| | | | |  | | By Caitlin Oprysko | Presented by ExxonMobil | With Daniel Lippman WHO HUDDLED WITH BESHEAR: Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear, one of several subjects of Democratic wishcasting about a future in which Joe Biden is not running for president, was making the rounds in D.C. this week amidst the turmoil over Biden’s future, mingling with operatives at a lobbying firm downtown and hitting fundraisers with a key labor group and young Democratic politicos. — The fundraiser hosted by the Teamsters, which has so far withheld its endorsement in the presidential election, and the meet and greet at Capitol Counsel’s offices were both on the books long before the president’s dismal debate performance in Atlanta two weeks ago and the subsequent panic about his candidacy, according to a Teamsters spokesperson and attendees at the Capitol Counsel event. “We’ve supported Governor Beshear throughout his career and we will continue to because he supports working people,” Teamsters’ Kara Deniz told PI. — But interest in the latter event did spike in recent weeks, according to a person involved in planning, who estimated that around 80 braved downtown’s NATO summit-induced road closures to be there. — Though it was not a fundraiser, the confab was hosted by the federal PAC Beshear launched earlier this year, according to an invite shared with PI, and was organized by Kentucky Democratic strategist Mark Riddle and Capitol Counsel lobbyist David Jones. Former Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe, who served as governor alongside Beshear’s father, was a co-headliner. — Attendees stressed that the events were unrelated to the whispers about whether Beshear could join the Democratic ticket if a slot opened up this year or how he’d fare in a 2028 White House run, and Riddle told PI that Beshear focused mainly “his successes in Kentucky and about bringing people together.” He conceded that “obviously” Beshear’s name “is being talked about, … and so I think there was a lot of buzz and interest about it.” — The elephant in the room couldn’t be ignored entirely, though. “I think one person asked him a question about the presidential and he demurred, politely demurred, and moved on, talking about the great work being done in Kentucky,” Riddle said. In a Facebook post reported by the Lexington Herald-Leader, Riddle wrote of the event that “Hope for the future filled the air.” — Among those spotted at Capitol Counsel, according to an attendee: Adam Banig of the United Mine Workers of America, Lyndon Boozer, John Jonas and Jeff Carroll of Capitol Counsel, Ankit Desai of ABI Associates, Jackson Dunn of FTI Consulting, Austin Durrer of Moran Global Strategies, Virginia state Sen. Adam Ebbin, Steve Fier of Tonio Burgos & Associates, Vince Frillici of Airbnb, Rich Goodstein of Lexmark Kentucky, Margaret and Shashi Gupta of the Gupta Family Foundation, Gerry Harrington of Capitol City Group, David Hogg of Leaders We Deserve, Jim Kessler of Third Way, Jamie Lockhart of Planned Parenthood Virginia, Stuart Malec and Ben Ritz of the Progressive Policy Institute, fundraiser Dario Marquez, former Rep. Tom McMillen, Melissa Moss of Moss Advisors, Peter O'Keefe of Paladin Capital Group, Aaron Palmer of Churchill Downs, Virginia Del. Briana Sewell and Lindsay Videnieks of Woodberry Associates. TGIF and welcome to PI. We won’t be on the ground at the Republican National Convention next week, so it’s up to readers like you to be our eyes and ears on the ground. (And be sure to check out the other POLITICO superstars who will be!) Send your best RNC event tips, happy hour gossip and spotteds: coprysko@politico.com. And be sure to follow me on X: @caitlinoprysko.
| | | | A message from ExxonMobil: The world needs ways to reduce carbon emissions. At ExxonMobil, we’re working on solutions in our own operations – like carbon capture and clean energy from hydrogen – that could also help in other industries like manufacturing, commercial transportation and power generation, too. Helping deliver heavy industry with low emissions. | | | MAN YOUR POSITIONS: After two-and-a-half years (and almost as many sitting lawmakers indicted on foreign agent charges) the Justice Department should be dropping its proposed updates to FARA’s implementing regulations any day now. The White House’s Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs on Thursday concluded its review of the proposed tweaks, according to a notice on OIRA’s website, clearing one of the last hurdles before they’re formally put forward. — DOJ didn’t respond to questions about timing for the release of the proposal, which is the first substantive FARA revamp in almost three decades. FARA practitioners have said the update is long overdue, but the FARA Unit has dropped hints that it’s eyeing a potentially wide-ranging broadening of the statute. The department will still need to accept public comments on the proposal before issuing a final rule on an extraordinarily tight timeline ahead of the election. FARA FRIDAY: The fate of the foreign agent and bribery charges against Sen. Bob Menendez (D-N.J.) is in the hands of a Manhattan jury as of this afternoon, our Ry Rivard and Daniel Han report. And as jurors deliberate, they’ll be sifting through an accounting “not only of his alleged corruption, but also of his culinary proclivities — and the quiet bars and backroom tables where he, his wife or the businesspeople accused of bribing the Menendezes met,” Ry writes this morning in a food-themed rundown of prosecutors’ case. — “From watering holes across New Jersey to a high-end Manhattan Chinese restaurant to America’s favorite pancake chain, Menendez and his co-defendants wined, dined and smoked cigars.” The trial “provided what one defense attorney called ‘a virtual tour of Northern New Jersey restaurants,’” but “the drinks and meals — along with the text messages sent and photos taken during them — provide a tick-tock of the schemes, according to prosecutors.” TRADE GROUPS PUT BIDEN ON NOTICE POST-CHEVRON: Nearly four dozen trade associations representing a broad swath of industries called on the White House today to pump the brakes on its regulatory agenda in the wake of last month’s Supreme Court decision overturning the so-called Chevron doctrine. — “The Court’s decision dramatically alters the legal landscape within which federal agencies operate,” the groups wrote in a letter to Biden. As of the beginning of July, the letter said, “there are over 1,000 major rules in various stages of review” across various federal agencies, at least 145 of which “would have an impact on the economy of more than $200 million.” All of those regulations “must be reevaluated” in light of the court’s ruling, they argued. — Biden must “immediately direct all federal agencies to review any regulations that are currently under consideration — including any final rules that have been published but have not yet become effective — to ensure” that the proposed regulation “is clearly authorized by Congress” in line with the new legal landscape, the coalition said. — Such a move could effectively run out the clock on a good deal of new industry crackdowns before November’s election, though the Supreme Court decision was already likely to trigger a wave of new legal challenges to a swath of federal regulations, old or new. — The signatories include the American Chemistry Council, the International Franchise Association, the National Stone, Sand and Gravel Association, the S Corporation Association, the Associated Equipment Distributors, the Associated General Contractors of America and more.
| | | | Understand 2024’s big impacts with Pro’s extensive Campaign Races Dashboard, exclusive insights, and key coverage of federal- and state-level debates. Focus on policy. Learn more. | | | | | BIDEN’S DONOR CRUNCH ISN’T OVER: “Some major Democratic donors have told the largest pro-Biden super PAC, Future Forward, that pledges worth roughly $90 million are now on hold if President Biden remains atop the ticket,” two people who have been briefed on the conversations told The New York Times’ Shane Goldmacher and Teddy Schleifer. — “The frozen contributions include multiple eight-figure commitments, according to the two people, who spoke on the condition of anonymity given the sensitivity of the situation. The decision to withhold such enormous sums of money is one of the most concrete examples of the fallout from Mr. Biden’s poor debate performance at the end of June.” — “[O]ne donor to the group described being approached multiple times by Future Forward since the debate for a contribution, but said he and his friends had been ‘holding off.’ The two people briefed on the frozen pledges declined to say which individual donors were pulling back promised checks, which were estimated to total around or above $90 million.” — “It was not clear how much of the pledged money was earmarked for Future Forward’s super PAC versus its nonprofit arm, which has also been running advertising in key battleground states. The super PAC has been shying away from making major strategic decisions until it gets clarity on who will be atop the ticket, according to a separate person close to the group.”
| | | | A message from ExxonMobil:   | | | | | — Louise Pentland is joining Roku as senior vice president and general counsel. She was most recently executive vice president and chief counsel for Disney Experiences and Products at the Walt Disney Company. — Anthony Pileggi is joining Strategic Partners & Media as a partner. He most recently was a partner at Guidant Polling and Strategy, and is an IMGE and Elise Stefanik alum. — Lee Hudson will be a senior manager for PR at RTX. She currently is the defense technology and influence reporter at POLITICO. — Joshua Cohen is now director of communications at the U.S. Global Leadership Coalition. He most recently was senior adviser and speechwriter for undersecretaries Victoria Nuland and John Bass at the State Department, and is a DOD and Hill alum. — Emily Fisher will be chief strategy officer at the Smart Electric Power Alliance. She previously was executive vice president for clean energy and general counsel at the Edison Electric Institute.
| | CLANCY VICTORY (Mike Clancy for Congress, 10th District Republican Congressional Committee, NRCC) Nevada Victory Fund 2024 (Drew for Nevada, John Lee for Nevada, Nevada Republican Central Committee, NRCC) Senate Victory for Sherrod Brown 2024 (Sen. Sherrod Brown, DSCC, Ohio Democratic Party - Federal, America Works State & Local PAC)
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| | New Lobbying REGISTRATIONS | | Alpine Group Partners, LLC.: Jerome Stevens Pharmaceuticals Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck, LLP: American Exploration And Production Council Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck, LLP: Eb5 Group LLC Cornerstone Government Affairs, Inc.: Biontech US Inc. Css Partners, LLC: Cobank, Acb Ge Vernova International LLC: Ge Vernova International LLC Hogan Lovells US LLP: Choctaw Nation Of Oklahoma Invariant LLC: Venture Global Lng, Inc. Line Honors Strategy Group LLC: Unibail Rodamco Westfield Lobbyit.Com: Airport Restaurant & Retail Association Lobbyit.Com: Angel Adoption Moran Global Strategies, Inc.: American Hellenic Institute Moran Global Strategies, Inc.: Global Heritage Alliance Putalastrategies: Hotwire Communications, Ltd Radiant Industries, Inc.: Radiant Industries, Inc. Telegraph Avenue Advisors: Colosseum Rare Metals Inc. (Fka Dateline Resources Limited)
| | New Lobbying Terminations | | American Defense International: Soukos American Defense International: Spirit Aerosystems, Inc. Bracewell LLP: Enerco Group, Inc. Bracewell LLP: Nustar Energy Corporation Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck, LLP: International Engineering&Construction S.A. Obo Greenville Liquefied Natural Gas Cassidy & Associates, Inc.: Chainalysis Cassidy & Associates, Inc.: Verance Coalition For Auto Repair Equality: Coalition For Auto Repair Equality Congressional Insights Group L.L.C.: Parrot Industries Guidepoststrategies, LLC: Ecco Select Guidepoststrategies, LLC: Information Technology Industry Council (Iti) Hogan Lovells US LLP: Skywater Technology Foundry Impact Public Affairs (Formerly Massey, Watson & Hembree LLC: Central Atlanta Progress Impact Public Affairs (Formerly Massey, Watson & Hembree LLC: Dulany Industries, Inc. Lobbyit.Com: Graphjet Putalastrategies: Gensco Nutrition LLC The Franken Group, LLC: Inda, Association Of The Nonwoven Fabrics Industry
| | | | A message from ExxonMobil: Heavy industry accounts for nearly 30% of global carbon emissions. For these businesses, setting and achieving meaningful carbon-reduction goals can be complex. At ExxonMobil, we’ve been working on reducing our own carbon emissions. At our Baytown plant, one of the world’s largest integrated refining and petrochemical operations, we’re working to deploy hydrogen power and carbon capture to reduce emissions by up to 30%. Now, we’re taking solutions like these to others in heavy industry. Using our technologies, we can help these businesses create a plan to make similar reductions. And together, we can deliver a lower-emissions future. Let's deliver. | | | | | | | Follow us | | | | |
