Anti-JBS group registers to lobby

By Marcia Brown

With Daniel Lippman

‘BAN THE BATISTAS’ GETS IN THE LOBBYING GAME: The fight to block meatpacking giant JBS’ listing on the New York Stock Exchange is gaining new K Street muscle. The anti-JBS group Ban the Batistas, named for JBS’ Brazilian co-owners, the brothers Joesley and Wesley Batista, is urging the Securities and Exchange Commission to block the JBS IPO, and has now hired Actum I LLC, according a newly filed disclosure.

— Jennifer Kaufmann, the lobbyist on the new account, previously worked as counsel to former Rep. Alcee Hastings (D-Fla.) and had stints in the House Judiciary Committee and with Sen. Ben Cardin (D-Md.). Kimberly Spell, a senior vice president at Actum, is the group’s executive director. Ban the Batistas describes itself as an “umbrella group of organizations fighting to protect American farmers, ranchers, consumers, and investors from the risks of an IPO by JBS.”

— The flurry of activity surrounding the prospect of a JBS IPO has increased in recent weeks, with opponents urging the SEC to consider JBS’ global track record on human rights and environmental issues. JBS is now planning its IPO in 2024 and previously made an IPO attempt in 2017. Opponents are also arguing that the criminal record of JBS’ parent company, J&F Investimentos S.A., should prevent an IPO. The company agreed to pay a $256 million fine to the Justice Department to resolve a foreign bribery charge.

— “We will do direct advocacy work, work in concert with other like-minded groups and look to bring together all that good work to create a singular focus on the Batistas as they attempt to scam US investors and seize 90 percent control over JBS through an IPO giving them access to US capital markets,” said Spell in a statement to PI. Spell added that the group has a “handful of staff” at this point and is in conversations with “many organizations” for potential collaborations.

— A bipartisan group of 15 senators sent a letter to the SEC last week raising “deep concerns” that a JBS IPO could expose U.S. shareholders to significant risks and asking SEC members to consider the Brazilian company’s “track record of corruption, human rights abuses, monopolization of the meatpacking market, as well as environmental risks.” Spell said that while her group can’t take credit for the letter, they did do outreach. Also last week, U.K. lawmakers urged the SEC to reject JBS’ IPO application.

— The company is also still under investigation by the Justice Department, alongside several other major beef processing companies, for potential violations of federal antitrust laws. Ag Secretary Tom Vilsack previously told Congress that the meat market is so consolidated that the USDA can’t afford to stop buying meat from JBS, despite its corruption scandals.

— A spokesperson for JBS did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

— The group first emerged around COP28, where it campaigned to call out what it called JBS’ “greenwashing.”

Happy Tuesday and welcome to PI. I’m your host, Marcia Brown and I usually cover food and agriculture policy. Have we met? Email me at marciabrown@politico.com. Caitlin will be back tomorrow. And be sure to follow us all on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter: @Hailey_Fuchs, @Marcia_Brown9 and @caitlinoprysko.

JOIN 1/31 FOR A TALK ON THE RACE TO SOLVE ALZHEIMER’S: Breakthrough drugs and treatments are giving new hope for slowing neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s disease and ALS. But if that progress slows, the societal and economic cost to the U.S. could be high. Join POLITICO, alongside lawmakers, official and experts, on Jan. 31 to discuss a path forward for better collaboration among health systems, industry and government. REGISTER HERE.

API’s BIG AD BUY: Just as the 2024 election cycle kicks off, the American Petroleum Institute is launching an 8-figure ad campaign called “Lights On” on TV, radio and digital advertising urging policymakers to support domestic oil and gas production.

— The campaign will target the D.C. downtown and Capitol Hill areas, as well as Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport.

— On Tuesday, API ran a full-page ad in the Financial Times. At Davos, API is running a week-long digital ad campaign aimed directly at elected leaders attending Davos using geofencing to ensure it gets on the right people’s phones.

— The campaign comes as the Biden administration is taking flack from the oil and gas industry for plans to approve j ust three offshore oil lease sales through 2029, and none in 2024, among other decisions. At a recent API event, API CEO Mike Sommers told reporters that the Biden administration’s plan for whether the Energy Department should consider climate impacts when assessing companies' applications to export natural gas might be the “worst” among “a lot of really bad decisions,” our Ben Lefebvre reported last week.

BROKERS’ AMICABLE BREAK UP: The Association of Independent Mortgage Experts announced that it will form an additional leadership team at the Broker Action Coalition to focus on its federal and state policy lobbying. While AIME will continue its membership services, BAC will focus on its policy advocacy and work to raise and manage funds for the Broker Action Coalition PAC.

— Katie Sweeney, chair and CEO of AIME, will move to be chief executive officer of BAC at the end of March. BAC now represents over 50,000 independent mortgage professionals nationwide.

KOCH BACKS FISHERMEN IN SUPREME COURT CASE: “The Supreme Court is set to hear arguments on Wednesday that, on paper, are about a group of commercial fishermen who oppose a government fee that they consider unreasonable. But the lawyers who have helped to propel their case to the nation’s highest court have a far more powerful backer: the petrochemicals billionaire Charles Koch,” reports The New York Times’ Hiroko Tabuchi.

— “A victory for the fishermen would do far more than push aside the monitoring fee, part of a system meant to prevent overfishing, that they objected to. It would very likely sharply limit the power of many federal agencies to regulate not only fisheries and the environment, but also health care, finance, telecommunications and other activities, legal experts say.”

— “The lawyers who represent the New Jersey-based fishermen, are working pro bono and belong to a public-interest law firm, Cause of Action, that discloses no donors and reports having no employees. However, court records show that the lawyers work for Americans for Prosperity, a group funded by Mr. Koch, the chairman of Koch Industries and a champion of anti-regulatory causes.”

— “Ryan Mulvey, counsel for Cause of Action and one of the lawyers litigating the case before the Supreme Court, said the focus ‘should be on the fishermen and what they are fighting.’”

— “The law firm’s board of directors includes a top lawyer at the firm that has represented Koch Industries in a range of cases … The lawyer also represents Koch Industries in an ongoing lawsuit filed by the Minnesota attorney general that accuses the company of deceptive practices related to climate change.”

— “Other members of the board include executives at groups predominantly funded by Mr. Koch or by Koch Industries, America’s second-largest privately held company, after Cargill.”

— “‘These fisheries workers are providing cover for what is ultimately a Koch campaign,’ said Lisa Graves, executive director of the progressive watchdog group True North Research and a former senior Justice Department official.”

OPENAI’S POLITICAL GUARDRAILS: “Artificial intelligence company OpenAI laid out its plans and policies to try to stop people from using its technology to spread disinformation and lies about elections, as billions of people in some of the world’s biggest democracies head to the polls this year,” reports The Washington Post’s Gerrit De Vynck.

— The company “said in a Monday blog post that it wouldn’t allow people to use its tech to build applications for political campaigns and lobbying, to discourage people from voting or spread misinformation about the voting process. OpenAI said it would also begin putting embedded watermarks — a tool to detect AI-created photographs — into images made with its DALL-E image-generator ‘early this year.’”

— “‘We work to anticipate and prevent relevant abuse — such as misleading “deepfakes,” scaled influence operations, or chatbots impersonating candidates,’ OpenAI said in the blog post.”

— “OpenAI’s measures come after other tech companies have also updated their election policies to grapple with the AI boom. In December, Google said it would restrict the kind of answers its AI tools give to election-related questions. It also said it would require political campaigns that bought ad spots from it to disclose when they used AI. Facebook parent Meta also requires political advertisers to disclose if they used AI.”

— “But the companies have struggled to administer their own election misinformation polices. Though OpenAI bars using its products to create targeted campaign materials, an August report by the Post showed these policies were not enforced.”

A CONSERVATIVE SPAT OVER CARBON TARIFFS: A modest step being pursued by some Republicans to authorize a study to prove U.S. manufactured goods are more climate friendly than those from adversaries like China is causing an uproar among some conservative groups uncomfortable with any move they see as inching toward regulating carbon, writes our Josh Siegel.

— The opposition targeting the PROVE It Act — which is set to be marked up by the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee this week — shows the schism brewing within the Republican Party over a burgeoning effort to insert climate change policy into U.S. trade rules.

— "I am not at all surprised by some of these pro-Wall Street establishment Republican groups that like cheap stuff from China," Sen. Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.), the lead GOP co-sponsor of the bill, told POLITICO.

— Cramer and a group of other Republican lawmakers say the study could serve as a precursor to imposing a fee or tariff on products imported from countries that have weaker environmental standards than the United States. That would protect U.S. manufacturers and American workers from competition from China and other countries whose industries may have lower costs because of their lax environmental standards.

— POLITICO has learned that the Competitive Enterprise Institute is rallying other conservative groups to sign a letter urging senators to oppose the PROVE It bill ahead of its markup on Thursday. Some of the groups are members of the “Cooler Heads Coalition,” a nonprofit operated by CEI that questions the urgency of addressing climate change and opposes most climate action.

— “This is a climate and energy fight, but proponents of PROVE It are trying to avoid that by trying to make it about trade and China because they know there is more sympathy for taking on China [among Republicans],” said Tom Pyle, president of the American Energy Alliance, a pro-fossil fuel group that is signing the letter.

SUBSCRIBE TO CALIFORNIA CLIMATE: Climate change isn’t just about the weather. It's also about how we do business and create new policies, especially in California. So we have something cool for you: A brand-new California Climate newsletter. It's not just climate or science chat, it's your daily cheat sheet to understanding how the legislative landscape around climate change is shaking up industries across the Golden State. Subscribe now to California Climate to keep up with the changes.

— Sarah Bianchi is expected to soon step down from her role as Deputy U.S. Trade Representative, according to two people familiar with the decision, reports our Gavin Bade. U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai’s senior adviser, Jamila Thompson, will be acting chief of staff at the agency after current chief of staff Heather Hurlburt leaves later this month.

— Sean Kirkpatrick retired from federal service and is now providing strategic scientific and intelligence consulting services under Nonlinear Solutions LLC. He was previously director of the All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office under the deputy secretary of defense.

— Alex Sopko is now director of government relations and public engagement for the 2026 FIFA World Cup. She most recently was chief of staff for the Office of Intergovernmental Affairs at the White House.

— Nahigian Strategies has added Kara Brooks as VP of comms and Andres Mancini as VP of brand and creative strategy. Brooks most recently was VP of comms and content at SHRM. Mancini was previously VP of brand strategy at Pinkston.

— The Carbon Removal Alliance has hired Laura Hatalsky as deputy director of policy and Marcela Mulholland as deputy director of partnerships. Hatalsky was previously deputy chief of staff for Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.). Mulholland was most recently in the Office of Clean Energy Demonstrations at the Department of Energy.

— Herb Wesson, former speaker of the California Assembly and former president of the Los Angeles City Council, is joining Mercury Public Affairs as co-chair for the firm’s California business.

— Beth Leonard has been named the chief corporate affairs officer at the Walgreens Boots Alliance, a new role at the company where she will oversee the Walgreens government relations, public affairs and corporate communications teams. Leonard previously worked at EmblemHealth. Chuck Greener is retiring after 14 years as Walgreens’ global chief public affairs officer.

— Chris George has been named president and general manager of Intel Federal LLC. George previously worked with as Intel’s CTO of the corporate strategy and ventures group.

— Austin Brown is now counsel to the Democratic National Convention Committee in Chicago. He was previously an associate in the Chicago office of Kirkland & Ellis and is a Hillary Clinton alum.

— Lisa Hofflich is now an SVP at Actum. She previously was a senior adviser for Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.).

— Tom Newhouse is launching Slash Strategy, an earned and paid media firm. He previously was VP of digital marketing at Convergence Media.

— Gunster Strategies has hired Omar Arouna as president of global public affairs and engagement. Arouna is the former ambassador of Benin to the United States and former representative of Benin to the World Bank, International Monetary Fund, and Organization of American States.

Summit County Lincoln Day Committee (Summit County Republican Party - Federal Account, Coughlin for Congress)

Kennedy Victory Fund (Kennedy for Congress, New York State Democratic Committee)

Sheehy Majority Committee (Tim Sheehy for Montana, National Republican Senate Committee)

Child Hope USA (Super PAC)

Unite WA PAC (Super PAC)

Neighbors For Results (Super PAC)

Flip the 40th (Super PAC)

Outpatient Endovascular and Interventional Society PAC (PAC)

Agency PAC Incorporated (Hybrid PAC)

Datavant PAC (PAC)

My Own PAC (Hybrid PAC)

Thorn Run Partners: Food Solutions Action

Lake Shore Strategies, LLC: City Of Easley

Southern California Public Radio: Southern California Public Radio

Minnesota Public Radio: Minnesota Public Radio

Squire Patton Boggs: Bio-Techne Corporation

Nomi Health, Inc.: Nomi Health, Inc.

Arentfox Schiff LLP: Redwood Housing Partners, LLC

Fora Partners: L'Oreal USA

Foley & Lardner LLP: Alachua County

Delta Development Group, Inc.: Borough Of Hanover

Delta Development Group, Inc.: Clearwater Conservancy

Mr. Mark Rey: Mighty Earth, Inc

Becker & Poliakoff, P.A.: Vitello Consulting (On Behalf Of Hudson Valley Fisheries)

Brody Group L.L.C. Public Affairs: Sintavia LLC

Becker & Poliakoff, P.A.: Bacardi North America Corporation

The Wessel Group Incorporated: U.S. Aluminum Extruders Coalition Inc.

Rtk Consulting Group LLC: American Friends Of Notre Dame University

Innovative Federal Strategies, LLC: Tenet3

Innovative Federal Strategies, LLC: Orbital Micro Systems

Innovative Federal Strategies, LLC: Mile Two

Innovative Federal Strategies, LLC: Lynker

Federal Hall Policy Advisors, LLC: Arnall Golden Gregory (O/B/O Housing Authority Of The County Of Butte)

Federal Hall Policy Advisors, LLC: Arnall Golden Gregory (O/B/O Housing Authority Of The County Of Santa Barbara)

Federal Hall Policy Advisors, LLC: The Majority Group, LLC (On Behalf Of Pennymac)

Innovative Federal Strategies, LLC: Fedtech

Aurora Strategic Advisors: Association Of Minnesota Counties

Terrapin Strategy Inc.: Elixir Labs, Inc.

Terrapin Strategy Inc.: 2 Degree Shift

Tiber Creek Group: Hopper (USa), Inc.

Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck, LLP: Star Power Offering Peace And Prosperity

Capitol Pillar LLC: Navajo Energy Transitional Company

Mcallister & Quinn, LLC: Wilkes University

K. Black Strategies LLC: Intrado Life And Safety, Inc.

A1.9 Strategies LLC: General Atomics

Mindset Advocacy, LLC: Paychex, Inc.

Watkins & Eager Pllc: Harmony Biosciences

Leblanc Government Relations, LLC: Desimone Consulting Group In Behalf Of Www.Pnwa.Net

Bockorny Group, Inc.: Paytient Technologies Inc

Adams And Reese, LLP: Louisiana Department Of Wildlife And Fisheries

Leblanc Government Relations, LLC: Desimone Consulting Group In Behalf Of The City Of Fife, Wa

Cogent Strategies LLC: The Coalition For Renewable Natural Gas

Sarah Blackwood Government Relations, LLC: Birla Carbon U.S.A.

A1.9 Strategies LLC: Marathon Targets Inc.

American Capitol Group: Colorado School Of Mines Foundation

American Capitol Group: Md Save

Apco Worldwide LLC: Veon Ltd.

Ashcroft Law Firm, LLC: Bassem Awadallah

Bay Bridge Strategies, Inc.: Lumeris Healthcare Outcomes, LLC (Fka Lumeris, Inc.)

Berni Consulting, LLC: Greater New Orleans, Inc.

Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck, LLP: Alaw

Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck, LLP: Ameriprise Financial

Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck, LLP: Arcbest Corporation

Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck, LLP: Cars.Com

Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck, LLP: Weconnect Health Management

Capitol Advocacy Partners: Techvision21

Coaspire, LLC: Systems Innovation Engineering

Crossroads Strategies, LLC: Action Now Initiative, LLC (Ani)

Crossroads Strategies, LLC: Kazmira LLC

Crossroads Strategies, LLC: Parry Labs, LLC

Dentons Global Advisors Government Relations LLC: Reform Alliance

Dentons US LLP: Clark Street Associates (On Behalf Of USa Rare Earth)

Federal Hall Policy Advisors, LLC: The Majority Group, LLC (On Behalf Of Sagent)

Filanthropie Consultancy: One Place

Hannegan Landau Poersch & Rosenbaum Advocacy, LLC: Cliffside Labs, LLC

Hannegan Landau Poersch & Rosenbaum Advocacy, LLC: Gecko Robotics, Inc.

Hannegan Landau Poersch & Rosenbaum Advocacy, LLC: Salus Ai LLC

Hogan Lovells US LLP: American Rocky Mountaineer LLC

Hogan Lovells US LLP: Federation Of Rice Producers Of Colombia

Hogan Lovells US LLP: Firefly Sts (Fka Firefly Black LLC)

Holland & Knight LLP: Nalu Bio, Inc.

Holland & Knight LLP: Planet Fitness, Inc.

Holland & Knight LLP: Standards Coordinating Body For Regenerative Medicine

Holland & Knight LLP: W.W. Grainger, Inc.

Hsa Strategies: Rs Access, LLC

Icebreaker Strategies, LLC: Firestorm Labs Inc

Jeanne Merrill Consulting LLC: Earth Island Institute

K&L Gates, LLP: American Tower Corporation

K&L Gates, LLP: Dataiku, Inc.

K&L Gates, LLP: U.S. Merchant Marine Academy Alumni Association And Foundation, Inc.

Lewis-Burke Associates, LLC: State University System Of Florida (Sus)

Mag Industries Ltd: Mag Industries Ltd

Mcguirewoods Consulting (A Subsidiary Of Mcguirewoods LLP): One H2

Mcguirewoods Consulting (A Subsidiary Of Mcguirewoods LLP): Regent University

Michael Solon-Capitol Legistics: Lone Star Fund Iv (U.S.)

Mjwt Consulting: The Keelen Group, LLC

Modern Markets Initiative: Modern Markets Initiative

Mr. Christopher Hladick: City Of Dillingham

Nexa Strategies, LLC: Dotchin & Associates On Behalf Of California Dairies, Inc.

O'Rourke And Associates, LLC: Minicap LLC

Patients Rising Now: Patients Rising Now

Ridge Policy Group: National Association Of State Head Injury Administrators

Rutledge Policy Group, LLC: Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck LLP Obo Ameriprise

Rutledge Policy Group, LLC: Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck LLP Obo Athene Holding

Sentinel Worldwide: Motion Picture Association

The Mckeon Group, Inc.: Arizona State University Asu

The Mckeon Group, Inc.: Good 360

The Mckeon Group, Inc.: Greenmet (Fka Greentech Minerals Holdings, Inc)

The Williams Group: Id.Me

Tiber Creek Group: Agios Pharmaceuticals Inc.

Tiber Creek Group: Sunpower Corporation

Todd Strategy Group: Alliance For Cell Therapy Now

Vaccinate Your Family: Vaccinate Your Family

Welsh Rose, LLC: Association Of American Medical Colleges

Follow us

To change your alert settings, please log in at https://www.politico.com/_login?base=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.politico.com/settings

This email was sent to by: POLITICO, LLC 1000 Wilson Blvd. Arlington, VA, 22209, USA

| Privacy Policy | Terms of Service