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Presented by Aon: Delivered daily, Influence gives you a comprehensive rundown and analysis of all lobby hires and news on K Street. | | | | | |  | | By Theodoric Meyer | Presented by Aon | With Daniel Lippman PROGRAMMING NOTE: POLITICO Influence will not publish on Monday, May 31. We'll be back on our normal schedule on Tuesday, June 1. MORE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION OFFICIALS HEAD TO K STREET: The tax lobbying firm Federal Policy Group has hired Aharon Friedman, making him one of the latest former Trump administration officials to head to K Street. Friedman was a senior adviser to Dave Kautter , the Treasury Department’s assistant secretary for tax policy. He's also a former senior tax counsel on the House Ways and Means Committee and "played a key role" in helping to pass the 2017 tax law, Ken Kies, Federal Policy Group's managing director, said in a statement. — And Citizens for Responsible Energy Solutions has hired Shawn Affolter , the Energy Department's deputy assistant secretary for Senate affairs during the Trump administration, as its vice president of government affairs. He's also a former aide to Sen. John Hoeven (R-N.D.). NEW BUSINESS: Amazon has added Endgame Strategies to its phalanx of Washington lobbying firms. Steven Duffield, a former Republican Senate aide, will lobby on competition policy for the firm, according to a disclosure filing. Endgame is the first new lobbying firm Amazon has hired since it brought on Jeff Ricchetti’s Ricchetti Incorporated in November. (Miller Strategies, which represents Amazon Web Services, also hired Tower 19 in February as a subcontractor.) — And KDCR Partners has registered to lobby for three new clients, including the Coalition Against Surprise Medical Billing . The coalition, which has been waging an expensive lobbying battle for the past two years, won a partial victory in December when lawmakers passed medical billing reforms. But it has criticized the system of arbitration set up by the law, arguing that Congress “could have saved billions of dollars more for patients, families and taxpayers.” Good afternoon and welcome to PI. I’m filling in for Caitlin, who’s off this week. Tips: tmeyer@politico.com. And follow me on Twitter: @theodoricmeyer. | | | | A message from Aon: In an innovation rich economy, the value of an organization’s IP assets should be a driving force behind their business strategy. Learn more about how Aon is helping organizations of all stages, sizes and industries tap into this key asset class. | | | IN MEMORIAM: Former Sen. John Warner (R-Va.), a former Navy secretary who served 30 years in the Senate and went on to a career on K Street, died on Tuesday. He was 94. Stewart Verdery, a Warner aide in the 1990s who now runs the lobbying firm Monument Advocacy, published a remembrance this morning, which includes an anecdote about driving Warner around “in some huge 80’s style car” when he was forced to swerve to avoid an accident. “What are you doing?” Warner yelled. — “I asked him what he would have done,” he wrote. “His preferred plan: ‘If you swerve, we could flip over and we’re toast. You’ve got 6 feet of steel in the hood — next time you ram him.’ Luckily there was no next time.” — Warner went on to a career on K Street himself, returning to Hogan Lovells as a senior adviser after he retired from the Senate in 2009. (He was a partner at Hogan & Hartson, the firm’s predecessor, in the 1960s.) He lobbied for only three clients, according to disclosure filings: Rolls-Royce, General Electric and the Coalition for Competitive Launches. He retired from the firm in June. — “We will miss having the Senator’s faithful and attentive ear, wise counsel, and epic storytelling,” Ivan Zapien, the head of Hogan Lovells ’ government relations and public affairs practice, said in a statement. “His drive to serve this country went far beyond his years in the military and serving in the Senate. He will be missed tremendously.” | | | | SUBSCRIBE TO "THE RECAST" TODAY: Power is shifting in Washington and in communities across the country. More people are demanding a seat at the table, insisting that politics is personal and not all policy is equitable. The Recast is a twice-weekly newsletter that explores the changing power dynamics in Washington and breaks down how race and identity are recasting politics and policy in America. Get fresh insights, scoops and dispatches on this crucial intersection from across the country and hear critical new voices that challenge business as usual. Don't miss out, SUBSCRIBE . Thank you to our sponsor, Intel. | | | | | JUSTICE DEPARTMENT TOLD WYNN TO REGISTER AS FOREIGN AGENT: “The Justice Department has told casino mogul Steve Wynn to register as a lobbyist in connection with his 2017 efforts to obtain a diplomatic favor long sought by Chinese authorities, and is preparing to go to court to force him to comply, according to people familiar with the matter,” The Wall Street Journal’s Aruna Viswanatha reports. “Prosecutors have gathered evidence about Mr. Wynn’s work in recent months in preparation for potential litigation if he doesn’t file any such registration, the people said.” — “If filed, the case would be a rare civil court battle over registering under the Foreign Agents Registration Act. The law doesn’t provide for civil penalties, but it gives the Justice Department the ability to seek a court order to force someone to comply. … Mr. Wynn has long denied wrongdoing in the matter. ‘Steve Wynn never served as an agent or lobbyist for China or anyone else,” his attorney, Reid Weingarten, said. ‘He was merely a loyal messenger of information he received to our government.’” | | | |   | | | MEANWHILE, IN NEW JERSEY: A nonprofit “called Building Stronger Communities Action Fund spent almost $1 million last year to help legalize recreational cannabis in New Jersey,” POLITICO’s Matt Friedman reports. — “Now, a new super PAC called Building Stronger Communities — which is run by the same political operative who runs the ‘action fund’ and uses the same address — is spending money in a small town council race in support of Cranford Councilmember Thomas Hannen, who this week voted to advance a law that would ban all cannabis businesses in town, at least temporarily.” CORRECTION: Some versions of Tuesday's edition of Influence misidentified the veteran Democratic lobbyist whom Ballard Partners recently hired. He is John O'Hanlon. PI regrets the error. | | | | SUBSCRIBE TO WEST WING PLAYBOOK: Add West Wing Playbook to keep up with the power players, latest policy developments and intriguing whispers percolating inside the West Wing and across the highest levels of the Cabinet. For buzzy nuggets and details you won't find anywhere else, subscribe today. | | | | | | | | Badlands Victory Committee (Badlands PAC, NRSC)
Communities United Fund (Reps. Josh Gottheimer, Hakeem Jeffries, Carolyn Maloney, Grace Meng, Joe Morelle, Kathleen Rice, Ritchie Torres, Gregory Meeks and Adriano Espaillat)
Georgia 2022 Alliance (Sen. Raphael Warnock, Black Economic Alliance PAC) | | | Advancing Arizona Forward (Super PAC)
Cotney Attorneys & Consultants PAC (PAC)
Digital Economy Alliance Inc (Super PAC)
FinTech PAC (Leadership PAC: Rep. Warren Davidson)
Flagship Victory PAC (Hybrid PAC)
Haitian Diaspora Political Action Committee (Super PAC) | | New Lobbying Registrations | | Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner LLP: Southeast Missouri State University
Endgame Strategies, LLC: Amazon.com Services, Inc.
Harvey Run Strategies LLC: Bankers Financial Corp.
Kountoupes Denham Carr & Reid, LLC: Altice USA, Inc.
Kountoupes Denham Carr & Reid, LLC: American's [sic] Health Insurance Plans obo Coalition Against Surprise Medical Billing
Kountoupes Denham Carr & Reid, LLC: ICI (Infrared Cameras, Inc.)
LSN Partners, LLC: AeroAggregates of North America, LLC
Marshall & Popp, LLC: Pfizer, Inc.
Phoenix Global Organization Incorporated: Cybertronics Global Technology Holdings LLC.
Reston Strategy Group, LLC: Virginia Commercial Space Flight Authority
RKF Global Consulting Inc: Sea Electric
The O Team LLC: Merle Hay Investors, LLC
The O Team LLC: Orchard View Sports And Entertainment, LLC
The Sentencing Project: The Sentencing Project
The Vogel Group: The Bradford Exchange, Ltd.
Tiber Creek Group: Everglades Protection Alliance, Inc.
Tiber Creek Group: Phlow Corporation | | New Lobbying Terminations | | Parry, Romani, Deconcini & Symms: Research Corporation Technology | | | | A message from Aon: There is untapped potential to both derive capital from and protect one of the most valuable assets any organization possesses – its intellectual property. Read more about how Aon is redefining the value of IP. Learn more. | | | | | | | Follow us | | | | |  |
