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Delivered daily, Influence gives you a comprehensive rundown and analysis of all lobby hires and news on K Street. | | | | | |  | | By Caitlin Oprysko | With Daniel Lippman FORMER OFAC OFFICIAL ADDED TO MERCURY’S HIKVISION ACCOUNT: A former Treasury official working in the Office of Foreign Assets Control, which oversees U.S. sanctions, has registered as a foreign agent of Hikvision , the Chinese video surveillance company accused of helping the communist government monitor Muslim minorities, according to new documents filed with the Justice Department last week. — The official, Peter Kucik, joined Mercury Public Affairs last month after spending seven years at Treasury during the Bush and Obama years, and joins a team representing Hikvision’s U.S. subsidiary that already includes former GOP Sen. David Vitter and former Rep. Toby Moffett. Former Democratic Sen. Barbara Boxer also registered to represent the company earlier this year but terminated her registration after backlash. Hikvision, which has denied allegations that it helped facilitate human rights abuses, has been targeted by the Trump administration since 2018 and was blacklisted by the Pentagon in 2019 over ties to the Chinese military. — Early last month the Biden administration sought to put such restrictions on more solid legal footing by banning American investment in Chinese companies with ties to the military or that operate in the defense or surveillance technology sectors. It also transferred enforcement of the policy and responsibility for identifying companies subject to the ban to OFAC, potentially easing the path for new sanctions. HUAWEI ADDS 2 MORE OUTSIDE FIRMS: Huawei, another Chinese tech company that found itself in the Trump administration’s crosshairs and has spent heavily to fend off restrictions, has added two new lobbying firms, according to disclosure filings. The telecom company has hired former Rep. Lee Terry’s consulting firm, as well as Stephen Binhak, in the past month. Terry will lobby for the company on infrastructure and telecom issues, while Binhak will lobby on foreign investment, telecom, export controls, sanctions and the National Defense Authorization Act, according to the filings. — Although the company’s lobbying spending soared in the second half of 2019, after President Donald Trump signed an executive order seeking to block U.S. companies from doing business with companies like Huawei , Huawei’s lobbying spending has slowed significantly, with the company paying one of the four firms it retains $70,000 and spending $180,000 on in-house lobbyists in the first quarter of this year, according to disclosure filings. It also retains three PR firms in the U.S., according to FARA filings. Still, a Huawei executive said earlier this year that the company’s sales outside of China plummeted last year, in part to the U.S. ban and the federal government pressuring other allies to abandon the company’s products. Good afternoon and welcome to PI. Send K Street tips and musings: coprysko@politico.com. And be sure to follow me on Twitter: @caitlinoprysko.
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For buzzy nuggets and details you won't find anywhere else, subscribe today. | | | | | TRAVEL ORGS CALL ON BIDEN TO RELAX INTERNATIONAL RESTRICTIONS: Two dozen travel and tourism industry organizations on Wednesday stepped up calls for the Biden administration to drop travel restrictions between the U.S. and U.K., and offered a framework for lifting most blanket restrictions while reserving entry restrictions for only the highest-risk countries due to the pandemic. — The framework was endorsed by the U.S. Travel Association, Airlines for America, the American Hotel & Lodging Association, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce , the International Air Transport Association and more, and asks the White House to limit restrictions to nations “with a high prevalence of variants of concern that could threaten the efficacy of the vaccine.” The groups also suggested the White House replace existing restrictions with a process to evaluate travelers’ individual risk (including their vaccination status or whether they’ve already recovered from Covid-19) and a country’s epidemiological trends. — In a call with reporters, Roger Dow, U.S. Travel’s chief executive, warned the administration against letting the perfect be the enemy of the good, noting that the U.S. saw record travel numbers over the July Fourth holiday with virtually no restrictions in place for domestic travel. “We all get on the roads and travel, knowing there's risk, but every day we travel [and] we travel safely,” he said, asking the administration to commit to a date for updating travel guidance before the end of the month. Dow added that he wished the administration’s working group on global travel met more frequently, while highlighting a letter signed by 75 House members to Biden today calling for a reopening of international travel. CORNERSTONE ADDS TO NEW OKC OFFICE: Cornerstone Government Affairs has added Mark Yates to its newly opened office in Oklahoma City. Yates is a former vice president at the Advanced Power Alliance, a coalition of energy-adjacent companies promoting wind and solar technologies and storage, and previously lobbied for the Oklahoma Farm Bureau. He said in an interview he looks forward to continuing work in the renewable energy and agricultural space as Cornerstone expands its state and federal offerings out of the Sooner State. The firm opened its office in Oklahoma City in December with the addition of Brian Hackler , a former deputy chief of staff to Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.), who brings defense and aerospace expertise to the branch. VOGEL GROUP MERGES WITH KEELEN GROUP: GOP fundraiser and strategist Matt Keelen’s Keelen Group has merged with The Vogel Group, and Keelen will join the practice as a principal, The Hill’s Karl Evers-Hillstrom reports. “Matt and the group will enhance our efforts to build a firm focused on serving clients in these turbulent times across a broad range of policy issues and venues,” Alex Vogel , the Vogel Group’s chief executive, told The Hill. — “The Vogel Group’s lobbying revenue has steadily climbed since its founding in 2018. In the first quarter of 2021, the firm brought in more than $1 million in lobbying revenue from 37 clients, including government contractors CoreCivic, Vectrus and Combat Medical Systems, according to OpenSecrets.org,” while the Keelen Group’s “top clients include casino giant Las Vegas Sands and several labor unions. The firm took in $330,000 in lobbying revenue through the first three months of the year.” Though The Vogel Group is bipartisan, Vogel and Keelen are both veterans of Republican politics. The Keelen Group’s Stephen Borg will also join The Vogel Group. DUCKLO’S NEW GIG: Former deputy White House press secretary T.J. Ducklo “is starting to work for an influential public relations and crisis communications firm, months after he quit the White House for reportedly threatening to destroy a reporter’s career,” CNBC’s Brian Schwartz reports. Ducklo, who served as the Biden campaign’s top spokesperson, will be a senior vice president at Risa Heller Communications, whose namesake and founder was a former aide to Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer. — “Like all of us, he’s made mistakes, paid the consequences, and learned from it,” Heller said in a statement to Punchbowl News . “We’re incredibly excited to have him on our team where he’s already leading high-profile crisis and issues engagements in NY, LA, and globally, and becoming a trusted advisor to corporate leaders.” — “Ducklo, who has lung cancer, was briefly suspended from his White House post before he resigned due to reportedly telling a reporter ‘I will destroy you.’ He also reportedly made derogatory and misogynistic comments to the reporter, who is a woman. He apologized after the reported incident in February. Heller’s office specializes in corporate and crisis communications, conducting campaigns for nonprofits, along with assisting in issue advocacy and regulatory affairs, among other items. With his ties to Biden and the administration, Ducklo could be of assistance on the regulatory front for Heller’s clients.” UIHLEIN CUTS A SEVEN-FIGURE CHECK TO BOOST GREITENS: “Disgraced former Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens is receiving a major boost for his 2022 Senate bid from one of the Republican Party’s biggest megadonors,” POLITICO’s Alex Isenstadt reports. “Richard Uihlein , a billionaire shipping and industrial supply company executive, is donating $2.5 million to a newly formed, pro-Greitens super PAC. The cash infusion will give Greitens a financial lift as many of the party’s contributors shun the former governor, who resigned from office in 2018 amid allegations that he sexually assaulted his hairstylist.” — “Greitens, who is running for the seat being vacated by retiring Sen. Roy Blunt , will need the money. The former governor could face an avalanche of attacks from Republican establishment-aligned groups amid concerns from party leaders that his nomination would jeopardize the party’s hold on what should be a safe seat and imperil their prospects of winning the Senate majority. … The former governor also faces the hurdle of competing for the Republican nomination against a slate of well-funded candidates.” | | | | SUBSCRIBE TO "THE RECAST" TODAY: Power is shifting in Washington and in communities across the country. More people are demanding a seat at the table, insisting that politics is personal and not all policy is equitable. The Recast is a twice-weekly newsletter that explores the changing power dynamics in Washington and breaks down how race and identity are recasting politics and policy in America. Get fresh insights, scoops and dispatches on this crucial intersection from across the country and hear critical new voices that challenge business as usual. Don't miss out, SUBSCRIBE . Thank you to our sponsor, Intel. | | | | | | | | — Morning Consult has added Meghan Moran of Purple Strategies, Jeff Kirchner of Kantar and Christopher Bissex of Hanover Research to its commercial team. — Jessica Brandt is returning to the Brookings Institution as policy director for the AI and emerging tech initiative. She most recently served as head of policy and research for the German Marshall Fund’s Alliance For Securing Democracy. — Mung Chiang will lead the Center for Tech Diplomacy, a think tank focused on technology and U.S. foreign policy, including issues such as 5G, artificial intelligence and semiconductors, launched by Purdue Research Foundation. Chiang was the science and technology adviser to former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. — John Alvarez has joined Global Partners LP as government affairs and legislative manager. He’s a New Balance and Gov. Charlie Baker alum. — Computer vision startup Paravision has named Benji Hutchinson president and chief operating officer. Most recently, he served as president of NEC National Security Systems, a wholly-owned subsidiary of NEC he founded to serve NEC’s federal government customers. | | | None. | | | Accountability Virginia PAC (Super PAC)
Bold Majority PAC (PAC)
Coalition for America's Future (Super PAC)
End Litter Now PAC (Hybrid PAC)
We the People, Represented (Super PAC) | | New Lobbying Registrations | | Air Force Association: Air Force Association
Akin, Gump, Strauss, Hauer & Feld: Eqt Corporation
Akin, Gump, Strauss, Hauer & Feld: Msc Mediterranean Shipping Company Sa
Akin, Gump, Strauss, Hauer & Feld: Taxpayers Protection Alliance
Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck, LLP: Aktiv Pharma Group
Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck, LLP: Mec Aerial Work Platforms
Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck, LLP: Monolith Materials, Inc.
Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck, LLP: Project Canary
Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck, LLP: The Doe Run Resources Corporation
Clark Street Associates: Echodyne Corp.
Clark Street Associates: Kepler Computing Inc.
Constantinople & Vallone Consulting LLC: Russo'S On The Bay
Hmu Consulting LLC: The Wilderness Society
Lee Terry Consulting LLC: Huawei Technologies USa Inc
Mehlman Castagnetti Rosen & Thomas, Inc.: Alvotech USa, Inc.
The Law Office Of Stephen James Binhak, Pllc: Huawei Technology USa, Inc.
The Sheridan Group: Aging In Place
Thomas Kahn: Cormac Group On Behalf Of People Over Profits Inc
Vantageknight, Inc.: Hc Holdings S.A.
Vantage Point Strategies LLC: S & K Technologies, Inc.
Venable LLP: Carousel Center Company Lp
Washington Premier Group: Tribal Solutions Medical LLC
William Castle: Air Force Association | | New Lobbying Terminations | | American Defense International, Inc.: Flir Systems, Inc.
American Defense International, Inc.: Saab Ab
Munk Policy & Law: Lgm Enterprises LLC
Remote Area Medical (Ram): Remote Area Medical (Ram)
Rich Feuer Anderson: Bbva USa Bancshares, Inc.
Smith Dawson & Andrews: Adacel Systems, Inc.
Stonington Global: Timo Kipp
The Sheridan Group: County Of Los Angeles
The Sheridan Group: Embrace Families
The Sheridan Group: National Patient Advocacy Foundation
The Sheridan Group: Nuru
Tiber Creek Group: Iris Automation Inc.
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