Joe Manchin’s former aides get top tier lobbying clients as ex-boss

Former aides to Sen. Joe Manchin who are now lobbyists 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: gas and oil giant Hess, media juggernaut Comcast, a nonprofit founded by a former campaign manager for Mike Bloomberg, a group with ties to former presidential candidate Andrew Yang, and an organization partially funded by crypto billionaire Sam Bankman-Fried. The billionaire gave $5 million to a pro-Biden political action committee during the 2020 election.

The former aides – including former chiefs of staff to Manchin – registered to lobby for some of these new clients starting in October, while registering for others as recently as December, according to disclosure reports reviewed by CNBC.

The lobbying registrations came as Manchin’s own influence grew. Manchin, a conservative Democrat from West Virginia, opposed key elements of President Joe Biden’s proposals during the October-December period. Several of the issues listed on the lobbying disclosure forms are related to the Democratic Party’s agenda, such as the child tax credit, income tax and greater access to broadband. The lobbying registration reports do not say whether these representatives are engaging for or against the various proposals.

In December, Manchin said he wouldn’t vote for Biden’s $1.75 trillion social spending and climate policy plan, which is known as “Build Back Better.” Manchin’s vote is critical for Democrats in a 50-50 Senate. The West Virginia lawmaker has since said he’s had no talks with top Democrats about revisiting the plan.

Several of the Manchin-linked lobbyists have previously engaged people on Capitol Hill on behalf of power players in industries such as coal, pharmaceuticals, oil and gas, tobacco and finance.

A spokeswoman for Comcast declined to comment. The lobbyists and representatives for the new clients did not return requests for comment.

Comcast hired Larry Puccio, who counts himself as a friend of Manchin’s, to lobby on what’s described on the registration form as “telecommunications – broadband deployment and adoption.” Puccio registered to lobby for Comcast in late November and 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 that is targeted toward transportation, broadband and utilities.

In a 2020 interview with a local news outlet in West Virginia, Puccio, a longtime lobbyist, discussed his friendship with Manchin. “Joe and I are very close. I think the world of Joe. I hope you print that. I’ve always been supportive of Joe Manchin. Joe…