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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 KHASHOGGI REPORT SET TO RENEW PRESSURE ON SAUDI LOBBYISTS IN D.C.: The Biden administration this afternoon released a highly anticipated intelligence report that concluded Saudi Arabian Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman approved the 2018 slaying of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi, POLITICO’s Natasha Bertrand, Andrew Desiderio, Lara Seligman, and Nahal Toosi report. — “We assess that Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Muhammad bin Salman approved an operation in Istanbul, Turkey to capture or kill” Khashoggi, the newly declassified report says, citing the crown prince’s decision-making control, particularly over the kingdom’s intelligence and security operations, as well as the involvement of “a key adviser” to the prince and members of bin Salman’s protective detail. — It identifies 21 individuals who the intelligence community believes “with high confidence … participated in, ordered, or were otherwise complicit in or responsible” for Khashoggi’s death on the crown prince’s behalf, though the report states that investigators were unable to determine whether the named operatives knew in advance that the operation would result in the columnist’s death. — While the thrust of the report’s conclusions, which were wrapped up during the Trump administration but not disclosed publicly, have long been reported in the media, it amounts to the first public determination from the U.S. government that bin Salman was personally involved in the attack and is sure to place renewed pressure on lobbying and public affairs firms who represent the Saudi government in Washington, which is still a lucrative client. — Khashoggi’s initial disappearance in 2018 brought a huge wave of pressure on firms registered to lobby for the kingdom or who had other financial ties, prompting at least half a dozen to cut ties with the U.S. ally in the months following his death, including the Glover Park Group (now Finsbury Glover Hering), the BGR Group, the Harbour Group, CGCN Group and Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher. — But more than two dozen other companies still count Saudi Arabia or Saudi entities as clients, according to filings with the Justice Department. They include: Arena Strategy Group, Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck, Capitol Media Group, Edelman, Hogan Lovells, Holland & Knight, Karv Communications, King & Spalding, Larson Shannahan Slifka Group, David B. Kultgen, McKeon Group, November Team, Off Hill Strategies, Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman, Qorvis Communications and Ruder Finn. Hohlt Group Global remains registered as a foreign agent of the Saudi Embassy. But in an apparent acknowledgment of the continued stigma of representing the kingdom, a November filing takes care to note that while Richard Hohlt advises embassy officials, “HE DOES NOT LOBBY OR ADVOCATE.”
| | | | 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. Thank you to our sponsor, Intel. | | | | | Happy Friday and welcome to PI. Send tips and other K Street gossip: coprysko@politico.com. And follow me on Twitter: @caitlinoprysko. MINIMUM WAGE HIKE IN FLUX: The Senate parliamentarian ruled last night that Biden and Democratic lawmakers’ proposed minimum wage hike “violates arcane budget rules that could jeopardize the rest of his $1.9 trillion relief package, dealing a blow to progressives in a highly anticipated decision that has left much of Washington holding its breath for days,” POLITICO’s Caitlin Emma, Burgess Everett and Marianne LeVine report. — The determination "saves Democrats from an internal fight over" the minimum wage hike, which had drawn objections from the business community and key Senate Democrats, but Burgess and Marianne note “it also leaves Democrats without a clear path forward on fulfilling a key campaign promise” and has left the party scrambling for a backup plan with the House taking up the package today. — Despite the provision being doomed in the Senate, House Democrats maintain that the language will stay in their version of the bill as a messaging tool, though that means the package will bounce back and forth between the two chambers in order to reconcile legislative differences before final passage. — One alternative Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer is considering, per Caitlin Emma and Sarah Ferris, is “adding language to the bill that would penalize large corporations that fail to pay workers at least $15 an hour. Such a plan already has bipartisan backing from Budget Chair Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Finance Chair Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) and Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.)." THE DEETS ON TRUMP’S POST-PRESIDENCY APPARATUS: “Former President Donald Trump told political advisers Thursday that he’s chosen longtime ally Corey Lewandowski to run a yet-to-be-formed super PAC as part of his expanding post-presidential political apparatus,” POLITICO’s Alex Isenstadt reports ahead of Trump’s speech at CPAC this weekend. — Bill Stepien and Justin Clark , Trump’s reelection campaign manager and deputy, respectively, have been “tapped to oversee decisions about which candidates the former president will endorse,” a process some of the former president’s aides have said should be a measured approach with “a process put in place to determine whether a candidate should qualify,” while Donald Trump Jr. “is expected to play a major role in overseeing the political apparatus, in addition to campaigning publicly for favored candidates.” — “Lewandowski has emerged as an active figure in the early days of Trump’s post-presidency, seeking out Republican candidates to challenge the impeachment-supporting House Republicans and forming a new PAC, Fight Back America. The 47-year-old has also been offering advice to Republicans, including South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem, who is regarded as a potential 2024 presidential contender.” FORBES TATE ADDS 2: Forbes Tate Partners has hired Charles Chamberlayne as of counsel. Chamberlayne most recently was a principal at ChamberlaynePR and has served as a press secretary to former San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer, Senate Minority Whip John Cornyn (R-Texas) and former House Speaker Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.). Tom Bryant, a former strategist to Rep. Cheri Bustos (D-Ill.) and former Sen. Heidi Heitkamp (D-N.D.), will join the firm as a senior director. HOW BIDEN IS GETTING ALONG WITH INDUSTRY: “Leaders and lobbyists for 10 of the nation's top trade and business groups — including the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the National Association of Manufacturers, and the American Petroleum Institute — said that they had had encouraging early conversations with President Joe Biden and administration officials,” Business Insider’s Dave Levinthal (a PI alum) reports. “All signaled enthusiasm for at least some of the items on Biden's business agenda and described common interest in COVID-19 relief, infrastructure investment, and immigration reform.” | | | — Citizens for Responsible Energy Solutions has hired Evan Dixon as communications director and Andrew Shaeffer on the government relations team. Dixon previously was press secretary for former Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.), and Shaeffer was previously a policy adviser at USDA. CRES has also added Micah Yousefi, political and policy director for the organization Winning for Women, and Ashlee Rich Stephenson, vice president and national political director of Political Affairs and Federation Relations at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, to its board of directors. — John Fisher and Omar Khan have been named senior managing directors for state and local government affairs at the consultancy WSP USA. Fisher has been a project manager for multiple transportation projects for WSP since joining in 2008, and Khan previously served as a senior adviser and director of New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio’s public engagement unit. | | | Lesko Victory Committee (Rep. Debbie Lesko (R-Ariz.), Deliver. Excel. Believe. PAC, NRCC) | | | FREEDOM VOTE 2024 (PAC)
Protect Ohio Values PAC (Super PAC)
Speak Up TN (Hybrid PAC)
Tzedek PAC (Hybrid PAC) | | New Lobbying Registrations | | Calfee Strategic Solutions: Prosymmetry
California Strategies & Advocacy, LLC: Upwork Inc.
Forest Hill Consulting: Premiumestore LLC, D.B.A. Premium-Ppe
National Strategies, LLC: Blue Bird Body Company
Owens & Minor, Inc.: Owens & Minor, Inc.
Peck Madigan Jones: Efa Education, LLC
Putalastrategies: Invenergy, LLC
Putalastrategies: Longroad Energy Management, LLC
Rjb Strategies, LLC: National Coalition For The Homeless | | New Lobbying Terminations | | Alpine Group Partners, LLC.: The Interstate 11 Coalition
Alpine Group Partners, LLC.: The Vinyl Institute
Qep Resources, Inc.: Qep Resources, Inc.
The Russell Group, Inc.: Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium
| | | | 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. | | | | | | | | | Follow us | | | | |  |
