Fox adds 3 new outside firms

From: POLITICO Influence - Monday Jun 05,2023 10:38 pm
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By Caitlin Oprysko

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With Daniel Lippman 

FOX REVAMPS OUTSIDE LOBBYING LINEUP: Fox Corp. has added three new lobbying firms to its bench of hired guns following the shakeup earlier this spring to its in-house lobbying corps. Fox retained Subject Matter and Todd Strategy Group at the beginning of May to lobby on policy issues impacting the TV and media business, per newly filed disclosures. Fox also brought Empire Consulting Group on last week to work on issues related to advertising and gaming in TV and news, disclosures show.

— The firms bring Fox’s total of outside lobbying shops on retainer to 11, and are the fifth, sixth and seventh new additions to Fox’s bench of outside firms since last March, according to a PI analysis of disclosures.

— Subject Matter’s lobbying team includes Bryce Harlow, a former in-house lobbyist for CBS and the National Association of Broadcasters and and FTC alum, plus Democratic lobbyists Stacey Alexander and Barry LaSala and Whit Askew, a former aide to ex-House Speaker John Boehner and a former lobbyist for the American Gaming Association.

— Former Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) and Senate Judiciary staffer Ted Lehman, as well as former Hill GOP health aides Dan Todd, Paul Edattel and Katherine Fleming and Nick Uehlecke, a Trump-era HHS staffer, will work on the account for Todd Strategy Group. Former longtime NAB lobbyist Mike Mullen will work on the account for Empire, along with Mike McKay, a former staffer to House Foreign Affairs ranking member Rep. Greg Meeks (D-N.Y.).

— Fox spokesperson Brian Nick told PI in an email that there wasn’t any particular policy concern precipitating the company’s hiring spree, calling it more reflective of Kristopher Jones taking over as head of Fox’s lobbying shop following the departure of top lobbyist Danny O’Brien three months ago.

News Corp., another corner of Rupert Murdoch’s conservative media empire, has also been on a mini hiring spree as of late, adding Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer-alumni-founded Resolution Public Affairs in March and the GOP firm CGCN Group in January.

Happy Monday and welcome to PI, where your host is kindly asking for an end to the scheduling of major TV events for the night of her 30th birthday. Send K Street tips: coprysko@politico.com. And be sure to follow me on Twitter: @caitlinoprysko.

 

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FIRST IN PI — PETERS’ TOP AIDE HEADS DOWNTOWN: Dan Zawitoski is leaving the Hill after more than a decade to join Tiber Creek Group. Zawitoski most recently served as chief of staff to Rep. Scott Peters (D-Calif.), a member of the business-friendly New Democrat Coalition, and served as a top adviser on a number of policy areas including trade, student loans, health care, energy and technology — issues he will work on at Tiber Creek as well.

— “An original member of my staff, Dan has done almost every job for me and has done so successfully. I know he’ll do the same at Tiber Creek,” Peters said in a statement provided by the firm, adding that “I have relied on his counsel for ten years and consider him a friend. I wish him great success in his future pursuits; he’ll be missed.”

FIRST IN PI — WITH BUDS LIKE THESE: One of Anheuser-Busch’s lobbyists in Tallahassee is also a major bundler for Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ presidential campaign, even as DeSantis and other conservatives hammer the company for featuring a transgender influencer in an social media campaign for one of its beers.

— During the “Ron-A-Rama” fundraising effort and donor summit at the Four Seasons Hotel in Miami during DeSantis’ launch last month, GOP lobbyist Slater Bayliss was at one point the third-largest bundler for the campaign with $242,600 raised, according to a photo from the event obtained by Daniel. Anheuser-Busch and its beer Bud Light have become the target of boycott efforts from some Republicans upset that the beer company partnered with transgender actress and social media personality Dylan Mulvaney. 

— Bayliss, who was also a bundler for Jeb Bush’s 2016 campaign, is a partner at The Advocacy Partners where he has dozens of clients including Altria, AT&T, Duke Energy and JetBlue. DeSantis recently criticized Bud Light, saying in an interview with conservative personality Benny Johnson: “Why would you want to drink Bud Light? I mean, like honestly? That’s like them rubbing our faces in it. These companies that do this, if they never have any response, they’re just going to keep doing it.”

— Bayliss and a spokesperson for DeSantis’ campaign declined to comment but pointed to DeSantis on Brian Kilmeade's radio show today where he criticized Nikki Haley for attacking him for taking $50,000 from Disney. "How utterly bizarre. I mean, somebody does a campaign contribution and you're supposed to lay down for them?" he said. "That's not how I operate, people can support me or not support me. I call them as I see them and if you've supported me but you're wrong, I'm gonna do what's right.” Anheuser-Busch didn’t respond to a request for comment.

SEC GOES AFTER BINANCE: “The SEC filed more than a dozen charges against Binance and CEO Changpeng Zhao on Monday stemming from what the agency called the company’s ‘blatant disregard’ for U.S. law as it grew into the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange,” our Declan Harty writes.

— “In a 136-page complaint, the Wall Street regulator alleged that Binance, its American affiliate, Binance U.S., and Zhao have been operating unregistered U.S. financial institutions, misleading investors about the companies’ risk controls, inflating trading volumes and mixing ‘billions of dollars of investor assets’ and sending them to a third-party entity owned by Zhao.”

— “Since the fall of FTX seven months ago, the SEC has orchestrated a sweeping crackdown on the $1 trillion crypto market. But the Binance case represents [SEC Commissioner Gary] Gensler’s biggest salvo to date, with the agency taking a broad swing against the exchange and its high-profile CEO. At one point in the complaint, the SEC alleges that customer money was ‘at Binance’s and Zhao’s mercy.’”

— “Binance denied the SEC’s allegations in a blog post, including the claim that customer assets at Binance.US were at risk. The company said it was ‘disheartened’ by the SEC’s decision to bring the case to court after the two sides had been engaged in talks about a settlement.”

FIRST IN PI — VOGEL GROUP ADDS RETAIL LOBBYIST: Hayden Jewett is joining the Vogel Group as a director in the firm’s government affairs practice. Jewett spent the past two and a half years in house with Gap, where he was among the top advocates for the Inflation Reduction Act’s corporate minimum tax.

— Before that, Jewett was director of government affairs for Boys and Girls Clubs of America and worked for former Rep. John Culberson (R-Texas), who chaired the House Appropriations Commerce-Justice-Science Subcommittee.

— In a statement, Vogel Group chief executive Alex Vogel praised Jewett’s broad policy chops. “The retail industry’s wide reach into a variety of issues – including trade, labor, and tax policy – positions Hayden to provide valuable insights to clients in a wide range of industries,” he said.

SHEIN WORKS TO WOO WASHINGTON: “Shein, the world’s largest online fashion retailer, is out to change its negative reputation in Washington,” POLITICO’s Gavin Bade reports. After years of letting accusations that the fast-fashion company’s clothes are made with the forced labor of oppressed Chinese Uyghurs and that it is purposely skirting American tariffs go unanswered, “now the e-commerce giant is going on the offensive.”

— “The firm has hired Washington lobbyists for the first time and is talking up its new status as a Singapore-based company after relocating its headquarters there from Nanjing. And its executives are offering previously unreported evidence to the press that they say clears the firm of human rights violations related to its cotton supply. ‘We are committed to respecting human rights and adhering to local laws in each market we operate in,’ said Peter Pernot-Day, Shein’s head of strategy and corporate affairs.”

— “The fabric testing is only part of Shein’s new charm offensive. It has also sought out media attention for its new designer programs to counter charges that it steals intellectual property from independent fashion designers online, and it is planning future campaigns to counteract the reputation that its fast-fashion model is wasteful and fueling environmental destruction.”

— But so far, some of the company’s most important critics aren’t swayed: “Rep. Mike Gallagher (R-Wis.) argued that Shein’s own cotton test results show that it still has work to do to weed out forced labor in its supply chain. ‘I’m not sure that mostly-not-made-with-slave-labor is a good advertisement,’ said Gallagher, chair of the House Select Committee on China, which has opened an investigation into Shein and other suspected trade cheats.”

Jobs Report

— Former Education Secretary Margaret Spellings will be the new CEO of the Bipartisan Policy Center. She most recently was president and CEO of Texas 2036.

Bryan Lesswing is joining SKDK as a senior vice president in the firm’s New York office. He was most recently a senior adviser to New York Gov. Kathy Hochul.

Bill Rys, head of federal government affairs at Citigroup, will leave the company next week, global government relations head Candi Wolff said in a memo to staff this morning, meanwhile Jerry Jennings has been named the head of U.S. state and local government relations for global government affairs.

Ken Cestari has joined Holland & Knight’s public policy and regulation group as a partner. He was most recently deputy chief counsel of the Energy Department’s Loan Programs Office.

Sangeet Nepal has joined the Carbon Capture Coalition as a carbon removal and reuse specialist. He previously was a grad student at Indiana University Bloomington and was the co-founder and COO of a consulting firm focused on air, waste, mobility and livelihood solutions.

— President Joe Biden has tapped Marjorie Rollinson to be the IRS’s top lawyer. Rollinson was most recently deputy national tax leader at EY and was formerly an associate chief counsel at the IRS.

Rek LeCounte is now working with the editorial and brand management team at Google in Atlanta. He was most recently strategic partner manager at YouTube, leading partnership engagement with content creators among right-leaning government officials, campaigns, and third-party groups.

Nomi Health has added Taylor Teepell as director of state government affairs and Stephanie Sonoda as director of corporate communications. Teepell was most recently director of government affairs and public policy at Lumen Technologies and Sonoda previously served in communications roles at MX, HealthEquity and Blue Healthcare Bank.

Nick Goldstein is joining the Small Business Administration’s Office of Advocacy. He previously was vice president of regulatory and legal issues at the American Road and Transportation Builders Association.

Christine Lanza has joined 22nd Century Group as vice president of government affairs. She was previously senior director of government affairs at Swisher.

— The Independent Community Bankers of America have added Lance Noggle as senior vice president of operations and senior regulatory counsel and Scott Anchin as vice president of operational risk and payments policy. Noggle was most recently with Capital One and Anchin most recently founded Precise Strategic Advisory and is a Fed alum.


Brett Doyle is now managing director of outreach at the Mercatus Center at George Mason University. He most recently was director of government relations at Sylvamo Corp., and is a Pat Toomey alum.

Andrew Ansel is joining E Pluribus Unum Fund as head of philanthropy and strategic partnerships. He previously was vice president of institutional advancement for Alliance for Justice, and is a Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights alum.

Kendall Mitchell has joined Bracewell as a principal in the Policy Resolution Group, per Morning Energy. She most recently served as communications director for Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-Texas) and previously worked in comms at the Justice Department.

Nancy Young is now chief sustainability officer at chemical and biofuels company Gevo. She previously was chief sustainability officer at Alder Fuels.

Maarika Kimbrell is now a partner in the FDA and healthcare practice at Morgan, Lewis & Bockius. She previously was director of FDA’s Office of New Drug Policy.

Lauren Riplinger has been promoted to chief public policy and impact officer at the American Health Information Management Association.

Russ Read is now legislative affairs manager for air programs at the National Guard Association of the United States. He previously was communications director for Rep. Scott Franklin (R-Fla.).

 

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New PACs

Acton Ranked Choice Voting (Super PAC)
Maryland Democratic Action Network (Super PAC)
National Association for the Protection of White People (Super PAC)
A Pleasant Peninsula PAC (Leadership PAC: Hillary Scholten)
Reliable Robotics Corporation Political Action Committee (PAC)

New Lobbying REGISTRATIONS

Dc Advocacy, LLC: Tennessee Forestland, LLC
Emmer Consulting, Inc. (Formerly Known As Emmer Consulting, P.C.): Hospice Action Network
Lj Strategies LLC: Kansas State University
Miller Strategies, LLC: Chachingme, Inc.
Miller Strategies, LLC: Hillwood Development Company, LLC
Mindset Advocacy, LLC (Fka Cypress Advocacy, LLC): Otc Markets Group
Platinum Advisors Dc, LLC: National Club Association
Platinum Advisors Dc, LLC: Sutter Health
Summit Strategies Government Affairs LLC: Allegheny County Airport Authority

New Lobbying Terminations

Edmondson Hopkins Group: Lightbridge Corporation
Jon Thomas Consulting: Arizona Tech Council
Jon Thomas Consulting: Holistic Life Foundation
Jon Thomas Consulting: Instera Corporation
Jon Thomas Consulting: Lattus, Inc.
Jon Thomas Consulting: Northern Pennsylvania Regional College
Jon Thomas Consulting: The Coding School
Jon Thomas Consulting: The Tears Foundation
Jon Thomas Consulting: West Broadway Business And Area Coalition
Mindset Advocacy, LLC (Fka Cypress Advocacy, LLC): American Wood Council
Mindset Advocacy, LLC (Fka Cypress Advocacy, LLC): Celo Foundation
Mindset Advocacy, LLC (Fka Cypress Advocacy, LLC): Washington Commanders Football Team

 

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