| | | | |  | | By Caitlin Oprysko | | Presented by |  | | | With help from Daniel Lippman HEDGING THEIR BETS: Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott and former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley were the biggest magnets for K Street’s cash throughout the early stages of the GOP presidential primary last year, while others downtown opted to keep their powder dry given former President Donald Trump’s rap sheet and penchant for holding grudges. — But as more of the Republican establishment coalesced around the presumptive nominee in recent months, so, increasingly, have players from the D.C. “swamp” that Trump often rails against. — Nearly 30 lobbyists or government affairs operatives wrote checks to Trump’s campaign in January and February, according to a PI analysis of FEC filings, a trend that’s almost certain to continue as Trump ramps up his big money fundraising machine. Jeff Miller, the GOP fundraiser and Miller Strategies founder, threw Trump a massive fundraiser last month featuring more than 200 Republican members of Congress and Donald Trump Jr. as special guests. Miller estimates the event netted close to $2 million. — One reason for the uptick is that earlier, people with Trump’s campaign “just weren’t asking,” Ballard Partners’ Brian Ballard told PI — a point echoed by one other Republican downtown. Now, though, Trump is able to tap into the party infrastructure to raise more money as he looks to catch up to President Joe Biden’s growing cash advantage. — “I think it’s taken a little bit of time, but I think you’ll see … the finance operation be first class and go a long way to catching up with what President Biden has done so far,” Ballard said. — At the same time, Trump’s campaign hasn’t been able to rely as much on small-dollar donations — which have been a major financial driver in each of his previous runs for office but are dropping off — as Trump faces climbing legal fees for his various criminal cases. — Ballard said he’s working to raise hard and soft money for Trump and is “optimistic” based on early responses. Ballard had an especially delicate line to walk during the primary, which featured two close allies — and benefactors of his fundraising prowess — in Trump and DeSantis. But five members of Ballard’s D.C. and Florida offices wrote four-figure checks to Trump in January and February, including Ballard himself, while two other Ballard lobbyists gave $900 each, filings show. — Ballard, who only set up shop in Washington after Trump’s 2016 election and proceeded to watch business boom, is a prime example of the potential payoff of getting in Trump’s good graces. — “I just figured that it would be a good thing, given that, from my purview, I think there’s about a 50/50 chance that this could go a certain way,” one Republican lobbyist, granted anonymity to speak candidly, told PI about their decision to write Trump a check this year. “Why not just be on the record there showing some support?” — To others, it’s not shocking that more Republicans on K Street started getting behind their party’s leader — in spite of his baggage — once his nomination was within sight, given the alternative. Trump “is the nominee and he’s gonna beat Biden, and I think people get that and want to get behind him,” said Miller, whose firm had four other staffers donate to Trump since January. — Tommy Andrews, a former Trump White House aide who now lobbies for Squire Patton Boggs, argued that the uptick “is kind of a natural progression for downtown Republicans and across the country to … get behind this campaign in a more formal way.” — “I mean, heck, you’re even seeing it with [Senate Minority Leader Mitch] McConnell backing the guy,” added Andrews, who donated to Trump’s campaign once in August and once more in February. 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.
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Josh Shapiro Learn more about this first-of-its-kind pilot program here. | | | COLLEGES STAFF UP TO DEAL WITH GAZA WAR FALLOUT: “In campaigns, on K Street and in Congress, the machinery of the city has cashed in on the fight against perceived liberal bias on campus, as colleges have turned to consultants or lawyers to navigate the increasingly unforgiving landscape,” our Hailey Fuchs reports. — “This month, the PR firm Marathon Strategies, which launched a higher education crisis communications practice after the hearing, will run a so-called bootcamp for colleges and universities hoping to keep themselves out of” situations similar to that of Harvard University, the University of Pennsylvania and MIT at the end of last year. “‘There’s blood in the water on the sector as a whole,’ said Christopher Armstrong, a partner at the law firm Holland & Knight who co-chairs its congressional investigations practice.” — Later this month, Columbia University will be the latest school to have its leadership dragged before the House Education and the Workforce Committee to testify on the school’s handling of antisemitism on its campus, but the risk extends beyond that panel. — House Ways and Means Chair Jason Smith (R-Mo.) “has raised the specter that universities failing to protect Jewish students may lose their tax-exempt status,” and schools including Penn, Stanford, Cornell and Notre Dame, “with their billion-dollar endowments at stake, alongside future federal assistance … have turned to K Street for help.” — Meanwhile, “Sally Yates, the former acting attorney general Trump fired after she would not defend his travel ban, is representing Harvard University in the congressional investigation on campus antisemitism, according to two people aware of the arrangement,” and King and Spalding, where Yates is a partner, “has also begun formally representing Harvard in a lawsuit brought by students accusing the school of becoming a ‘bastion of rampant anti-Jewish hatred and harassment.’” ICYMI — FORMER EPA CHIEF LANDS ON K STREET: “Former EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler has joined Holland & Hart with plans to expand the law firm’s presence in Washington,” E&E News’ Kevin Bogardus reports. — “Wheeler, who led the agency under President Donald Trump, will be a partner and head of federal affairs in its capital office, the firm announced Tuesday. He also recently served in Virginia Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s administration as the first director of the regulatory oversight office.” — “Wheeler said in a statement he was excited about building ‘a team of bipartisan federal advocacy and policy professionals and be part of growing the firm’s dynamic Washington, DC office.’ Along with his EPA and state government experience, Wheeler worked at Faegre Baker Daniels Consulting, where he led the energy and environment practice team. He registered to lobby for several clients there, but he doesn’t plan to do so again at his new job.” INVARIANT ADDS A DEMOCRAT: Matt Fery, a longtime staffer for former Rep. Brian Higgins (D-N.Y.), has joined Invariant as a principal. Fery had been serving as Higgins’ chief of staff since 2017 and worked for him for another half-decade before that. He’s also done stints with Sirona Strategies and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. — Fery said in an interview he’ll be working on many of the same issues under the purview of the House Ways and Means Committee — of which Higgins was a member — including health care, trade and tax. “I’ll be taking a deep dive into health care policy,” Fery told PI. “I have a really interesting set of experiences on the whole mechanism of how health policy works, and so I’m excited to apply that here for clients,” he added. KNOWING DON HANKEY: Don Hankey, the billionaire Trump supporter whose company provided the former president’s $175 million bond while Trump appeals the judgment in his New York civil fraud case, “appears to have facilitated a final step in Trump’s narrow escape from a cash crunch that a few weeks ago had the New York attorney general vowing to come after his assets and experts wondering if he would have to file for bankruptcy,” per The Washington Post’s Michael Kranish and Jonathan O’Connell. “If Trump is elected, their relationship could come under new scrutiny if the government is involved in matters affecting Hankey’s business.” HOW BIG FOOD IS FEEDING THE ‘ANTI-DIET’ MOVEMENT: “General Mills, maker of Cocoa Puffs and Lucky Charms cereals, has launched a multi-pronged campaign that capitalizes on the teachings of the anti-diet movement, an investigation by The Washington Post and The Examination, a nonprofit newsroom that covers global public health, has found.” — “General Mills has toured the country touting anti-diet research it claims proves the harms of ‘food shaming.’ It has showered giveaways on registered dietitians who promote its cereals online with the hashtag #DerailTheShame, and sponsored influencers who promote its sugary snacks. The company has also enlisted a team of lobbyists and pushed back against federal policies that would add health information to food labels.” — “Online dietitians — many of them backed by food makers — also are building lucrative followings by co-opting anti-diet messages,” a strategy that “essentially shifts accountability for the health crisis away from the food industry for creating ultra-processed junk foods laden with food additives, sugars and artificial sweeteners,” even as obesity rates rise.
| | | | Access New York bill updates and Congressional activity in areas that matter to you, and use our exclusive insights to see what’s on the Albany agenda. Learn more. | | | | | | | | | — John Shea has joined AxAdvocacy as a senior vice president of government relations. Shea was most recently a senior director of government affairs at Vertical Aviation International. — Mary Vought is joining the Heritage Foundation as vice president of communications. Vought is the founder of Vought Strategies and is a Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) alum. — Jon Ward is leaving Yahoo News, where he’s worked for a decade, most recently as chief national correspondent. He’s moving into the strategic comms and public affairs space. — Tom McCuin is joining the Association of the U.S. Army as deputy director of media operations and deputy editor of Army Magazine. He previously was program manager of the DCG Communications contract team supporting the Army’s Office of the Chief of Public Affairs. — Aaron-John “AJ” Malicdem is now director of government relations at FGS Global. He previously was senior adviser for Rep. Don Davis (D-N.C.). — Dan Kochis is now a senior fellow in the Center on Europe and Eurasia at the Hudson Institute. He previously was a research fellow in European affairs at the Heritage Foundation’s Margaret Thatcher Center for Freedom. — Sharon McGowan will be the next CEO of the Public Justice Foundation and Public Justice, P.C. McGowan is currently a partner with Katz Banks Kumin.
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| | Franklin Resources, Inc. Political Action Committee (Franklin Templeton PAC) (PAC) Gen-Democracy (Super PAC) Heal Our Land PAC (Leadership PAC: Anthony Kern) Hoosier Conservative Action PAC (Super PAC) Kings County Prosecutors Association Political Action Committee (Hybrid PAC) Liberty Digital PAC (Hybrid PAC) PA Citizens PAC (Super PAC) Progress For Alabama (Super PAC) U.S. Christian Citizens (Hybrid PAC)
| | New Lobbying REGISTRATIONS | | Baker Donelson Bearman Caldwell & Berkowitz: World Forestry Center Capitol South, LLC: Allen Meisler Cgcn Group, LLC: Invivyd, Inc. Dentons Global Advisors Government Relations LLC: Wuxi Apptec Sales LLC Desimone Consulting, LLC: City Of Yakima, Wa Desimone Consulting, LLC: Northwest Public Power Association (Nwppa) Desimone Consulting, LLC: Spokane County, Wa Farragut Partners LLP: Patientpoint Mercury Public Affairs, LLC: Loyola University New Orleans Old Colony Capital, LLC: Stonington Global On Behalf Of Maxsip Tel LLC Polsinelli Pc: Breas Medical Van Scoyoc Associates: Custom Manufacturing & Engineering, Inc. Venable LLP: Geneoscopy Venable LLP: Lion Group Venture Government Strategies, LLC (Fka Hobart Hallaway & Quayle Ventures, LLC): Jpmorgan Chase Holdings LLC
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