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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 BUSINESS AND LABOR RAMP UP INFRASTRUCTURE PUSH: Business and labor powerhouses are blanketing both ends of Pennsylvania Avenue with calls for infrastructure investment. As part of the “Build by the Fourth” campaign led by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the Bipartisan Policy Center, a coalition of more than 300 groups sent a letter to lawmakers today urging Congress to finally follow through on perennial calls to upgrade the nation’s crumbling roads and bridges and expand broadband access, and to do it in an environmentally sustainable and, (emphasis ours) "bipartisan" way. — President Joe Biden is set to discuss the issue with labor leaders at the White House this afternoon, where The Wall Street Journal’s Timothy Puko and Andrew Restuccia report the labor heads are “hoping to win commitments for a massive federal investment in infrastructure as well as efforts to create jobs in clean tech and alternative energy.” — Per the White House, Biden will meet with AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka, AFL-CIO Secretary-Treasurer Elizabeth Shuler, International Union of Operating Engineers General President James Callahan, Ironworkers International Union’s Eric Dean, International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers’ Robert Martinez Jr., North America’s Building Trades Unions' Sean McGarvey, United Association Union of Plumbers, Fitters, Welders, & Service Techs’ Mark McManus, Laborers’ International Union of North America’s Terry O’Sullivan, International Union of Painters and Allied Trades’ Kenneth Rigmaiden and International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers’ Lonnie Stephenson. — “We've been talking about it for too long,” Ed Mortimer, the Chamber’s vice president of transportation and infrastructure, said at a panel discussion this afternoon hosted by United for Infrastructure, a nonprofit backed by groups like the Chamber, the Business Roundtable, the American Society of Civil Engineers, the National Association of Manufacturers and the AFL-CIO. Mortimer added that the Chamber is committed to “hold their feet to the fire” in order to get a bill done, though he lamented that lawmakers “get hung up on the details” of paying for infrastructure investments. — Matthew Sonnesyn , the head of infrastructure, energy and environment at the Business Roundtable, called enacting infrastructure legislation a “critical component of helping our economy recover,” while the AFL-CIO’s Greg Regan pointed out that fixating on an infrastructure bill’s price tag often becomes a chief hurdle and that “we’re moving towards a future where where a gas tax is not going to be a sustainable” funding mechanism. — “We just keep making the point that we're already paying. This is a hidden tax,” said Emily Feenstra, who oversees government relations for the ASCE, arguing that investing in reliable, green infrastructure “pays dividends” by putting people to work while helping communities. — Mortimer reiterated that the Chamber has recently warmed up to the idea of a market-based approach to climate change and has endorsed a gas tax in the past but warned that leaning on corporate tax hikes to pay for an infrastructure proposal could threaten the bipartisan approach the group has pushed for. But he added that the powerful business lobby, as well as unions, need to show they are willing to stand by lawmakers — from both parties — who take “tough” votes on infrastructure even if they may face a primary back home because of it. Good afternoon and welcome to PI. Send tips: coprysko@politico.com. And follow me on Twitter: @caitlinoprysko. | | | | Designed specifically for regulatory affairs professionals - AgencyIQ FDA Forecast 2021: In its inaugural year, AgencyIQ's FDA Forecast predicts the FDA regulatory changes that will take place in 2021 and what they will mean for the life sciences industry. Read more about the report and download the summary here. | | | | | ZELENSKY’S PARTY HIRES FGH: Finsbury Glover Hering, the new firm formed from last month’s merger between the Glover Park Group, Finsbury and Hering Schuppener, has signed its first foreign client under the new moniker. FGH will represent the Transatlantic Dialogue and Engagement Center, a group that “operates in close cooperation with the Sluga Narodu Political Party,” to advance Ukrainian relations with the U.S., European Union and other democratic countries, according to Justice Department filings. — A copy of the contract filed with the Justice Department last week shows that FGH will earn $50,000 a month to “provide government relations and strategic counsel and support” for TDEC and the Sluga Narodu party (also known as the Servant of the People party, of which Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is a member). Lindsay Lee Plack, Tod Preston and Brett O'Brien will work on the account, which comes in the wake of the starring role Zelensky played in former President Donald Trump's first impeachment. NEW BUSINESS: Managed Funds Association , the trade group that represents hedge funds in Washington, has hired a new team of outside lobbyists, according to disclosures filed ahead of tomorrow’s blockbuster House Financial Services hearing that is expected to focus at least partially on hedge funds’ roles in last month’s GameStop frenzy. — The team of new outside lobbyists comes from Arnold & Porter Kaye Scholer and includes Mark Epley, who just joined the firm from MFA, where he was chief legal officer; Amber Hay, a former aide to House Financial Services Chair Maxine Waters (D-Calif.), Marne Marotta and Kevin O’Neill. MFA retains several other outside lobbying shops including Subject Matter, Blue Ridge Law & Policy, Fierce Government Relations, Federal Hall Policy Advisors, PwC, The Williams Group and RMP Strategies. GRIFFIN IN FOR A GRILLING: Thursday’s hearing, which will feature the heads of Reddit , where the retail frenzy of last month originated, and Robinhood, the online brokerage that has become popular for facilitating such trades, will also include representatives from the hedge fund Melvin Capital and Ken Griffin, whose Citadel has also been under scrutiny since the GameStop saga. — The reach of Griffin’s “empire was on full display during the rise and fall of GameStop Corp. -- and Washington took note,” Bloomberg’s Robert Schmidt, Benjamin Bain, and Hema Parmar report. “One of his businesses executed many of the trades that drove the retailer’s shares into the stratosphere last month, while another provided a $2 billion lifeline to a hedge fund that got crushed by the stock surge. But such pervasiveness poses a threat as lawmakers seek to determine whether the Reddit-fueled trading frenzy was just a blip, or a sign that something is broken on Wall Street.” — “Citadel’s influence in Washington is hard to overstate. Regulators often consult with its executives and consider the firm’s input when making decisions,” and like Robinhood now, employs several former SEC officials “including Stephen Luparello, who ran the agency’s trading and markets division and is now Citadel Securities’ legal chief.” Former Fed Chair Ben Bernanke is also a senior adviser, and the current Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen “collected more than $800,000 in speaking fees from Citadel while she was out of government.” LINCOLN PROJECT LATEST: “As co-founders of the Lincoln Project were making millions off of the super PAC they ran, one of them, Reed Galen , quietly launched a little known dark money organization that may have enriched him and his allies even further,” CNBC’s Brian Schwartz reports. According to tax documents the group, Project Yellowstone, “lists Galen as the principal officer, with a Park City, Utah address.” The documents show that both groups “were directly linked. Although this partnership is not illegal, the arrangement could have allowed behind the scenes payments to firms with ties to the super PAC’s leadership or other vendors that often did work with the Lincoln Project.” — Meanwhile several senior partners at Paul Hastings, the outside law firm hired to conduct a “comprehensive review” of the embattled anti-Trump group’s operations, have donated thousands of dollars to the group, according to the Free Beacon’s Andrew Stiles and Matthew Foldi. “Greg Nitzkowski, the firm's managing partner of more than two decades, donated $3,000 to the Lincoln Project in 2020, according to federal election records. Elena Baca, who chairs the firm's employment law department, has donated almost $2,000 to the Lincoln Project.” Three other Paul Hastings partners, Sam Alavi, Joseph Profaizer and Steven Marenberg, have donated to the group as well, per the Free Beacon. | | | — Mary Kaszynski is joining the progressive veterans group VoteVets as director of government relations. She was previously deputy policy director at Ploughshares Fund. — Clyde Group has announced six new hires: Contessa Kellogg-Winters will be senior vice president. She was most recently communications director for the Aquaculture Stewardship Council. Lauren Hovey will be vice president. She was most recently vice president at Hundred Stories PR. Jenny Wang will be vice president. She was most recently a vice president at kglobal. Richard Larimer will be content director. Daniel Pino will be senior associate. He was most recently senior director at Wheelhouse Group. Morgan Reese will be senior associate. She was most recently senior communications associate for Easterseals. — Doug Dziak is now chief counsel for U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commissioner Peter Feldman. Dziak was previously general counsel and staff director for the Senate Budget Committee. — Kari Bingen has joined Hawkeye 360 as its chief strategy officer, Morning Defense reports. Bingen was most recently deputy undersecretary of Defense for intelligence and security. — Dustin Davidson is now director of government relations at Waterways Council Inc., Morning Energy reports. Davidson most recently served as a staffer for the House Select Committee on the Climate Crisis and as a legislative assistant to Rep. Garret Graves (R-La.). — Pia Carusone has joined SKDK as a managing director and co-head of SKDKPolitical, Playbook reports. She is owner of Republic Restoratives Distillery, most recently was a partner at Left Hook and is a State Department and Gabby Giffords alum. | | | | NEW – “THE RECAST” NEWSLETTER: Power dynamics are changing. “Influence” is changing. More people are demanding a seat at the table, insisting that all politics is personal and not all policy is equitable. “The Recast” is our new twice-weekly newsletter that breaks down how race and identity are recasting politics, policy, and power in America. And POLITICO is recasting how we report on this crucial intersection, bringing you fresh insights, scoops, dispatches from across the country, and new voices that challenge “business as usual.” Don’t miss out on this important new newsletter, SUBSCRIBE NOW. | | | | | | | | Team GT (Rep. G.T. Thompson (R-Pa.), Greater Tomorrow Political Action Committee, NRCC) | | | Constitutional Patriot Party (PAC)
NJH (PAC)
NTC (PAC) | | New Lobbying Registrations | | 535 Group, LLC: Boutique Air
American Continental Group: National Rental Home Council
American Continental Group: Stringking
Arnold & Porter Kaye Scholer LLP: Business Continuity Coalition
Arnold & Porter Kaye Scholer LLP: Managed Funds Association
Black Diamond Strategies LLC: Mammoth Energy Services Inc
Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck, LLP: Association Of Equipment Manufacturers
Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck, LLP: National Electrical Contractors Association
Capitol Counsel, LLC: Crispr Therapeutics, Inc.
Capitol Transportation Consulting: Crestview Strategies US LLC On Behalf Of Carnival North America LLC
Covington & Burling LLP: Justice For Kurds
Cross Potomac Consulting LLC: Daniel Defense, Inc.
Cross Potomac Consulting LLC: Envistacom, LLC
Cross Potomac Consulting LLC: Logos Technologies, LLC
Cross Potomac Consulting LLC: Milliken & Company
Cross Potomac Consulting LLC: Scientific Research Corporation
Cross Potomac Consulting LLC: Sierra Nevada Corporation
Cross Potomac Consulting LLC: Trideum Corporation
Epplin Strategic Planning: The Alliance For Lasting Liberty C/O 1St Amendment Partnership
Federal Business Group: Constellium Muscle Shoals LLC
Jeff Miller Group: Veterans Evaluation Services, Inc.
Kadesh & Associates, LLC: Good Farmers Great Neighbors
Mckinley Strategies, LLC: Lincoln Electric
Rock Creek Counsel: SEIA
Sonova USA Inc.: Sonova USA Inc.
The Raben Group: Servicenow
The Simmons & Russell Group, LLC: Sentinel Midstream LLC
West Front Strategies LLC: Alliance For Safety And Justice
West Front Strategies LLC: Realogy Holdings Corp. | | New Lobbying Terminations | | Jeffrey J. Kimbell And Associates: Premier Biotech Inc.
Joseph Huang-Racalto: National Center For Missing & Exploited Children
Lillstrom Cheng Strategies: Focus On Therapeutic Outcomes
Mercury Public Affairs, LLC: Success Tms Therapy
Miller-Wenhold Capitol Strategies: Project Management Institute
Monument Advocacy: Bytedance Inc.
Mr. Garrett Jemison: Alabama Technology Network
Mr. Louis Cherington: Bagley Development Group LLC
Mr. Robert Talley: Colodado Springs Utilities
Ptsa Formerly Known As "Mark S. Morgan": Petroleum Marketers Association Of America
Van Norman Consulting, LLC: National Indian Gaming Association
Veng Group: Mnet Media
Veng Group: Sixteenthirty Fund
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