AWS lobbyist returns to multi-client work

From: POLITICO Influence - Wednesday Sep 28,2022 09:38 pm
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By Caitlin Oprysko

Presented by

the National Confectioners Association

With Daniel Lippman

AMAZON LOBBYIST RETURNS TO MULTI-CLIENT WORK: Stoney Burke is returning to multi-client lobbying after a stint lobbying for Amazon’s cloud computing arm. Burke has re-launched the Aquia Group, which he founded in 2018, and signed his former employer as one of its first new clients after serving nearly four years as director and head of federal affairs and public policy at Amazon Web Services.

— Burke, who was previously chief of staff to former Rep. Will Hurd (R-Texas) and a lobbyist at Bracewell and Southern Company, has also signed Venus Aerospace, a Texas-based company building a hypersonic space plane and the natural gas firm Howard Energy Partners, for whom he already reported lobbying on the Democratic reconciliation bill.

— The firm plans to expand its client list to other major corporations, nonprofits, startups and trade groups, Burke told PI in an email. “With experience working on some of the most competitive Congressional races in the US and serving as a Chief of Staff in the Texas Delegation, I’m excited to be using this unique knowledge and experience for Texas-based clients such as Venus Aerospace and Howard Energy Partners,” he said.

2 MORE HOUSE CHIEFS HEAD TO K STREET: Rachel Kelly is returning to K Street after more than a dozen years on the Hill to join Mastercard as director of public policy. Kelly most recently served as chief of staff for Rep. Derek Kilmer (D-Wash.). Before that she spent more than a decade with Rep. Jim Himes (D-Conn.), most recently as deputy chief of staff and lead financial services staffer for the House Financial Services subcommittee chair, who like Kilmer is a former chair of the business-friendly New Democrat Coalition. Kelly plans on registering to lobby.

— Meanwhile HHQ Ventures, the lobbying shop founded by former Rep. Benjamin Quayle (R-Ariz.), has added Dave Natonski. He previously was chief of staff to Rep. Greg Murphy (R-N.C.) and before that served as the top aide to former Reps. Denver Riggleman (R-Va.) and Kevin Yoder (R-Kan.) — the latter of whom is now a partner at the firm.

Good afternoon and welcome to PI. Send K Street tips: coprysko@politico.com. And be sure to follow me on Twitter: @caitlinoprysko.

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HAMILTON PLACE REBRANDS: Hamilton Place Strategies has merged with half a dozen political intelligence, media monitoring, research and strategic consulting shops to become Penta , which is billing itself as “the world's first comprehensive stakeholder solutions firm.” The rebrand merges Hamilton Place Strategies, the public affairs consultancy founded by top advisers to former President George W. Bush, with Ballast Research, Flag Media Analytics, alva, Gotham Research Group and Decode_M.

Matt McDonald, a longtime partner at Hamilton Place, will serve as president of the new outlet, while GOP strategist Kevin Madden is returning from Arnold Ventures to serve as a senior partner at Penta alongside Tony Fratto, Alberto Lopez-Valenzuela and Mike Berland. Mike Gottlieb will stay in his current role as president of Ballast Research, while Beth Comstock and Alex Jutkowitz will serve as board advisers to the newly combined entity.

— The merger comes more than a year after the private equity firm Falfurrias Capital Partners bought a majority stake in Hamilton Place, an investment that Penta said will enable the new mega-firm to continue to make acquisitions to “expand the firm’s global reach.”

WYNN FARA SUIT COULD HEAD TO TRIAL: Federal prosecutors and attorneys for casino magnate and GOP megadonor Steve Wynn are girding for the likelihood that the government’s civil lawsuit seeking to compel Wynn to register retroactively as a foreign agent could wind up going to trial.

— In a status update filed Tuesday in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, Wynn’s attorneys and lawyers for the Justice Department were asked to address “whether there is a realistic possibility of settling this case,” a development both sides said they agreed “is unlikely.”

— That means the suit against Wynn, the department’s first in more than three decades, is increasingly likely to head to a jury unless the court grants Wynn’s motion to toss the case. DOJ sued Wynn, a former RNC finance chair, in May over his alleged failure to register as a foreign agent of the Chinese government in connection with a 2017 effort to secure the extradition of a Chinese billionaire living in the U.S.

— The department said at the time it had determined as far back as 2018 that Wynn had an obligation to register under FARA, but that despite ordering him to do so three separate times, Wynn never registered.

— Wynn’s attorneys have moved to dismiss the case, arguing in Tuesday’s filing that Wynn had been “fully transparent in his dealings with the Trump Administration, and acted in the interests of the United States at all times” in relaying “a diplomatic offer” from the Chinese government that Trump ultimately rejected; they reiterated that Wynn “respectfully disagreed with the government’s interpretation of FARA and declined to register” when ordered to do so.

RECALIBRATING FOR THE LAME DUCK: “Supporters of a landmark antitrust bill gathered over beer and soft pretzels at Cafe Berlin on Capitol Hill last week to muster energy for one last push to rein in the dominance of giant technology companies,” Bloomberg’s Emily Birnbaum and Anna Edgerton report.

— “Recognizing that the measure won’t come up for a vote before the Nov. 8 midterms, the group set its sights on how to try and jam the legislation through the brief ‘lame duck’ period after the elections. That’s a tight window before January, when a new Congress convenes that will likely be hostile to the effort.”

— “The invitation to the Oktoberfest-themed event was hosted by groups funded by eBay Inc. founder and tech critic Pierre Omidyar’s foundation, and billed it as ‘an opportunity to gather strength for one final legislative push.’”

— The gathering drew visits from some big-name supporters, including Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), who “held court on the sidewalk, according to several attendees who asked not to be identified discussing details of the private event. Federal Trade Commission Chair Lina Khan and Assistant Attorney General Jonathan Kanter -- the government’s top antitrust enforcers -- stopped by after testifying in the Senate that day. Dozens of other officials and activists were also there.”

— Other supporters of the bill to prevent tech companies such as Apple, Google and Amazon from favoring their own products on their platforms, such as streaming device maker Roku, “have held meetings in recent weeks with lawmakers and their staffs to shore up backing for the measure” amid resistance from Democratic leadership to put the bill up for a vote and fierce lobbying from Silicon Valley heavyweights.

BUSINESS GROUPS SUE OVER BANKING DISCRIMINATION GUIDANCE: “Business groups sued the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau over a recent move by the agency to combat potential discrimination in banking services, as legal battles between industry and Biden administration regulators are beginning to intensify,” Paul Kiernan reports for The Wall Street Journal.

— “The U.S. Chamber of Commerce, American Bankers Association and four other trade groups Wednesday asked a federal court in Texas to stop the CFPB from looking for discriminatory behavior when conducting routine examinations of financial firms.”

— “They said the agency overstepped its authority when it indicated in March that discrimination in offering financial services could trigger liability under a law that prohibits ‘unfair, deceptive and abusive acts and practices’ in consumer finance. The agency implemented the policy through changes to its examination manual rather than by proposing a rule and seeking public comment, a process plaintiffs say it should have followed.”

FLYING IN: The American Academy of Physician Associates is set to hold its annual fly-in tomorrow. The trade group is slated to meet with Reps. Adrian Smith (R-Neb.), Lloyd Doggett (D-Texas), Buddy Carter (R-Ga.), Chellie Pingree (D-Maine) and Himes as well as Sens. John Boozman (R-Ark.), Jerry Moran (R-Kan.) and others, with whom participants plan to discuss a pair of bills that would allow injured federal workers to seek treatment from health care providers like physician assistants under the Federal Employees’ Compensation Act and allow providers like PAs to order and supervise cardiac or pulmonary rehabilitation for Medicare patients.

SPOTTED at a kickoff event for the Congressional Black Caucus’ annual legislative conference hosted by Black Men on the Hill, per a tipster: John Christie of the Smith-Free Group, Moyer McCoy of Philip Morris International, RaShawn Mitchell of Rich Feuer Anderson, Brian Greer and Brandon Garrett of Empire Consulting Group, Don Calloway of Enviva, Kwabena Nsiah of theGROUP, Dana Thompson of Fulcrum Public Affairs, Virgil Miller of Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld, Ben Branch of the International Franchise Association, Didier Barjon of Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer’s office, Ahmed Elsayed of Rep. Tony Cardenas’ (D-Calif.) office, Jean Roseme of Rep. Frederica Wilson’s (D-Fla.) office, Christopher Cox of Rep. Yvette Clarke’s (D-N.Y.) office, Mike McQuerry of Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick’s (D-Fla.) office, De’Marcus Finnell of Rep. G.K. Butterfield’s office (D-N.C.), Brian Duckworth, Chloe Brown and Maya Valentine of House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer’s office, Nd Ubezonu of House Majority Whip Jim Clyburn’s office, Michael Reed of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s office, Isabel Sanchez of Rep. Raul Ruiz’s (D-Calif.) office, Jessica Vallejo of Microsoft, Jesse Barba of Chegg, Keenan Austin Reed of Alpine Group Partners, Michael Pauls of USTelecom | The Broadband Association, Yvesner Zamar of the Williams Group, Arthur Sidney of Forbes Tate Partners and Alex Beckles.

 

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Jobs Report

Stephanie Barna has joined Covington & Burling’s public policy practice. She was most recently general counsel for the Senate Armed Services Committee.

Kara van Stralen has joined Cornerstone Government Affairs as a principal in the Denver office. She most recently served as the director of policy and research for Colorado Gov. Jared Polis and is a Mike Levin, Maggie Hassan, Cory Booker and Energy & Commerce alum. Lucy Lasseur rejoined Cornerstone as a senior associate and most recently helped the Virginia Department of Health implement its Covid-19 vaccine strategy.

Entergy has promoted Jason Reynolds to vice president of federal infrastructure policy and added Leroy Nix as vice president of strategic policy and stakeholder engagement. Nix previously served as director of federal government affairs in Southern Company’s D.C. office.

Paul Dorsey has joined Samsung SDI as associate general counsel. He was previously senior counsel at Rivian Automotive.

Zoë Baird is the new senior counselor to the Secretary for Technology and Economic Growth at the Department of Commerce. She was previously CEO and president of the Markle Foundation.

Eric Wagner is the new manager of advocacy at the Utilities Technology Council. He was previously senior legislative assistant at UTC.

Seven Letter is adding Paige Rusher and Omari Hardy as directors, Eunice Yau as a manager and Imani Hudson and Sam Smith as content specialists. Rusher previously was press secretary for Sen. Richard Burr (R-N.C.) and the HELP Committee. Hardy previously was a Florida state representative.

Marcus Woodson is now government affairs lead for Ørsted’s power-to-x business. He most recently was chief strategist and founder of Black Lake Strategies.

 

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New Joint Fundraisers

Ann Roe Victory Fund (Ann Roe For Congress, The Democratic Party of Wisconsin Federal)

New PACs

Enhabit, Inc. PAC (PAC)
Good Government Alliance (Super PAC)
PIVOT Victory Fund (Super PAC)
South Eastern Conservatives PAC (PAC)
Valencia First (Super PAC)

 

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New Lobbying Registrations

The Nickles Group, LLC: Ascend Learning
Williams And Jensen, Pllc: Imperative Execution, Inc.

New Lobbying Terminations

Airspan Networks Inc.: Airspan Networks Inc.
National Group, LLP: Peace Health

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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