Coal giant Murray Energy cut ties with its longtime lobbying firm shortly after President Donald Trump announced plans to nominate Andrew Wheeler, the firm’s former lobbyist, to be the next Environmental Protection Agency administrator. The country’s largest privately held coal producer, run by the bombastic coal baron Bob Murray, appears to have ended its relationship with Wheeler’s former lobbying firm, Faegre Baker Daniels Consulting, according to a lobbying termination notice buried last week in Politico Influence, a newsletter tracking K-Street contracts. And, technically, the law firm could maintain Murray Energy as a client while not reaching the threshold necessary to report its activities as a lobbyist. Reached by phone, Murray Energy asked HuffPost to send written questions about its relationship with Faegre Baker Daniels via email, but did not reply to three follow-up emails. Faegre Baker Daniels did not respond to a request for comment.

Source: Huffington Post January 31, 2019 15:22 UTC