| | | | |  | | By Hailey Fuchs | With help from Daniel Lippman COLLEGES’ D.C. MOMENT: As protests consume college campuses, more and more schools are jumping into the Washington game. — In April, a number of schools registered to lobby or registered external firms to help navigate D.C., including Dartmouth College, Wake Forest University, Northeastern University, Rider University, the University at Albany, SUNY (State Univeristy of New York) and Loyola University New Orleans. — Meanwhile, university administrators have been scrambling to quell emerging demonstrations on campus over the Israel-Hamas war that have captured Washington’s attention. A disastrous House hearing in December contributed to the departure of two presidents at the nation’s leading universities, and more recently, House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) visited the embattled Columbia University’s campus and has called on the university’s president, Minouche Shafik, to resign. — As at Columbia, encampments have popped up on campuses across the country, as student activists demand that their schools divest from Israel. On Tuesday night, dozens of protesters at Columbia were arrested. — Johnson on Tuesday announced that the push to investigate antisemitism at higher education institutions would become House-wide, the culmination of efforts across committees to scrutinize a myriad of schools. — Meanwhile, K Street appears to be jockeying for business. Monument Advocacy shared with Influence its pitch deck for “higher education services,” which showed the firm is offering help with crisis communications and congressional investigations, including “Witness Prep for Hearings.” — Lawmakers seem poised to bring more university officials to Washington in the coming months. Officials from Columbia University recently testified before the House Education and the Workforce Committee, and the committee’s chair Virginia Foxx has invited the presidents of Yale University, the University of Michigan and the University of California, Los Angeles to appear before Congress later this month. — “Universities have become the epicenter of political and culture wars and ignore Washington at their peril,” said Stewart Verdery, Monument’s founder. “We believe these universities and colleges need sophisticated help around public policy and crisis communications no different than complicated corporations and other non-profits.” Happy Wednesday, and welcome to Politico Influence. My name is Hailey Fuchs, and I cover money and influence for Politico. I’m filling in for Caitlin today, but she’ll be back at the helm of PI tomorrow. Send us tips at hfuchs@politico.com and coprysko@politico.com, and follow us on what was formerly Twitter: @Hailey_Fuchs and @caitlinoprysko.
| | | | THE GOLD STANDARD OF POLICY REPORTING & INTELLIGENCE: POLITICO has more than 500 journalists delivering unrivaled reporting and illuminating the policy and regulatory landscape for those who need to know what’s next. Throughout the election and the legislative and regulatory pushes that will follow, POLITICO Pro is indispensable to those who need to make informed decisions fast. The Pro platform dives deeper into critical and quickly evolving sectors and industries—finance, defense, technology, healthcare, energy—equipping policymakers and those who shape legislation and regulation with essential news and intelligence from the world’s best politics and policy journalists.
Our newsroom is deeper, more experienced, and better sourced than any other—with teams embedded in the world’s most active legislative and regulatory power centers. From Brussels to Washington, New York to London, Sacramento to Paris, we bring subscribers inside the conversations that determine policy outcomes and the future of industries, providing insight that cannot be found anywhere else. Get the premier news and policy intelligence service, SUBSCRIBE TO POLITICO PRO TODAY. | | | | | CONSERVATIVE CASH RUSH: “Charles Schwab & Co.’s charitable fund has become a favorite vehicle for funding right-wing causes tied to influential conservative activist Leonard Leo,” Bloomberg’s Emily Birnbaum reports. — “The major donor-advised fund gave $141 million to a group associated with Leo between July 2022 and June 2023, according to a new tax filing with the Internal Revenue Service. In total, the Schwab Charitable Fund has given more than a quarter billion dollars to 85 Fund in two years, helping to fund conservative campaigns against racial justice education in schools and healthcare for transgender people, among other causes.” — “Another Leo-linked group gave more than $150 million to the Schwab Charitable Fund in 2022, showing how the fund can act as a pass-through for money from big donors and fundraisers. Leo received $1.6 billion from a major GOP donor — one of the largest-ever single political donations — in 2021 through his group Marble Freedom Trust. Marble Freedom Trust then gave $153.75 million to Schwab Charitable Fund in 2022.” SOME HOPE IN CONGRESS?: A trio of Democrats at Hogan Lovells are at least somewhat optimistic about the future of Congress after the passage of the foreign aid package last month, they write in a memo shared with POLITICO about political and legislative news. — The memo was addressed from the firm’s Ivan Zapien (an alum of New Jersey Sen. Bob Menendez), Tim Bergreen (former staff director of the House Intelligence Committee) and Ches Garrison (an alum of Rhode Island Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse). — “While we hope it doesn’t take the prospect of WWIII to get Congress off the sidelines on other matters, it does remind us that Congress is still sensitive to external events and is capable of going into warp speed, at least by Congressional standards, when the situation demands,” they wrote of the events that ultimately led to the package’s passage. — Among other matters in the memo, the trio of Democrats also note that they are watching the American Privacy Rights Act, an effort by Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.) and Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-Wash.) to address data privacy and security. TIKTOK IS ONLY THE START: An effort is beginning among tech leaders to thwart President Joe Biden’s measures to regulate artificial intelligence, The Washington Post’s Elizabeth Dwoskin, Drew Harwell and Cat Zakrzewski report. — “Two years ago, Jacob Helberg, a little-known tech industry adviser, convened a dinner between lawmakers and a small group of Silicon Valley insiders on Washington’s Embassy Row. Funded in part by billionaire investor Peter Thiel’s venture firm, the group was not distinctive for its wealth or clout — the people involved had plenty of both — but for its members’ eagerness to eschew the industry’s long-held ideals of boundaryless technology for an alternative vision rooted in American nationalism and an anti-China might.” — “Today, that informal supper club has turned into one of the most powerful lobbying forces for the technology industry in Washington, helping draft and promote one of the country’s only pieces of tech legislation in decades: a law signed by President Biden calling for the forced sale or ban of TikTok, the video app owned by the Chinese-based company ByteDance and used by some 170 million in the United States.” — “Fresh off that win, the group’s leader, Helberg, is aiming to expand its mission. With associates, he is prepping an executive order geared for a possible future Trump presidency that would dismantle the Biden administration’s rules on artificial intelligence.” SPOTTED ON THE HILL: Activist Ian Madrigal, dressed as their alias Monopoly Man, was outside Union Pub on Wednesday, with free coffee from a food truck for Senate staff. — With a monocle, top hat and white mustache like the game Monopoly’s Milburn Pennybags, Madrigal was holding a mug that alleged Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) was working to further Big Tech’s agenda. Those who picked up coffee were offered the same mug. — The demonstration also included flyers that alleged Wyden was promoting Big Tech’s trade interests and pointed to his wife’s tech financial holdings. | |
— Christopher Amolsch has joined Berke Farah LLP as a senior consultant.
— Chloe Barr is now a comms manager at Feldman Strategies. She most recently was on the issue advocacy team at Sunshine Sachs Morgan & Lylis. — Jessica Bartlett has rejoined Dickinson Wright as of counsel in the political law practice group. She most recently was general counsel to Ron DeSantis’ presidential campaign. — Claire Ernst is now director of government relations and public policy at Hooper Lundy Bookman. She previously was director of government affairs at the Medical Group Management Association. — Catherine “Cat” Hill is now a deputy VP of public affairs at PhRMA, leading earned media efforts. She previously was a lead and spokesperson on Twitter’s corporate comms team. — Will Brown is now VP for government relations and international programs at the Aluminum Association. He most recently was senior director of government relations at the U.S. Travel Association. — Anne Marie Chotvacs will be VP for public policy and international government relations at RTX. She most recently was chief clerk and staff director for the House Appropriations Committee. — David Kovatch is joining Mission Strategies as head of its D.C. office. He previously was senior adviser at the Energy Department’s Loan Programs Office, where he focused on critical mineral supply chains. — Stephanie Rodriguez has been named the first-ever director of the STEMM Opportunity Alliance. She most recently was a senior workforce fellow at the Department of Labor. | |
Meuser PA Victory Fund (Republican Federal Committee of Pennsylvania, Meuser for Congress, DANPAFIRST PAC)
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Maintaining American Competitiveness PAC (Leadership PAC: Ryan Mackenzie)
New Hampshire Values PAC (Super PAC) Rising Stars Of Democracy (Super PAC) NorthStarBluePAC (Hybrid PAC) CAAG PAC (Super PAC) The White Paper PAC (Super PAC) | | New Lobbying Registrations | | | Venture Government Strategies, LLC (Fka Hobart Hallaway & Quayle Ventures, LLC): Hanwha Q CELLS America Inc. Bob Riley & Associates, LLC: Next Step Specialty Pharmacy Bob Riley & Associates, LLC: Covenant Rescue Group Smithbucklin Corporation: Academy Of Medical-Surgical Nurses Manatt, Phelps, And Phillips: Guardant Health Manatt, Phelps, And Phillips: New York Stem Cell Foundation Holland & Knight LLP: Northeastern University Liberty Government Affairs: Navigators Global LLC on Behalf of SHEIN Technology LLC Eagle Point Strategies LLC: Nexa Capital Partners LLC Barker Leavitt, PLLC (SKA Mr. James C. Barker): Spread The Word Nevada The Criscom Company: City Of Avenal The Criscom Company: Imperial County Sheriff’s Office The Criscom Company: Sonora Police Department The Criscom Company: Mariposa County Sheriff’s Office Alston & Bird LLP: Blue Shield Of California Forbes-Tate: Rainbow Energy Center Forbes-Tate: Datavant Forbes-Tate: Bank Policy Institute Forbes-Tate: Citizens For Responsible Energy Solutions (CRES) Davidoff Hutcher & Citron, LLP: Catic Title Insurance Company The Campbell Consulting Group: Richland-Lexington Airport District Powers Pyles Sutter & Verville, P.C.: Youth Villages Holland & Knight LLP: Stellar Energy Americas, Inc. Carlyle Consulting: Lytton Rancheria The American College Of Medical Genetics And Genomics: The American College of Medical Genetics And Genomics Bellevue Strategies, LLC: University of The Arts R&R Partners, Inc.: Western Conservation Action The Smith-Free Group, LLC: Emerging Technology Consortium (ETC) | | New Lobbying Terminations | |
Potomac Consulting LLC: Strata Production Company
District Catalyst: BaseConnect District Catalyst: Apogee Worx
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