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Presented by Coalition for App Fairness: Delivered daily, Influence gives you a comprehensive rundown and analysis of all lobby hires and news on K Street. | | | | | |  | | By Caitlin Oprysko | Presented by Coalition for App Fairness | With Daniel Lippman and Theodoric Meyer CONVICTED MUELLER WITNESS DROPPED $4M ON CLEMENCY LOBBYING: One filing that caught PI’s eye this week was the reported $4 million that Robert Stryk’s Stryk Global Diplomacy (formerly known as Sonoran Policy Group) brought in from a consulting firm called ZAMZAM on behalf of George Nader. It was by far the largest contract of the first quarter, and the contract, only one of only two Stryk disclosed, was enough to catapult Stryk’s firm into the top 20 earners of the quarter. — Nader, a wealthy Lebanese-American businessman with ties to former President Donald Trump ’s inner circle, served as a witness for special counsel Robert Mueller’s probe into Russian election interference, and last summer was sentenced to 10 years in prison on child pornography charges. He was also indicted in 2019 for steering illegal campaign contributions to Hillary Clinton. — Stryk was hired to lobby the White House, ODNI and the National Security Council to try to secure one of Trump’s flurry of last-minute pardons and grants of clemency, according to a disclosure, which lists Nader and the address of the Alexandria, Va., jail. — Nader did not receive a commutation, despite Stryk not being the only lobbyist pushing to get him one, according to The New York Times, which reported that Alan Dershowitz was also lobbying the then-president on Nader’s behalf. Good afternoon and welcome to PI. Is there anything in this week’s LDA reports we’re missing? Let me know: coprysko@politico.com. And be sure to follow me on Twitter: @caitlinoprysko.
| | A message from Coalition for App Fairness: Apple’s App Store policies harm both the people who build the apps and the people who use them. Open the App Store: The Coalition for App Fairness | | |
A LOOK AT TRUMP-CONNECTED FIRMS: This week’s first-quarter filings gave us a better, if still incomplete, look at how firms with ties to Trump and saw business boom during his administration are faring in the first few months of Joe Biden’s presidency.
— Cove Strategies, the firm run by Trump ally Matt Schlapp, saw lobbying revenues decline 57 percent since this time last year, while business plummeted 84 percent since the end of last year (though last year’s numbers were skewed by a $750,000 contract for clemency lobbying). The firm now has just two clients, compared with the 16 it had last year. — Ballard Partners, whose founder Brian Ballard was a top Trump fundraiser and who opened his D.C. office only during Trump’s administration, saw lobbying revenues decrease 11 percent year over year and 8 percent since last quarter. The firm, which is bipartisan but whose makeup leans Republican, has staffed up with Democrats in recent months and turned to growing its congressional lobbying practice. — Another firm run by a top Trump fundraiser, Miller Strategies, saw its lobbying income drop by about a fifth since this time last year, and by 44 percent since last quarter, while another Trump-connected firm, Avenue Strategies, opted to close up shop earlier this year. — Meanwhile, former Gov. Chris Christie of New Jersey, another Trump ally who may or may not be plotting another run for president, has parted ways with every client his lobbying firm Christie 55 Solutions had signed since launching last year as of April 1, according to disclosure filings. Christie has also done consulting work that would not require him to register under the Lobbying Disclosure Act. — Firms with all-Republican staffs also saw dips in their revenue as Democrats assumed control of Congress and the White House. Fierce Government Relations, one of the top firms in D.C., saw revenues drop 6 percent since the end of last year and the first quarter of 2020. — CGCN , which has a well-connected all-GOP team, saw its revenues decline 24 percent since the end of the year and this time last year, though co-CEO Sam Geduldig argued that its lobbying revenues from last quarter alone don’t show the full picture. “We had our best year ever” in 2020, he told PI. The firm last year also started a law practice, and United by Interest, the bipartisan, majority-minority-owned public affairs shop it partners with, saw its lobbying revenues rise more than 60 percent year over year, according to PI’s analysis. | | | | SUBSCRIBE TO “THE RECAST” TO JOIN AN IMPORTANT CONVERSATION : Power dynamics are changing in Washington and across the country. More people are demanding a seat at the table, insisting that all politics is personal and not all policy is equitable. Our twice-weekly newsletter “The Recast” breaks down how race and identity shape politics and policy in America, and we are recasting how we report on it. Get fresh insights, scoops and dispatches on this crucial intersection from across the country and hear critical new voices that challenge business as usual. Don’t miss out, SUBSCRIBE . Thank you to our sponsor, Intel. | | | | | DeFAZIO LAYS OUT HIS INFRASTRUCTURE PLAN: “House Transportation Chair Peter DeFazio (D-Ore.) said he plans to roll out a surface transportation bill that largely tracks his package from last year, an ambitious $500 billion bill that baked in efforts to combat climate change with reauthorizing surface transportation programs,” reports POLITICO’s Tanya Snyder, who interviewed the Oregon Democrat. — He called that bill a “‘starting point’ for the bill his committee will consider next month and noted that ‘the numbers and the programs in that bill are very close to what [President Joe] Biden has proposed’ in the American Jobs Plan,” and defended the revival of earmarks for the upcoming bill. MEHLMAN’S LATEST: Bruce Mehlman of Mehlman Castagnetti Rosen & Thomas is out with his latest slidedeck using data to analyze Washington trends. This one focuses on 12 “myths” about corporate America’s stances on political issues. Despite recent conservative criticism of “woke” corporations, for instance, a 2019 study found that 57 percent of chief executives of big companies identified as Republicans and only 19 percent identified as Democrats, he writes. CHEVRON LOBBYING AGAINST NEW MYANMAR SANCTIONS: “The Myanmar military’s coup and brutal crackdown on dissent have left it with few allies in the West. But one of the most sophisticated corporate lobbying operations in Washington has mobilized to head off intensifying pressure on the Biden administration to impose broad sanctions against the state-owned oil and gas company helping to finance the junta,” The New York Times’ Ken Vogel and Lara Jakes report. — “Chevron has dispatched lobbyists — including some former federal government officials, one of whom appears to have left the State Department just last month — to agencies including the State Department and key congressional offices to warn against any sanctions that might disrupt its operations in Myanmar, according to four people familiar with the lobbying.” — “The California-based oil and gas giant says sanctions could endanger the long-term viability of a big Myanmar gas field in which it is a partner, risk worsening a humanitarian crisis for people who rely on the operation for power and expose the company’s employees to criminal charges.” DEPT. OF GOVERNING IS HARDER: Congressional Democrats’ D.C. statehood bill, “like other central elements of the Democratic agenda, may not make it to the Senate floor this year given its lack of unified support from Biden’s party,” POLITICO’s Burgess Everett and Sarah Ferris report. — “With infrastructure and voting rights bills proving difficult enough to get to the president’s desk, Democrats are putting long-held progressive priorities like a 51st state, Supreme Court expansion and a $15 minimum wage on the proverbial back burner while they focus on what’s actually achievable. After a Trump era that emboldened its left flank to push ambitious plans, the party’s legislative agenda is gliding down from loftiness to pragmatism.” TECH COMPANIES STILL SPEND BIG AS LAWMAKERS BEAR DOWN: Amazon and Facebook remained the top tech companies “spending on Washington lobbying during this year’s first quarter with outlays of $4.80 million and $4.79 million, respectively,” MarketWatch’s Victor Reklaitis reports. — “The Q1 disclosures come after Jeff Bezos’s e-commerce company and Mark Zuckerberg ’s social-media giant spent record amounts last year on influencing U.S. policy makers, shelling out about $19 million and $20 million Amazon’s Q1 disclosure shows it lobbied on many topics, including postal reform, high-skilled immigration, semiconductor manufacturing, data protection, minimum wages and electric-vehicle charging infrastructure. Facebook reported focusing on matters that ranged from election integrity and hate speech to artificial intelligence and climate change.” THE NRA AWAKENS: “Even as National Rifle Association leaders are called to testify in the second week of a bankruptcy trial, the gun rights organization is launching plans to lobby Congress against gun-control measures backed by President Biden and leading Democrats,” The Washington Post’s Tom Hamburger reports. The embattled group on Wednesday “announced a $2 million campaign to fight Biden’s agenda, including opposing his nominee for director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.” | | | |   | | | HOW INTERNAL PRESSURE (AND SHELDON WHITEHOUSE) GOT THE CHAMBER TO SHIFT ON CLIMATE: “The U.S. Chamber of Commerce's move from promoting climate science misinformation to now helping the Biden administration shape climate policy was a change years in the making,” E&E News’ Corbin Hiar reports. — “The trade association's transformation followed an internal campaign from an unlikely coalition of health leaders, top bankers and logistics executives who were tired of taking heat for their membership in the Chamber, according to sources and experts. It's part of a broader effort by the lobbying juggernaut to remain relevant in a deeply polarized Washington. — Meanwhile, Rhode Island Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, “one of the trade association's most vocal critics, played a key role in catalyzing the Sisyphean effort to change the Chamber's climate policy. ... In 2015, he and other Democratic senators began writing letters to Chamber board members, asking them for information about the association's efforts to undermine global anti-smoking campaigns and fight measures to reduce carbon emissions. … Inside the Chamber, the senator's campaign made waves.” FLYING IN (VIRTUALLY): Virtual fly-ins are continuing apace this week, with the Southwest Regional Council of Carpenters, community pharmacists and supermarket industry execs all meeting virtually with staff and members on the Hill. — The SRCC is meeting with Southwestern Sens. Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.), Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.), Jacky Rosen (D-Nev.), Mitt Romney, (R-Utah) and Alex Padilla (D-Calif.), and Reps. Grace Napolitano (D-Calif.), Dina Titus (D-Nev.), Salud Carbajal (D-Calif.) and Steven Horsford (D-Nev.) to push for the region’s carpenters to be considered in the infrastructure bill. — Independent pharmacists from the National Community Pharmacists Association, meanwhile, met this week with Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) and Reps. Peter Welch (D-Vt.), Morgan Griffith (R-Va.), Brett Guthrie (R-Ky.), Lloyd Doggett (D-Texas), Jaime Herrera Beutler (R-Wash.), and Mark Pocan (D-Wis.) and staff from more than 240 other offices including bipartisan leadership of the House, Senate and key committees. — On Wednesday, more than 230 supermarket and wholesaler executives held 220 meetings on the Hill for the Food Industry Association and National Grocers Association’s annual fly-in, where they talked to members from 36 states about tax policy, credit card swipe fees and pharmacy benefit managers, according to the group, and heard from Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack. | | | | CHECK OUT FDA TODAY: Daily regulatory developments, sent directly to your inbox. AgencyIQ's daily newsletter, FDA Today, provides readers with actionable and insightful explanations of the latest FDA developments impacting the life sciences industry. Sign up for free today. | | | | | | | | — Carol Browner is joining waste metering company Compology as its top sustainability adviser. She remains senior counselor in sustainability practice at Albright Stonebridge Group. Browner worked in the Obama White House and was the administrator of the EPA in the Clinton administration. — Zack Marshall has joined Alkermes as director of policy and government affairs. He was previously a director at Prime Policy Group and is a Rep. John Yarmuth (D-Ky.) alum. — Locust Street has hired Scott Castleman as a principal on its industrials team. He most recently spent seven years at TC Energy where he led public affairs and communications efforts around Keystone XL. The team also added Stephanie Cathcart as managing director earlier this year. Cathcart previously served as global head of external affairs at Baker Hughes and GE Oil & Gas. | | | None. | | | None. | | New Lobbying Registrations | | American Defense International, Inc.: Affinity Inc.
American Defense International, Inc.: Neomatrix Therapeutics
Avisa Partners US, Inc.: Fidelity National Information Systems Inc And Subsidiaries
Bernstein Strategy Group: Fgh Holdings On Behalf Of Ecmc Group
Bridge Public Affairs, LLC: Salesforce.Com, Inc.
Cross Potomac Consulting LLC: Coastal Georgia Military Affairs Coalition
Domer Consulting, LLC: Allianz Capital Partners Gmbh
Echelon Government Affairs: Catalyze Dallas
Echelon Government Affairs: Claes LLC
Echelon Government Affairs: Hyperice Inc.
Echelon Government Affairs: Secotec Inc.
Edmondson Hopkins Group: Lightbridge Corporation
Freemyer & Associates P.C.: Lakemoor Ventures, LLC
K&L Gates LLP: Clark Street Associates On Behalf Of Running Tide Technologies, Inc.
Manning Fulton & Skinner, P.A.: Sas Institute Inc.
Mcallister & Quinn, LLC: Hope Network Foundation
Mcallister & Quinn, LLC: San Francisco Community Clinic Consortium
Mgv LLC: Smart Policy Group (Obo, American Biogas Council)
Mgv LLC: Smart Policy Group (Obo, Biomass Power Association)
Prime Policy Group: Baker & Mckenzie LLP
Prime Policy Group: Burson Cohn & Wolfe On Behalf Of Smart Glove International
Sbl Strategies, LLC: Cognizant Technology Solutions
Strategics Consulting, LLC: The Hamm Consulting Group On Behalf Of Cumberland County, Nc | | New Lobbying Terminations | | Akin, Gump, Strauss, Hauer & Feld: Aluminum Association Inc.
Akin, Gump, Strauss, Hauer & Feld: American College Of Gastroenterology
Akin, Gump, Strauss, Hauer & Feld: Blueberry Coalition For Progress & Health
Akin, Gump, Strauss, Hauer & Feld: Cf Industries, Inc. And Cf Industries Holdings, Inc.
Akin, Gump, Strauss, Hauer & Feld: Dji Technology, Inc.
Akin, Gump, Strauss, Hauer & Feld: Goya Foods Inc.
Akin, Gump, Strauss, Hauer & Feld: Herdx
Akin, Gump, Strauss, Hauer & Feld: Hill-Rom
Akin, Gump, Strauss, Hauer & Feld: International Paper
Akin, Gump, Strauss, Hauer & Feld: Laureate Education Inc (Fka Laureate International Universities)
Akin, Gump, Strauss, Hauer & Feld: Society To Improve Diagnosis In Medicine
Blue Ridge Law & Policy, P.C.: Viatris Inc
Capitol Counsel, LLC: The Walter Group LLC On Behalf Of Financial Security, Safety & Soundness Coal.
Cornerstone Government Affairs, Inc.: American Chemistry Council Obo Its Center For Biocide Chemistries
Dinino Associates, LLC: Cornerstone Government Affairs Obo Providence St. Joseph Health
Domer Consulting, LLC: The Washington Tax & Public Policy Group On Behalf Of Lincoln Infrastructure USa
Echelon Government Affairs: Aerial Productions International, Inc.
Eyman Associates Pc: Lakeland Regional Health
Franklin Square Group, LLC: Apple Inc
Franklin Square Group, LLC: Itc Working Group
Franklin Square Group, LLC: Medical Imaging & Technology Alliance (Mita)
Freemyer & Associates P.C.: Lakemoor Development LLC
Jeffrey J. Kimbell And Associates: Candid Care Co.
John W. Conrad Iii Dba John W. Conrad Iii And Company: International Brotherhood Of Teamsters
Mcallister & Quinn, LLC: Allen Matkins Leck Gamble Mallory &Amp; Natsis LLP Obo Matthew & Dalya Meisel
Mitchell Silberberg & Knupp, LLP: International Intellectual Property Alliance
Mr. Amir Goulart Scharif: Algad Bioprocess
Mr. Amir Goulart Scharif: Algad Bioprocess
Park Strategies, LLC: J. J. Cafaro Investment Trust, LLC
Van Heuvelen Strategies, LLC: Colibri Enterprises, LLC
Van Heuvelen Strategies, LLC: Hornady Manufacturing Company
Van Heuvelen Strategies, LLC: Zagg Inc.
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App developers deserve a fair marketplace. And consumers win when they have choice and competition.
Learn more from the Coalition for App Fairness.
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