Dow to leave U.S. Travel next year — Vogel Group heads to the Sunshine State — Trumpworld lobbyists adjust to Biden’s Washington

From: POLITICO Influence - Thursday Jul 22,2021 09:33 pm
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By Caitlin Oprysko

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With Daniel Lippman

DOW TO LEAVE U.S. TRAVEL AFTER 17 YEARS: Roger Dow, the longtime president and chief executive of the U.S. Travel Association , a top industry lobbying group, will step down next year, the association announced this morning. Dow, who joined the association in 2005, has extended his contract through next July while the group’s board of directors kicks off a search for his replacement. Dow has been a vocal advocate for the industry as the coronavirus pandemic decimated global travel, which has yet to fully rebound. The pandemic blunted 10 straight years of growth for U.S. Travel under Dow’s leadership.

FIRST IN PI — VOGEL GROUP POACHES 3 TO OPEN FLORIDA OFFICE: The Vogel Group has hired three lobbyists from Tallahassee law and lobbying firm Hopping, Green & Sams to open the firm’s first office in Florida and build out its practice as the already politically significant state continues to attract new business investment. Eileen Stuart, David Childs, and Gary Hunter will helm Vogel Group’s Tallahassee office, and lobby at the state, local and federal levels while bringing along a roster of clients that includes Mosaic Fertilizer, Exxon Mobil, Sanofi, University of Florida, the Florida Chamber of Commerce, Disney, American Resort Developers Association, the National Marine Manufacturers Association and more.

— “In looking at the dynamic today, it is clear that Florida is in a period of exciting growth — and it is accelerating,” Vogel Group partner Alex Vogel told PI in an email. “It is a major hub for commerce, business, policy, and politics. We want to be a part of that energy and growth in Florida to best serve clients around the country and internationally.” In a statement Stuart boasted that the trio’s move to Vogel Group “creates exponential benefits for our clients and unparalleled opportunities to grow our business,” both in Tallahassee and nationally.

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BURR HEADING TO MCKINSEY: Danielle Burr is joining management consulting giant McKinsey & Co. this as the firm’s head of public affairs in North America, based in Washington. Burr, Uber ’s former head of public affairs, will lead McKinsey’s public affairs strategy and “help to share the organization’s global impact and leading research with federal, state and local policymakers and other key stakeholders,” according to a spokesperson.

CHECKING IN ON THE TRUMP LOBBYISTS: “When Donald Trump took office in 2017, the handful of Washington lobbyists who could boast ties to him were inundated with calls from potential clients. Six months into the Biden administration, several Trump-connected firms together are down millions of dollars in fees compared to a year earlier; one prominent firm with Trumpworld ties has collapsed, and another has withdrawn from Washington entirely,” POLITICO’s Theo Meyer reports. “‘It’s definitely been quiet,’ said Brad Gerstman, whose firm, Gotham Government Relations & Communications, once represented Trump in New York and helped orchestrate Trump’s 2015 campaign announcement before opening a Washington office after he won.”

— “Jeff Miller, a Republican lobbyist who is close to former energy secretary Rick Perry , set up a D.C. lobbying shop after Trump won and signed prominent clients such as Dow Chemical and Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America. Miller Strategies ’ lobbying revenues have fallen by almost half in the past year; the firm brought in $1.9 million in the second quarter of 2021 compared with $3.4 million in the second quarter of 2020. Still, it is on pace to bring in more money this year than it did in either of the first two years of Trump’s presidency. Dow Chemical and PhRMA both remain clients.

Brian Ballard , a Florida lobbyist who was a top fundraiser for Trump’s campaigns and who opened a Washington office after Trump won, has experienced a similar trend,” though Ballard Partners has kept many clients, and after hiring more Democratic lobbyists this year the firm “saw its revenue grow slightly from the first quarter to second quarter of 2021.”

FLYING IN: A number of groups have spent the week meeting with lawmakers virtually (but occasionally in person). The Hospice Action Network, an affiliate of the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization, is holding a virtual fly-in today. The group is slated to meet with more than 100 House and Senate offices, where hospice advocates will try to win support for a community-based palliative care demonstration. The Committee for Education Funding, meanwhile, participated in 36 Zoom meetings with Hill offices, while Lendlease held a dozen in-person meetings on the Hill for its fly-in. The U.S. Anti Doping Agency held a pair of in-person meetings on the Hill this week, as well as a congressional briefing.

— Executives from cloud computing firm VMWare were on the Hill earlier this week as well to urge lawmakers on key committees to channel investments and incentivize for open RAN architecuture for expanding broadband access and a so-called zero trust approach to cybersecurity. VMWare President Sumit Dhawan and its top lobbyist Michael Kennedy met with Sens. Todd Young (R-Ind.), John Hickenlooper (D-Colo.) , Steve Daines (R-Mont.) and Reps. Drew Ferguson (R-Ga.), John Katko (R-N.Y.), Yvette Clarke (D-N.Y.), Zoe Lofgren (D-Calif.), Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) , John Curtis (R-Utah).

 

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CANNABIS LOBBYING PICKED UP LAST QUARTER: “A record number of special interests that for the first time included tech giant Amazon lobbied on cannabis from April to June this year as legalization talks heated up on Capitol Hill,” Insider’s Kimberly Leonard and Jeremy Berke report. “The more than 167 groups that lobbied on cannabis during the second quarter of this year is an increase from 147 that spent their influence dollars on the issue during the first quarter of this year. It's also a jump from the 162 interests that lobbied on cannabis during the second quarter of 2020.”

HAITI POWER STRUGGLE NOT JUST TAKING PLACE IN PORT-AU-PRINCE: “The struggle for power in Haiti after the assassination of the country’s president has spilled onto K Street, where rival Haitian politicians, business leaders and interest groups are turning to lobbyists to wage an expensive and escalating proxy battle for influence with the United States,” Ken Vogel and Natalie Kitroeff write for The New York Times.

— Vogel and Kitroeff take a peek behind the curtain at a group text that “in the days after the killing of President Jovenel Moïse ... included Haitian officials, political figures and American lobbyists” and “showed them strategizing about countering American critics and potential rivals for the presidency and looking for ways to cast blame for the killing, according to copies of the messages obtained by The New York Times and confirmed by some of the participants. The chat began before the assassination and originally included Mr. Moïse, though it appeared to take on a more frenetic tone after he was gunned down in his home this month.”

— “Especially in countries heavily reliant on the United States for financial aid and other backing, governments and deep-pocketed interests have long paid handsomely for help winning support in Washington — or at least the appearance of it — sometimes leading to criticism that they are more focused on currying favor in Washington than addressing problems at home. The dynamic is stark in Haiti, where a quarter of the population is acutely hungry, despite billions in international assistance since an earthquake devastated the country in 2010,” and where the government had already increased its spending on lobbying in the U.S. with Moïse facing criticism from his constituents.

HIKVISION LEAVES SIA OVER SPAT WITH TRADE JOURNAL: “China-based video surveillance manufacturer Hikvision is resigning its membership in the Security Industry Association (SIA) because the company says it has reached the point where it no longer wants to share membership in the organization alongside security industry publication IPVM,” Security Info Watch’s Joel Griffin reports. In a resignation letter obtained by the outlet, the surveillance giant “said the continued actions of IPVM, which has long railed against the use of Hikvision technologies for various reasons, have become too much to bear and which they believe could even ‘diminish’ SIA as an institution.”


Jobs Report

Jim Billimoria has joined American Express as a director of business-to-business communications. He was previously associate administrator for SBA's Office of Communications & Public Liaison.

Kevin Benacci is now senior director of corporate comms for the global public affairs team at Crowdstrike. He most recently was a vice president for Targeted Victory’s cyber practice.

Coursera CEO Jeff Maggioncalda and General Motors general counsel Craig Glidden join TechNet’s Executive Council, with Coursera joining as a new member of the tech trade group.

Eric Pelofsky is now deputy chief of staff and managing director at the Rockefeller Foundation. He most recently was senior director of international affairs in Shell’s D.C. office and is an Obama White House alum.

Patrick Burgwinkle is now an account director at Sunshine Sachs. He most recently was comms director for End Citizens United, and is a DCCC and Hillary 2016 alum.

 

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Kat-Banks Victory JFC (Rep. Jim Banks, Kat Cammack)

New PACs

Affordable Energy Fund PAC (Super PAC)
Conquering Cancer PAC (PAC)
FORWARDING AMERICA TOGETHER (Super PAC)
NEVADA NARPM POLITICAL ACTION COMMITTEE (PAC)
Ohio Conservative Victory Fund (PAC)
Public Safety PAC (PAC)
Red Valley Project PAC (Super PAC)
Americans Against Sedition (Super PAC)
Reset Ohio PAC (Super PAC)

 

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New Lobbying Registrations

Alston & Bird LLP: USagainstalzheimer'S Action
Becker & Poliakoff, P.A.: Butterfly Network, Inc.
Becker & Poliakoff, P.A.: City Of Virginia Beach, Va
Becker & Poliakoff, P.A.: Tantalus Systems Inc.
Emanuel & Associates, Inc. (Fka Adam Emanuel): Acu Energy International LLC
Fdj Solutions LLC: Exile Concepts LLC
Greenberg Traurig, LLP: Elara Caring
Guidepoststrategies, LLC: Aviat Networks, Inc.
Guidepoststrategies, LLC: We Are Golf
Ice Miller Strategies LLC: Intuit, Inc. And Affiliates
J.A. Green And Company: American Defense International On Behalf Of Mp Materials
J.A. Green And Company: General Radar Corporation
J.A. Green And Company: Striveworks
J.A. Green And Company: Tomahawk Robotics
Jn Strategic, Inc: American Continental Group Obo Septa
Jon Thomas Consulting: Leech Lake Community College
J.Sullivan Advocacy: Dewey Square Group On Behalf Of Blue Origin, LLC
Jtr Strategies LLC: Thorn Run Partners O/B/O Cargo Airline Association
Lobbyit.Com: Ocg Fiber
Meeks, Butera & Israel Pllc: Meeks, Butera & Israel Pllc
Meguire Whitney, LLC: Dairyland Power Cooperative
Mr. Peter Knight: Esperanza
Mr. Richard Burness: Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck, LLP Obo Ameriprise Financial
Mr. Richard Burness: Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck, LLP Obo Athene Holding
Mr. Richard Burness: Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck, LLP Obo Dell Technologies, Inc.
Mr. Richard Burness: Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck, LLP Obo Heineken USa
Mr. Richard Burness: Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck, LLP Obo Royal Gold
Pace, LLP: Federated Indians Of The Graton Rancheria
Paragon Government Relations: Nevada County
Platinum Advisors Dc, LLC: Liberty Dental Plan Corporation
Reston Strategy Group, LLC: 535 Group, LLC On Behalf Of D-Wave Government Inc.
Rock Creek Counsel: Coin Center
Rpn Advocacy, LLC: High Street Strategies On Behalf Of Aleut Community Of St. Paul Island
Rpn Advocacy, LLC: Sanborn Map Company
Samuel Poole: Bell Legal Group
Seward Square Group: Rite Aid Corporation
Starzyk & Associates, LLC: Tusk Strategies
Strategics Consulting, LLC: City Of Chattanooga, Tn
The Edw Group: Morris Capital Investments, LLC
The Majority Group, LLC: American Petroleum Institute
The Summerill Law Firm: Presidio County Sheriff'S Office
The Summerill Law Firm: St. Joseph County Police Department
Urban Swirski & Associates, LLC: Upbring
Viking Navigation LLC: Bluejay Advisors LLC On Behalf Of The Cimarron Valley Railroad
World Coffee Research: World Coffee Research

New Lobbying Terminations

Cornerstone Government Affairs, Inc.: Diamond Rock Hospitality Company
Cornerstone Government Affairs, Inc.: U.S. Custom Harvesters, Inc.
David L. Horne, LLC: Churchill Stateside Group
Dentons US LLP: Ilc Dover
Eric Mondero: American Red Cross 431 18Th Street Nw Washington Dc 20006
Fonda & Associates, LLC: Senne Consulting
Freemyer & Associates P.C.: Americas Gold And Silver Corporation
Guidepoststrategies, LLC: Aviat Networks, Inc.
J.A. Green And Company: Erickson Incorporated
J.Sullivan Advocacy: U.S. Travel Association
Orion Advocates: Biomass Thermal Energy Council
Park&K Public Affairs LLC: Lexset Ai
Park&K Public Affairs LLC: Raptor Technologies
Seward Square Group: Capitol Counsel On Behalf Of Rite Aid Corporation
The Russell Group, Inc.: Michigan Sugar Company
Troutman Pepper Strategies (Fka Troutman Sanders Public Affairs Group, LLC): Ami Group
Trustwave Holdings, Inc.: Trustwave Holdings, Inc.

 

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