Another Trump administration staffer at the Department of the Interior has begun working for a gas and oil company after leaving the government agency.
Joe Balash, who was the department’s assistant secretary for land and minerals management before he resigned two weeks ago, now works for Oil Search, an oil and gas development company, the Washington Post reported.. While he was working for the Interior, Balash pushed for oil drilling on federal lands.
Balash’s new career move follows a similar pattern to that of other former Trump officials who have left the administration for the private sector.
Vincent DeVito, who served as counselor to the secretary for energy policy, is now the executive vice president and general counsel of Cox Oil.
And embattled ex-EPA chief Scott Pruitt became a lobbyist for Sunrise Coal after his ouster from the Interior in 2018.