Lobbying world

Capitol Counsel named former Sen. Pat Roberts (R-Kan.) a partner. Roberts retired in January after serving four terms in the Senate and eight terms in the House. He was chairman of the Senate Agriculture Committee from 2015 until his retirement and previously served as chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee.

Kountoupes, Denham, Carr & Reid announced that Patrick Hayes, former chief of staff to Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.), will join the firm as partner, effective March 15. Hayes left Manchin’s office in 2019 to be senior vice president at telecommunications company Altice USA Inc.

David Peluso was also named a partner at Kountoupes, Denham, Carr & Reid. He previously was chief of staff to Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-Wash.) for more than three years and before that was chief of staff to Rep. Gus Bilirakis (R-Fla.).

The American Italian Food Coalition announced that former Rep. Susan Molinari (R-N.Y.) will serve as the group’s new co-chair. Molinari served three terms in Congress before retiring in 1997. She previously was vice president of public policy at Google from 2012 to 2018.

Arnold & Porter announced that Janice Bashford joined the firm as a senior policy adviser in the legislation and public policy practice. She previously was legislative director and chief counsel to Rep. Karen Bass (D-Calif.) for more than five years and before that was associate director in the executive office of Washington, D.C., Mayor Muriel Bowser (D).

Federal Hall Policy Advisors LLC named Karolina Arias a partner. She previously was staff director for Democrats on the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Subcommittee for Securities, Insurance and Investment. Before that she was principal financial services policy adviser to Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.). 

Susan Fox was promoted to senior vice president of government relations at The Walt Disney Co. She previously was a vice president and has been with the company for more than 20 years. Before that, she was senior legal adviser for former Federal Communications Commission Chairman William Kennard during the Clinton administration.