 After leaving the Hill in 2000, he briefly reentered the private practice of law, and also served on the Bush/Cheney Presidential Transition Team in late 2000 and early 2001.Kelliher then went to work for DOE where he served as a senior policy advisor to the Secretary of Energy on electricity and other domestic energy issues, including doing staff work for the National Energy Policy Development Group, commonly known as the Cheney Energy Task Force.He played an important role in developing the federal response to the California and Western Power Crisis of 2000-2001.