A White House official helped an oil company advance its projects. Now she’ll lead its DC office

After Sable sent a letter to council leaders last September asking for assistance, support arrived from the administration.

Key points

• In a LinkedIn post on June 5, Kelm posted photos of her visit to Sable 's California property along with Burgum, Wright and Rogers, the White House spokesperson.
• For trusting the Trump Administration to deliver on regulatory certainty for your operations to provide Americans with affordable and reliable energy, she wrote.
• Presidents since Barack Obama have issued executive orders strengthening revolving door requirements for administration authorities both before and after their time in administration.
• Trump administration authorities are bound by the least restrictive ethics requirements of any presidential administration in the last 15 years.
• Earlier this week, a federal judge assigned to the case ruled that oil can keep flowing in the pipeline.

California Attorney General Rob Bonta, a Democrat, has sued the administration over Energy Secretary Chris Wright 's emergency order, joining a set of other legal challenges to the project. Earlier this week, a federal judge assigned to the case ruled that oil can keep flowing in the pipeline.

Kelm heavily touted her work with Sable on LinkedIn, writing "We are bringing more US production online ASAP 🇺🇸🛢️ let's go Sable Offshore Corp." In January, she highlighted on LinkedIn the administration's work ensuring that Sable's pipeline wouldn't be halted by litigation after lawsuits from the state were first filed earlier that fall.

"Thank you Sable Offshore Corp. For trusting the Trump Administration to deliver on regulatory certainty for your operations to provide Americans with affordable and reliable energy, " she wrote.

"The list of energy projects we have permitted and gotten to (final investment decisions) is too long for a LinkedIn post, " Kelm wrote in a parting post on Monday, adding that she has been referred to as a "deal closer" and had been the lead official working on oil and gas development problems at the council.

"The revolving door between government and the private sector is nothing new, but it's troubling how brazenly and frequently it's been on display of late, " one oil industry executive informed POLITICO regarding Kelm 's move from the White House to Sable.

Anthony Martinez, a spokesperson for California's Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom, called the council a "taxpayer-funded lobbying shop for the fossil fuel industry, dressed up to look official while it guts clean air and water protections and tramples on states' rights."

"It should surprise no one that a senior official from what is really Big Oil's personal concierge service inside the White House is now heading straight to the payroll of the company she spent her time at the White House clearing a path for, " Martinez remarked.

Presidents since Barack Obama have issued executive orders strengthening revolving door requirements for administration authorities both before and after their time in administration. It have imposed requirements beyond those required by federal law.

Trump administration authorities are bound by the least restrictive ethics requirements of any presidential administration in the last 15 years. While Trump in his first term implemented a similar order, last year he rescinded a Biden-era ethics order but never issued a new one.

Taken together, the developments around a White House official helped an oil company advance its projects. Now point to a situation that is still moving, and the coming days should bring more clarity.