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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 FIRST IN PI — MEHLMAN CASTAGNETTI ADDS LONGTIME SENATE HAND: Rosemary Gutierrez, who left the Hill last year after two decades, is joining Mehlman Castagnetti Rosen & Thomas as a principal. Gutierrez was most recently a director of government affairs at health insurer Humana. Before that, she spent six years as deputy chief of staff and legislative director to Senate Commerce Chair Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.), coming off 19 years working for former Iowa Sen. Tom Harkin . Gutierrez said in an interview that she was looking forward to working on a broad range of issues once again and was eager to reunite with former Senate colleagues like Steve Haro and Nichole Distefano. Harkin, who has known Gutierrez for decades, sung her praises in an interview, crediting Gutierrez with getting several appropriations and trade matters enacted into law that have carried through to this day. “I'd say they got a great catch if they got Rosemary,” he said. BUSINESS AND LABOR GROUPS RALLY AROUND BIPARTISAN INFRASTRUCTURE DEAL: More than two dozen business and labor groups today rolled out a new coalition aimed at helping the bipartisan group of infrastructure negotiators get their White House-endorsed framework over the finish line. “Infrastructure modernization is a critical component of long-term economic growth and improved quality of life for every American,” the aptly named Coalition for Bipartisan Infrastructure Investment said in a statement. The group urged lawmakers fleshing out the framework with legislative text “to turn these promises into projects” and committed to “helping see this cross the finish line.” The coalition also warned lawmakers, who could vote on the package in the Senate in as little as two weeks, not to “let partisan differences get in the way of action.” —Among the groups involved in the push are the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the Business Roundtable, the National Association of Manufacturers, the AFL-CIO, the National Retail Federation, North America’s Building Trades Unions, the American Society of Civil Engineers, No Labels, the Bipartisan Policy Center, American Trucking Associations, the Association of Equipment Manufacturers and the National Association of Wholesaler-Distributors , with the group expected to continue to grow. The group, for now, will be focused solely on advancing the bipartisan framework — rather than heading off a reconciliation bill that Democrats hope to pass in tandem that could contain trillions of dollars in additional spending and corporate tax hikes that many of the coalition’s members individually oppose. Good afternoon and welcome to PI. Send K Street tips: coprysko@politico.com. And be sure to follow me on Twitter: @caitlinoprysko. | | | | SUBSCRIBE TO WEST WING PLAYBOOK: Add West Wing Playbook to keep up with the power players, latest policy developments and intriguing whispers percolating inside the West Wing and across the highest levels of the Cabinet. For buzzy nuggets and details you won't find anywhere else, subscribe today. | | | | | HUAWEI ADDS 2 MORE NEW OUTSIDE FIRMS: Blacklisted Chinese telecom manufacturer Huawei’s lobbying hiring spree continues, with the company bringing on two more outside lobbying firms for a total of four new firms hired since the beginning of June. The company has brought on former Rep. Lee Terry and a former member of special counsel Ken Starr’s Whitewater team, but two new filings show that over the last three weeks the company also hired Glenn LeMunyon, a former aide to former House GOP Whip Tom DeLay, and J.S. Held’s Frank Holder and William Marquardt, who specialize in crisis management and Foreign Corrupt Practices Act investigations. A source familiar with the matter said the company is looking to foster a strong initial relationship with Washington’s new leaders. — The hires come as the equipment manufacturer’s business has taken a major hit thanks to the Trump administration having barred U.S. companies from working with Huawei and pressured other countries to crack down on the company as well. The Biden administration is reviewing its predecessor’s China policies but named Huawei in an executive order last month expanding on the Trump administration’s crackdown. Adding to the company’s woes are that its chief financial officer, Meng Wanzhou, is in the midst of fighting extradition from Canada to the U.S. on charges of bank fraud and allegations that Huawei violated U.S. sanctions against Iran. AMAZON LOBBIES TO PRESERVE R&D TAX BREAK: “As Amazon publicly embraced President Joe Biden’s plan to raise the corporate tax rate across the board, it has also lobbied Congress to preserve a prized tax break that’s helped it lower its corporate tax bill,” our Theo Meyer reports. “The retail giant’s founder Jeff Bezos earned plaudits earlier this year when he announced that Amazon would back ‘a rise in the corporate tax rate’ to help pay for Biden’s infrastructure package. His comments broke with most of the rest of corporate America — the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and Business Roundtable vehemently opposed such tax hikes — and served as a rejoinder to critics who have attacked Amazon for paying little to no federal income taxes. Biden himself criticized Amazon’s tax rate as too low on the campaign trail. — “Behind the scenes, however, Amazon and other companies have been making moves to help keep their taxes from rising. And their efforts illustrate some of the unseen hurdles the Biden administration faces in its efforts to bring in more revenue from corporate taxation as it calls for raising the overall corporate tax rate to fund its ambitious domestic agenda.” — Last month Amazon hired tax lobbyist Joshua Odintz, who’s a former Democratic congressional aide and Obama administration alum, “to lobby on the section of the tax code dealing with the research and development tax deduction,” which aims to incentivize companies to shell out on research and development by providing tax breaks for that spending. A coalition of companies that benefit from the deduction, including Amazon, hired a team of “veteran tax lobbyists at PricewaterhouseCoopers earlier this year. Those hired included a former top aide to Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell.” The deductions themselves aren’t at risk, but “could become less valuable next year if Congress doesn’t act, which may explain why Amazon chose to ramp up its lobbying campaign around it.” DON’T CALL IT A COMEBACK: “The collapse of Tony Podesta ’s $42-million-a-year lobbying and public relations firm in 2017 amid a federal investigation shook K Street and rendered him toxic — a rare Democratic victim of the Trump-era scandals.” Podesta, “long an outsized character in the influence industry and Democratic fund-raising, turned to his enormous collection of modern art for solace and income. But when the pandemic sent the art market reeling, he sold the penthouse condo in Washington he had been using to show and sell his collection, and secured a loan from the government’s Paycheck Protection Program for struggling small businesses.” And now, he’s toying with a return to the influence world, he told The New York Times’ Ken Vogel. — “I don’t want to recreate what I had, but I sort of miss working, and art alone doesn’t sustain me, because I love politics,” he told the paper. Podesta is now clear of former special counsel Robert Mueller ’s probe into his Ukraine lobbying, an investigation whose motives Podesta questioned, “asserting that he was targeted at least partly because the special counsel ‘thought it was a good idea to have a Democrat, clearly.’” — He “noted approvingly that the Biden campaign and the Democratic National Committee had accepted a combined $2,750 in donations from him last year, and that he had been welcomed at a virtual fund-raiser hosted by the campaign’s chairman, Steve Ricchetti, a longtime friend who once sold his lobbying firm to Mr. Podesta. Mr. Ricchetti is now a counselor to Mr. Biden in the White House, while his brother Jeff Ricchetti, a former employee of Mr. Podesta’s lobbying firm, has seen his lobbying income increase significantly.” WHAT THE SAUDIS ARE GETTING UP TO: “Saudi Arabia is funding a yet-to-be-announced digital news platform, which will have a studio in Washington, D.C., as the kingdom begins a new lobbying effort aimed at the White House and Congress,” CNBC’s Brian Schwartz reports. The project “is being backed by a subsidiary of the Saudi Technology Development and Investment Co., or Taqnia, according to new foreign lobbying disclosures filed with the Department of Justice,” and involves journalists who have worked in the past with Fox News, Al Jazeera, NBC and SiriusXM radio. — “The subsidiary backing the initiative is Taqnia ETS , a company that focuses on engineering and technological services for Saudi Arabia. PitchBook says Taqnia is based in Saudi Arabia, which “prefers to invest in the life sciences and health, security and defense, information and communication technology, material sciences, energy and environment and water technology sectors.” Taqnia’s website says it’s owned by the kingdom’s $400 billion sovereign wealth fund, and documents filed with the DOJ say it is “supervised and financed by the Saudi Ministry of Information.” | | | — Ryan Guthrie has joined Chipotle as senior director of government affairs working with federal, state and local governments after an 11-year career at Coca-Cola. — Emily Tisch Sussman is now a senior adviser to PL + US (Paid Leave US). She’s a longtime Democratic strategist, host of the podcast Your Political Playlist, and is a Center for American Progress Action Fund and Swing Left alum. — Ross Wallenstein has started Wall to Wall Communications, where he is CEO. He most recently was director of communications for David Weprin's campaign for NYC comptroller and is also an alum of J Strategies and Marino. — Matt Herrick is joining the International Dairy Foods Association as senior vice president of public affairs and communications and executive director of the IDFA Foundation. He most recently was communications director at the Department of Agriculture. — Matt Cameron is now head of financial services policy at Notarize . He most recently was assistant director of stakeholder management for the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. — United Public Affairs has hired Erick Sanchez to head up NCAA NIL mentorship and management, a new role created in light of last week’s new policy for student-athletes set by the NCAA. He previously consulted for the NCAA and was a traveling press secretary for Andrew Yang’s presidential campaign. — Emily Kilcrease has been named senior fellow and director of the Energy, Economics, and Security program at the Center for a New American Security. She was most recently a deputy assistant U.S. trade representative. — Karen Onaran joined the Electricity Consumers Resource Council as vice president earlier this month. She was previously director of federal affairs at the Edison Electric Institute. | | | | 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. | | | | | | | | None. | | | Coalition for America's Future (Super PAC) | | New Lobbying Registrations | | Akin, Gump, Strauss, Hauer & Feld: Attentive Mobile, Inc.
Altrius Group, LLC: Instituto Invertir Libertad
Atlantic Strategies Group: Neural Propulsion Systems Inc.
Bracewell LLP: The Coalition For Renewable Natural Gas
Capitol Decisions, Inc.: Third Horizon Strategies
Capitol Tax Partners, LLP: Downtown Detroit Inc
Dla Piper LLP (US): Illumina, Inc.
Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP: American Association For The Advancement Of Science
Forethought Advisors, LLC: Clark Hill, Plc On Behalf Of City Of Baltimore
Greenberg Traurig, LLP: Celdara Medical, LLC
Hartwell Capitol Consulting: Sli Medical Supply
Hobart Hallaway & Quayle Ventures, LLC: Exxon Mobil Corporation
Holland & Knight LLP: K&L Gates On Behalf Of Clark Street Associates Obo Lattice Semiconductor
Holland & Knight LLP: K&L Gates On Behalf Of Clark Street Associates On Behalf Of Kepler Computing
Holland & Knight LLP: K&L Gates On Behalf Of Clark Street Associates On Behalf Of Qorvo, Inc.
Jacqueline S Gillan: Truck Safety Coalition
J.S. Held, LLC: Huawei Technology USa, Inc.
King & Spalding LLP: Becton, Dickinson And Company
Lemunyon Group, LLC: Huawei Technologies USa Inc.
Mehlman Castagnetti Rosen & Thomas, Inc.: Anduril Industries, Inc
Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP: National Association Of Wholesaler-Distributors
Platinum Advisors Dc, LLC: Beta Technologies, Inc.
Prime Policy Group: Cobalt Institute
Proventure Consultants LLC: Cerfe Labs
Putalastrategies: Pharmaceutical Research And Manufacturers Of America
Sb Strategic Consulting, Inc.: General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc.
The Bennett Consulting Group: Metalcraft
The Bennett Consulting Group: Port Passport
The Bennett Consulting Group: Texas Water Trade
The Madison Group: Vive Concierge
The Raben Group: Roberts Enterprise Development Fund
The Raben Group: Women Donors Network Action
Ward And Smith, P.A.: Brunswick County
Wynne Health Group: Cohere Health
Wynne Health Group: Phreesia, Inc. | | New Lobbying Terminations | | Bernstein Strategy Group: International Society For Technology In Education
Cartermcclean LLC: Blackberry (Formerly Know As Athoc)
Cassidy & Associates, Inc.: Excela Health
Cassidy & Associates, Inc.: Northern Arizona University Foundation
Clark Street Associates: Western Digital
Croissance International Consulting: Augustin Saint Clou
Dentons US LLP: Alcoa Corporation
Dentons US LLP: Pearl Harbor Aviation Museum
Holland & Knight LLP: Ashland Inc.
Holland & Knight LLP: East West Bank
Madison Associates, LLC: Association For Psychological Science
Madison Associates, LLC: Hepatitis B Foundation
Madison Associates, LLC: Institute For Hepatitis And Virus Research
Madison Associates, LLC: National Peace Corps Association
Madison Associates, LLC: Pennsylvania Biotechnology Center Of Bucks County
Madison Associates, LLC: Psychological Clinical Science Accreditation System
Pace, LLP: Advanced Telesensors, Inc.
Prime Policy Group: Avista Universal Environmental Services
Smith Dawson & Andrews: Re-Synth International
South River Advocacy: Ups
The Prenda Group LLC: American Cleaning Institute | | | | Follow us | | | | |  |
