| | | | |  | | By Caitlin Oprysko | | | With help from James Bikales and Daniel Lippman ORACLE HIRES BUSTOS: Cloud computing giant Oracle has hired former Democratic Rep. Cheri Bustos of Mercury Public Affairs. Bustos, a former chair of House Democrats’ campaign arm and former member of the caucus’ leadership team, began lobbying for Oracle at the beginning of the year on tech issues and “raising awareness of key products and technology,” according to a newly filed disclosure. Bustos referred PI’s questions about her work to Oracle, which did not respond to a request for comment. — This isn’t the first time Mercury has lobbied for Oracle — disclosures show the firm worked for Oracle until 2002. The company’s lobbying footprint has only expanded since then, with a roster of two dozen outside firms on retainer, including Miller Strategies, the McKeon Group, Fierce Government Relations, Schaerr Jaffe, the Nickles Group, Klein/Johnson Group, Polaris Government Relations, Resolution Public Affairs, the Livingston Group and more. — Oracle spent a record $13.3 million on federal lobbying last year, according to data from OpenSecrets, which came as the data giant took heat over its contract with the VA to replace the department’s electronic health records systems, and became the subject of intense scrutiny stemming from Oracle’s partnership with TikTok to host all of the company’s U.S. user data stateside. ON THE AIRWAVES AND BEYOND: A number of major trade and advocacy groups and businesses announced upward of $50 million in new political spending in total. Most of that amount, $40 million, will come from the Campaign for a Family Friendly Economy, which plans to drop more than it has in the past two election cycles combined to shore up President Joe Biden and other Democrats in battleground states who support family-oriented budget issues like paid leave, child care and lowering drug prices. — Its spending this time around will go toward field and door-knocking operations, organizing, and paid and mail advertising in six key states initially: Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, Virginia, New Hampshire, Georgia and Montana. — The Consumer Bankers Association, meanwhile, is rolling out a six-figure campaign that aims to highlight “the positive role banks play in communities nationwide to foster small business development, support homeowners, encourage entrepreneurship, and more,” according to the trade group. — The campaign includes a microsite, earned and paid media, and ads on social media, streaming and audio platforms focused in and around the Beltway initially. It comes amid a flurry of action from Biden’s financial regulators and consumer watchdogs that have been met with legal threats and challenges from CBA and its industry peers. — “It is imperative that people understand the critical role that banks play, and that rules and regulations must be fueled by sound policy, not partisan politics,” CBA President and CEO Lindsey Johnson said in a statement, adding that the campaign aims “to remind Washington leaders of the positive impact our members have in the lives of the people and communities we’re all working to serve.” — The American Fuel & Petrochemical Manufacturers announced a $7 million campaign today bashing the Biden administration’s regulatory efforts to push electric vehicle adoption, and crypto exchange Coinbase has also launched a seven-figure ad blitz pegged to National Lost Penny Day. — AFPM’s campaign targets EPA’s proposed tailpipe rule, DOT’s proposed fuel economy standards and EPA’s consideration of California’s waiver request to enforce its rule phasing out gas-powered vehicle sales by 2035. — The ads will run in D.C. and Michigan, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, Arizona, Nevada, Ohio and Montana — states where polling it commissioned showed voters oppose “gas car ban policies” (even though only the California rule would “ban” gas-powered car sales; the other two federal proposals are performance-based standards designed to push automakers toward selling more EVs). — Coinbase’s ad buy will feature TV, print and digital ads aimed at policymakers and consumers alike arguing that digital assets can create a more efficient and modern financial system without physical money that can get lost, per our Jasper Goodman. Happy Monday and welcome to PI, where your host is also wondering what the holdup might be. Our inbox is open if you have any intel — and we’ll keep you anonymous: coprysko@politico.com. And be sure to follow me on the platform formerly known as Twitter: @caitlinoprysko.
| | A message from the Air Line Pilots Association, Int’l: Raise the pilot retirement age? Raise chaos for air travelers. Congress is considering an arbitrary change to current law that would raise the mandatory retirement age for pilots from 65 to 67 to address a pilot shortage that isn’t real. It’s an ill-conceived solution to a fake problem that will lead to real consequences. With more and more people flying, now is the wrong time to complicate air travel. Learn more. | | | DEI SCRUTINY ON THE LEFT ISN’T LETTING UP: “The Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus is urging leaders of Fortune 100 companies to investigate the companies’ diversity, equity and inclusion practices specifically for Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders,” per our Grace Yarrow. — The letters, dated Monday, request numbers and percentages of staff who are AANHPI and what DEI practices specific to that group the companies have established. Leaders of the caucus are also seeking data on how much the companies spend on philanthropy for those communities and what percentage of the companies’ vendors are AANHPI-owned businesses.” — “Caucus Chair Judy Chu (D-Calif.) discussed the letters and the importance of workplace DEI efforts during a recent press conference. Alongside leaders of the Congressional Black Caucus and Congressional Hispanic Caucus, Chu harshly criticized efforts by House Republicans to curb DEI policies in the workforce. … In December, the Congressional Black Caucus sent a similar letter to corporations that made racial equity pledges in 2020 to gather updates on DEI progress.” BOMBARDIER TAPS NEW D.C. OFFICE HEAD: Bombardier has promoted Pete McAleer to lead the aerospace company’s D.C. office as vice president for U.S. government and defense affairs. McAleer joined the company in 2022 as a senior counselor, and before that he worked as a national security policy adviser for Sen. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa), worked as a senior adviser to the chief of Naval Operations, and spent more than two decades in the Marine Corps. ICYMI — TRUMP, CLUB FOR GROWTH BURY THE HATCHET: “Former President Donald Trump and the Club for Growth appear to have made peace,” our Alex Isenstadt reports. “After being at war with each other for the past year, Trump and Club for Growth President David McIntosh met for dinner Wednesday evening at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach, Fla., according to two people with knowledge of the sit-down.” — McIntosh also flew with Trump over the weekend to South Carolina for campaign events ahead of the state’s primary later this month. “The rapprochement represents the latest turn in the ongoing, hot-cold relationship between Trump and the conservative organization.” — “Tensions had been especially high between the two sides over the past year, when a Club for Growth-affiliated outside group waged an unsuccessful multimillion-dollar TV ad campaign aimed at sinking Trump in early primary states. The Club-linked group halted its anti-Trump effort last August, after it became clear it wasn’t working. The moves are another indication of how the GOP is consolidating around Trump as he establishes a stranglehold on the party’s nomination.” ANNALS OF SUPER PACS: “The super PAC backing Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s presidential campaign aired a costly Super Bowl ad that didn’t just draw direct parallels between the independent candidate and his uncle, former president John F. Kennedy — it also used the exact same ad template,” our Brittany Gibson and Sam Stein report. — “The ad run by The American Values 2024 in support of Robert Kennedy Jr. ran nationally and cost the super PAC $7 million, according to an official at the committee. … Shortly after the ad aired, members of the Kennedy family took to X to express fury with it.” — “‘My cousin’s Super Bowl ad used our uncle’s faces- and my Mother’s. She would be appalled by his deadly health care views. Respect for science, vaccines, & health care equity were in her DNA,’ wrote Bobby Shriver, an activist and attorney.” — “Robert Kennedy Jr. responded apologetically by saying that the ‘ad was created and aired by the American Values Super PAC without any involvement or approval from my campaign. FEC rules prohibit Super PACs from consulting with me or my staff. I love you all. God bless you.’” (As of Monday afternoon, the ad remained pinned to the top of his profile page on X.) — Meanwhile, the Miami Herald’s Ben Wieder and Sarah Blaskey reported over the weekend that the super PAC supporting Miami Mayor Francis Suarez’ longshot presidential bid “paid its top fundraising consultant more money than the super PAC raised in new donations last year, according to an analysis of the committee’s latest report filed last week.” — “The pro-Suarez super PAC paid nearly $2.2 million to Virginia-based consulting firm Starboard LLC, while raising just $1.5 million, the report showed. The report underscores the desperation and inexperience of Suarez’s campaign, which relied on gimmicks to drum up support, including an AI version of the candidate and an offer of a $20 gift card to each $1 donor.” — “The pro-Suarez super PAC, SOS America, stands out among those supporting presidential candidates. For instance, Never Back Down, a super PAC supporting Gov. Ron DeSantis’ candidacy, spent about the same amount on fundraising but raised $60 million in new donations.”
| | | | A message from the Air Line Pilots Association, Int’l:   | | | | | — Wes Shaw is now corporate communications strategist at Navy Federal Credit Union. He most recently was director of executive communications and public relations at the National Association of Realtors. — The American Hotel & Lodging Association promoted Matt Carrier to senior vice president of federal affairs, policy and research; Sarah Bratko to vice president of state and local government affairs and policy counsel; Olivia Klipa to vice president of conferences and events; Lauren Pravlik to vice president of committees and member engagement; and Kat Fonda to senior director of federal affairs. — Mary Thomas is joining Job Creators Network as chief strategic growth officer. She previously was executive director of strategic development at the America First Legal Foundation, and is a Club for Growth Foundation, CatholicVote and Trump DOJ alum. — Lynda Tran, Andrew Rogers and Andrew Wishnia are launching EpicWorks Advisors, a new consulting firm focused on transportation and climate policy. All three previously had senior roles at the Biden Transportation Department. They’ll be senior advisers to LSN Partners as well. — Tammy Patrick is leading a new initiative from the Robert J. Dole Institute of Politics and the Edward M. Kennedy Institute for the United States Senate to bolster America’s elections infrastructure. She is a former commissioner on the Presidential Commission on Election Administration. — Katherine Estep will now be a communications consultant through KME Strategies. She was previously vice president of communications at Airlines for America. — Meghan Miele has been promoted to senior vice president at Hiltzik Strategies. She was previously a vice president.
| | | | CONGRESS OVERDRIVE: Since day one, POLITICO has been laser-focused on Capitol Hill, serving up the juiciest Congress coverage. Now, we’re upping our game to ensure you’re up to speed and in the know on every tasty morsel and newsy nugget from inside the Capitol Dome, around the clock. Wake up, read Playbook AM, get up to speed at midday with our Playbook PM halftime report, and fuel your nightly conversations with Inside Congress in the evening. Plus, never miss a beat with buzzy, real-time updates throughout the day via our Inside Congress Live feature. Learn more and subscribe here. | | | | | | | | | HOGAN VICTORY FUND (Hogan for Maryland Inc., Better Path Forward) Keep Michigan Blue Fund (Hertel for Michigan, Kristen for Michigan, Michigan Democratic State Central Committee)
| | Arizona Eagle PAC (PAC) BlueVote.org (PAC) Buckeye for Values (Super PAC) Newsom for CA Governor 2022 (Hybrid PAC) Power to the Polls Federal Fund (Super PAC) RIGHT AMERICA, INC. (Super PAC) RNJ 2 Save America t/a RNJ 2 SA (Super PAC)
| | | | DON’T MISS POLITICO’S GOVERNORS SUMMIT: Join POLITICO on Feb. 22 to dive into how Governors are wielding immense power. While Washington remains gridlocked, governors are at the center of landmark decisions in AI and tech, economic development, infrastructure, housing, reproductive health and energy. How are they setting the stage for the future of American politics, policies and priorities? How are they confronting major challenges? Explore these questions and more at the 2024 Governors Summit. REGISTER HERE. | | | | | | | New Lobbying REGISTRATIONS | | | Akash Wasil: Control Ai Alcalde & Fay: City Of Alpharetta, Georgia Brian J. Glackin & Associates LLC (F/K/A Brian Glackin): Parry Labs Corrigan & USsery LLC: Small Business Construction And Engineering Coalition (Informal Coalition) Holland & Knight LLP: S2 Corporation International Law Group Of Human And Civil Rights Attorneys, P.C.: International Law Group Of Human And Civil Rights Attorneys, P.C. Lne Group: Moving With Hope Lne Group: Neurolab360 Mercury Public Affairs, LLC: Ameren Service Corporation Fka Ameren Mercury Public Affairs, LLC: Jefferson Parish Schools O’Neill And Associates: Sublime Systems Reston Strategy Group, LLC: Vast Space LLC Todd Strategy Group: Southwest Transplant Alliance Todd Strategy Group: The Orthoforum Woodland Resources: Americas Public Television Stations Woodland Resources: Cullman Regional Medical Center Woodland Resources: National Council Of Youth Sports
| | New Lobbying Terminations | | Atlantic Strategies Group: Arete Associates Congressional Strategies LLC: Fors Marsh Group Michael Best Strategies LLC: Exxonmobil Corporation
| | A message from the Air Line Pilots Association, Int’l: A difference of two years can lead to decades of air travel complications. Arbitrarily extending the mandatory pilot retirement age from 65 to 67 to address a fake pilot shortage will upend union collective bargaining agreements, disrupt airline operations, increase ticket prices, create a cascading and costly training backlog for pilots and put the United States out of compliance with international standards. Learn why raising the pilot retirement age to 67 outweighs any potential benefits. | | | | | | | Follow us | | | | |
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