Paramount’s top lobbyist to depart

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Dec 02, 2025 View in browser   By Caitlin Oprysko and Daniel Barnes Presented by JPMorganChase With Daniel Lippman  LEA-VING PARAMOUNT: DeDe Lea is stepping down as the top global lobbyist for entertainment giant Paramount after nearly 30 years with the company or its predecessors. — Lea’s departure in January will come less than six months after the completion of Paramount’s acquisition by Skydance Corporation, and despite signing a new deal last December to stay on as head of global public policy and government of the combined company through the end of 2028, according to The Hollywood Reporter. — “After an incredible journey of nearly three decades, numerous U.S. administrations, global political change and many iterations of Paramount, it’s time for me to start a new chapter,” Lea wrote in a farewell email to staff this morning obtained by PI. — Lea first joined the media conglomerate Viacom in 1997 as vice president of government relations. She rose to become the company’s global head of government affairs, and maintained the role of top lobbyist following Viacom’s 2019 merger with CBS Corporation (the merged company later became Paramount Global). — Lea’s role, which has spanned major changes to the way people consume movies, TV and news — as well as several high-profile mergers that were not without controversy — placed her on the “front lines of some of the most important moments in politics, media and entertainment,” she wrote in her note to staff. — “I am particularly proud of the way that we have deepened Paramount's relationships with political leaders globally, and how we diligently worked to help the company successfully navigate an ever-evolving global political landscape,” she added of her time with the company. — Lea made no mention of where she may land next or who would succeed her in the role. Makan Delrahim, who previously led DOJ’s antitrust division during the Biden administration, assumed oversight of Paramount’s lobbying team when he became Paramount’s chief legal officer in October. Lea declined to comment through a spokesperson for Paramount. ANTHROPIC ADDS ANOTHER OUTSIDE FIRM: Anthropic, the company behind artificial intelligence chatbot Claude, retained Fierce Government Relations last month as part of the AI firm’s D.C. lobbying expansion. The team of lobbyists working on the account includes Patrick Clifton, who served as a special assistant to the president for operations during Donald Trump’s first presidency. — The firm began lobbying for Anthropic on Nov. 1 on a slew of policy issues related to AI. They include the White House’s AI roadmap, safety and governance matters, national security, export controls, and energy generation, transmission, permitting and domestic infrastructure investments, according to lobbying disclosures. — Fierce is the third firm in Anthropic’s stable of outside lobbyists, and the second new outside firm this year after the AI giant hired Continental Strategy in April. Anthropic has been teasing plans to bolster its footprint in Washington, and during the third quarter of the year the company cracked $1 million in quarterly lobbying outlays for the first time. Happy Tuesday and welcome to PI. A huge thank you to Daniel for pinch hitting for me while I was out. Which holiday parties are you most looking forward to over the next couple of weeks? Fill me in on Signal at caitlinoprysko.17 or at coprysko@politico.com. Daniel is on Signal at danielbarnes.13 and email at dbarnes@politico.com. Also follow us on X: @caitlinoprysko and @dnlbrns.   A message from JPMorganChase: JPMorganChase Launches $1.5T Initiative to Strengthen Critical Industries. Global supply chains are evolving, technology competition is heating up, and strengthening national security is more important than ever. That's why JPMorganChase launched the Security and Resiliency Initiative—a $1.5 trillion, 10-year plan to facilitate, finance and invest in industries critical to national economic security and resiliency, including supply chain and advanced manufacturing, defense and aerospace, energy independence and resilience, and frontier technologies such as AI, cybersecurity, and quantum computing. Learn more.   MODEL BEHAVIOR: “Lobbyists for some of the world's largest drug companies are parading a new pricing deal in the U.K. as a model the rest of Europe should emulate if it wants to keep drugmakers from bailing for America,” POLITICO’s Amanda Chu reports. — In a win for Trump and drugmakers alike, “British officials agreed to spend 25 percent more on new medicines in exchange for three years of tariff relief on pharmaceutical exports to the U.S. The move comes as major drugmakers like AstraZeneca and Merck scrap projects in the U.K., and the Trump administration uses tariff threats to get pharma to raise prices on Europeans in order to cut them for Americans.” — “For Washington’s lobbyists, the deal reflects the new influence playbook, as Trump’s tariff threats force companies to negotiate directly with the White House. Industry leaders say the U.K. deal could serve as a template for how the EU and other major trade partners handle the Trump administration’s break from free market norms, and stay competitive” — and their lobbyists “are pounding the point home.” FIRST IN PI — MEHLMAN ADDS SENIOR DEM AIDE: Earl Flood, who most recently served as deputy chief of staff and legislative director for Rep. Robin Kelly (D-Ill.), has joined Mehlman Consulting as a principal. — Before working for Kelly — who serves as co-chair of the powerful House Democratic steering committee and is running to succeed retiring Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) next year — Flood served as a health policy adviser to Rep. Terri Sewell (D-Ala.) and as counsel for former Rep. Cedric Richmond (D-La.). — Flood also previously served as federal relations counsel for the trial lawyers’ criminal justice advocacy group American Association for Justice and is a Claire McCaskill alum. BURKMAN, WOHL AVOID JAIL TIME: GOP lobbyists and convicted fraudsters Jack Burkman and Jacob Wohl “will avoid prison time for their role in orchestrating a robocall scheme aimed to mislead Michigan voters,” WOOD TV’s Matt Jaworowski reports. — The pair, who pleaded guilty in 2022 for their role in a similar scheme in Ohio, “were sentenced to one year of probation by a Wayne County judge Monday. They pleaded no contest to four felony charges earlier this year, including intimidating voters and conspiracy to violate election law.” They were both originally charged in Michigan in October 2020 but “filed multiple appeals, taking the case all the way to the Michigan Supreme Court, which remanded it back to the Court of Appeals.” IF YOU MISSED IT MONDAY: “Costco Wholesale Corp. joined a fast-growing list of businesses suing the Trump administration to ensure eligibility for refunds if the US Supreme Court strikes down the president’s signature global tariffs policy,” Bloomberg’s Zoe Tillman and Jaewon Kang report. — “The nation’s biggest warehouse club chain is among dozens of companies to file lawsuits in a US trade court since late October challenging President Donald Trump’s use of an economic emergency powers law to impose the levies, according to court records. It’s one of the biggest corporate players to jump into a fight largely driven this year by small businesses and Democratic state officials.” — “The Supreme Court heard arguments on Trump’s tariffs on Nov. 5. The justices put the fight on a fast-tracked schedule but didn’t say when they intend to rule. In the meantime, businesses of all sizes have brought cases pressing similar legal claims with the goal of avoiding uncertainty about their eligibility for refunds if the court rules against Trump,” including cosmetics giant Revlon and motorcycle manufacturer Kawasaki. TAKING STOCK: “White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller and his immediate family dumped seven-figures’ worth of stock in August — including shares of several defense contractors — to comply with federal conflicts of interest rules and laws,” per NOTUS’ Dave Levinthal. — “Miller and his wife, Katie Miller, who served as an adviser for DOGE before leaving the White House in May, jettisoned shares of Amazon (up to $515,000), Palantir Technologies Inc. (up to $250,000), GE Aerospace (up to $250,000), Microsoft (up to $50,000) and IonQ (up to $50,000),” according to a government ethics disclosure. — Miller — a key architect of Trump’s immigration and homeland security agenda — “reported selling these and other stock shares on Aug. 14 — more than nine months after Donald Trump first announced that Miller would serve in the dual White House roles of deputy chief of staff for policy and homeland security adviser.” — “The White House did not answer several specific questions about Miller’s personal finances, including why he invested in and held defense contractor stocks for months after his White House appointment.” He “divested from stock holdings early in the administration per the Office of Government Ethics and White House counsel guidance. There are no conflicts,” White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson told NOTUS. Jobs report — Fred Davis is now vice president for legislative affairs at the Consumer Bankers Association. He previously was a vice president at Daly Consulting Group and is a William Timmons alum. — Christine Burgeson is joining the American Beverage Association as executive vice president of government and public affairs. She was most recently senior vice president of global government affairs at Airlines for America. — The Can Manufacturers Institute has added Pearce Crosland as senior director of government relations and regulatory affairs. He most recently was director of government affairs for the Plastics Industry Association. — Holli Heiles Pandol has been promoted to senior counsel and head of U.S. policy at Carta. She was previously senior counsel for policy at the software company and is a Jay Clayton and French Hill alum. Carta added Joël Carter as a senior policy analyst. Carter was previously a senior policy manager at TaskRabbit and is a TikTok alum. — Eric Pahon is joining Rolls-Royce North America as vice president for defense communications. Pahon, an Army veteran, most recently founded Stillwatch Strategies and previously served as strategic communications adviser and chief spokesperson for the deputy secretary of Defense’s office. — Rasky Partners has promoted Graham Shalgian and Andy Hoglund to partners at the firm, the first major leadership announcements since the death of founder Larry Rasky in 2020. — Green and Spiegel has named retired senior foreign service officer David “Ian” Hopper as government relations director and former DHS deputy general counsel Kerry E. Doyle as a partner. — Jack Sears is now vice president of U.S. government solutions for D-Wave Quantum Inc. He was most recently chief growth officer at Precise Systems. — Marcus Weisgerber has joined the Wall Street Journal as a Pentagon reporter. He was most recently a senior director at Invariant and is a Defense One and Defense News alum. — The Nuclear Innovation Alliance has added Peter Hastings as a senior fellow. He’s a principal and founder of The Hastings Group. — Arianna Jones is returning to NextGen America as its new executive director, and Kim Rubey will become board chair. Jones most recently was a communications consultant for the International Association of Sheet Metal, Air, Rail and Transportation Workers, and is a Bernie Sanders campaign and Peter Welch alum. — May Malik is now head of the National Education Association’s center for communications. She was previously deputy assistant Secretary for public affairs for public education at HHS during the Biden administration. — Lauren Bates is now director of legislative affairs at Textron, focusing on civil aviation and Air Force programs. She most recently was director of federal affairs at Skyryse and is a Jerry Moran alum. — The Natural Resources Defense Council’s center for campaigns and organizing has added Sam Goodstein as managing director of federal affairs, Jed Ober as managing director of political affairs for the Action Fund and Ben Lenet as managing director of campaigns. Goodstein previously worked at Venn Strategies and is a Sheldon Whitehouse/Senate Judiciary alum. Ober previously worked for former Rep. Susan Wild (D-Pa.), and is a DCCC and Hillary Clinton alum. Lenet previously worked at Leeward Renewable Energy. — Justin Hakes has launched a new strategic communications and public affairs firm, Message Drivers. He was most recently vice president of public affairs at the National Association of Mutual Insurance Companies. — Christy Moran has joined Wine & Spirits Wholesalers of America as senior vice president of communications and marketing. She was most recently a partner at Raynor Ave. and is an AT&T and Forbes-Tate Partners alum.   A message from JPMorganChase:   New Joint Fundraisers None. New PACs Forge Forward (Leadership PAC: Zach Beecher) MONUMENTAL SPORTS PAC (Hybrid PAC) Peace Through Strength PAC (Super PAC) West Side Jewish PAC (Super PAC) New Lobbying REGISTRATIONS Ballard Partners: Accutar Biotechnology, Inc. C2 Strategies: Omega Project Company Capitol67 Strategies: A. D. Marble & Co. Capitol67 Strategies: Susquehanna Civil Capitol67 Strategies: The Lexis Group, LLC Cgcn Group, LLC: Globalfoundries U.S. Inc. Chartwell Strategy Group LLC: Piana Technology Consilium Consulting: Donor Network Of Arizona Doubleverify: Doubleverify Dow Solutions Inc.: Kalshi, Inc. Fierce Government Relations: Anthropic Foundry Public Affairs, LLC: Indiana Pioneer Marketing, LLC Government Affairs Solutions, LLC: Interplay Learning Government Affairs Solutions, LLC: Learning Alliance Corportation Invariant LLC: Cliffwater LLC King & Spalding LLP: Swarthmore College Lot Sixteen LLC: Lancium, LLC Mabry Public Affairs LLC: The Yates Companies, Inc. Mission Strategies LLC (Energy): First Solar, Inc. Mission Strategies LLC (Energy): Form Energy Mission Strategies LLC (Energy): Hanwha Q Cells America Inc. Mission Strategies LLC (Energy): Luxwall, Inc. Mission Strategies LLC (Energy): Nth Cycle Mission Strategies LLC (Energy): Ts Conductor Natalie Kato, P.A.: Forensic Criminal Justice Alliance New Advocate Inc: Packet Digital Polaris Government Relations, LLC: Southern Glazers Wine And Spirits, LLC Providence Strategies, LLC: National Association Of Sewer System Companies Sachem Strategies: Strand Therapeutics Steptoe LLP: Pacific Square LLC (O/B/O Eldorado) The Livingston Group, LLC: Sunrise Foods International, Inc. The Nickles Group, LLC: Jazz Pharmaceuticals, Inc. The Vogel Group: Avara Pharmaceuticals Inc. The Vogel Group: Brick Industry Association The Vogel Group: Fermi America The Vogel Group: Fortress Biotech Inc. The Vogel Group: Lasko Products, LLCallard Partners: Accutar Biotechnology, Inc. New Lobbying Terminations None.   A message from JPMorganChase: JPMorganChase Launches $1.5T Initiative to Strengthen Critical Industries Global supply chains are evolving, technology competition is heating up, and strengthening national security is more important than ever. That's why JPMorganChase launched the Security and Resiliency Initiative—a $1.5 trillion, 10-year plan to facilitate, finance and invest in industries critical to national economic security and resiliency, including supply chain and advanced manufacturing, defense and aerospace, energy independence and resilience, and frontier technologies such as AI, cybersecurity, and quantum computing. Learn more.     Follow us

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