LegiStorm

One of the Senate's most powerful committees has lost a longtime staffer to a defense contractor.

Colleen Gaydos is now senior director of legislative affairs at Sierra Nevada Corp. The space and aviation manufacturer lobbies mainly on defense, aerospace and homeland security issues.

Gaydos comes from the Senate Appropriations Committee, where she spent the last 13 years. She most recently served as professional staff to the Defense Subcommittee and has also worked for former Sen. Mike DeWine (R-Ohio).

McGuireWoods Consulting's former director of federal public affairs is keeping up relationships with two clients from his former employer at his personal practice.

Frank J. Donatelli, who got his start in the Reagan administration, spent nearly two decades with McGuireWoods. In November, after retiring from the firm, he registered his own business, FJD Strategies LLC. And now we know who is helping to pay the bills. He filed to lobby on behalf of two of his former clients, Buckeye Partners LP and Victims of Terrorism of East Africa, in the first quarter of 2020.

McGuireWoods and Donatelli will both be working with the accounts, according to Paul Reagan. Reagan took over as the head of McGuireWoods' federal affairs practice in 2018 while Donatelli moved into an advisory role at the firm.

With 12 years of congressional experience under his belt, a GOP aide is charting new waters.

Reed Linsk is now government-affairs director for Cruise Lines International Association, the cruise industry's main trade group. The trade group spent about $2 million on federal lobbying last year, largely on tax and maritime issues.

Linsk most recently worked as deputy chief of staff to Duncan Hunter (R-Calif.), who resigned from Congress last month. Before joining Hunter's office in 2013, he worked for ex-Rep. David Dreier (R-Calif.).

Influential public-affairs firm Invariant changed up its staff roster this month by adding a GOP committee aide.

Annabell McWherter comes from the Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee, where she was counsel. She spent most of her time at the committee working under then-chair Johnny Isakson (R-Ga.), who left office at the end of December.

McWherter is now a health-care associate at the lobbying group. Invariant (formerly Heather Podesta + Partners) brought in more than $16 million in lobbying revenue last year — a record for the firm, according to the Center for Responsive Politics.

A former staffer for Sen. Bob Casey (D-Pa.) has embarked on a new venture.

Jonas Murphy, who spent three years in the senator's office and rose from staff assistant to legislative correspondent, is now manager of government affairs at the National Venture Capital Association. The group actively lobbies on issues including entrepreneurship, blockchain policy and the Volcker Rule. 

Jonas joins other Hill alumni at the association, including Justin Field, a former legislative assistant to Sen. Bob Menendez (D-N.J.). Field serves as the senior vice president of government affairs for the organization.