MORE LAYOFFS DOWNTOWN: Subject Matter has laid off more than a dozen staffers following its merger with strategic comms firm Kivvit earlier this year in the latest series of job cuts downtown. Subject Matter co-founder Steve Elmendorf told PI the layoffs eliminated several redundant positions at the new Subject Matter+Kivvit, and amounted to reduction of less than 6 percent of the firms’ total workforce. — The firm also let a handful of staffers go earlier this spring, which Elmendorf said in an interview were meant to “right size” parts of the firm in preparation for and following the merger. — A source familiar with the job cuts told PI that among those affected were senior vice president Audrey Chang, who led the firm’s strategic comms shop, and members of her team. The layoffs come despite an infusion of cash last year from the Los Angeles investment firm Coral Tree Partners, part of a flood of private equity investment on K Street, and Elmendorf noted that the firm expects to continue to grow, outside the Beltway in particular. — PR giant Edelman, meanwhile, is undergoing a new round of job cuts — eliminating 240 staffers, or about 4 percent of its workforce, amid persistent economic headwinds, O’Dwyer’s Kevin McCauley reports. The latest layoffs follow the elimination of 130 jobs late last year, as PI reported, along with other cost-cutting measures like freezing hiring and limiting employee travel. WATCH THIS SPACE: If corporate boardrooms weren’t already agonizing over conservative backlash to so-called DEI initiatives aimed at diversifying the workplace, today’s Supreme Court ruling striking down affirmative action in college admissions is sure to set off a new round of hand-wringing over emphasizing diversity in corporate hiring practices, our Nick Niedzwiadek reports. — While the court’s decision “does not outright implicate so-called diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives, attorneys and some business groups say that it provides fresh ammunition to critics seeking to upend these workplace programs. Conservative Republicans, including state and federal lawmakers and, notably, GOP presidential candidate Ron DeSantis, have harshly criticized such policies.” — “‘It will cause employers to take a closer look at how they are executing their diversity strategies,’ Tim Bartl, the CEO of the HR Policy Association, told POLITICO shortly after the decision was handed down. ‘And it really creates an impetus for employers to reaffirm their commitment to diversity, but to do so in a way that mitigates the potential of challenge down the line.’” — “Corporations have already expressed some unease about being placed in the center of these competing pressures, and Thursday’s ruling will likely spur some to consider overhauling their diversity practices or back off on them to avoid potential legal headaches.” KOCHS FILL THE COFFERS: The Koch network’s effort to nominate an alternative to Donald Trump in next year’s GOP presidential primary is already quite flush with cash as it gears up to play in its first Republican presidential primary ever, having squirreled away more than $70 million for next year’s elections, an official with the group tells The New York Times’ Maggie Haberman, Jonathan Swan and Shane Goldmacher. — The vast majority of the funds came from within the network itself, per the Times: Koch Industries cut a $25 million check to Americans for Prosperity Action, while Charles Koch’s nonprofit Stand Together kicked in another $25 million, the PAC’s next FEC report will show. — “With seven months until the primaries, the Koch coalition of conservatives is still searching for who its influential and wealthy donors believe can take down the former president, a reflection of a broader paralysis among anti-Trump Republican donors who have watched in shock as Mr. Trump’s poll numbers have held despite two indictments.” — “Some top Republican donors, who routinely write seven- or eight-figure checks to support candidates, are keeping their checkbooks closed” until a clear contender to Trump emerges — inaction that “has benefited Mr. Trump, who is begrudgingly viewed by many top party donors as the inevitable nominee. — “Yet officials in the Koch network profess optimism that 2024 will not be a repeat of 2016, when Mr. Trump began winning statewide races with roughly a third of the party’s Republican base behind him in a fractured, crowded field,” and the message appears to be working for donors like Art Pope, Craig Duchossois, Walmart heirs Jim and Rob Walton and Ron Cameron, all of whom donated to AFP Action. COMING ATTRACTIONS: “Lina Khan’s Federal Trade Commission has already filed three cases against Amazon.com Inc. Now she’s gearing up for the Big One,” Bloomberg’s Anna Edgerton and Leah Nylen report. — “In the coming weeks, the agency plans to file a far-reaching antitrust suit focused on Amazon’s core online marketplace, according to documents reviewed by Bloomberg and three people familiar with the case. The main allegation is expected to be that Amazon leverages its power to reward online merchants that use its logistics services and punish those who don’t.” — “FTC investigators and Khan’s office have been honing the complaint for several months, two of the people said, and finalizing key details such as where to file suit. Khan and her colleagues are keen to file before personnel changes in August, according to the people, who cautioned that the timing could slip.” — “Based on her public comments, Khan is unlikely to accept compromises from Amazon and could seek to restructure the company — a dramatic outcome that Amazon would surely appeal.” MARIJUANA GROUP LAUNCHES A SUPER PAC: “A coalition of marijuana businesses and advocacy groups has launched a new super PAC that will work to ‘raise the profile of cannabis as a national issue in the 2024 election and beyond,’” per Marijuana Moment’s Kyle Jaeger, “and part of the strategy will involve finding industry partners to ask their customers to make ‘round-up’ donations at the point of sale when shopping at dispensaries.” — The U.S. Cannabis Council on Wednesday announced the formation of Legalize America, a super PAC backed by the trade group and its member businesses — which include Curaleaf, Canopy Growth, Green Thumb Industries, Perkins Coie, Scotts Miracle-Gro and more — to rally support around candidates in favor of legalization. — “We will use all available tools—including scorecards, endorsements and targeted independent expenditure campaigns—to advance cannabis reform, with the goal of creating a prosperous and equitable cannabis industry,” Curaleaf’s Matt Harrell, who chairs the PAC, said in a press release. — “We believe the 2024 presidential election will be a pivotal moment in the fight to end cannabis prohibition,” the PAC’s secretary, Cronos Group’s Pete Meachum, said in a statement. “We are laying the groundwork now to use advertising, grassroots engagement, voter outreach and events to keep cannabis front and center throughout the campaign.” CORRECTION: Wednesday's edition of Influence misstated the status of Cecilia Rouse’s appointment as president of the Brookings Institution. Her appointment has been approved by Brookings' board of trustees. PI regrets the error.
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