|
Delivered daily, Influence gives you a comprehensive rundown and analysis of all lobby hires and news on K Street. | | | | |  | | By Caitlin Oprysko | With Daniel Lippman AARP TAPS APPROPRIATIONS HELP: One of Washington’s top lobbying spenders has enlisted new outside help as appropriations season kicks off on the Hill. AARP hired a trio of top approps aides at Cornerstone Government Affairs last month for help securing “funding for programs of interest to older Americans,” according to a newly filed disclosure. — Robin Juliano, who joined the firm this year after serving as the Democratic staff director on House Approps, will work on the account alongside Erik Fatemi, a former staffer on Senate Appropriations, and Karyn Richman, another House Approps alum and former executive branch budget official. — Cornerstone is the 10th outside firm on retainer for AARP, which dropped nearly $16 million on lobbying last year — the most in a dozen years — as the seniors group worked to muscle through Democrats’ drug pricing proposals in their reconciliation package. Squire Patton Boggs, Thorn Run Partners, LXR Group, Watkins & Eager, Mehlman Consulting, Alignment Government Strategies, Emily Hetherington, Reinecke Strategic Solutions and Article One Group round out the rest of AARP’s stable of outside lobbyists. MAX ROSE REGISTERS TO LOBBY: Former Staten Island Rep. Max Rose has registered to lobby for the first time since leaving office, according to a (very) delayed disclosure filed on Monday. Rose was ousted by Rep. Nicole Malliotakis (R-N.Y.) in 2020 and lost a rematch for the seat last fall, and has since launched a strategic advisory firm called Pontis Partners. — According to the disclosure, Rose began lobbying back in December as a subcontractor to Valcour on behalf of the nonprofit African Mission Healthcare on reauthorizing the HIV/AIDS relief program PEPFAR. He’s also focused on issues related to maternal health for the nonprofit, which partners with mission hospitals in sub-Saharan Africa to improve access to medical care. FIRST IN PI — AMAZON LOBBYIST HEADS TO McLARTY: Kate Kalutkiewicz is leaving Amazon, where she’s spent the past two years as the e-commerce giant’s head of U.S. trade policy, to join McLarty Associates. Kalutkiewicz take the helm of the firm’s trade practice while the practice group’s founder, managing partner Kellie Meiman, moves into the role of senior counselor for the firm and trade practice. — Before joining Amazon in 2020, Kalutkiewicz held a number of trade positions in Washington, including serving as former President Donald Trump’s senior director for trade policy on the NEC, a senior trade representative for the U.S. mission to the EU and as USTR’s director for European affairs. Happy Tuesday and welcome to PI, where we'd like you to please let us know if you hear of any other ... unique fundraising gimmicks like this one: coprysko@politico.com. And be sure to follow me on Twitter: @caitlinoprysko. MURPHY JOINS DIPLOMACY COALITION: Former Rep. Stephanie Murphy has joined the board of directors of the U.S. Global Leadership Coalition, a nonpartisan network of 500 businesses and NGOs advocating for investments in diplomacy, as the co-chair of the organization’s board of directors. The Florida lawmaker, who once held the prominent role of leading the centrist Blue Dog Democrats, left office earlier this year after opting against running for a fourth term. — In her new role, Murphy will serve alongside former Sen. Norm Coleman, and will lead USGLC’s education arm. She succeeds former Columbia, S.C., Mayor Steve Benjamin, who now heads up the White House’s Office of Public Engagement.
| | | | GET READY FOR GLOBAL TECH DAY: Join POLITICO Live as we launch our first Global Tech Day alongside London Tech Week on Thursday, June 15. Register now for continuing updates and to be a part of this momentous and program-packed day! From the blockchain, to AI, and autonomous vehicles, technology is changing how power is exercised around the world, so who will write the rules? REGISTER HERE. | | | | | NO-GO FOR CROW: “Harlan Crow, the Texas billionaire and GOP megadonor with close ties to Clarence Thomas, refused to answer questions from a Senate committee about his years of gifts to the Supreme Court justice,” Bloomberg’s Emily Birnbaum reports. — “Crow’s lawyers in a letter to the Senate Judiciary Committee argued that Congress does not have ‘the authority to investigate Mr. Crow’s personal friendship’ with Thomas, according to a copy of the letter reviewed by Bloomberg News.” — “‘The Committee has not identified a valid legislative purpose for its investigation and is not authorized to conduct an ethics investigation of a Supreme Court Justice,’ wrote Crow’s lawyers, who are from the law firm Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher” and who also accused the panel of “‘targeting Justice Thomas for special and unwarranted opprobrium.’ In response, Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin of Illinois said in a statement that Crow ‘did not provide a credible justification’ for his failure to answer detailed inquiries from the committee.” — “Democratic members of the Senate Judiciary Committee earlier this month asked Crow to disclose any gifts or payments made to Thomas and his family. But Crow’s legal team has stonewalled the inquiries so far. Crow previously refused a request by Senate Finance Committee Chairman Ron Wyden to detail the extent and tax treatment of luxury gifts he provided to Thomas.” ALCOHOL WHOLESALERS FLY IN ON CANNABIS: “The Wine & Spirits Wholesalers of America showed the lobbying clout they bring to the cannabis conversation on Monday, holding their first (of potentially many) cannabis policy discussions for Hill staff,” POLITICO’s Natalie Fertig reports. — The event, which was geared toward Republicans, drew nearly 50 attendees, including House and Senate aides from both sides of the aisle. “It was one of the largest turnouts for a cannabis policy briefing on Capitol Hill in the last five years, evidence of the influence that WSWA brings to the weed conversation on the Hill.” — “While the policy discussion was not new, the number of staffers that WSWA was able to bring out to a policy event on the Hill shows a level of lobbying often missing from the cannabis space. WSWA shifted their position in March to support full federal decriminalization and regulation, adding a major D.C. lobbying group with many connections on Capitol Hill to the cannabis conversation.” CRYPTO EXEC FUNDRAISING FOR NEW CAMPAIGN: “The push to create a pro-crypto public relations and lobbying campaign is ramping up, with the chief executive of a crypto research firm pledging to raise tens of millions of dollars and pleading with other industry officials for tens of millions more to promote crypto and attack its enemies,” Barron’s Joe Light reports. — “The campaign is being organized by Ryan Selkis, who founded crypto research firm Messari. Selkis for years has said the crypto industry needs to spend more money and get more aggressive in fighting Washington regulators and lawmakers who attack it.” He’s dubbed the effort “Project Leonidas,” according to people familiar with the matter, named for the Spartan king. — “In emails and personal pitches to industry executives, Selkis has said he is targeting raising between $100 million and $125 million for a political-action committee, an advocacy organization called the Digital Freedom Alliance that he would chair, and other pro-crypto projects and donations, the people said. He has pledged to raise $30 million himself. The campaign will be launched this summer, according to a spokesperson for the alliance.” — “More than a year ago on Fox News, Selkis said he had formed the Digital Freedom Alliance, though it has remained largely dormant. On Twitter, Selkis said last month he would help spearhead a $100-million pro-crypto campaign. The documents sent to industry executives provided more detail, saying that funds would be used for pro-crypto legal defenses, nonprofits, and political donations.”
| | — Christina Brown is joining U.S. Mortgage Insurers as vice president and senior counsel. She was previously senior compliance and public policy officer at Navy Federal Credit Union and is a HUD alum. The association also promoted Brendan Kihn to vice president of government relations. — The Coalition for Community Solar Access has hired Molly Knoll as its new vice president of policy. She was previously a senior commission adviser with the Maryland Public Service Commission. — Steve Hall is now executive vice president at the American Council of Engineering Companies. He was previously vice president of government affairs. — VOX Global has named Chris Matthews chief business development officer and executive vice president and promoted 22 others including Jen Anderson, Maggie Kinnealey and Amy Rogers to partner. — Clark Dumont is now of counsel to strategic communications firm Montagne Powers. He continues to be principal and counselor of Dumont Communications. — Kate Kizer is joining EY as a senior analyst for government and infrastructure. She was most recently a senior nonresident fellow at the Center for International Policy. — Quardricos Driskell will be director of government relations for the Health Management Academy. He previously was vice president of public policy and government affairs at the Autoimmune Association. — Brian Cavanaugh is now a visiting fellow in the Border Security and Immigration Center at the Heritage Foundation. He’s currently a senior vice president at American Global Strategies. — Isabel Aldunate is joining the AFL-CIO as director of media relations. She was most recently deputy associate director for communications at OMB and is a Biden campaign and Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) alum.
| | | | DON’T MISS POLITICO’S HEALTH CARE SUMMIT: The Covid-19 pandemic helped spur innovation in health care, from the wide adoption of telemedicine, health apps and online pharmacies to mRNA vaccines. But what will the next health care innovations look like? Join POLITICO on Wednesday June 7 for our Health Care Summit to explore how tech and innovation are transforming care and the challenges ahead for access and delivery in the United States. REGISTER NOW. | | | | | | | | | Aaron Bean Team (Rep. Aaron Bean, Be An American PAC, NRCC)
| | | America First P.A.C.T (Hybrid PAC)
Farm to Table PAC (Leadership PAC: Chellie Pingree)
Natural Born Citizen Clause SCOTUS Definition National PAC (PAC)
| | New Lobbying REGISTRATIONS | | Cornerstone Government Affairs, Inc.: Aarp
Elasticsearch, Inc.: Elasticsearch, Inc.
Glassman Enterprises, LLC: Dci Group, L.L.C. On Behalf Of Scm Consulting Limited
Innovative Federal Strategies, LLC: Westwater Resources Inc.
Innovative Federal Strategies, LLC: X-Biotix Therapeutics, Inc.
Invariant LLC: Anovion Technologies
Linchpin Strategies, LLC: Sepsis Alliance
Patriot Strategies, LLC: Upper Jasper County Water Authority
Pavluchuk & Associates: Anaheim Transportation Network
Pavluchuk & Associates: Genfare
Pavluchuk & Associates: Icomera
Pontis Partners, LLC: Valcour LLC
The Vogel Group: Gv Spring Hill
| | New Lobbying Terminations | | Featherstonhaugh,Wiley & Clyne, LLP (Fka Featherstonhaugh, Conway, Wiley & Clyne: American Natural Gas, LLC
Pavluchuk & Associates: Cubic Transportation Systems
Pavluchuk & Associates: Cubic Transportation Systems
Pavluchuk & Associates: Cubic Transportation Systems | | | | Follow us | | | | |  |
