Bourdeaux’s chief heads to theGROUP

By Caitlin Oprysko

With Daniel Lippman

BOURDEAUX’S CHIEF HEADS TO K STREET: Estefanía “Stefy” Rodriguez has left the Hill after nearly a decade to join theGROUP D.C. as a principal. Rodriguez most recently served as the top aide to Rep. Carolyn Bourdeaux (D-Ga.), who was defeated in a member-on-member primary earlier this year. Before that, she worked in several different corners of Capitol Hill, serving as a staffer for the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, Rep. Hank Johnson (D-Ga.) and Rep. Nanette Diaz Barragán (D-Calif.) as well as Puerto Rico’s Jenniffer Aydin González-Colón, a Republican, and Pedro Pierluisi.

KDCR, INVARIANT ADD GOP AG EXPERTS: A pair of lobbying firms are staffing up with Republicans and agriculture hands ahead of the midterms and next year’s farm bill push, with Kountoupes, Denham, Carr & Reid adding strategist Mary Dee Beal as a principal and Invariant hiring Danielle Beck as director of government relations.

— Beal most recently served as a policy analyst for the Senate Republican Policy Committee, where she focused on tax, budget, appropriations and health and helped the conference determine its policy priorities. Before that, she served in several senior-level roles at USDA, advising then-Secretary Sonny Perdue before becoming acting chief of staff to his deputy.

— Meanwhile Beck joins Invariant from the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association, where she was senior executive director of government affairs. She previously worked for ag lobbying shop the Russell Group, and before that worked for former Rep. Tom Rooney, managing his agriculture portfolio.

— The current farm bill doesn’t expire until next year, but “clients are ready to move on the Farm Bill and so are we,” Invariant food, ag and transportation practice group co-chair Anne MacMillan said in a statement. “Danielle is well known on Capitol Hill and within the U.S. Department of Agriculture for her smart, tenacious advocacy on behalf of the cattle industry. We are thrilled to have her on the team supporting our clients.”

Good afternoon and welcome back to PI, where we hope you’re ready for this last sprint before the midterms. Send K Street tips and your takes on Harry Styles spit-gate (IYKYK): coprysko@politico.com. And be sure to follow me on Twitter: @caitlinoprysko. 

A message from the National Confectioners Association:

America’s chocolate and candy companies are providing more choice and portion guidance options for consumers seeking to manage their sugar intake – whether that’s buying candy for family celebrations, picking up a treat to share with friends or enjoying a treat on the way out of the store. From beloved classics to new offerings like low/zero sugar and organic, the confectionery industry is meeting consumers where they want to be met. Learn more at AlwaysATreat.com.

FIRST IN PI — SIGNAL GROUP ADDS 7: Matt Lockwood will be an executive vice president at Signal Group, one of seven new hires the public affairs firm announced. He most recently advised a global consortium focused on securing EV battery resources and is a Clyde Group, Google and Mike Bloomberg alum.

— Marcus Frias, who most recently served as communications director to Reps. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.) and Jamaal Bowman (D-N.Y.) will be a senior manager, while Vincent Sheu, who most recently served as Sen. Sherrod Brown ’s (D-Ohio) digital director, will be a senior manager of digital content at the firm. Signal also added Sharky Thomas as a campaign manager, Meg Fosha and Jackson Parker associates and Jenna Kent as administrative assistant.

RUSSIA SANCTIONS UKRAINE’S MAN IN D.C.: K Street was swept up in the latest wave of Russian sanctions against Americans announced Monday, which included Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo, six senators, and actors Sean Penn and Ben Stiller — as well as Yorktown Solutions’ Dan Vajdich, the lobbyist who’s been one of Ukraine’s most prolific advocates in Washington before and after Russia’s invasion earlier this year. (Just a guess, but maybe it was all of Vajdich’s lobbying for sanctions on Moscow that did him in.)

— The latest wave of new penalties, which Russia’s foreign ministry said in a statement were a “response to the ever-expanding personal sanctions by the Biden Administration against Russian citizens,” also includes Open Society’s Tom Perriello. In a text to PI, Vajdich said he was “quite proud of everything we’ve done to ‘earn’” the Kremlin’s rebuke.

EXXON TAPS SIFMA LOBBYIST TO LEAD D.C. OFFICE: Jamie Wall is joining ExxonMobil as vice president of its D.C. office. Wall was most recently executive vice president of advocacy for SIFMA, which represents the securities industry, and prior to that lobbied for Subject Matter and Honeywell, and worked for Sen. Roy Blunt (R-Mo.) and former Sen. Kit Bond. She’ll fill the role of Ken Freeman, who spokesperson Casey Norton said in an email is taking on a new role in Singapore.

— Wall joins Exxon following a high-profile departure from its lobbying team last year. Keith McCoy was caught in a secretly recorded video saying the company backed a carbon tax only for publicity and touting the use of “shadow groups” to undermine climate change pushes. McCoy left Exxon last year, but his assertions, which the company has disputed, have prompted probes of the PR firms who work for the industry.

— Another one of the company’s longtime lobbyists, Jeanne Mitchell, retired last year, Norton confirmed, though lobbying disclosures show she deregistered months before the sting video was released.

ICYMI — WHERE THE NRSC’S MONEY WENT: The New York Times’ Shane Goldmacher had a great look over the long weekend at the rise and fall of the NRSC’s coffers and how the committee and its chair, Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.), managed to squander the record levels of cash it raised this cycle.

— “By the end of July, the committee had collected a record $181.5 million — but had already spent more than 95 percent of what it had brought in. The Republican group entered August with just $23.2 million on hand, less than half of what the Senate Democratic committee had ahead of the final intense phase of the midterm elections.”

— “Now top Republicans are beginning to ask: Where did all the money go? The answer, chiefly, is that Mr. Scott’s enormous gamble on finding new online donors has been a costly financial flop in 2022, according to a New York Times analysis of federal records and interviews with people briefed on the committee’s finances. Today, the N.R.S.C. is raising less than before Mr. Scott’s digital splurge.” The committee “was intended to be a party bulwark yet found itself recently canceling some TV ad reservations in key states.”

ANNALS OF CAMPAIGN FINANCE: “Candidates can get away with using campaign donations to travel to an insurrection, according to a new Federal Election Commission decision—as long as they’re thrifty,” the Daily Beast’s Roger Sollenberger reports.

— “That’s the upshot for Derrick Van Orden, the Republican congressional candidate from Wisconsin who dipped into donor funds to bankroll a trip to D.C., where, as The Daily Beast reported last year, he appeared on Capitol grounds during the Jan. 6 riot. On Friday, the commissioners published their unanimous July 26 decision to dismiss allegations that Van Orden’s Jan. 6 travel expenses constituted unlawful personal use of campaign money—though they did not technically rule it was legal, either.”

— “Instead, the commissioners didn’t even take up the merits of the case, arguing that the amount of money involved was too small to move ahead with further enforcement action. The agency’s general counsel made the same recommendation in its report, writing that even if the expenses were personal in nature, the amount in question — a few hundred dollars — was so small that it ‘does not merit the expenditure of further Commission resources to pursue.’”

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— Rishi Banerjee is joining the Consumer Brands Association as senior director of SmartLabel. He most recently led external engagement with the consumer packaged goods industry at Amazon.

— Jennie Murray will be the new president and chief executive officer at the National Immigration Forum and its sibling 501(c)4 group America Is Better. She was most recently vice president of programs at Upwardly Global.

— Stephen Theriault has joined digital advocacy firm Red Edge to bolster its advocacy analytics program. He’s an alum of the Heritage Foundation, API and Edelman.

— Jeff Eshelman is the next president and chief executive at the Independent Petroleum Association of America, replacing Barry Russell, who retired last week after 43 years with the trade group. Eshelman was previously chief operating officer at IPAA. Dan Naatz, IPAA’s executive vice president, will continue to serve in that capacity and add the role of COO.

— Shaniqua McClendon has been promoted to vice president of politics at Crooked Media. She was previously senior political director.

— Buck Owen has been promoted to be COO of Dentons U.S. He was previously chief practice officer.

— Andy Knapp has opened North Shore Corporate Advocacy focusing on the public policy issues of small to mid-cap energy and manufacturing companies. He has served in senior public and government affairs roles at BP, ExxonMobil and in the renewable energy sector.

— John J. Buchanan is now chief marketing officer at Hanson Bridgett LLP. He most recently was senior communications manager at Sheppard Mullin Richter & Hampton LLP.

— Colleen Gaydos has been promoted to be vice president for legislative affairs at Sierra Nevada Corporation.

— Zaman Toleafoa has joined Brunswick Group as a partner in New York. He was most recently senior managing director in the financial services team at FTI Consulting.

— Jim Finkle is now a managing director in the Boston office of FGS Global . He most recently was director for corporate communications at Palo Alto Networks and is a Reuters alum.

— Shayna Strom has been named interim president and CEO of the Washington Center for Equitable Growth. Strom was most recently a visiting fellow at Johns Hopkins University’s SNF Agora Institute and a fellow at the Labor and Worklife Program at Harvard Law School. She also previously served on the Biden-Harris transition team, and was chief deputy national political director at the ACLU.

— Karen Harned is now chief legal officer of Job Creators Network’s Legal Action Fund, where her first focus will be leading the legal push against Biden’s student debt policy. She previously was executive director of the National Federation of Independent Business’ Small Business Legal Center.

— Steve Taylor is joining Integer as a principal. He most recently was head of government relations and public policy for United Way Worldwide, and is a Senate Judiciary alum.

— Benjamin Longstreth has joined the Clean Air Task Force as global director of carbon capture. He most recently was a senior attorney at the Natural Resources Defense Council.

—  Allison Crittenden has joined JBS USA as senior director of government affairs. She previously served as director of government affairs at the American Farm Bureau Federation and is a Rick Crawford (R-Ark.) and Russell Group alum.

— Arielle Kane is joining Families USA as director of Medicaid initiatives. She most recently has been director of health care at the Progressive Policy Institute. 

— Joe Nolan is joining Lockheed Martin as a senior manager for government and political affairs. He previously was a manager for public policy at Amazon, and is a Thom Tillis alum.

— Mary Moore Hamrick has joined the George W. Bush Institute as the Don Evans Family Managing Director of Domestic Policy. She was previously chief public policy officer at Grant Thornton and is currently CEO of Political Quotient Advisors.

— Marta Hernandez is now senior director for communications at the Aerospace Industries Association. She was previously communications director for Senate Armed Services Committee Republicans.

— Rebecca Murphy Thompson is the new vice president of government affairs at UScellular. She most recently served as head of North America policy communications for Twilio Inc.

— Maryam Mujica has joined Booking Holdings as head of Americas. She was formerly global head of government affairs at Shopify.

— Taylor Dabney is joining the RNC as creative director. She previously was senior graphic designer at the Heritage Foundation.

— Millicent Hennessey has left the White House to be a senior manager of public policy at Samsung Semiconductor. She spent five years on the National Security Council, where she focused primarily on China issues and women’s economic empowerment and is a Matt Pottinger and Dina Powell McCormick alum.

— Liz Shrum is now chief communications officer for the National Association of Wholesaler-Distributors. She previously ran her own consulting firm LJSMedia and is a National Association of Manufacturers and POLITICO alum.

— J. Philip Ludvigson has joined King & Spalding as a partner on its international trade team in D.C. He most recently led the Treasury’s CFIUS office.

A message from the National Confectioners Association:

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Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld: Westminster College - Missouri
Alcalde & Fay: Sanford Airport Authority
Baker Donelson Bearman Caldwell & Berkowitz /The Daschle Group: Berger Montague Pc
Ballard Partners, LLC: Agl Solutions, LLC
Ballard Partners, LLC: Feeding Florida, Inc.
Ballard Partners, LLC: Fred Voccola
Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP: Rocky Research
Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck, LLP: Maxar Technologies
Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney Pc: Allay Therapeutics
Chartwell Strategy Group LLC: American Friends Of Kosovo - An Ad Hoc Coalition
Cml Consulting Services Inc. (Formerly L.A. Skip Bafalis): Alcalde & Fay (Sanford Airport Authority)
Dentons US LLP: Bullish US LLC
Fgs Global (US) LLC (Fka Fgh Holdings LLC): Nuro, Inc.
Fti Government Affairs: Razom Inc.
Greenberg Traurig, LLP: Ono Pharma USa
Husch Blackwell Strategies: Oxfam America
Ice Miller Strategies LLC: Tesla Inc.
Iex Group: Iex Group
Jeffries Strategies LLC: Google Client Services LLC
J M Burkman & Associates: Elevated Resources Inc.
Katherine Oh: Demand Progress Action
K&L Gates, LLP: Absg Consulting Inc.
Laura Wood Peterson Consulting, Inc.: Ferox Strategies On Behalf Of National 4-H Council
Merchant Mcintyre & Associates, LLC: Chi St. Vincent Health
Merchant Mcintyre & Associates, LLC: Citizens Medical Center
Merchant Mcintyre & Associates, LLC: City Of Rock Springs, Wy
Merchant Mcintyre & Associates, LLC: Connally Memorial Medical Center
Merchant Mcintyre & Associates, LLC: Memorial Healthcare System Dba Chi Memorial
Merchant Mcintyre & Associates, LLC: St. Johns River State College
Miller Strategies, LLC: Apic Corporation
Ml Strategies, LLC: Google Client Services LLC
Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough: Sk Battery America, Inc.
Ocal Lobbying Group: Anshau Agrograndera
Park Road Trade LLC: Ms International
Passage Consulting Group LLC: Space Tango, LLC
Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP: Precision Metals Corp.
Pioneer Public Affairs: Feeding America
Polsinelli Pc: New Day Diagnostics LLC
Rasky Partners, Inc.: St. Marys Center For Women And Children
Ridge Policy Group: Therma Bright, Inc.
Subject Matter (Fka Elmendorf Ryan): Doubleverify Inc.
Taft Stettinius & Hollister LLP Dba Taft Advisors LLC Fka (Taft, Stettinius & Hollister, LLP): Jackson Public School District
The Consilio Group: Tech Blue, Inc.
The Ferguson Group, LLC: San Luis Obispo Council Of Governments
The Nickles Group, LLC: Trinity Cyber
The Vectre Corporation: Virginians For Effective And Efficient (Wetlands) Permit Processing
Thorn Run Partners: Government Counsel LLC On Behalf Of Akorn Inc.
Van Scoyoc Associates: Global Ordnance LLC
Vantage Knight, Inc.: Ceo Advisors
Vnf Solutions, LLC: The Williams Companies, Inc.
Washington2 Advocates: Kymeta Corporation
Westmoreland160, LLC: Parry Labs, LLC

Albertine Enterprises, Inc.: International Brotherhood Of Teamsters / Airline Express Delivery Divisions
Alignment Government Strategies: City Of Annapolis
Baker Donelson Bearman Caldwell & Berkowitz /The Daschle Group: Analogic Corporation
Becker & Poliakoff, P.A.: A&J Capital
Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner LLP: American Association For Clinical Chemistry
Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner LLP: American Society Of Transplantation
Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner LLP: Association Of Academic Physiatrists
Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner LLP: Dental Trade Alliance
Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner LLP: Hospice And Palliative Nurses Association
Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner LLP: One Medical
Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner LLP: The American Association Of Oral And Maxillofacial Surgeons
Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner LLP: Wound, Ostomy, And Continence Nurses
Center For Popular Democracy Action: Center For Popular Democracy Action
Cogent Strategies LLC: Leapyear Technologies, Inc.
Dillon Mcgregor: Tiger Hill Partners On Behalf Of Iex Group
Equality Arizona: Equality Arizona
Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP: 3M
Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP: Brulin Holding Company
Freemyer & Associates P.C.: K2 Gold
Grassroots Political Consulting LLC: Avicena Systems Ltd.
Grassroots Political Consulting LLC: Comet Media
Greydiant Consulting LLC: Xcalibur Aerospace Ltd
Ice Miller Strategies LLC: Tesla Inc.
K&L Gates, LLP: Farmers Conservation Alliance
Leonardo US Holding, Inc.: Leonardo US Holding, Inc.
Merchant Mcintyre & Associates, LLC: City Of Louisville, Oh
Merchant Mcintyre & Associates, LLC: City Of Tavares, Fl
Merchant Mcintyre & Associates, LLC: Socorro County, Nm
Merchant Mcintyre & Associates, LLC: The Loretto Hospital
Mr. Richard Goodstein: United Aluminum Corporation
Penelope Farthing: Bexar County
Rkf Global Consulting Inc: Sea Electric
Step Up Advocacy: Mark Cuban Cost Plus Drug Company
Step Up Advocacy: Thompson Island Outward Bound
S. Vaca & Associates, LLC: Renk America, LLC
Swf Consulting, L.L.C.: Pushstartconsulting
The Nickles Group, LLC: Persivia
Waxman Strategies: Red Oak Reserve, LLC

A message from the National Confectioners Association:

In 2017, America’s leading chocolate and candy companies joined forces in a landmark agreement to help consumers manage their sugar intake. In a commitment to Partnership for a Healthier America, these companies set an ambitious goal to provide more transparency, create more portion guidance options in innovative packaging and educate consumers about how unique products like chocolate and candy can be an occasional treat in a balanced lifestyle. The companies exceeded their commitment, empowering consumers to make informed choices and driving directional alignment within the broader confectionery industry. In fact, 85% of chocolate and candy sold today comes in packaging that contains 200 calories or less per pack – whether that’s individually wrapped products or multipacks that contain smaller packages inside. Learn more at AlwaysATreat.com.

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