hayes. The lobbying firm says that in October, the group of people registered to lobby for the charity with a focus on initiatives related to ending childhood hunger.
In the past, lobbyists have been hired to fight for the priorities of the charity. One of the group's goals is to fight child hunger. The site says the group has been able to pass legislation in many states.
After dropping out of the 2020 Democratic presidential primary, Andrew Yang launched a nonprofit called Humanity Forward. Puccio was hired by the 501(c)(4) to focus on the child tax credit. Puccio registered to lobby for the group.
The expansion of the child tax credit was a major feature of Biden's social spending proposal, but it has sincestalled due to Manchin's opposition.
The organization has been working to expand the provision as it is set to expire, according to the website.
The American Rescue Plan Act was passed by both houses of Congress and Humanity Forward is working to keep the Child Tax Credit payments going.
The lobbyist who was Manchin's senior advisor and communications director for seven years was hired by a nonprofit that supports Biden's proposal to spend $30 billion to protect the United States from future Pandemics. The form says there are issues regarding the funding of the Guarding Against Pandemics.
The group is pushing Congress to include a $30 billion investment in Democrats' upcoming budget reconciliation bill, less than 1% of the total cost of the bill, to prepare for the next pandemic.
The group is partially funded by Sam Bankman-Fried, who has a net worth of $26 billion, according to Forbes. He is the founder and CEO of FTX.
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