| | | | |  | | By Caitlin Oprysko | | | With Daniel Lippman BINANCE ADDED 2 NEW FIRMS JUST BEFORE FTX COLLAPSE: The U.S. subsidiary of the world's largest crypto exchange doubled its bench of outside lobbying firms days before the spectacular implosion of its rival exchange FTX that's compounded global scrutiny of the industry and culminated in the arrest earlier this week of FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried. — Binance.US retained the financial services lobbying firm FS Vector and a team of eight lobbyists at Fierce Government Relations at the beginning of November to lobby on general cryptocurrency issues in conjunction with Bullpen Strategy Group to handle comms for the exchange. The registrations are Binance's first since it retained Hogan Lovells and Ice Miller Strategies last fall amid a surge of crypto players turning to K Street for the first time. — The new hired guns coincided with another push from Binance to expand its presence in Washington. Last month, the company launched its political action committee, which came on the heels of a midterm election cycle marked by the sudden infusion of crypto campaign cash — much of which came from Bankman-Fried and his fellow FTX executives and some of which federal prosecutors said this week was given illegally. — Binance.com , the international exchange that operates separately from Binance.US, had its own cameo in FTX's path to declaring bankruptcy, but the exchange is facing its own heat in Washington. The industry writ large has taken a beating following a series of crypto market downturns and fears of market contagion following FTX's collapse. — Customers have yanked billions of dollars worth of assets from Binance in recent weeks as reports swirled that the exchange and its founder could face charges as part of a DOJ investigation on potential money laundering and sanctions violations. THE MCCARTHY BUMP: Jeff Miller's Miller Strategies has signed eight new clients in the second half of this year, including two since the midterm elections that could hand his longtime ally Kevin McCarthy the Speaker's gavel come January. — The firm registered on Thursday to lobby for WellHive, a health management software for veterans. Earlier in the month, the firm signed the Federation of American Hospitals, according to disclosures filed today. — In the weeks leading up to the midterms, Miller Strategies also signed the PGA Tour , which is in the midst of a high-profile, bareknuckled fight with the Saudi-financed LIV Golf league, cloud software giant Oracle, litigation law firm Flint Cooper and an AI developer of facial recognition software for use in schools. Happy Friday and welcome to PI. Send tips: coprysko@politico.com. And be sure to follow me on Twitter: @caitlinoprysko.
| | | | A message from AT&T: Connection does more than bring people together – it opens a world of possibilities. AT&T has invested more than $100 billion in American infrastructure from 2017 to 2021, including U.S. capital investment and acquisitions of wireless spectrum, to connect Americans to a brighter future. AT&T is working to expand high-speed fiber access, enhance 5G connectivity and strengthen communications for first responders. Learn more about how AT&T is expanding broadband access and investing in America's future. | | | ANTITRUST THE PROCESS: "The White House has been meeting with Congressional Democrats and other supporters of tech-focused antitrust legislation over the past several weeks, trying to find a way to pass several major bills in the waning days of this Congress," our Josh Sisco reports. — "Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) and Rep. David Cicilline (D-R.I.) — who respectively chair the Senate and House antitrust subcommittees — met on Dec. 5 over Zoom with a number of senior White House officials, according to three people with knowledge of the meeting." — "Those present at the meeting included Deputy White House Chief of Staff Bruce Reed, National Economic Council Director Brian Deese, his deputy Bharat Ramamurti, Tim Wu, who heads up competition policy for the NEC, and Louisa Terrell, the White House director of legislative affairs, the people said. And smaller tech companies supporting the bills — including Yelp — also met with Wu and Terrell last month, according to a person familiar with the matter." — Both Klobuchar and Cicilline pushed the White House to apply pressure to Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer on a pair of bills that would bar tech giants from favoring their own products over their competitors' and force Apple and Google to allow competing app stores and in-app payment systems on their mobile phones. Schumer has said previously he is still searching for 60 votes for the former before putting it on the floor. — "Negotiations are underway" to incorporate both bills in a year-end spending deal. "In a brief interview on Thursday Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), a co-sponsor of both bills, said he is optimistic that talks will lead to their inclusion in the spending bill. Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.), a sponsor of the app store bill, said she is working to get it in the omnibus." IN MEMORIAM: Juanita Duggan, a longtime fixture of Washington's influence scene who broke barriers as a trade group executive, died this week at her home, her former employers said. Duggan, an adviser to two Republican presidents and 2008 presidential nominee John McCain, most recently ran her own consultancy, CLARIFYD. — Before that, Duggan lobbied for Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck, the National Food Processors Association, and Philip Morris. Duggan was the first woman to lead numerous Washington trade associations, including the National Federation of Independent Business, where she helped shape the 2017 GOP tax bill; the American Apparel & Footwear Association, the American Forest & Paper Association, and the Wine & Spirits Wholesalers of America. — Duggan's former colleagues and acquaintances remembered her today as a fierce and passionate advocate with a brilliant strategic mind as well as a kind and loyal friend and mentor. "All of us at NFIB were sad to hear the news of former President Juanita Duggan's passing," NFIB President Brad Close said in a statement. "She was an unforgettable leader and the small business community is better off, today, because of her efforts." — "Juanita was a force of nature. So strong and confident - beautiful and funny - and dangerously smart," said Craig Wolf, one of Duggan's successors at the Wine & Spirits Wholesalers. Another former WWSA leader, Michelle Korsmo, added that "those who love Juanita should know that so many people will benefit from the intelligence, tenacity, and passion she brought to everything she touched." MEDICAL SUPPLY CHAIN GROUP PUSHES MANUFACTURING BILL: Securing America's Medicines and Supply, a coalition of drugmakers and medical equipment suppliers, has launched a new campaign urging lawmakers to include legislation in the omnibus to boost domestic manufacturing of "essential" prescription drugs amid a surge of shortages. — The group cites shortages of drugs like amoxicillin, which can be used to treat bacterial infections like bronchitis and pneumonia; children's acetaminophen and oseltamivir, which is used to treat the flu, ahead of the winter, as well as the ADHD drug Adderall, pointing to hold-ups with overseas manufacturers. — While the coalition has endorsed several pieces of legislation aimed at shoring up the medical supply chain, for now they are pressing lawmakers to adopt the American Made Pharmaceuticals Act, which would create incentives for onshoring the production of certain generic, biosimilar and "critical" drugs. 'TIS THE SEASON: "The Ukrainian Embassy hosted a reception last week in honor of the 31st anniversary of the country's armed services," the typical sort of D.C. event that draws "hobnobbing diplomats, think tankers, journalists, and US officials," Vox's Jonathan Guyer writes. — "Guests took photos with the Ukrainian ambassador. Even Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Mark Milley showed up. But there was something so overt it led some observers to laugh out loud at the gathering's invitation." — "The logos of military contractors Northrop Grumman, Raytheon, Pratt & Whitney, and Lockheed Martin were emblazoned on the invitation as the event's sponsors, below the official Ukrainian emblems and elegant blue script that said the Ukrainian ambassador and defense attaché 'request the pleasure of your company.'" — "That Ukraine and those US military contractors have a strong relationship isn't surprising. … But the explicit sponsorship indicates how intimate major military contractors have become with Ukraine, and how much they stand to gain from the war." — "The invitation is a clear expression of how the war in Ukraine has been good for business. As Ukraine fights a defensive war against Russia's brutal invasion, Ukrainians in Washington have been pushing for the US to send Ukraine more weapons. So far, President Joe Biden's administration has committed a substantial $19.3 billion of military assistance since February. That aid has been integral to Ukraine's success on the battlefield," Guyer writes. "No one wanted to talk about the party invite, however."
| | | | A message from AT&T:   | | | | | | — Jacqueline Ortiz Ramsay is joining music royalties startup JKBX as chief communications and public affairs officer. She was most recently head of policy communications at Robinhood and is an Obama campaign alum. — Ali Rubin and Jessica McIntosh are now senior adviser and communications director, respectively, at Facts First USA. Rubin most recently was founder of AMR Strategies and is a Hillary Clinton alum. McIntosh most recently was president of Jess McIntosh Strategies. — Laurel Blatchford is joining the Treasury Department as director of IRA implementation, essentially replacing Natasha Sarin, who serves as Treasury counselor for tax policy and implementation and is leaving the administration. Blatchford is the founder and principal of progressive strategy firm Uplook Advisors. — Shawn Townsend will be president and CEO of Restaurant Association Metropolitan Washington . He previously was a principal at Dewey Square Group. — Chris Snook is now AI and blockchain regulatory affairs adviser at Connector Labs. He previously founded World Tokenomic Forum and published Digital Sense. — Daniel van Hoogstraten is launching Amplifire Strategic Communications. He is vice president of communications at the Remington Road Group and is a Frank Pallone and Eleanor Holmes Norton alum. — Ticora Jones will be Natural Resources Defense Council's new chief science officer. Jones previously was USAID's top scientist and head of research. — Emily Hague is joining The Environmental Partnership, a coalition of oil and gas companies run out of the American Petroleum Institute that promotes methane reductions and other goals, as director. She's currently head of API's Onshore Safety Alliance and is an Interior alum. — Regan Delaney is now member services director for the Republican Governance Group. She previously was director of operations at the NRCC. — Naeem Jenkins-Nixon is now deputy director of the White House initiative on HBCUs. He most recently was deputy director of the Biden Institute and principal at NJN Political Strategies and is the former deputy chief of staff at the city of Augusta, Ga. SPOTTED at ROKK Solutions' holiday party at Yardbird, per a PI tipster: Greg Staley of U.S. Travel, Lisa Hanna and Skiffington Holderness of Delta Air Lines, Jeremy Butler of Iraq Afghanistan Veterans of America, Suzanne Beall of Amazon, Scott Sloofman of Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell's (R-Ky.) office, Josh Marcus-Blank of Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto's office (D-Nev.), Jon Kott of Capitol Counsel, Steve Rochlin of Impact ROI, Brian Sansoni of the American Cleaning Institute, Elliot Berke of Berke Farah, Megan Bloomgren of API, Mark Bednar of McCarthy's office, Kasper Zeuthen of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Kathryn Stack of WE Communications, Brad Howard of The Vogel Group, J.P. Freire of the House Ways and Means Committee, Amy Grappone of the McCain Institute, Lauren Crawford Shaver and Kristina Dunklin of Forbes Tate Partners, Cole Rojewski of RBW Group, Matt Gorman of Targeted Victory, Jeremy Wilson-Simerman of McDonald's, Jennifer Dunn of Hill+Knowlton Strategies, Annie Clark of Sen. Susan Collins' office (R-Maine), Austin Laufersweiler of Partnership for Public Service, Katey McCutcheon of Firehouse Strategies, Dimitri Adler of Data Society, Olivia Fahrmann of Southern Company, Tim Burger of Seven Letter, Doug Heye, Sheldon Bream of Bream Speaker Management, Sara Bonjean of Rose Strategies, Sheena Mollineau of PwC and Ron Bonjean, Rodell Mollineau and Kristen Hawn of ROKK Solutions. — And at the Blockchain Association's "Crypto Winter Party," per a tipster: Rep. Andy Barr (R-Ky.), Kristin Smith of the Blockchain Association, Kyle Hauptman of the National Credit Union Administration, Kara Calvert of Coinbase, Collin McCune of a16z, Marta Belcher of Filecoin Foundation and Protocol Labs and Miller Whitehouse-Levine of the DeFi Education Fund.
| | | None.
| | | Secure America PAC (Leadership PAC: Carla Spalding)
| | New Lobbying Registrations | | Actum I, LLC: Clear Labs
Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck, LLP: Conservation International Foundation
Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck, LLP: Romark Global Pharma, LLC
Brumidi Group: Publix Super Markets
Brumidi Group: Battery Council International
Capitol Counsel LLC: Bright Data Ltd.
Chamber Hill Strategies: Cic Health
Chamber Hill Strategies: Medicaid Health Plans Of America
Cornerstone Government Affairs, Inc.: Park University
Crossroads Strategies, LLC: Exxonmobil Low Carbon Solutions Holdings LLC
District Catalyst: Baseconnect
E3G, Third Generation Environmentalism, Inc.: E3G, Third Generation Environmentalism, Inc.
Empire Consulting Group: Transit Labs
Fierce Government Relations: Bam Trading Services, Inc./Binance.US
Filecoin Foundation: Filecoin Foundation
Fs Vector LLC: Bam Trading Services, Inc./Binance.US
Inlet Strategies: Vitas Healthcare Corporation
Invariant LLC: The Vanguard Group, Inc.
Libertas Consulting: Innova Medical Group
Miller Strategies, LLC: Wellhive
Northern Compass Group LLC: Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck LLP Obo Bradley Lake Project Management Cmte
O'Neill And Associates: Cubavision LLC
Obsidian Strategists LLC: Children'S Health Fund
Sorini, Samet & Associates, LLC: Ande
| | New Lobbying Terminations | | Balch & Bingham, LLP: Jefferson County Commission
Invariant LLC: Datarobot, Inc.
| | | | A message from AT&T: One year ago, one-third of the population in unincorporated Vanderburgh County, Indiana did not have access to fixed broadband solutions. But thanks to a $39 million public-private partnership, AT&T has started to connect more than 20,000 households and businesses in the county.
In communities across the country, AT&T has invested more than $100 billion in American infrastructure over the past five years to connect Americans to a brighter future. This includes U.S capital investment and acquisitions of wireless spectrum from 2017-2021. And now, thanks to the unprecedented federal broadband funds made available, communities across the country are also able to collaborate with companies like AT&T to expand broadband availability to residents and businesses at a lower cost. Expanding broadband access and investing in America's future opens a bridge to possibility for all. Learn more at att.com/infrastructure. | | | | | | | Follow us | | | | |
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