Presented by Facebook: Delivered daily, Influence gives you a comprehensive rundown and analysis of all lobby hires and news on K Street. | | | | By Caitlin Oprysko | Presented by Facebook | With Daniel Lippman FORMER WHITE HOUSE BORDER CZAR REJOINS ALBRIGHT STONEBRIDGE: Roberta Jacobson is returning to the consulting firm Albright Stonebridge Group following her brief stint on the National Security Council as the administration's coordinator for the southwest border amid an influx of migrants crossing into the U.S. Jacobson, a former ambassador to Mexico, will return to ASG as a senior adviser, the role she held from 2018 until last year. — She departed the White House in March after what the administration said was always meant to be a temporary posting, to the surprise of some immigration advocates. The administration still contains no shortage of Jacobson’s former colleagues from the firm, which was founded by former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright and has supplied the Biden administration with more than a half-dozen national security and diplomatic officials. Roberto Dañino, a former prime minister of Peru, Peruvian ambassador to the U.S. and World Bank general counsel, is also joining ASG as a senior adviser. | | 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. | | | FARA FRIDAY: The coronavirus pandemic has upended many an industry over the past year, and foreign lobbying has not been excluded from that, according to a new analysis from the liberal think tank Center for International Policy . The think tank examined FARA filings containing various pandemic-related terms through March 31, which revealed a “fundamentally different environment” for foreign lobbying in the U.S., said Ben Freeman, who leads the think tank's Foreign Influence Transparency Initiative. — Like every other people-facing sector, the pandemic severely curtailed foreign agents’ influence activities. “A number of registered agents disclosed that contracts had been terminated, that their agent activities had been suspended, or that no disbursements were made on account of the COVID-19 pandemic,” FITI’s report found, with registrants exhibiting a surprising amount of candor in their filings, Freeman noted. To “have a lobbyist, say, on a publicly available document that I would not be able to contact, to influence the U.S. government as well as I could before. … That's kind of a shocking thing.” — There was also a marked shift away from countries’ usual priorities such as arms sales, as they raced to either, in the case of developed nations, tout their handling of the virus or, in the case of developing countries, lobby for pandemic aid from the U.S. While the report makes no determination on the success of foreign pandemic lobbying, the think tank found instances where representatives of Ghana and the Kyrgyzstan requested aid, which the countries received shortly after. — “It was a little bit worrisome that developing countries that were really suffering through the pandemic had to — or at least felt like they had to — lobby for help from the U.S.” to get through the crisis, Freeman said, adding prompts questions about “countries that couldn't afford … to shell out these six- and seven-figure contracts.” — Other foreign agents helped countries with market research, or helped publicize foreign principals’ assistance to the U.S. to make sure it hadn’t gone unnoticed. Still others hoped to boost their tourism sectors, while others sought to raise concerns with U.S. officials about things like spread on military bases or customs delays. Happy Friday and welcome to PI. Before you unplug for the weekend, shoot me a tip or two. Or, in honor of Dustin Pedroia's formal farewell in Boston tonight, feel free to share your favorite Pedey memories. (Memories involving Manny Machado need not apply.): coprysko@politico.com. And be sure to follow me on Twitter: @caitlinoprysko. | A message from Facebook: The internet has changed a lot since 1996 - internet regulations should too It's been 25 years since comprehensive internet regulations passed. See why we support updated regulations on key issues, including: – Protecting people’s privacy – Enabling safe and easy data portability between platforms – Preventing election interference – Reforming Section 230 | | TOP-ED: Walter Shaub, the top Obama administration ethics official, knocked President Joe Biden today over his administration giving jobs to children and relatives of White House aides. “We’re in trouble as a nation if ‘better than Trump is good enough’ becomes the standard for ethical behavior,” Shaub, who now serves as a senior ethics fellow with the Project On Government Oversight, wrote in an op-ed for The Washington Post, which reported last week that nearly a dozen family members of top staffers have notched jobs in the administration. — Shaub noted that the president “has had harsh words for the Trump administration for its approach to government ethics, calling it ‘the most corrupt administration in modern history’” and promising to take a different course. “Whatever Biden meant when he promised a better way, it seems his administration now interprets that promise as narrowly applicable to his family,” Shaub wrote. While the Post found no evidence the president’s aides played roles in the hiring of their family members and Biden has not given jobs to any of his own relatives, Shaub argued that the administration needs to actively work to overcome such issues, otherwise “implicit bias will surely get America more appointees from privileged backgrounds, insulated from the needs of the broader public.” SUPREME COURT SIDES WITH ALASKAN NATIVES IN SUIT OVER COVID AID: “The Supreme Court ruled on Friday that Alaska Native corporations, for-profit businesses that serve tribal villages in Alaska, are entitled to part of the billions of dollars of coronavirus relief allocated by Congress in March 2020 to ‘tribal governments,’” The New York Times’ Adam Liptak reports. — Tribal governments last year sued the Treasury Department over its decision to allow the groups access to $8 billion in assistance meant for tribal governments. The dispute last spring was heightened further by the involvement of a top Interior Department official , then-Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs Tara Sweeney, who advised the department on the fund despite previously lobbying for and being a shareholder in one of the largest Alaska Native corporations. — The governments argued that the aid should have been distributed only among the 574 federally recognized tribes, one that Justice Sonia Sotomayor, who wrote the 6-3 majority’s opinion , rejected. “The corporations, she wrote, ‘are Indian tribes, regardless of whether they are also federally recognized tribes.’ ‘The court today affirms what the federal government has maintained for almost half a century: A.N.C.’s are Indian tribes’ under the definitions in a 1975 law.” | | 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. | | | CALI LAWMAKERS SIDING WITH TECH IN CRACKDOWN EFFORT: “A group of lawmakers from California is emerging as a major obstacle to passing a historic package of antitrust bills aimed at clawing back the power of Apple, Google and Facebook — three of the most powerful companies in the Golden State,” POLITICO’s Emily Birnbaum reports. — “The bipartisan lawmakers are coming out aggressively in defense of Silicon Valley, the ‘goose that lays the golden eggs,’ in the words of Rep. Lou Correa (D), one of the members of the delegation. The California lawmakers including Correa, Zoe Lofgren (D), Ted Lieu (D) and Darrell Issa (R) argue the legislation could disrupt the U.S. economy and unfairly singles out the country’s four largest tech companies for increased regulation — concerns that hew closely to the tech companies’ talking points” in an aggressive lobbying campaign against the bills. — “The Californians could be key holdouts, given that a group of moderate Democrats have already expressed worries about the bills’ impact on privacy and cybersecurity, and that GOP support is divided. … And with California lawmakers making up one of the largest delegations in Congress — 42 Democrats and 11 Republicans — more detractors could join the current group.” KELLY STEPS BACK FROM DUTIES AT TENEO AMID MISCONDUCT ALLEGATIONS: Declan Kelly, Teneo’s chief executive, “lost his board seat at the campaign group Global Citizen and ceded some of his responsibilities as head of the strategy firm Teneo after a drunken episode at a fundraising concert,” Arash Massoudi and Andrew Edgecliffe-Johnson report via The Irish Times. “Five people briefed on the matter said Mr Kelly behaved inappropriately at a party on May 2 linked to the high-profile concert put on by Global Citizen. It was chaired by Prince Harry and Meghan Markle and featured artists including Jennifer Lopez. Two of these people and one person with direct knowledge claimed that the inappropriate behaviour included the non-consensual touching of a number of women.” — “At a large cocktail party that evening attended by dozens of people including Global Citizen board members and guests, Mr Kelly became inebriated and behaved inappropriately towards some women and men at the event,” a spokesperson for told the outlet, adding that he “deeply regrets his actions” and had apologized. — “The incident raises questions about the future of Teneo, the 1,200-person public relations firm Mr Kelly leads, that has styled itself as ‘the world’s leading CEO advisory firm’” and where “Mr Kelly remains chair and chief executive but has told senior colleagues ... that he is handing some of his duties to others on the global management committee.” | | | | | | — Allison+Partners has hired Brian Kaveney as vice president for global reputation risk and public affairs. He most recently served as communications director for former Rep. Ted Yoho (R-Fla.). — Kevin Gerson will be director of public affairs for SKDK. He currently is communications director for Rep. Dina Titus (D-Nev.). — The Natural Resources Defense Council tapped Manish Bapna as president and CEO beginning in August. Bapna is currently interim president and CEO of the World Resources Institute. Replacing him at World Resources Institute is Ani Dasgupta , who will be the group’s next president and CEO. Dasgupta has been leading WRI’s Cities program for the past seven years and served as director of knowledge and learning at the World Bank. | | None. | | Florida Works Leadership PAC (PAC) | New Lobbying Registrations | | Akin, Gump, Strauss, Hauer & Feld: Communicare Capitol Chambers Strategies: 535 Group, LLC On Behalf Of Boutique Air Capitol Chambers Strategies: 535 Group, LLC On Behalf Of Missouri Association Of Sheltered Workshop Managers Crossroads Strategies, LLC: Innovative Rocket Technologies Inc. Crossroads Strategies, LLC: James H. Simons Dykema Gossett Pllc: The Multi-Assistance Center Klein/Johnson Group: Safe Advertising Coalition Larry Puccio, LLC: Appalachian Natural Gas Operators Coalition Peter Damon Group LLC: Bill And Hillary Clinton National Airport Peter Damon Group LLC: City Of Little Rock Peter Damon Group LLC: Little Rock Port Authority Peter Damon Group LLC: Little Rock Water Reclamation Authority Peter Damon Group LLC: Rai Services Company Peter Damon Group LLC: Rock Region Metro Peter Damon Group LLC: Top Glove Sdn. Bhd. Subject Matter (Fka Elmendorf Ryan): Capital Region Gaming, LLC Subject Matter (Fka Elmendorf Ryan): Holdings Acquisition Co., L.P. Subject Matter (Fka Elmendorf Ryan): Midwest Gaming & Entertainment, LLC Subject Matter (Fka Elmendorf Ryan): Rush Street Interactive, L.P. Subject Matter (Fka Elmendorf Ryan): Sugarhouse Hsp Gaming, L.P. The Kpm Group Dc LLC: Bioagilytix Labs, LLC | New Lobbying Terminations | | Chambers, Conlon & Hartwell, LLC: Railway Engineering Maintenance Suppliers Association | A message from Facebook: Why Facebook supports updated internet regulations
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