AND A NOTABLE TERMINATION: Embattled crypto exchange Binance has parted ways with Hogan Lovells, bringing to a close the relationship with one of the crypto trading platform’s first D.C. lobbying firms. Hogan Lovells first signed Binance’s U.S. affiliate in 2021, pulling in $820,000 in lobbying fees from Binance.US before going to work for the global crypto exchange Binance at the beginning of this year. — The split appears to be the first fallout for the either the global platform or the U.S. exchange since the SEC filed a lawsuit against Binance and CEO Changpeng Zhao last month alleging that Binance was illegally operating in the U.S. — piggybacking on a separate lawsuit from the CFTC this spring and a Justice Department investigation into the company. — Fierce Government Relations and FS Vector continue to lobby for Binance.US, disclosures show, while Binance’s law and lobbying firm Gibson Dunn and Ice Miller Strategies still lobby for the global exchange. ANNALS OF FUNDRAISING: Major donors on the right are becoming increasingly skittish about Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ prospects for toppling former President Donald Trump in the 2024 GOP primary — and they’re beginning to look for a new horse to back in the race, according to a pair of stories from POLITICO’s Sally Goldenberg and Natalie Allison and CNBC’s Brian Schwartz. — One of the key beneficiaries of that anxiety could be Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.), who met recently with Estée Lauder heir and billionaire Ronald Lauder, Sally and Natalie report. “During their nearly hourlong discussion at a restaurant in Daniel Island, just outside Charleston, Lauder and Scott discussed what the senator sees as his path to victory. The two have spoken since their initial meeting, including in recent days, according to a person familiar with the conversation.” — “A lot of donors that I’ve met are all curious and want to meet Tim and see what he’s about,” said Andy Sabin, a metal executive who originally planned to support DeSantis and is now raising money for Scott. — Citadel chief executive Ken Griffin “continues to assess the field” of candidates, a spokesperson told CNBC, despite the hedge fund billionaire telling POLITICO last year that he was prepared to back a DeSantis candidacy. CNBC reports that when asked about the top individual donors to the super PAC supporting the governor, a fundraiser named former Philadelphia Eagles owner Norman Braman and VillageMD co-founder Clive Fields, rather than Griffin. — “Despite donors’ concerns, several DeSantis fundraisers are privately pushing back on their worries, including by noting that national polling doesn’t mean anything when it comes to state primaries,” per CNBC. TURMOIL AT LULAC: “One of the nation’s oldest and most venerated Latino civil rights organizations is at a critical juncture that some members say could determine its direction — or have dire implications for its future,” according to The New York Times’ Jazmine Ulloa. — “A messy legal dispute, rooted in a decades-long debate over whether Puerto Rico should become a state, has led to infighting among the members and leadership of the group, the League of United Latin American Citizens, known as LULAC.” — “Some have accused its president of fueling the very discrimination the organization first set out to eliminate. Half a dozen current and former members contend that Domingo Garcia, a Dallas lawyer who has led the group since 2018, is seeking to marginalize Puerto Rican members after he almost lost his seat last year to a candidate of Puerto Rican origin.” — “LULAC has become instrumental in turning out the vote in Democratic politics, as most Latinos have historically tended to lean Democrat. The civil rights organization will be among major Latino advocacy organizations looking to play a pivotal role in the 2024 presidential election as Latinos have emerged as important swing voters” — and a fast-growing electorate at that. FIRST IN PI — FIREHOUSE PROMOTES 2: Firehouse Strategies has named two new partners at the public affairs firm, promoting Dorinda Moss Verhoff and Kate Brown. Brown has been with the firm since 2019, and leads its political team, while Verhoff joined in 2019 as vice president of business development and is a longtime Republican fundraiser. FLYING IN: Trade groups representing the live entertainment and baking industries hit the Hill this week for lawmakers’ return from the July Fourth recess. Hundreds of representatives from entertainment venues, festivals and promoters blanketed the Capitol as part of a fly-in organized by the National Independent Venue Association. During the group’s conference, the industry heard from Sens. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) and John Cornyn (R-Texas), who spearheaded Covid relief for the sector, as well as Reps. Dean Phillips (D-Minn.) and Maxwell Frost (D-Fla.). — Members had more than 100 meetings during their fly-in, meeting with the offices of Sens. Kyrsten Sinema (I-Ariz.), Alex Padilla (D-Calif.), Mike Crapo (R-Idaho), Jim Risch (R-Idaho), Jerry Moran (R-Kan.), Gary Peters (D-Mich.), Roger Wicker (R-Miss.), Jon Tester (D-Mont.), Cory Booker (D-N.J.), Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) and John Barrasso (R-Wyo.) and Reps. Debbie Lesko (R-Ariz.), Gus Bilirakis (R-Fla.), Jan Schakowsky (D-Ill.), Brett Guthrie (R-Ky.) and Bill Pascrell (D-N.J.), the author of ticket reform legislation a NIVA-led coalition is pushing back on. Members of the American Bakers Association were on hand Wednesday to push the industry’s priorities in farm bill negotiations, holding a baker’s dozen of meetings with officials from agencies and lawmakers from both chambers of Congress on both sides of the aisle. — ABA members are calling for changes to USDA’s U.S. sugar program, maintaining the infrastructure for federal wheat quality research and expanding the definition of cover crops for increased wheat production and want to block changes to products covered by SNAP. — Executives from Walmart were also on the Hill on Wednesday ahead of a grand opening for their new D.C. office to tout the retailer’s domestic manufacturing commitments. Spotted at the event, per a tipster, were Sen. John Boozman (R-Ark.), Reps. Josh Gottheimer (D-N.J.), Bruce Westerman (R-Ark.), Steven Horsford (D-Nev.), David Valadao (R-Calif.) and Earl Blumenauer (D-Ore.), Mack McLarty of McLarty Associates and Business Roundtable’s Josh Bolten.
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