| | | | |  | | By Marcia Brown | With help from Daniel Lippman and Megan R. Wilson ANIMAL VACCINE MAKER LOBBIES FOR APPROVAL: Medgene, a South Dakota-based animal vaccine maker, is lobbying hard for approval of its vaccine as avian influenza spreads among dairy cattle in the U.S. — On Friday, Medgene met with Phil Gomez, director of interagency therapeutics and vaccines policy at the White House Office of Pandemic Preparedness and Response. It’s also met with lawmakers and repeatedly urged the Agriculture Department to collaborate on a public-private partnership to test Medgene’s vaccine, which the company says could help stop the spread of H5N1 in dairy cattle. — In February, six members of Congress, including Reps. Dusty Johnson (R-S.D.) and Angie Craig (D-Minn) urged the USDA in a letter “to continue facilitating collaboration and coordination through public-private partnerships.” — The company, which spent $70,000 on lobbying in the first quarter of 2024, has gained partial approval for the use of its vaccine, but it’s still waiting for full USDA approval. — “We’ve got the ability, on an annual basis, to produce in the hundreds of millions of doses,” said Medgene CEO Mark Luecke. The company is primed to make a lot of money should it gain approval because it’s currently the only one using platform technology — which allows multiple vaccines to be produced rapidly from a single system — to develop such an animal vaccine. Luecke shared they’ve already received “unsolicited requests for 500,000 doses to date.” — USDA’s Agricultural Research Service is also working on a vaccine for avian influenza, which has decimated millions of birds since 2022 and hit dairy herds in nine states. Ag Secretary Tom Vilsack has previously said that a vaccine is “a long way away.” USDA spokesperson Allan Rodriguez said in a statement, “We will continue to engage with these developers to better understand their vaccine development, the efficacy of potential vaccines, as well as the cost of development and production.” — Even if USDA develops its own vaccine or approves Medgene’s, there are serious trade implications. “We and the rest of the world have not seen fairly to the trade of vaccinated birds, so there’s a conversation that has to take place internationally to see what the acceptance level is,” Vilsack told reporters earlier this month. — Public health officials have found fragments of the virus in retail milk, but early tests show that pasteurization works and that the milk does not contain live virus. Late Monday, the Agriculture Department announced it was beginning some tests of retail beef and culled animals. Officials say that the milk and beef supply is safe for consumption. — Meanwhile, public health advocates are scrambling to develop messaging around this emerging disease. “Solutions are still being developed as more information is becoming clear about the scope of the issue,” Coalition to Stop Flu executive director Niki Carelli told my colleague Megan R. Wilson. “The No. 1 message that has been conveyed thus far is the need for transparency. In terms of policy solutions, that’s TBD.” The coalition plans to issue policy recommendations in the coming weeks. — In the backdrop is the reauthorization of the farm bill, a $1 trillion five-year legislation that funds crop subsidies, federal nutrition programs and emergency assistance for farmers and ranchers facing natural disasters or even disease. House Ag Chair G.T. Thompson (R-Pa.) is expected to hold a markup in May and Senate Ag Democrats say they plan to release their farm bill framework Wednesday. Welcome to PI. I’m Marcia Brown and I’m your host today as Caitlin takes a well-deserved day off. Email me at marciabrown@politico.com. (It’s the full name!) Thanks to Megan for filling in yesterday and Hailey Fuchs, who will be here Wednesday. Send tips to mwilson@politico.com, hfuchs@politico.com and coprysko@politico.com. And be sure to follow us on the platform formerly known as Twitter: @misswilson, @Marcia_Brown9 and @Hailey_Fuchs.
| | | | THE GOLD STANDARD OF POLICY REPORTING & INTELLIGENCE: POLITICO has more than 500 journalists delivering unrivaled reporting and illuminating the policy and regulatory landscape for those who need to know what’s next. Throughout the election and the legislative and regulatory pushes that will follow, POLITICO Pro is indispensable to those who need to make informed decisions fast. The Pro platform dives deeper into critical and quickly evolving sectors and industries—finance, defense, technology, healthcare, energy—equipping policymakers and those who shape legislation and regulation with essential news and intelligence from the world’s best politics and policy journalists.
Our newsroom is deeper, more experienced, and better sourced than any other—with teams embedded in the world’s most active legislative and regulatory power centers. From Brussels to Washington, New York to London, Sacramento to Paris, we bring subscribers inside the conversations that determine policy outcomes and the future of industries, providing insight that cannot be found anywhere else. Get the premier news and policy intelligence service, SUBSCRIBE TO POLITICO PRO TODAY. | | | | | HOW ONLINE DONATIONS ARE FUELING THE ELECTION: “The revolutionary impact of online political donations was on vivid display in the last fundraising quarter, showing how small contributions have helped level the field between the most powerful people in the country and a range of charismatic candidates, folk heroes, ideological crusaders and people running in especially high-profile elections,” write Jessica Piper, Paula Friedrich, Anna Wiederkehr and Madison Fernandez for POLITICO. — “The ease of giving has dramatically expanded the pool of donors in just a few election cycles and helped campaigns bring in greater hauls than ever before. And as online donations ballooned in recent years, they became a majority of funds raised by congressional candidates.” — “Politics is increasingly nationalized, and members of Congress who once relied on local contributors can now rake in money from across the country. Well-timed messages can bring in tens of thousands of dollars, and campaigns increasingly rely on — and seek to generate — newsy, viral moments that will fire up their online base.” — “No Republican member of the House raised more money from online donations last quarter than Speaker Mike Johnson. On the Democratic side, the top recipient of these donations had a different profile: It was Harry Dunn, the former Capitol Hill police officer and veteran of the Jan. 6 riot who is running for office for the first time in his life.” DC TENANTS LOBBY FOR CONCIERGE SERVICE: “Tenants of 875 10th Street waged a D.C.-style lobbying campaign this month to keep their status as renters in one of the few buildings with doormen in the city. And Hines building management quickly backtracked,” Cuneyt Dill reports in Axios. “Two-bedroom units at CityCenter run about $4,500 or more.” — “Shelling out big bucks for a CityCenter apartment gets you a lot: a rooftop pool, proximity to luxury shops, and what the website calls ‘carte blanche for exceptional living.’ But when management announced residents would lose their doormen, all hell broke loose.” — “CityCenter announced in mid-April that the doormen and concierge desk at 875 10th Street would be removed starting May 1. Instead, lockers would be installed for Amazon packages, food delivery, and dry cleaning.” — Hines building management ultimately backed down. Residents will keep their doormen and a 24/7 concierge service. But, but, but: “Residents plan to form a tenants association with 150+ members.” CELEBRITIES STOMP FOR WILD HORSES: Actress Diane Lane, who starred in the movie “Secretariat,” and Dewey Bunnell, founding member of the band America, lobbied on Capitol Hill Tuesday to urge Congress to stop the Bureau of Land Management from rounding up American wild horses and burros. (Fittingly, Bunnell wrote one of my favorite songs, “A Horse With No Name.”) Specifically, they’re urging members to support Rep. Dina Titus’ (D-Nev.) bill, the Wild Horse and Burro Protection Act of 2023. FARM GROUPS URGE LAWMAKER SUPPORT FOR PRECISION AG: Groups including the Association of Equipment Manufacturers and the American Farm Bureau Federation urged House and Senate Ag leaders in a new letter to include the Precision Agriculture Loan Program Act and the Producing Responsible Energy and Conservation Incentives and Solutions for the Environment Act in the next farm bill. SEEING VPN ON DC METRO? Mullvad VPN has launched ad campaigns in Washington, New York, Chicago and Los Angeles transit and airports as part of the company’s “mission to uphold the universal right to privacy,” said CEO Jan Jonsson, who shared that the company is spending “millions” on the campaign. The DC campaign will end in May. “Today, you can hardly visit a website without big tech companies and data brokers mapping your life – and they do so through ad networks that essentially involve surveillance of people’s lives,” added Jonsson. “Mullvad is fighting to free the internet from both state mass surveillance and commercial mass surveillance.”
| | | FIRST IN PI — Rep. Derek Kilmer (D-Wash.) has left the board of Equality PAC, the campaign arm of the pro-LGBTQ rights Congressional Equality Caucus, Daniel Lippman writes. He recently stepped down because he isn’t seeking reelection or actively fundraising anymore, according to a person familiar with the matter. Rep. Scott Peters (D-Calif.) has replaced Kilmer on the board. — Mike Smullen is joining Alignment Government Strategies as it celebrates its 10th anniversary. He was former Rep. Bill Johnson’s (R-Ohio) chief of staff. — Will Brown will be the new vice president for government relations and international programs at the Aluminum Association. Brown was most recently senior director of government relations at the U.S. Travel Association. — Liz Wolgemuth has joined Story Partners as vice president. Wolgemuth spent over a decade on Capitol Hill, including as senior communications director for former Tennessee Sen. Lamar Alexander. — RAND has named Miyeon Oh as its new Korea policy chair. She previously led Johns Hopkins University’s School of Advanced International Studies and the Atlantic Council’s Scowcroft Center. — Helaine Olen is joining the American Economic Liberties Project as managing editor. She most recently was a reporter in residence at the Omidyar Network and a contributing columnist for MSNBC.com, and is a WaPo alum. — May Boeve is stepping down as co-founder and executive director of 350.org at the end of September after 13 years at the green group. More from POLITICO’s E&E News. — Brody Palmer is now North Carolina state director at the American Conservation Coalition. — Shawna Newsome is joining the Corn Refiners Association as VP of food policy. She was previously an industry consultant for food safety at SAS and is an Agriculture Department alum. — The American Sugar Alliance has hired Casey Bean as a trade consultant, per an announcement from the group. Bean previously spent more than 30 years working for USDA’s Foreign Agricultural Service. — Elizabeth Gerke is joining DDC Public Affairs as senior vice president and chief of staff. She was previously at BCW, formerly Burson-Marsteller, where she worked on energy and chemicals issues.
| | Team Abe (Abe for Arizona, America’s Bold Era PAC)
| | Space Coast Leadership PAC (Leadership PAC) Stand Tall for Delaware PAC (Super PAC) African Diaspora Collective Political Action Committee (Super PAC) Climate Leaders PAC (Super PAC)
| | New Lobbying REGISTRATIONS | | Venable, LLP: Powering America’s Commercial Transportation
| | New Lobbying Terminations | | Klein/Johnson Group: Cruise LLC Watson Spence LLP: American Peanut Shellers Association, Inc.
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