HOUSE NATURAL RESOURCES AIDE HEADS DOWNTOWN: Ashley McManus has left the Hill to join energy-focused firm Lot Sixteen as a vice president. McManus had served as staff director for Republicans on the House Natural Resources mining subcommittee since 2019, and before that worked for former Rep. Jo Bonner (R-Ala.) as well as former House Appropriations Chair Hal Rogers (R-Ky.). At Lot Sixteen, she’ll work with the firm’s energy, mining, manufacturing and infrastructure clients. FIRST IN PI — THE DONOR-EARMARK BENEFICIARY NEXUS: Rep. Jen Kiggans (R-Va.) recently requested millions of taxpayer dollars in an earmark for a natural gas pipeline that could specifically benefit two companies whose corporate PACS had recently donated thousands of dollars to her campaign, Daniel reports. — The corporate PAC for Rocket Lab, a satellite and space company, donated $2,500 to Kiggans in early February and $1,000 in March 2023. On April 22 she met with the CEO of the company, Peter Beck, calling it an “honor.” The same day, DLA Piper disclosed in its quarterly report that Tony Samp and Nathaniel Bell had lobbied both the House and the Senate on appropriations funding bills in the first quarter on behalf of Rocket Lab. — Less than two weeks later, Kiggans requested $7.4 million in appropriations to expand a Maryland natural gas pipeline into Eastern Virginia that Rocket Lab last year was reportedly eyeing to use for fuel in some of its spacecraft launches. She said in the funding request that the project would “create 143 jobs, generate $7M in labor income and sustain $6.9M savings in fuel cost for existing businesses.” — The corporate PAC for Tyson Foods also gave $1,000 to her campaign last November; Kiggans said in her request for the pipeline expansion that Tyson was among the “potential anchor customers” for the gas line. — Spokespeople for Kiggans, Tyson Foods and DLA Piper didn’t respond to requests for comment. A Rocket Lab spokesperson said that the pipeline project was not one of the appropriations issues it lobbied on but declined further comment. Happy Thursday and welcome to PI. What’s going on out there? Let us know: coprysko@politico.com. And be sure to follow me on X: @caitlinoprysko.
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EMPLOYERS COALITION PLEADS FOR HELP: A network of trade associations and companies aimed at pushing through policies to address the country’s labor shortages is rolling out a new campaign imploring Congress to take up a set of bills aimed at alleviating shortages by easing immigration restrictions on migrant workers and asylum seekers and beefing up a tax credit to incentivize hiring. — The push comes from the Critical Labor Coalition, whose members include the American Hotel Lodging Association, the National Association of Convenience Stores, the National Restaurant Association, the Society for Human Resource Management and the International Food Distributors Association as well as companies like Chipotle and the parent companies of fast food chains Burger King, Popeye’s, KFC, Pizza Hut and Taco Bell. — The group’s ads warn that even if every unemployed person counted in the most recent jobs report was hired, more than 1.3 million positions would still go unfilled, according to BLS data. They direct viewers to the coalition’s website, which highlights several proposed bills the employers say could help make a dent in labor shortages. — The spots are slated to run in news outlets like The Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, Fox News, CNN and POLITICO through the end of July, and come as immigration issues are poised to play a central role in November’s elections. NARRATIVE LANDS IN PBI: Communications and public affairs firm Narrative Strategies expanding into South Florida with a new office in West Palm Beach. It’ll be led by Matt Moon, a managing director at the firm who was deputy executive director at the NRSC under Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.) and a spokesperson for his 2014 gubernatorial reelection campaign. Kelly O’Keefe, who has been with the firm since its founding and is a Rep. Brian Mast (R-Fla.) and CGCN Group alum, is also joining the new office. KEY GOOGLE DEPARTURES RAISING EYEBROWS IN D.C.: “At least six of Google’s top privacy and regulatory officials have left the company in recent months, and a key oversight team was disbanded,” our Alfred Ng reports, “leading to concerns among policymakers that one of the world’s most powerful tech companies is releasing new artificial intelligence products without sufficient protections for users. The changes come on top of other cutbacks that had triggered similar worries.” — “Google’s machine learning privacy team, a key group that consulted on legal and privacy policy for AI, was disbanded in February, and only two members of the team are still with the company today, according to a current Google engineer, who was granted anonymity to protect their status at the company,” while WIRED reported in January that the company’s Responsible Innovation team, which reviewed Google’s projects through the lens of its AI ethics principles, had also been disbanded. — “Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), a privacy hawk on Capitol Hill, said the changes raise questions about whether the company is taking its obligations to the public seriously,” though Google denied that its privacy and AI ethics standards had changed. But Wyden “specifically raised concerns that the recent departures could violate a deal the company has with the Federal Trade Commission.” FLYING IN: AmChams of Asia Pacific fanned out across Washington this week for its annual fly-in featuring participants from Australia, Cambodia, China, Fiji, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam. — AAP Chair Steve Okun led the delegation, which met with officials from the State, Treasury and Commerce departments, USTR and the White House, as well as bipartisan lawmakers and staff for key members and committees including House Speaker Mike Johnson’s office, think tanks like the America First Policy Institute and Heritage Foundation and political strategists. ICYMI — HARRIS BOLSTERS TIES TO DOWNTOWN: “If Biden survives the current tempest and is re-elected, [Vice President Kamala] Harris would become a prime candidate to succeed him in 2028 and lobbyists and donors with ties to her would be in high demand,” Bloomberg’s Kate Ackley writes in a piece reexamining that network. — Second gentleman Doug Emhoff “has his own deep connections to the corporate world having served as a partner at law and lobbying firm DLA Piper, where he was an entertainment lawyer in Los Angeles.” — “‘At the end of the day, the job of the vice president is to always be ready,’ said Nicole Venable, a Democratic lobbyist at the firm Invariant. ‘People are taking a more focused look at her. There are those of us in Washington, on K Street downtown, who have been supportive of the vice president for many years.’” — “Harris has a network of allies in the lobbying sector, some stemming from her 2016 Senate race when she raised nearly $200,000 from lobbyists, according to an analysis by OpenSecrets.org, which tracks political and lobbying spending. Many in her K Street network are women of color … As vice president, she has done events with K Street organizations, such as the US Chamber of Commerce, and has huddled with lobbying clients and business leaders, lobbyists said.” SPOTTED last night at a release party for Phil Elwood’s debut book "All The Worst Humans: How I Made News for Dictators, Tycoons, and Politicians" at Commissary in Logan Circle (which appears in the book) per a tipster: Amazon's Lindsay Hamilton, CNN’s Isaac Dovere and Courtney Flantzer, POLITICO's Michael Schaffer, Wall Street Journal’s James Grimaldi, Molly Ball and Louise Radnofsky, WME’s Howard Yoon, Gail Ross and Dara Kaye, Leidar’s Max Marcucci, Bloomberg’s Jamie Tarabay, Reuters’ Raphael Satter, NBC’s Sarah Fitzpatrick, New York Times' Mark Mazzetti, Riccon Strategic Communications' Andrew Ricci, Urban Libraries Council's Liz Bartolomeo, Protect Our Care’s Anne Shoup and Center for American Progress’ Billy Flanagan. — And at a National Association of Manufacturers event to welcome several new heads of its policy team, including Andrea Durkin and Chris Phalen, per a tipster: Reps. Carol Miller (R-W.Va.) and Glenn Grothmann (R-Wis.), Jay Timmons, Erin Streeter and Alyssa Shooshan of NAM, Jim McGreevy of Coke, Chris Ternet of Stanley Black and Decker, Susan Haney of the Beer Institute, Jamie Boone of Toyota, Katie Hays of Caterpillar, Ramola Musante of Sherwin-Williams, Steve Nadherny of CNH Industrial, Sarah Kyle of Eli Lilly, Brad Hoagland of Johnson & Johnson and Brian Smith of Merck.
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| — Bill McQuillen has joined FTI Consulting as a managing director in the crisis and litigation communications practice. He was previously a vice president at Invariant. — The Public Affairs Council has hired Milka Amanios as a manager in the social impact practice. Amanios was previously on the inclusive impact and sustainability team at Visa. — Jennifer O’connor is joining Harvard University as its next general counsel. She was previously vice president of technology and information law and policy at Northrop Grumman. — Former Rep. Will Hurd (R-Texas), who chaired the House Oversight IT Subcommittee before leaving Congress in 2021, has joined the Personal AI Board. Since his departure from the Hill, he has worked as a managing director at the investment banking firm Allen and Company LLC and was previously on OpenAI’s Board. — Bethany Abbate recently joined the Software and Information Industry Association as manager of AI policy, a newly created role. She joins the industry group from Capstone LLC, where she was a senior associate policy analyst. — Dan Crawford is now senior vice president at Moyer Strategies. He previously was a vice president at SKDK and is a Hub Project, Economic Policy Institute and Obama administration alum. — Sarah Mars Bowie is now a vice president at BDP. She previously was a vice president at Hill & Knowlton and is a FINN Partners alum. — Jamie Lima-Sabatini is now an account executive at Burson. She was previously an assistant account executive at Burson. — Erin McBride Taylor is now a senior media manager for the National Federation of Independent Business. She most recently was communications director for Rep. David Rouzer (R-N.C.) and is a Steve Scalise alum. — Erin Pelton and Nicole Flotteron have launched Foretell, a new communications and public affairs firm. Pelton most recently was vice president of communications and public affairs at Shopify and is a Biden and Obama White House alum. Flotteron most recently was director of external communications at Shopify and is an Actum and Mercury alum. — Anjulee Alvares-Cinque is now chief marketing officer at the American Immigration Council. She most recently was head of media and communications at Save the Children and is a UNICEF alum.
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Adams And Reese, LLP: Concordance Academy Of Leadership Adams And Reese, LLP: Data Squared USa, Inc. Dba Data2 Brian Glackin & Associates LLC: Innovative Materials & Processes (Pro-Bono Client) Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney Pc: University Of Pittsburgh Medical Center Health Plan Calfee, Halter & Griswold LLP: Birthing Beautiful Communities Cassidy & Associates, Inc.: Cocoon, Inc. Cassidy & Associates, Inc.: Patriot Maritime Cassidy & Associates, Inc.: Sealift, Inc. Cassidy & Associates, Inc.: Southern Environmental Law Center Cassidy & Associates, Inc.: Talkiatry Management Services, LLC Cogent Strategies LLC: Citizens For Responsible Energy Solutions Dla Piper LLP (US): University Of North Carolina At Chapel Hill Dla Piper LLP (US): Yulchon, LLC (For Lg Energy Solution, Ltd. And Hanwha Solutions Corp.) Downs Government Affairs: California Community College Chancellors Office Downs Government Affairs: Grossmont-Cuyamaca Community College District Envision Strategy: Vineyard Offshore, LLC Ice Miller Strategies LLC: Athletes.Org Invariant LLC: Conceivable Life Sciences Lobbyit.Com: Cloud Computing Technologies Lobbyit.Com: Holman Frenia Allison Advisors Lobbyit.Com: Horse Plus Humane Society Lot Sixteen LLC: American Physical Society Mission Strategies LLC (Energy): Syrah Resources Limited Strategies 360: Ulupono Initiative
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Alliance For Natural Health USA: Alliance For Natural Health USa Becker & Poliakoff, P.A.: Clean Refineries Inc. Becker & Poliakoff, P.A.: Emergency Sandbag Response, Inc. Becker & Poliakoff, P.A.: Nextcity Networks LLC Bridge Street Group, LLC: Salinas Strategies LLC (On Behalf Of International Council Of Shopping Centers) Cassidy & Associates, Inc.: Doe Run Company Freemyer & Associates P.C.: Lakemoor Ventures, LLC Lobbyit.Com: Agriculture Fairness Alliance Lobbyit.Com: Agru America Lobbyit.Com: American Society Of Association Executives Lobbyit.Com: Brain Aneurysm Foundation Lobbyit.Com: Northern Nye County Hospital District Lobbyit.Com: Studypages Lobbyit.Com: Trustpoint One Porter Group, LLC: Nevada Test Site Historical Foundation Porter Group, LLC: Norman Tri Ii LLC, A Nevada Limited Liability Company Squire Patton Boggs: The Donohoe Companies Tiger Hill Partners LLC: Bluevine Inc. William Schmidt: Pulmonary Fibrosis Foundation
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