On the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, the new chairwoman, Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), has added several new staffers to her roster. Colin Hayes, a former lobbyist with McBee Strategic Consulting, is the committee’s new deputy staff director. Michael Pawlowski, formerly Alaska’s deputy commissioner of revenue, was recently hired as an energy and natural resources adviser (E&ENews PM, Dec. 3, 2014).
Droves of new staffers are moving into top jobs on energy and environmental committees, now that the 114th Congress is officially underway.
Incoming GOP committee leaders are staffing up in the Senate as they prepare to fight the Obama administration’s energy and environmental agenda, while leadership changes in the House are sparking further staff shakeups across Capitol Hill. Meanwhile, some former staffers are shifting to work for other lawmakers or leaving the legislative branch after their former bosses retired or lost their races or committee posts.
It’s a familiar shuffle that occurs at the start of each new Congress, and the new hires will be helping to set the tone on Capitol Hill this year when it comes to energy and environmental issues.
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