| | | | |  | | By Caitlin Oprysko | Presented by American Hospital Association | With help from Daniel Lippman CHINA LOBBYING ON TIKTOK BILL: Our Hailey Fuchs reports that “the Chinese Embassy has held meetings with congressional staff to lobby against the legislation that would force a sale of TikTok, according to two of the Capitol Hill staffers.” — “TikTok, which is owned by the Beijing-based company ByteDance, has repeatedly denied a relationship with the Chinese government and sought to distance itself from its Chinese origins. But now, with the fate of legislation to force the sale of the company facing an uncertain path forward in the Senate, the Chinese Embassy appears to be leveraging its political weight to protect the company’s future in the United States.” — “TikTok said in a statement that the embassy meetings were ‘news to us, and it’s absurd to ask us to comment on anonymous sources we know nothing about.’ … The Chinese Embassy, however, did not deny having held the meetings. In a statement, embassy spokesperson Liu Pengyu said that the ‘Chinese Embassy in the US tries to tell the truth about the TikTok issue to people from all walks of life in the US.’” META LOBBYIST JUMPS TO ANDREESSEN HOROWITZ: Sydney Paul, a former Democratic Senate staffer, is joining Silicon Valley venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz as a partner on the firm’s government affairs team. — Paul spent half a decade as a director in Meta’s Washington office, where she led outreach to Senate Democrats, and before that she worked for the caucus for seven years, most recently as a legislative counsel for Sen. Gary Peters (D-Mich.). — At a16z, which is becoming increasingly more politically involved as a massive player in the cryptocurrency policy world, Paul will work on advocating for comprehensive crypto legislation and the fight to regulate artificial intelligence, working to ensure that AI models remain open. Happy Wednesday and welcome to PI. Send tips: coprysko@politico.com. And be sure to follow me on the platform formerly known as Twitter: @caitlinoprysko.
| | | | A message from American Hospital Association America’s hospitals and health systems are ready for you, 24/7. This week, about 1 in 100 of us will visit the emergency room. And by the end of this year, more than 130 million of us will have made this visit. You may not know when you’ll need us, but in America’s hospitals and health systems, we’re always ready — because emergencies don’t wait for business hours. This is the hospital story. | | | BOOKER, CORNERSTONE LOBBYIST FUNDRAISING FOR HOUSE CANDIDATE: Democratic lobbyist Mike Smith of Cornerstone Government Affairs is hosting a happy hour fundraiser tonight for Maryland House candidate Joe Vogel, according to an invite obtained by PI. The event will feature an appearance from Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) and tickets will cost $250 to get in the door. — Vogel, a 26-year-old state delegate who worked for Booker during his 2020 presidential campaign, is running in the crowded primary for the House seat being vacated by Rep. David Trone (D-Md.) for Trone’s Senate bid. — Vogel raked in more than $230,000 in the first quarter of the year, putting him behind only April McClain Delaney, the former Commerce official and wife of former Rep. John Delaney (D-Md.), in the money race, according to POLITICO’s new fundraising dashboard. — Smith, who lobbies for clients including United Airlines, Saab, Target, Google, Citigroup and the NHL, isn’t the only K Street type giving to Vogel. In Q1, he also got checks from Fulcrum Public Affairs’ Oscar Ramirez, Cormac Group’s Jonathan Slade, Tusk Strategies’ Chris Coffey, Moody’s Twaun Samuel, Izzy Klein of Klein/Johnson Group and Charlie Panfil of Daschle Group, according to FEC records. CANTWELL WANTS A BOEING BILL THIS YEAR: After a double dose of hearings on safety concerns at Boeing today, Senate Commerce Chair Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.) said she’ll be pressing for legislation by the end of this year to address those issues, our Oriana Pawlyk reports — despite a dwindling legislative calendar and competing must-pass priorities including an FAA reauthorization. — Cantwell “told reporters after a hearing before her committee on Boeing’s safety culture and FAA oversight that she ‘thinks’ a bill can get done before the end of the year, and views it as an extension of the aviation certification reform bill Congress passed in 2020 in response to the 737 MAX 8 crashes in 2018 and 2019. ‘It depends on what else happens in the investigations,’ she added.” — “Cantwell said before FAA administrator Michael Whitaker came into the role, the agency ‘probably wasn’t as aggressive’ as lawmakers wanted them to be ‘on audits and oversight.’ Whitaker, she said, seems like he is ‘very aggressive’ on holding Boeing accountable, but said there are still unresolved issues on that front as well. … ‘But part of it is making the FAA stand up. The FAA has to stand up and back up the line engineers when they say there’s a problem, they need to back them up,’” Cantwell said. DEMS TRY TO KNEECAP AIPAC: “The promise of an onslaught of spending from the American Israel Public Affairs Committee has loomed over Democratic primaries for months,” and though that barrage hasn’t yet materialized, our Nicholas Wu and Madison Fernandez report that Israel-skeptical progressives “think they can exploit even the threat of AIPAC’s involvement in their races, in yet another sign of the schism among Democrats over the escalating Israel-Hamas war.” — “Their digital ads warn of the group’s influence and seek to energize small-dollar donors. Advocacy groups supporting them have formed an anti-AIPAC coalition to coordinate a defense against the expected influx of cash. Progressive incumbents have sought assistance from their leadership, demanding unified party support to block challenges.” — “Days after Iran’s attack on Israel, the deep-pocketed lobby group still has yet to turn on the spigots in primaries against some prominent progressives … And in the few races AIPAC has jumped into, it has had a limited track record so far. That’s made the group a more effective foil, at least so far, than the heavyweight player many on the left had feared it would be in Democratic primaries.” FLY-IN SZN: The National Association of Mutual Insurance Companies, which represents the property/casualty insurance industry, is kicking off its fly-in season this week, which will bring a stream of members and executives to town from now until July. Talks will focus on issues like insurance regulation, cyber insurance, auto right-to-repair, climate resiliency and legal system abuse. — The first batch of participants from Washington, Texas and Michigan are scheduled to meet with the offices of House Financial Services Committee members Reps. Bill Huizenga (R-Mich.), Roger Williams (R-Texas), Monica De La Cruz (R-Texas), Vicente Gonzalez (D-Texas) and Sylvia Garcia (D-Texas), in addition to House Energy and Commerce Chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-Wash.), DCCC Chair Suzan DelBene, (D-Wash.), Texas GOP Sens. Ted Cruz and John Cornyn and Cantwell. — And female truckers are in town this week as part of the American Trucking Associations’ first fly-in for its “Women in Motion” initiative. The participants range from drivers to trucking executives, who met with leaders from the White House’s Gender Policy Council, National Economic Council and Office of Public Engagement. — On the Hill, they met with Reps. Troy Nehls (R-Texas), Chris Pappas (D-N.H.), Rick Larsen (D-Wash.) and Virginia Foxx (R-N.C.), and discussed ways to create a more inclusive workplace for women in the trucking industry, increase truck parking and expand access to training for trucking licenses. SPOTTED at a reception for the Autonomous Vehicle Industry Association following the group’s fly-in, per a tipster: Sens. John Thune (R-S.D.) and Peters, Jeff Farrah of AVIA, Ossa Fisher and Melissa Wade of Aurora, Christopher Coes of the Department of Transportation, Ron Thaniel and Paul Escobar of Zoox, Alison Pascale of Volkswagen, Annabel Chang of Waymo, Dan Goff of Kodiak and Ariel Wolf of Venable.
| | | | A message from American Hospital Association   | | | | | — Monica Auciello is now chief legal officer and general counsel for the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association. She was previously general counsel at Sidecar Health Insurance Company. — Kyle Bligen has joined the Chamber of Progress as director of financial policy. He was previously a policy adviser for Rep. Juan Vargas (D-Calif.). — Aaron Woolf and Dylan Peterson are joining the Semiconductor Industry Association. Woolf will be director of global policy for economic security and previously was policy adviser at the Treasury Department’s Office of Investment Security. Peterson will be communications associate and previously was at Dentons Global Advisors. — SKDK has promoted Jasmine Hooks to chief operating officer. She was previously deputy COO. — Robert Nelb is joining America’s Essential Hospitals as policy director. He previously was a principal analyst for the Medicaid and CHIP Payment and Access Commission and is a CMS and HHS alum. — The Democratic National Convention Committee in Chicago is staffing up with a round of new hires: Joyce Kazadi will be deputy executive director of operations and previously was chief of staff to Rep. Barbara Lee (D-Calif.). Cayana Mackey-Nance will be director of digital strategy and previously was vice president of digital for EMILY's List. Alyssa Mensie will be deputy director for federal, state and local elected official outreach and previously was member services and outreach adviser for House Democratic Caucus Chair Pete Aguilar (D-Calif.). Will Alexander will be deputy director for state delegation outreach and Kasseem Smith will be deputy director for allied group outreach. — Jamie Morris Line is now director of external comms at Hertz. She most recently was senior director at Locust Street Group. — Joaquin Tamayo is now vice president of policy at Communities in Schools. He previously was a senior adviser at the Education Department and is an Aspen Institute alum.
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| | New Lobbying Terminations | | | Akerman LLP: Miami Dade County Arentfox Schiff LLP: Amplifier Research Corp. Baker Donelson Bearman Caldwell & Berkowitz: General Electric Company Becker & Poliakoff, P.A.: A&J Capital Becker & Poliakoff, P.A.: Genasys Inc (Formerly Knowns As Lrad Corporation) Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck, LLP: Enbridge Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck, LLP: Enovis Corporation Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck, LLP: Greenidge Generation Holdings Inc. Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck, LLP: Sustainable Framing LLC D/B/A R-Stud Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck, LLP: Tesla, Inc. Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck, LLP: Textile Rental Services Association Capitol Counsel LLC: Stephens Investments Holdings LLC Covington & Burling LLP: Geobroadcast Solutions, LLC Davidoff Hutcher & Citron, LLP: Helen Keller Services For The Blind Davidoff Hutcher & Citron, LLP: Silverseal Davidoff Hutcher & Citron, LLP: Tutor Perini Corporation Delta Development Group, Inc.: City Of Saratoga Springs Desimone Consulting, LLC: Bramble Berry Inc. Forza Dc Strategies, LLC: Scott Dillard Jake Perry + Partners: Holland And Knight On Behalf Of Cyanco International LLC Mayer Brown LLP: Bipartisan Policy Center Action Mcdermott+Consulting LLC: United States Medical Compression Alliance Mindset Advocacy, LLC (Fka Cypress Advocacy, LLC): Pipeline Health System Murray, Montgomery & O'Donnell: Albuquerque Metropolitan Arroyo Flood Control Authority Osa Consulting LLC: Rogue Space Systems Corporation Polsinelli Pc: Alliance For Longevity Initiatives Proventure Consultants LLC: Cerfe Labs Squire Patton Boggs: Association Of Institutional Investors Squire Patton Boggs: Bella Group Summit Strategies Government Affairs LLC: Fidelitad, Inc. Summit Strategies Government Affairs LLC: Willamette Intermodal Group (Fka Oregon Shipping Group) Tarplin, Downs & Young, LLC: Octaviant Financial Inc. The Livingston Group, LLC: Parry Labs The Picard Group, LLC: The Carpenter Health Network Tides Group, LLC: Agenus Inc. Timothy R. Rupli & Associates, Inc.: Independent Community Bankers Of America Whitmer & Worrall, LLC: American Cleaning Institute
| | | | A message from American Hospital Association America’s hospitals and health systems are ready for you, 24/7. This week, about 1 in 100 of us will visit the emergency room. And by the end of this year, more than 130 million of us will have made this visit. You may not know when you’ll need us, but in America’s hospitals and health systems, we’re always ready — because emergencies don’t wait for business hours. This is the hospital story. | | | | | | | Follow us | | | | |
