Lobbying World — Perlmutter heads to Holland & Knight

Recently retired Rep. Ed Perlmutter (D-Colo.) joined Holland & Knight as a partner in the firm’s public policy and regulation practice. Perlmutter served eight terms in Congress and was a senior member of the House Financial Services Committee, where he chaired the consumer protection and financial institutions subcommittee. The firm also hired Alison Inderfurth Wright, Perlmutter’s deputy chief of staff and director of operations. 

Reggie Babin, former chief counsel to Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.), joined Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld as a senior counsel. Babin joined Schumer’s office in 2017 and previously was legislative director for then-Rep. Cedric Richmond (D-La.).

Miller Strategies, a firm with close ties to Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.), hired Stephen Ruppel as an associate principal. Ruppel was McCarthy’s political director for the 2022 cycle. The firm also hired Chloe Judge, a former aide to Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) and Ann Hilton Buckner, who was assistant to the political director at the Republican National Committee.

Jeffrey Wieand, a longtime aide to House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.), joined WilmerHale as a public policy adviser. Wieand joined Scalise’s office in 2014 and most recently served as his counsel. 

The Clyde Group hired John Rizzo as senior vice president of public affairs. Rizzo comes from the Biden Treasury Department, where he served as a senior spokesperson. He previously served as communications director for Sen. Bob Casey (D-Pa.) and deputy communications director for Schumer.

Autos Drive America, a trade group representing foreign carmakers, hired Beth Schoenbach as vice president of communications. Schoenbach previously served as communications director for recently retired Rep. Peter DeFazio (D-Ore.), who chaired the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee. 

The Zero Emission Transportation Association named Al Gore III, son of former Vice President Al Gore, as its executive director. Gore comes from Tesla, a prominent member of the trade association, where he led public policy and business development in the Eastern U.S. 

The Motion Picture Association hired Hap Rigby as senior vice president of federal government affairs and Kenneth Mallory as vice president of media policy and regulatory counsel. Rigby previously was a Republican professional staffer on the Senate Commerce Committee. Mallory most recently led Meta’s public policy for the mid-Atlantic region and was an adviser at the Federal Communications Commission.

McCarthy Advanced Consulting added Paul Milotte to its government relations team. Milotte previously was political director of Sen. Dan Sullivan’s (R-Alaska) 2020 reelection campaign and most recently led lobbying at the American Moving & Storage Association.

Lobbying World documents the top lobbying hires in the nation’s capital every week. Send tips to Karl at kevers@digital-stage.thehill.com.