Chamber stocks up on GOP aides

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Sep 03, 2024 View in browser
 
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By Caitlin Oprysko and Daniel Lippman

FIRST IN PI — DAVIS BUILDS OUT HIS LOBBYING TEAM: Former Rep. Rodney Davis has begun to build out his team of lobbyists over at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, stocking up on staffers who used to work for the Illinois Republican and other GOP leaders on the Hill.

— Joining the Chamber’s government affairs team are Tim Monahan, Nick Crocker and Andrea Porwoll, all of whom worked under Davis on the House Administration Committee at one time or another. Monahan most recently was a senior vice president at Atlas Crossing and before that worked for former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, helping oversee the transition to House Speaker Mike Johnson.

— Porwoll was most recently vice president for communications and public affairs at Bullpen Strategy Group and before that, served as a spokesperson for McCarthy during his speakership. Crocker heads to the Chamber after more than a decade on the Hill, where he was most recently senior adviser and coalitions director with the House Energy and Commerce Committee.

— The hires are the latest sign of the Chamber’s efforts to make inroads with congressional Republicans after years of friction with the increasingly populist conference. A thaw in relations couldn’t come at a better time, with work already having begun on the marathon negotiations to renew key provisions from the 2017 tax overhaul.

WHO’S BEHIND THE AI LOBBYING SOFTWARE LOBBYMATIC: Daniel has the exclusive wild backstory behind the AI lobbying software LobbyMatic that’s been bombarding Twitter feeds around town for months. The startup is covertly run by Jacob Wohl and Jack Burkman, the far-right conspiracy theorists and convicted felons who are using pseudonyms in their new business, according to four former employees as well as photo and email evidence.

— In his role as a founder and CEO of the new firm, Wohl uses the name “Jay Klein,” according to the former employees and emails obtained by POLITICO. Burkman uses the pseudonym “Bill Sanders,” the former employees said. Two of the former LobbyMatic employees resigned after learning of Klein and Sanders’ true identities, while the other two learned only after they had left the company.

— The startup temporarily signed up at least three brand-name clients: Toyota, consulting firm Boundary Stone Partners and drug company Lantheus, according to two of the former employees.

— In a video posted on X on Monday under the handle @TheLobbyistGuy, Wohl did not directly address his and Burkman’s use of pseudonyms but said he did not “want my past involvement in partisan politics a half a decade ago to distract from what is a phenomenal product that's being rapidly adopted by K Street.”

Happy Tuesday and welcome back to PI. Are you one of the “prestigious lobbying firms and corporate government relations offices” that’s been using LobbyMatic? Reach out: coprysko@politico.com. And be sure to follow me on X: @caitlinoprysko.

FIRST IN PI — BROWNSTEIN ADDS 2: Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck is bringing on two policy staffers on the Hill with key areas of expertise. Lauren Flynn is joining the firm as a policy director from the House Appropriations Committee, where she was staff director for the Financial Services and General Government Subcommittee. Flynn has also worked on the subcommittee’s Senate counterpart as well as for Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) and the Treasury Department.

Maxwell Huntley will be a senior policy adviser, and joins from the House Armed Services Tactical Air and Land Forces Subcommittee. Before that, Huntley advised several lawmakers on issues related to national security and defense, including Kennedy and Rep. Rob Wittman (R-Va.), vice chair of the Armed Services Committee.

— Both hires bring experience working on some of the few bills Congress is guaranteed to act on in a given year — appropriations and defense authorizations. That means both issues — already of outsize importance to stakeholders — have evolved to become major K Street targets for tacking on additional legislative priorities.

DEM CHIEFS HEAD DOWNTOWN: A pair of top Democratic aides are also part of the crowd heading to K Street. Stacey Leavandosky is joining Federal Street Strategies after more than 30 years on the Hill — the last 18 of which were spent as chief of staff to Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-Calif.).

— And Matt VanKuiken, who’s spent the past eight years as chief of staff to retiring Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.), is joining investment giant BlackRock as director of government affairs and the company’s lead Democratic lobbyist. VanKuiken also served on the Biden transition as a nominations navigator.

VALLEY TALK: The Washington Post’s Cristiano Lima-Strong and Cat Zakrzewski report that “as Vice President Kamala Harris campaigns for the presidency in an election animated by populist energy, some of her chief advisers and donors are positioned against one of the Biden administration’s highest-profile efforts in that vein: reining in Big Tech.”

— “Power players in the tech hothouse of Northern California have long nurtured the political rise of Harris, a native of Oakland, Calif. Donors who made their fortunes in the tech industry helped fuel Harris’s ascent from San Francisco district attorney to the White House, and her inner circle includes several officials who have worked for Google, Uber and Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s philanthropic initiative.”

— “Top industry lobbyists and venture capitalists were in Chicago last month to fete Harris at the Democratic National Convention. They hope their close ties to the nominee might return the industry to its halcyon days during the Obama administration, which embraced innovation in Silicon Valley.”

HAVING IT BOTH WAYS: Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld still does legal work for Chinese lidar maker Hesai Group despite dropping the company as a lobbying client in February amid threats of getting blacklisted by Congress, Daniel reports.

In a court filing Aug. 21 as part of Hesai's lawsuit against the Defense Department to get itself taken off a DOD list of Chinese companies that are linked to the Chinese military, Akin listed four attorneys who are working on the case on behalf of the company, James E. Tysse, Caroline L. Wolverton and Lide E. Paterno from their D.C. office and Zach ZhenHe Tan of Akin’s San Francisco office. (Prompted by the litigation and Hesai’s claims the Pentagon didn’t prove any Chinese military ties, the Pentagon is reportedly going to drop Hesai from the list, although it hasn’t taken that step officially.)

— The government relations part of the firm started lobbying for Hesai in August 2023 and made $300,000 in fees from the company. But it stopped representing them in February as part of a wave of lobbying terminations sparked by PI reporting that several members of Congress were considering banning the firms from meetings with their offices. Spokespeople for Akin Gump and Hesai declined to comment.

CRYPTO BOOSTERS RAISE CASH FOR HARRIS: Meanwhile, Reuters’ Hannah Lang reports that crypto executives and investors “are planning to raise at least $100,000 for the Democratic presidential nominee at a Sept. 13 Washington fundraiser.”

— “The grassroots event is scheduled to take place between the Congressional Black Caucus and Congressional Hispanic Caucus conferences, and aims to bring together a diverse group of donors, the organizers told Reuters. Tickets to the fundraiser range from $500 to $5,000, said Cleve Mesidor, founder of the National Policy Network of Women of Color in Blockchain and one of the organizers.”

— It’s “the latest sign that at least some in the industry are rallying behind her rather than Republican nominee Donald Trump, who has courted big crypto donors with friendly policy pledges. The organizers include Tiffany Smith, co-chair of the Blockchain & Cryptocurrency Working Group at law firm WilmerHale and Rahilla Zafar, a crypto founder who has also worked in artificial intelligence. They are hoping that, if elected, Harris will ease up on crypto after the Securities and Exchange Commission under Biden cracked down on the sector.”

COMING TO A STATEHOUSE NEAR YOU: “As state legislators around the country seek to regulate teen smartphone use, Apple is gearing up for a battle with app makers and legislators over child safety. The question at the heart of the fight is whether regulation of teen social-media use should happen entirely within apps or whether smartphone makers and app stores also have a role to play,” The Wall Street Journal’s Jeff Horwitz and Aaron Tilley report.

ORBÁN'S ALLIES: Over the weekend, our Heidi Przybyla and Nicholas Vinocur looked at the broad "initiative by Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán to expand his influence around the world. It has included his repeated overtures to former President Donald Trump, who praised Orbán in his acceptance speech at the Republican National Convention in late July," in addition to forging ties to conservative groups jockeying for sway in a second Trump administration, such as the Conservative Partnership Institute and the Heritage Foundation.

— "Hungary’s attempts to influence the policy debate in Washington are echoing right now in Brussels, where Orbán’s followers have seeded several anti-European Union, right-leaning media outlets and think tanks, the best known of which is MCC Brussels. Launched in 2022, the think tank is funded by Orbán’s government, and the prime minister’s political director, Balazs Orban, who is not related, chairs its board of trustees. MCC has led campaigns seeking to undermine EU action on climate change and backing farmer protests which rocked the EU capital last year."

— "While many of the overtures to U.S. conservatives are ostensibly about policies like global migration and promoting religious values, the message often quickly turns to pro-Russian foreign policy goals. They include curbing Western support for Ukraine and, implicitly, weakening support for NATO."

Jobs report

— Federal Street Strategies has also added Kaadé Wallace. Wallace was most recently director of government relations at the Consumer Brands Association, where she was the trade group’s lead Democratic lobbyist.

Forterra has added Channing Lee Foster as head of public affairs and Paul Benfield as head of strategy. Foster was previously with Invariant’s defense and national security practice and Benfield was previously a director at Pallas Advisors.

Robert Yeakel is joining Dropbox as head of government affairs for U.S. federal and Latin America. He previously was the head of congressional affairs for DoorDash and is a House Budget Committee alum.

Scott Agnew is now president of FirstNet and public sector at AT&T . He was previously vice president of FirstNet and public sector mobility.

Jordan Burris is now vice president and general manager of public sector solutions for Socure. Burris was previously the company’s head of public sector strategy and is a former chief of staff in the Office of the Federal CIO.

Eric Teetsel is joining the Center for Renewing America as an executive vice president. He previously was vice president of government relations at the Heritage Foundation and is a Josh Hawley alum.

Alex Rogoff is now congressional liaison at Democratic Majority for Israel. He previously was Middle East policy adviser for Rep. Jared Moskowitz (D-Fla.) and is a Ted Deutch alum.

B. Todd Jones is rejoining Robins Kaplan as a partner. He previously was senior vice president and special counsel for conduct at the NFL.

Will Davis is now director of the United Nations Information Center in Washington. He previously was director of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development Washington Center and is an NSC and State Department alum.

Sally Wentworth is now president and CEO of the Internet Society and Internet Society Foundation. She was previously managing director of the Internet Society and vice president of policy.

— The Wireless Infrastructure Association has added April Ward as vice president of communications. She was previously chief of staff at NTIA’S First Responder Network Authority.

Bob Torongo is now a principal at Benenson Strategy Group, leading its D.C. public affairs team. He most recently was a senior vice president at Ipsos Public Affairs.

Sarah Peck has been promoted to vice president for communications at GoFundMe. She was previously senior director of public affairs.

Edward O'Callaghan is now a partner at Cahill Gordon & Reindel LLP where he plans to continue his white-collar defense and congressional investigations practice and build out a multi-practice D.C. office for the firm. He most recently was a partner at WilmerHale and was a top DOJ official in the Trump administration.

— The Conference of State Bank Supervisors added Sabrina Bergen as chief of staff for policy and supervision and Max Martin as chief learning officer and senior vice president, and promoted Sebastien Monnet to senior vice president and deputy chief learning officer. Bergen was previously with the American Bankers Association and Martin was previously with PenFed Credit Union.

Ebony Sunala Johnson has joined Block Inc. as its new head of regulatory affairs. She previously led consumer regulatory and public affairs at Truist, and has also worked at the CFPB. Block has also hired Tealanie Baldwin from Capital One as its consumer finance policy lead, and Collins Udekigbo from Equifax as its Eastern U.S. policy lead.

Charlie Martin is joining the General Services Administration as an adviser to Administrator Robin Carnahan. Martin was previously federal manager for Buy Clean and procurement policy at BlueGreen Alliance.

Bill Parsons is now chief advocacy officer at Americans for a Clean Energy Grid. He previously was senior vice president and political director at the American Clean Power Association and is an alum of Sen. Chris Van Hollen’s (D-Md.) office.

Robert Taylor is now vice president of regulatory affairs and licensing for X-energy Reactor Company. Taylor had been at the Nuclear Regulatory Commission since 2001, most recently serving as deputy office director for new reactors in the Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation.

Jeffrey Connor is now COO of McGuireWoods. He most recently was CFO of the firm.

Lydia de la Torre has rejoined Squire Patton Boggs as of counsel in the global data privacy, cybersecurity and digital assets practice. She returns to the firm after having served as an inaugural board member of the California Privacy Protection Agency.

Allie Hayes has been promoted to senior vice president for board administration and chief of staff to the president and CEO of the Household and Commercial Products Association. She continues as senior vice president for communications.

Addy Allegretti is joining the America First Policy Institute’s transition team as a project manager. She previously was legislative director for Rep. Warren Davidson (R-Ohio).

Pascal Confavreux will be deputy head of communications and press directorate, deputy spokesperson of the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He previously was press counselor and spokesperson at the French Embassy in Washington.

Akosua Meyers is joining the American Immigration Council as chief development officer. She previously was director of development at the Center for Law and Social Policy.

Aaron Kissel is now CEO of the newly merged Executive Platforms and Board.org. He previously was a partner at Shoreline Drive Advisors and is a WSJ and POLITICO alum.

Katelin Romano is joining the Council on Foreign Relations as a program associate for Washington external affairs. She previously was a policy analyst at Mindset.

Sarah Paden is joining the Harris campaign’s battleground states team through Election Day. She is vice president and chief political director at the Progressive Policy Institute, and a Hillary Clinton and Andrew Cuomo alum.

Adam Peck is now associate director for federal and state communications at Results for America. He previously was a deputy director at POLITICO.

Jaylin McClinton is joining the Alliance for Justice as “building the bench” counsel, focused on courts and judicial nominations. He’s an Obama Foundation alum

State Voices has promoted Marissa Liebling to chief program officer and added Alvina Yeh as chief of staff. Liebling previously was director of policy. Yeh is rejoining the organization after most recently founding Falling Leaves LLC and working as executive director of the Asian Pacific American Labor Alliance.

New Joint Fundraisers

2024 Voter Mobilization Fund (Voters of Tomorrow PAC, Grassroots Democrats HQ)

ADVANCE THE SENATE (Rep. Jim Banks, Jim Justice for U.S. Senate, Sam Brown for Nevada, Hovde for Wisconsin, Kari Lake for Senate, Friends of Dave McCormick, Bernie Moreno for Senate, Rogers for Senate, Tim Sheehy for Montana, Hung Cao for Virginia, NRSC)

Avlon Sherrill Victory Fund (John Avlon for Congress, Rep. Mikie Sherrill)

Blunt Rochester Schiff Victory Fund (Reps. Adam Schiff, Lisa Blunt Rochester, California Democratic Party, Democratic State Committee (Delaware))

Emily Randall Victory Fund (Emily Randall for Congress, Washington State Democratic Central Committee)

Generation 18 (Reps. Yadira Caraveo, Angie Craig, Jared Golden, Marie Gluesenkamp Perez, Emilia Sykes, Don Davis, Susie Lee, Pat Ryan, Mary Peltola, Eric Sorensen)

Gillen Riley Victory Fund (Josh Riley for Congress, Gillen for NY, New York State Democratic Committee)

Gillibrand Avlon Victory Fund (Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, John Avlon for Congress)

OC Victory 2024 (Scott Baugh for Congress, Gunderson for Congress)

Republicans for A Pro-Crypto Senate Majority (Sam Brown for Nevada, Bernie Moreno for Senate, Rogers for Senate, Friends of Dave McCormick, Duty First PAC, Best at Bringing Entrepreneurial Results Never Imagined or Envisioned PAC, Pennsylvania Honor, MR PAC, NRSC)

Rooted in Movement (Rep. Rashida Tlaib, United with Delia for Congress)

TEAM SHREVE (Shreve for Congress, Secure Homeland Rebuild Economy Vote & Educate PAC, Indiana Republican State Committee, Inc., NRCC)

WA Senate Victory Fund (Sens. Tammy Baldwin, Sherrod Brown, Bob Casey, Martin Heinrich, Tim Kaine, Jacky Rosen, Jon Tester)

WILEY NICKEL VICTORY FUND (Rep. Wiley Nickel, North Carolina Democratic Party - Federal, Coyote PAC)

New PACs

American Pharmacies, Inc. Federal PAC (PAC)

AMERICAN RESOLVE PAC INC. (Super PAC)

Americans for Peace Super PAC (Super PAC)

APP Big Family PAC (PAC)

Asian Americans for Progressive America (Super PAC)

Black2Red (PAC)

Black Girl Pac (PAC)

Black Leadership Federal PAC (Super PAC)

Blue Vision (PAC)

Brothas, Inc. (Super PAC)

California Republican County Chairmens Association (Hybrid PAC)

Dallas Democrats (PAC)

Democrats Vote (Leadership PAC: Raul Ruiz)

Digital Identity Rights PAC (Super PAC)

Draft James Comer for Governor (Super PAC)

Emerging Prosperity PAC (Hybrid PAC)

Flip Texas Blue Fed (PAC)

FTW PAC (Super PAC)

Freedom Democrats (Leadership PAC: Julia Brownley)

Georgia Life Alliance PAC (PAC)

GOD SUPER PAC (Super PAC)

GOPAC Foundation (Super PAC)

IOWA VALUES PAC (Leadership PAC: Randy Feenstra)

Maga Meme PAC (Super PAC)

MAHA PAC (Super PAC)

Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) PAC (Super PAC)

MI 4th Congressional District Democrats (PAC)

Michigan to Win (Hybrid PAC)

Midland Financial Co. Political Action Committee (Midland Financial PAC) (PAC)

Montana Voters PAC (Super PAC)

Moving Montana Forward (Super PAC)

National Democrats (Super PAC)

Nigerian Americans for Harris Walz (PAC)

Nigerians For Harris Walz (PAC)

NY Common Ground (Super PAC)

Our Blue Nation (PAC)

Planned Parenthood Votes North Carolina (Super PAC)

Political Action Committee for Foundational Black And Original Americans (Hybrid PAC)

Protecting Ohio's Future PAC (Super PAC)

Proven Leadership PAC (Hybrid PAC)

Red State PAC (PAC)

San Juan Democratic Election PAC (PAC)

Save Social Security and Medicare Now (Super PAC)

Sticker Pac (Super PAC)

Turn Mississippi Blue (Hybrid PAC)

Unconditional Security PAC (Hybrid PAC)

United Food And Commercial Workers Union Local 400 PAC (PAC)

Unity For A Better Future (Super PAC)

WE DECIDE (Super PAC)

Win Tennessee PAC (PAC)

Win USA Pac LLC (Super PAC)

New Lobbying REGISTRATIONS

Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld: Density, Inc.

Arentfox Schiff LLP: Novelis Inc.

Arnall Golden Gregory, LLP: Council For Affordable And Rural Housing

Avoq, LLC (Fra Team Subject Matter, LLC): Enstructure LLC

Avoq, LLC (Fra Team Subject Matter, LLC): Perdue Farms Inc.

Axadvocacy Government Relations: Kreindler & Kreindler LLP (O/B/O/ Certain 9/11 Plaintiffs)

Baker Donelson Bearman Caldwell & Berkowitz: Marshall Of Cambridge

Bracewell LLP: Manitoba Hydro

Breakthrough365 Government Relations Strategies: Dimare Fresh, LLC

Casa: Casa

Christine Rex: Vetcomm

Co2Efficient LLC: Liquid Cooling Coalition

Coast To Coast Lobbying LLC: Immad

Collaborative Physician Partners, LLC: Collaborative Physician Partners, LLC

Cornerstone Government Affairs, Inc.: Uc Health, LLC And Its Affiliates

Council Of Producers And Distributors Of Agrotechnology: Council Of Producers And Distributors Of Agrotechnology

Crowell & Moring International, LLC: Bayh-Dole Coaliton

Culton Consulting LLC: City Of Granite Falls

Fox Potomac Resources, LLC: Saic

Gatx Corporation: Gatx Corporation

Grayrobinson Pa: Hillsborough County Public Schools

Grayrobinson Pa: Polk City Fl

Green Mountain Strategies LLC Dc: Lifelink Foundation Inc.

Hitachi Energy USa Inc: Hitachi Energy USa Inc

J M Burkman & Associates: Charles Warren Sens

J M Burkman & Associates: Living Fresno Inc

K2 Strategies, LLC: Tai Ginsberg & Associates, LLC On Behalf Of Sambanova Systems

Kelley Drye & Warren LLP: At-Sea Processors Association

K&L Gates, LLP: Pyro Spectaculars, Inc.

K&L Gates, LLP: Qpo Energy, LLC

Mclarty Inbound LLC: Happiest Baby, Inc.

Mindset Advocacy, LLC: Sixth Street Partners, LLC

Mr. Dan Perrin: End Chronic Disease

Niron Magnetics: Niron Magnetics

Ogr: Penske Truck Leasing Company, L.P.

Owen Evans Ingols: Talen Energy

Pinterest, Inc.: Pinterest, Inc.

Sandler, Travis & Rosenberg, P.A.: Grimco, Inc.

Smith + Malek: City And Borough Of Wrangell Alaska

Tai Ginsberg & Associates, LLC: Communities For Responsible And Efficient Waterways (Crew)

The Ferguson Group: City Of Downey, Ca

The Roosevelt Group: Element US Nts

The Roosevelt Group: Moas

The Roosevelt Group: Suffolk-Northeast Construction

The Roosevelt Group: USac

Valentine Strategies: National Wic Association

Williams And Jensen, Pllc: Paulson & Co. Inc.

New Lobbying Terminations

Alpine Group Partners, LLC.: Rebellion Defense, Inc.

Capitol Tax Partners, LLP: Professional Beauty Association

Capitol Ventures Government Relations, LLC: U.S. Pioneer Inc.

Carmen Group Incorporated: Muwekma Ohlone Tribe

Covington & Burling LLP: Equinor Asa (Formerly Statoil Asa)

Covington & Burling LLP: Kosmos Energy LLC

Covington & Burling LLP: Shell Oil Company

Covington & Burling LLP: The Aes Corporation

Covington & Burling LLP: The Aes Corporation

Covington & Burling LLP: Vulcan Materials Company

Dwight Alexander: Compass Working Capital

Evergreen Associates, Ltd.: Richland School District

Federal Management Strategies, Inc.: Californians For School Facilities

Federal Management Strategies, Inc.: Clovis Unified School District

Federal Management Strategies, Inc.: National Forest Counties & Schools Coalition

Federal Management Strategies, Inc.: Rebuild America'S Schools Coalition

Jeremy Bratt Consulting: Mighty Earth

Mr. Nicholas Gwyn: The Center On Budget And Policy Priorities

Owen Evans Ingols: Ultra Safe Nuclear Corporation

Polly Klaas Foundation: Polly Klaas Foundation

Porter Group, LLC: Ws2 Ranch, LLC

Spangler Strategies LLC: Better Solutions For Healthcare

Va Solutions LLC: Anti-Corruption Foundation Inc.

Velocity Government Relations: Atlas Space Operations

 

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