McGLYNN DECAMPS FOR HOLLAND & KNIGHT: Holland & Knight has nabbed another lobbyist from K&L Gates — the third for the firm so far this year as it builds out a team of emerging technologies and space exploration experts. Sean McGlynn, who’s spent more than a dozen years with the firm, most recently as a government affairs adviser, is joining Holland & Knight as a senior policy adviser. — McGlynn, who worked for former Sen. Barbara Mikulski before heading to the private sector, specializes in the appropriations process with a focus on national security, defense and emerging technology issues. He’s already brought four clients along with him, according to disclosure filings: Pacific Defense Strategies, Nauticus Robotics, the American Small Manufacturers Coalition and IonQ. — Holland & Knight had previously poached three other K&L Gates staffers — partners Daniel Ritter and Paul Stimers, plus Dennis Potter — in March. FIRST IN PI — STATE BROADCASTERS BACK AM RADIO BILL: The bipartisan push to preserve AM radios in newer models of cars continues to gin up support from the broadcasting industry ahead of a hearing on the matter slated for next week. — All 50 state broadcast associations, along with the broadcast associations representing D.C. and Puerto Rico, have signed on to a resolution throwing their backing behind the AM Radio for Every Vehicle Act, which would direct the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to require automakers to maintain AM radio in new vehicles for no added charge. — The bill from Sens. Ed Markey (D-Mass.), Ted Cruz (R-Texas) and nine other lawmakers in both chambers stems from a growing number of automakers leaving AM radios out of newer vehicles amid concerns that the technology could cause disruptions in EVs and the growing popularity of streaming radio services. The National Association of Broadcasters has already endorsed the measure. — Automakers and some tech trade groups have pushed back on the notion of a mandate to require AM radio, which more than 100 lawmakers noted to automakers last month has played a key role in transmitting information during emergencies, especially in rural areas. WARREN, VANCE TARGET BANK EXECS: POLITICO’s Zach Warmbrodt reports this morning that “Sen. Elizabeth Warren’s push to hit the executives of failed banks with sharper penalties is getting a big boost from an unexpected conservative partner — Sen. J.D. Vance.” — “Warren on Thursday unveiled Congress’s most politically viable response yet to the economy-shaking collapse of Silicon Valley Bank, with a bill backed by 12 other senators that would require the government to claw back executive compensation at large failed banks in a bid to deter excessive risk-taking.” — “Warren, a Massachusetts Democrat, and Vance, an Ohio Republican, worked hand-in-hand to craft the latest iteration of the bill and assemble key co-sponsors — among them nearly half the lawmakers on the Senate panel responsible for potentially voting on the legislation. ‘This is not just for show,’ Warren said in an interview. ‘We actually want to make change, and we’ve got a bill where we can get this done.’” — “The compromise indicates that a thirst for banking industry accountability — one shared by President Joe Biden — persists on Capitol Hill nearly three months after the failure of SVB and other regional lenders. Warren’s coalition is evidence that there may be sufficient political will to change policy.” PILOTS LAUNCH UFO ADVOCACY GROUP: “The first active-duty military pilot to come forward to Congress about his experience with so-called unexplained aerial phenomena is starting a first-of-its-kind nonprofit group to support other pilots who see things they can’t explain,” NBC News’ Alex Seitz-Wald reports. — “Airline passengers are encouraged to report suspicious activity in the name of national security, but the pilots on those same planes often face professional stigma and institutional obstacles in reporting unexplained aerial phenomena, or UAPs, that could represent national security threats in the age of drones and spy balloons, advocates say.” — “For instance, the Federal Aviation Administration has no mechanism for pilots to report UAPs, the term preferred to UFOs, instead directing them to civilian UFO groups that are often dismissed as the domain of cranks and conspiracy theorists.” — “Americans for Safe Aerospace, which is officially launching Thursday as the first pilot-led advocacy organization dedicated to UAPs, seeks to change that. Co-founded and run by former Navy fighter pilot Ryan Graves, the group, which provided exclusive details to NBC News, aims to better support aviators who witness unexplained events.” — “The group wants to push for policy changes, like better reporting mechanisms, serve as a hub for pilot whistleblowers and advocate for more disclosure by the military and other government agencies.”
BGR LAUNCHES NEW WORKING GROUP: BGR Group has formed a new working group within its Commerce practice focused on sustainability, nutrition and commodities ahead of this year’s farm bill, which sets out major policy prescriptions in all of those areas.
— Jennifer Lukawski, a principal at the firm, and Keaghan Ames, a vice president in the financial services practice, will lead the working group, which will also focus on issues like futures contracts and cryptocurrency, and BGR President Erskine Wells said in a statement the group “will be a focal point within BGR for many key legislative battles ahead.”
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