Reports indicate that President Trump is expected to hire an energy lobbyist who once worked as an aide to Oklahoma U.S. Sen. Jim Inhofe and lobbied for Oklahoma City based Devon Energy.
He is Mike Catanzaro, a lobbyist at CGCN Group who was considered a top staffer for Inhofe on the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee. Environment and Energy News pointed out that Catanzaro previously worked at the White House and with the EPA. He’s expected to be named a special assistant to the President for energy and environmental issues.
He previously had worked with Trump’s campaign on energy and environmental transition operations but left in November after the campaign announced a crackdown on registered lobbyists. Catanzaro had also helped lead the environmental transition operation for Mitt Romney’s campaign during the 2012 election.
In 2014, he joined the Republican lobbing shop CGCN in 2014 and his clients included the American Fuel and Petrochemical Manufacturers, the American Chemistry Council, Devon Energy Corp., America’s Natural Gas Alliance, General Motors Co., Koch Cos. Public Sector LLC and others.