With Daniel Lippman HOW K STREET HAS BEEN PREPPING FOR THE MIDTERMS: Today’s elections are all but certain to usher a new party into power in at least one — if not both — chambers of Congress, a shift that stands to impact virtually every entity that turns to K Street to advance its causes in the Capitol. — The downtown community has been preparing for months for the likely change in power, gaming out which issues Republican majorities might prioritize, snapping up GOP aides with ties to leadership or else touting their existing ones, and preparing clients who might have targets on their backs for grillings on Capitol Hill. — “It’s going to be a different Congress for a lot of reasons,” said Tim Pataki, a partner at the GOP lobbying firm CGCN, alluding to Republicans’ growing rift with swaths of corporate America. “I think it’s fair to say helping out corporate America is not at the top of the priority list.” — “I think generally, the conventional wisdom is that Republicans are the party of CEOs and executives, and I don't think that can be further from what’s actually going to be the case next Congress,” added John Stipicevic, another lobbyist at CGCN who like Pataki previously worked for House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy , the likely next House speaker. — Ken Spain, a partner at Narrative Strategies and former GOP aide, argued that while “the Republican takeover will be a win for the business community overall,” it likely won’t come without a little heartburn first. “You can’t just dust off the old playbook because Republicans are taking over Congress." — “There are industries that will have to grapple with a new contingent of populist-minded Republicans,” Spain said, adding that the party's evolution means "it’s going to require more sophisticated and nuanced approaches to influencing Congress.” — With the GOP poised to come back into power, companies are now looking to rebuild their relationships with Republicans, which soured further after corporate PACs swore off political contributions to those who voted against certifying the 2020 election results. Lawmakers took the freeze as “a lack of support from the business community — who has benefited over the years from Republican policies,” Pataki told PI. — Even with President Joe Biden ’s veto power serving as a check on Republicans’ legislative agenda, the party’s newfound subpoena power and the ability to set the agenda for oversight has clients looking for insight, noted Aaron Cutler, Hogan Lovells’ point person on congressional probes. That dynamic has K Street working to suss out what parts of Republicans’ agenda is “messaging and what’s real legislating,” Hogan Lovells’ Chase Kroll added, and from there determining “where does it impact the client?” — Complicating things still further is that some congressional targets, like tech companies or U.S. companies doing business in China, will face scrutiny from both sides of the aisle for different reasons, Cutler said. “That’s gonna make it very difficult for somebody testifying before the Senate Judiciary Committee or the House Judiciary Committee next year to prepare for that, because literally, you’re gonna get punched from all sides.” — At CGCN and elsewhere on K Street, there’s hope that estrangement between the business community and lawmakers, combined with Republican lobbyists’ network, can help juice business. “There’s nobody better than this firm” to help companies mend their reputations in the halls of Congress, Pataki said, describing the firm’s pitch to prospective clients. — Ballard Partners’ Brian Ballard, who two years ago was emphasizing his firm’s bipartisan credentials , now is now highlighting his firm’s ties to lawmakers who could soon wield considerable power in a GOP-controlled Congress next year, listing off Florida Republicans in line to chair or sit on key committees. — “We really are institutionalized with so many Republicans that came up through the Florida legislature or what have you, that are now in pretty senior places in Congress,” Ballard, a longtime Florida lobbyist and GOP fundraiser, said in an interview, adding that beyond the Sunshine State he’d fundraised for nearly every Republican senator up for reelection this year. “I think … our current clients are going to be very happily situated.” Still, he added: “Obviously business is going to be good for Republicans.” Happy Election Day and welcome to PI. Send K Street gossip: coprysko@politico.com . And be sure to follow me on Twitter: @caitlinoprysko .
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