Dem state financial officers slam GOP spending cuts
bySalena Martine-
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FIRST IN PI— DEM TREASURERS PROTEST GOP BUDGET: Democratic financial officers from more than a dozen states are warning that GOP plans to potentially enact steep cuts to safety net programs like Medicaid would backfire on the economy, piling on the pressure campaign to get congressional Republicans to think twice about gutting federal aid.
— “Medicaid and other essential programs are not just safety nets; they are economic engines,” a coalition of state auditors, comptrollers and treasurers from Illinois, Massachusetts, Nevada, Minnesota, Colorado, New Mexico, California, Rhode Island, Vermont, Maryland, Washington, Oregon and Maine said in a letter to lawmakers today.
— “When healthcare access declines, productivity suffers, absenteeism rises, and businesses bear the cost of lost workdays,” the officials continued. “That burden does not disappear — it shifts to emergency rooms, state budgets, and small businesses that rely on a stable workforce.”
— Hospital associations, grassroots organizations and other advocates are springing into action to block any potential cuts as part of congressional Republicans’ bid to offset new spending on tax, immigration and energy policy.
— The state financial officers argued that the GOP budget resolution “creates uncertainty and instability, undermining the very foundation of economic progress,” while noting that cuts to safety net programs and other federal funding states rely on are sure to disproportionately hit “rural and struggling communities in all 50 states … widening the gap between thriving regions and those falling further behind.”
A message from the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network:
Cancer progress is at risk. Cuts to research could be life threatening for cancer patients. Our nation mustprioritize and protect the fight against cancer to ensure we do not lose ground on progress made. Cancer patients expect policymakers to reaffirm your longstanding bipartisan work to support strong public investment in cancer research and prevention at the NIH, NCI and CDC. Congress: Fight Cancer. Make Time.
FIRST IN PI— WHO’S COMING TO DINNER: The NRCC is hosting its winter meeting at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel in Key Biscayne, Florida, today through Sunday, Daniel reports. Dozens of House Republicans are attending, including Speaker Mike Johnson, Whip Tom Emmer (R-Minn.) and NRCC Chair Richard Hudson (R-N.C.).
— Of course, dozens of lobbyists are attending as well, according to a list of expected attendees obtained by PI. They include BlackRock’s Benjamin Cantrell, Hogan Lovells’ Aaron Cutler, Juul Labs’Bruce Gates, J.A. Green’s Jeff Green, BGR Group’s Dan Greenwood, Williams & Jensen’s Susan Hirschmann, NextEra Energy’s Phil Musser, Oracle’s Josh Pitcock, American Petroleum Institute’s Mike Sommers, Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld’s Geoff Verhoff and former Reps. Kevin Yoder (R-Kan.), now with Venture Government Strategies, and Mike Ferguson (R-N.J.), now with AT&T.
GREENS GO RED: “A conservation group founded by young conservatives has pulled out all the stops in the hopes of being a player with Republicans in Washington,” per POLITICO’sE&E News’ Tim Cama. But “whether that push from the American Conservation Coalition bears fruit remains a big question.”
— “Over the past several years, the group has made inroads with key officials who went on to join President Donald Trump’s Cabinet. It co-hosted a glitzy influencer party the night before Trump’s inauguration alongside TikTok, the social media app. And its co-founder helped spark the idea for a first-of-its kind House GOP caucus dedicated to climate.”
— “After laying that groundwork, ACC is now trying to influence Republicans in power as the party seeks to overhaul federal permitting standards and forest management laws. It's also hoping to push Trump’s ‘energy dominance’ agenda with an environmental lens, among other initiatives.”
AND THEY WERE ROOMMATES: “In 2021, Steve Berger, an evangelical pastor who has attacked the separation of church and state as ‘a delusional lie’ and called multinational institutions ‘demonic,’ set off on an ambitious project. His stated goal: minister to members of Congress so that what ‘they learn is then translated into policy.’ His base of operations would be a six-bedroom, $3.7 million townhouse blocks from the U.S. Capitol,” ProPublica’s Joshua Kaplan, Justin Elliott and Alex Mierjeski write.
— “Recently, the pastor scored a remarkable coup for a political influence project that has until now managed to avoid public scrutiny. … House Speaker Mike Johnson has been staying at the home since around the beginning of this year, according to interviews and videos obtained by ProPublica.” Doing so would not be against ethics rules as long as Johnson is paying a fair market rate for rent, which could be as much as $7,000 in the neighborhood.
— The townhouse is owned by GOP donor and car dealer Lee Beaman, “who has joined Berger in advocating for and against multiple bills before Congress,” including “a bill that would make it easier to fire federal employees and a regulation that would reduce fuel efficiency standards for the automotive industry.”
— And Johnson isn’t the only influential Republican in the Bergers’ circle — former Rep. Dan Bishop (R-N.C.), who’s been nominated for a key post in the White House budget office, “seems to have also lived in the home last year while he was still a congressman,” according to ProPublica.
INAUGURAL LEADER HEADS TO FGS: FGS Global has snapped up Richard Walters, a longtime Republican operative who served as the executive director of Trump’s second inaugural committee. He’ll be a partner in the firm’s government affairs practice.
— Walters served as the longest running RNC chief of staff before stepping down in 2022, but he stayed on with the committee to help lead planning for last year’s Republican National Convention in Milwaukee and served as a senior adviser and chief of staff to former Chair Ronna McDaniel.
JASSY: TRUMP ADMIN. ‘CARES’ WHAT BUSINESS THINKS: Amazon chief executive Andy Jassy had kind words for the second Trump administration on its receptiveness to hearing out the business community in an interview with Bloomberg TV’s Caroline Hyde on Thursday.
— “I would say that some administrations are more receptive to it than others, but this administration cares about what business thinks,” Jassy said, adding that the e-commerce giant has sought to build a "productive relationship” with every White House. “I've always been surprised that it isn't obvious that the best economic results for a country are going to be when the public and the private sector collaborate,” he argued, telling Bloomberg he’s been “encouraged” by the Trump administration’s early posture toward industry.
— Jassy went on to say that he has spoken to Trump and taken calls personally from others in the administration, with whom he has shared “what's working for us, what's not working for us, concerns that we have.”
— Of course, the praise comes amid an apparent reset between Trump and Amazon founder and Executive Chair Jeff Bezos over the past year (Trump revealed in an interview with The Spectator posted today that he and Bezos had dinner just a few days ago) a remarkable turnaround compared to the pair’s acrimonious relationship during Trump’s first term.
— Trump’s appointees — including Attorney General Pam Bondi, a former Amazon lobbyist — once again wield power over the fate of federal labor and antitrust probes as well as a slew of federal contracts sought by the company’s cloud computing arm, to say nothing of broader regulatory policies.
FLYING IN: The ACES Mobility Coalition, which represents public and private stakeholders in support of moving toward autonomous public transportation, will hit D.C. next week to advocate for those priorities in the next surface transportation reauthorization.
— Members of the coalition — including the Contra Costa Transportation Authority, Jacksonville Transportation Authority, Metra, SporTran, Suburban Mobility Authority for Regional Transportation, Beep, BENTELER Mobility, Holon, May Mobility, Adastec and Safe - The Coalition for Reimagined Mobility — have more than 20 meetings on the books with lawmakers and staff on both sides of the aisle as well as administration officials to lay the groundwork for AV and transit policies.
— Hundreds of firefighters and emergency medical responders will be on the Hill next week as well as part of the International Association of Fire Fighters’ annual legislative conference.
— They’ll hear from more than a dozen lawmakers Monday, including House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, before flocking to the Capitol the next day to lobby for legislation to expand Public Safety Officer Benefits to include occupational cancer deaths, fund the development of PFAS-free gear, bolster firefighters’ freedom of expression protections and more.
GIRD YOUR PATAGONIAS: “The Trump administration is looking to cut federal contracts. Few companies stand as exposed as Booz Allen Hamilton,” The Wall Street Journal’s Chip Cutter writes.
— “The venerable Washington, D.C., area firm works on projects across the U.S. government. It operates a website visitors use to reserve campsites at national parks. It is modernizing healthcare records for veterans, beefing up technology at the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and rolling out a suite of artificial-intelligence and cybersecurity tools across the Department of Defense and other federal agencies.”
— The firm “generates 98% of its roughly $11 billion in annual revenue from contracts in which the end client is a U.S. government agency or department. It has told investors that it sees the U.S. government as the world’s largest consumer of management consulting and technology services.”
— But “a memo sent this week from Stephen Ehikian, the acting administrator of the General Services Administration, calls on procurement officials at federal agencies to list and justify consulting contracts from 10 companies — including Booz Allen, Accenture, Deloitte and International Business Machines — that the agencies intend to keep.”
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Jobs report
— NCTA President and CEO Michael Powell is retiring after nearly 15 years at the helm of the cable trade association.
— Matthew Axelrod is now a partner at Gibson Dunn and co-chair of its new sanctions and export enforcement practice group. He most recently was assistant secretary for export enforcement at the Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security.
— Nellie Liang will return to Brookings as a senior fellow in the Hutchins Center on Fiscal and Monetary Policy. She previously was Treasury undersecretary for domestic finance.
— Adriana Rivera will be director of government affairs and defense at the Association for Uncrewed Vehicle Systems International. She currently is military legislative assistant for Sen. Michael Bennet (D-Colo.).
— Gordon Speed has been promoted to managing director of the National Rifle Association Institute for Legislative Action’s federal affairs office. He previously served as deputy managing director of NRA’s Capitol Hill team.
— Kirsten Madison has joined BGR’s international and trade practice as a senior vice president. She was most recently vice president of government relations at the National Endowment for Democracy.
— David Malech is joining Live Oak Strategies as director of government affairs. He previously was general manager of government affairs at Kia Motors.
— Kelly Craft has joined the board of ARC Alliance for Responsible Citizenship. Craft is the former U.S. ambassador to Canada and the UN in the first Trump administration.
— Michael Sargent has joined Meridiam Infrastructure as a senior adviser. He previously was deputy secretary of transportation for Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin.
— Tyler Clevenger is now a director at 38 North Solutions. He previously was an environmental protection specialist at the Transportation Department.
— Josh Jamison is now policy adviser for Sen. Tim Sheehy (R-Mont.). He previously was manager of federal government affairs for the National Marine Manufacturers Association and is a John Duarte alum.
— Kathryn Maxwell is now director of government relations at Peraton. She previously was a professional staffer on the House Appropriations’ Financial Services and General Government Subcommittee and is a George W. Bush White House and Trump DHS alum.
— Wiley Rein has added Stacy Tatman as public policy adviser in their environment and product regulation practice and Alexandrine De Bianchi as a public policy advisor in their telecom, media and technology practice. Tatman previously has been an independent consultant. Alexandrine most recently was the director of legislative affairs at the White House’s Office of Science and Technology Policy.
— Jeremy Edwards is joining The Century Foundation as a senior communications adviser. He most recently was a spokesman and assistant press secretary in the Biden White House and is a FEMA and Commerce alum.
— Melisa Byrd, senior deputy director and Medicaid director for D.C. Department of Health Care Finance, will be the next president of the National Association of Medicaid Directors.
A message from the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network:
New Joint Fundraisers
CAREY LAHOOD FITZPATRICK MALLIOTAKIS (CLFM) VICTORY FUND (Reps. Brian Fitzpatrick, Mike Carey, Darin LaHood, Nicole Malliotakis, Abraham Lincoln PAC, Carry On PAC, Illinois Republican Party - Federal, No Nonsense PAC, NRCC, NY Republican Federal Campaign Committee, Ohio Republican Party State Central & Executive Committee, Team America - Bringing America Together PAC, Republican Federal Committee of Pennsylvania)
Democracy Summer 2026 (Reps. Janelle Bynum, Jared Golden, Laura Gillen, Susie Lee, Marcy Kaptur, Maggie Goodlander, Adam Gray, Josh Harder, Kristen McDonald Rivet, Dave Min, Nellie Pou, Jamie Raskin, Chris Pappas, Josh Riley, Greg Landsman, Derek Tran, Eugene Vindman, Marie Gluesenkamp Perez, George Whitesides, Don Davis, Gabe Vasquez, Emilia Sykes, Vicente Gonzalez, April Mcclain Delaney, Mike Levin, Hillary Scholten, Democracy Summer Leadership PAC)
Mark Harris Victory Fund (Rep. Mark Harris, America's Awakening PAC, NRCC)
New PACs
Be American PAC (Hybrid PAC)
Crux Climate, Inc. PAC (Crux PAC) (PAC)
MAIN STREET LEADERSHIP PAC (Hybrid PAC)
NATE TOWER PAC OF THE NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF TOWER ERECTORS (PAC)
New Lobbying REGISTRATIONS
1607 Strategies, LLC: American Fintech Council
Aquia Group, LLC: Kraus Hamdani Aerospace
Aquia Group, LLC: Tower19 On Behalf Of USafacts
Capitol 6 Advisors: Apex Site Services
Clark Hill Public Strategies LLC: Breeze Smoke, LLC
Continental Strategy, LLC: Asazgua
Delaney Policy Group: Museum Of African American History
Forward Global: Ccf Holdings LLC
Forward Global: Pharmaceutical Care Management Association
Forward Global: Virginia Hospital & Healthcare Association
Invariant LLC: Government Employees Insurance Company
I Street Advocates: Underdog Sports Holdings, Inc.
Keeley Law And Policy: Global Music Rights LLC
K&L Gates, LLP: Indo-Mim, Inc.
Lot Sixteen LLC: Span.Io, Inc.
Mcguirewoods Consulting (A Subsidiary Of Mcguirewoods LLP): W&T Offshore, Inc.
Mercury Public Affairs, LLC: Danaher Corporation
Michael Best Strategies LLC: Iridium Communications
Michael Best Strategies LLC: Metropolitan Milwaukee Association Of Commerce
Mindset Advocacy, LLC: Cq Medical
Nightwing Group, LLC: Nightwing Group, LLC
Patterson & Meek: Pennsylvania Advocates And Resources For Autism And Intellectual Disabilitiesd
Phoenix Strategies Inc.: Louisiana Chamber Of Commerce Foundation
The Halcrow Group LLC: Cambium Biomaterials, Inc., D/B/A Cambium
Troutman Stategies (Fka Troutman Pepper Strategies, LLC): Hydrostor USa Holdings Inc.
New Lobbying Terminations
Phoenix Strategies Inc.: Simpco Solutions
Velocity Government Relations: Exploration Laboratories LLC, Aka Exlabs
Velocity Government Relations: Innoveering, LLC
Velocity Government Relations: Nexa Capital Partners
A message from the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network:
So many in this country are impacted by cancer. This year, over 2 million people in the U.S. will be diagnosed, while many others will mourn the loss of a friend, colleague, or family member. It is estimated that nearly 620,000 lives will be lost to cancer this year.
Life-saving research is on the line. Prioritize policies to end cancer as we know it, and make time for patients, loved ones, caregivers, and everyone impacted by the 200 diseases known as cancer. Now is not the time to pull back. Congress: Pass the FY25 spending bill with robust funding for cancer research and prevention at the NIH, NCI and CDC.
