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Delivered daily, Influence gives you a comprehensive rundown and analysis of all lobby hires and news on K Street. | | | | |  | | By Hailey Fuchs | With Daniel Lippman DOORDASH CASH: DoorDash has created its own political action committee, moving to expand its already growing Washington influence presence, according to paperwork filed with the Federal Election Commission on Thursday. — The delivery and takeout company brought on its first federally registered lobbyists in 2020 and has quickly grown its D.C. coterie of lobbying firms. Its influence team now counts a number of big K Street shops among its ranks, including Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld and Cassidy & Associates. — DoorDash spent $615,000 on lobbying in the first quarter of 2022 alone, targeting, among other issues, matters around the gig economy, competition, and the Protecting the Right to Organize Act, or PRO Act. In March, the company and others launched Flex, an industry association for rideshare and delivery companies, arguing against the reclassification of their workforce as employees instead of independent contractors. — “We’re looking forward to supporting those who share our values and mission of growing and empowering local economies,” said Campbell Millum, a spokesperson for DoorDash, of the company’s decision to launch a PAC. — The move to expand the company influence operation is one of several in recent months. It enlisted a prominent antitrust lobbyist earlier this year, as government regulators reportedly probe the industry. DoorDash also registered its in-house team in March. The company’s sole in-house federally registered lobbyist is Carrianna Suiter Kuruvilla, an alum of the Department of Labor under former President Barack Obama. Greetings from PI — we made it to Friday! My name is Hailey Fuchs, and I’m your host of POLITICO Influence this week. Caitlin will be back on Monday, but please still send me all your money + influence tips to hfuchs@politico.com, and follow me on Twitter @Hailey_Fuchs.
| | | | INTRODUCING POWER SWITCH: The energy landscape is profoundly transforming. Power Switch is a daily newsletter that unlocks the most important stories driving the energy sector and the political forces shaping critical decisions about your energy future, from production to storage, distribution to consumption. Don’t miss out on Power Switch, your guide to the politics of energy transformation in America and around the world. SUBSCRIBE TODAY. | | | | | SUMMER LOBBYING READ: Author Stephanie Vance has a potential beach read for K Street. Her new book, Across the Aisle , tells the romantic tale of two opposing lobbyists whose paths cross and sparks fly. Vance is hosting a release reception next week at Sonoma Restaurant and Wine Bar. Here’s an excerpt from the Amazon description: — “Career lobbyist Grant Pierce knows he shouldn’t enjoy ruffling the feathers of the opposition this much, but he can’t help it. Almost no one leaves him without a witty comeback—except Dallas McGrath. Maybe it’s her sharp mind, or maybe it’s the sexy way she bulldozes his every argument. Either way, he’s got the perfect plan to put her off her game. He suggests they negotiate at baseball games, jazz clubs, and nap studios—but even he’s not prepared for what happens next…” NFTs TO DC : Among notable registrations this week, the non-fungible token marketplace OpenSea has hired its first federally registered lobbyists, according to a filing published on Friday. It is the latest sign that Web3 has proven a major source of new revenue for K Street. — Franklin Square Group registered to lobby on “Policy issues retailed to non-fungible tokens and blockchain technologies.” The company also represents the crypto exchange Coinbase, the fintech company Stripe, Amazon Web Services, and other names in tech. — Another big name in the NFT space, Dapper Labs Inc., registered to lobby in January. THE ‘THIS TOWN’ GUY: POLITICO’s Michael Schaffer has a new column about Mark Leibovich, the Atlantic staff writer and author of This Town, published today on Leibovich’s new book and how his bestseller stands up today. — “This Town, Mark Leibovich’s 2013 portrait of the smarmy, sycophantic Washington of the early 21st century, famously pulled back the curtain on the chumminess and self-promotion and general unseemliness of what he called our gilded capital. But after what the country has been through since then, does anybody think on-the-make Capitol Hill PR hacks and attention-seeking party hosts are the republic’s biggest dangers anymore?” — “Not that the traumatic decade has ended the suck-up city rituals he described — or the excitement-masquerading-as-shame that many of the participants felt about having their vanities picked apart in a bestselling book. Back in April, when Washington’s media-political class gathered for the annual White House Correspondents Association dinner, I ran into none other than Leibovich himself in a corridor of the Washington Hilton. The writer’s recent move from the New York Times to the Atlantic meant that he was now free to attend the annual event, which the Times has skipped for years on account of the ethically questionable intimacy between the officials and watchdogs and corporate donors who flock to the gala. But Leibovich, who made a name for himself writing about that same dubious intimacy, looked like he’d rather be somewhere else.” ABRAMS’ CAMPAIGN RICHES: Georgia gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams has $18.5 million in her campaign coffer and has raised markedly more than the same period in 2018, Emma Hurt reports for Axios. — “Stacey Abrams, the Democratic nominee for Georgia governor, has raised $22 million during the past two months of her campaign, more than 3x the fundraising by her opponent, Republican Gov. Brian Kemp.” — “Why it matters: Kemp and Abrams' fundraising numbers reflect what a different kind of election this rematch is. For the same period in 2018, Abrams reported raising $2.8 million, with $1.5 million in cash on hand.” SYNBIO COALITION EXPANDS: The SynBio Coalition, which has been pushing the U.S. Innovation and Competition Act on the Hill, has added Synonym Biotechnologies as a member, bringing their total membership to 12.
| | | — Per POLITICO’s Morning Cybersecurity, Tarah Wheeler is now a senior fellow for global cyber policy at the Council on Foreign Relations. She is CEO of Red Queen Technologies. — Jonathan Elkin, former vice president for public policy at the Council for Opportunity in Education, was named vice president for external affairs at the Council for a Strong America. — Esther Brimmer will step down as executive director and CEO of NAFSA: Association of International Educators on Dec. 31. — Nicole Young has joined Moody’s Corp. as managing director for global government and public affairs. She was previously vice president for government operations, commercial aviation and transportation at Boeing. — Bridgett Frey, a former senior director at Bully Pulpit Interactive, has joined Uniswap Labs as head of comms. — Chris Lanen has been promoted to be associate director for compliance and ethics, global legal affairs and government relations at Raytheon Technologies. — Kishla Askins is now deputy assistant secretary for the office of enterprise integration at the VA. She most recently was CEO and co-founder of Global Bridge Health Strategies. — Ben Tesfazghi and Nick Steingart join the Alliance for Automotive Innovation as director, federal affairs and director, state affairs, respectively. Tesfazghi was most recently senior manager, legislative affairs at the National Automobile Dealers Association, and Steingart was most recently director, state affairs at the National Automatic Merchandising Association. — Anna Platt and Alexander Donovan have joined the Public Affairs Council as senior manager of government relations and public affairs associate, respectively. — Christian Walker joins Cornerstone Government Affairs as a vice president on its federal government relations team. He most recently served in the office of Rep. Ann Kirkpatrick (D-Ariz.).
| | | | STEP INSIDE THE WEST WING: What's really happening in West Wing offices? Find out who's up, who's down, and who really has the president’s ear in our West Wing Playbook newsletter, the insider's guide to the Biden White House and Cabinet. For buzzy nuggets and details that you won't find anywhere else, subscribe today. | | | | | | | | Frontline New York (Nicole for New York, Garbarino for Congress, Tenney for Congress) McDermott Victory Fund (Indiana Democratic Congressional Victory Committee, McDermott for Indiana) Slotkin Spanberger Victory Fund (Elissa Slotkin for Congress, Spanberger for Congress)
| | | Women's Health and Safety PAC (Hybrid PAC) Helping Exceptional Leaders Organize PAC (HELO PAC) (PAC) Common Sense for Connecticut (Super PAC) Conservative Action For America PAC (Super PAC) DoorDash, Inc. Political Action Committee (DashPAC) (PAC) Our Hudson PAC (Super PAC)
| | New Lobbying Registrations | | Invariant LLC: Total Containment Lucas | Compton (Formerly Known As The Lucas Firm, LLC): Texas Organization Of Rural & Community Hospitals Carpi & Clay, Inc: City Of Irvine Blank Rome Government Relations: Blank Rome LLP (On Behalf Of International Group Of P&I Clubs) Moran Strategic Consulting, LLC.: Longpath Technologies, Inc. T Cap Solutions, LLC: Sports Futures Xchange Pty Ltd Thorn Run Partners: Skyre, Inc. Thorn Run Partners: Nxp USa, Inc. Shumaker Advisors Florida, LLC: Tampa Metropolitan Area Ymca Shumaker Advisors Florida, LLC: Feeding Tampa Bay Holland & Knight LLP: Johnson Foods, LLC Holland & Knight LLP: Clark Atlanta University T Cap Solutions, LLC: Managed Funds Association Holland & Knight LLP: Starplus Energy LLC Focus Dc LLC: Fora On Behalf Of Social Finance, Inc. (Sofi) Davidoff Hutcher & Citron, LLP: Fortis Advisors LLC Alston & Bird LLP: Advanced Oxygen Therapy Inc. (Aoti) Old Dominion University: Old Dominion University Franklin Square Group, LLC: Ozone Networks, Inc. D/B/A Opensea Mercury Public Affairs, LLC: Telam Partners, S.L.P
| | New Lobbying Terminations | | Egan Fitzpatrick Malsch & Lawrence, Pllc: State Of Nevada - Agency For Nuclear Projects Dentons US LLP: Blue Wolf Capital Fund V L.P. Invariant LLC: Everly Health Invariant LLC: Columbia Helicopters, Inc. Holch & Erickson, LLP: United Auburn Indian Community Holch & Erickson, LLP: Shareholder Communications Coalition Holch & Erickson, LLP: Confederated Tribes Of Grand Ronde Schagrin Associates: Suniva, Inc. American Defense International, Inc.: Genesis Dimensions The Friedlander Group: Ask LLP Dentons US LLP: Kuakini Health System American Defense International, Inc.: Esplodenti Sabino S.P.A. American Capitol Group: Ipsen Biopharmaceuticals, Inc. American Association Of University Women: American Association Of University Women | | | | Follow us | | | | |  |
