Today, the Western Values Project released a new profile on their Department of Influence website, detailing the industry connections and conflicts of interest of Christian Palich, the Interior Department’s new Senior Advisor within the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement. Palich, the former president of the Ohio Coal Association, is yet another ex-lobbyist hired by Trump’s Interior Department.
“Though President Trump promised to drain the swamp, he continues to fill Interior with ex-lobbyists and special interest allies,” said Jayson O’Neill, Deputy Director of the Western Values Project. “Palich has spun through Trump’s swampy revolving-door a few times now – jumping between lobbying shops and posts within the administration. Now, the former coal lobbyist will be tasked with regulating the very industry he represented.”
Previously, Christian Palich was a registered lobbyist in Ohio and the former president of the Ohio Coal Association, a pro-mining entity. During his tenure as president for the association, Palich was also listed as the treasurer of the coal associations Political Action Committee (PAC), doling out campaign dough to Trump’s campaign and the National Republican Senatorial Committee, while the PAC raked in cash from the likes of Murray Energy PAC and BP.
His resume showcases Trump’s swampy revolving-door tradition, from lobbying to the government, back to lobbying and now back to the government. Bernhardt hired him despite Palich making critical comments about Trump on social media. Palich even wrongly called the Clean Power Plan “illegal.”
Christian Palich’s profile can be found in full on DepartmentOfInfluence.org, Western Values Project’s one-stop resource that documents Trump’s revolving-door between special interest lobbyists and political appointees at the Department of the Interior.