| | | | | |  | | By Caitlin Oprysko | Presented by Brilliant | With Steven Overly, Theodoric Meyer and Daniel Lippman FORMER MANCHIN CHIEF JOINING KOUNTOUPES: Patrick Hayes is departing the telecom giant Altice USA, where he was senior vice president for federal, state and local government affairs, and will join Kountoupes Denham Carr & Reid as a partner. Hayes served until 2019 as chief of staff to Sen. Joe Manchin, the West Virginia Democrat who as one of the caucus' most moderate members has already become one of its most influential. — In a statement provided by Kountoupes in announcing Hayes' hiring, the senator called Hayes an "effective chief of staff and trusted advisor" and emphasized his understanding of "the importance of bipartisanship and coalition building." Hayes sounded a similar note in an interview with PI, arguing that Manchin's preference for bipartisanship to solve problems has "overlap" with the way Kountoupes operates as a firm and insisted that rather than serve as a kind of Manchin whisperer, "I can certainly help our clients demonstrate to him why their approaches are, you know, thoughtful and have a positive impact, particularly in the context of" the senator's constituents. — Kountoupes has also elevated David Peluso, who previously served as chief of staff to top Republicans on the House Energy and Commerce Committee, now-ranking member Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-Wash.) and Rep. Gus Bilirakis (R-Fla.), to partner. TENEO ADDS DODD, WILL BUY STAKE IN WESTEXEC: Global advisory firm Teneo announced this morning plans to buy a "significant" minority stake in WestExec, the consulting firm that emerged early in the transition as somewhat of a Biden administration-in-waiting. Teneo, which will launch a strategic partnership with WestExec as part of the investment, has also added Chris Dodd as a senior adviser, further strengthening its Democratic ties after former founding partner and former Clinton confidant Doug Band retired late last year. — Dodd is a former Senate colleague of the new president who played a significant role in his VP search last summer. He spent seven years as chief executive of what is now the Motion Picture Association before joining Arnold & Porter Kaye Scholer, where he was a lobbyist for a short time. — WestExec, which ethics experts have panned for its lack of disclosure about its client list, has already supplied the White House with several key personnel like Tony Blinken, who co-founded the consultancy and is now secretary of State. Other WestExec alumni now in the administration include Avril Haines, Biden's director of national intelligence, press secretary Jen Psaki and Lisa Monaco, Biden's pick for the No. 2 job at the Justice Department. Michèle Flournoy , another co-founder, was among the frontrunners to be Biden's defense chief. — The two firms will continue to operate separately, according to a press release, but will at times "integrate services between the firms to help provide clients with unparalleled insights as well as an enhanced and broader combination of services and expertise not available at any other firm," according to a press release. Good afternoon and welcome to PI . Raise your hand if you also can't believe it's March already?! Send lobbying tips: coprysko@politico.com. And follow me on Twitter: @caitlinoprysko. | | | | A message from Brilliant: Start learning with Brilliant and develop the problem-solving skills needed for a STEM career. Learn More | | | TWO MORE TOP CBC AIDES HEAD DOWNTOWN: A pair of Democratic House aides are leaving the Hill for jobs on K Street, joining a steady stream of top advisers to members of the powerful Congressional Black Caucus in recent months. Ballard Partners , the Florida-based firm whose deep ties to the Trump administration rapidly turned it into one of the top lobbying shops during the Trump era, has added Tola Thompson, currently chief of staff to Rep. Al Lawson (D-Fla.) as it bulks up its Democratic lobbying power and strengthens its congressional practice. — Meanwhile Arnold & Porter has hired Janice Bashford, who has served as chief counsel and legislative director for Rep. Karen Bass (D-Calif.) since 2016, as a senior policy adviser. She has also held senior roles with D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser as well as Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee (D-Texas). NVG ADDS TWO: NVG has hired Brady King as a partner and Julio Lainez as a vice president. King plans to lobby on health care, immigration, financial services, aerospace and national security issues, according to the firm. He was previously chief of staff to former Rep. Kendra Horn (D-Okla.), who lost reelection last year, and is also a former lobbyist for the Association of International Certified Professional Accountants. Lainez was previously a lobbyist for the Transport Workers Union of America. SENATE DEMS RETREAT FROM MINIMUM WAGE PLAN B: Senate Democrats are dropping their proposed corporate tax penalty as a workaround of sorts to raise the federal minimum wage to $15 following last week's ruling by the Senate parliamentarian, The Washington Post's Jeff Stein reports. He notes that "economists and tax experts have said that the tax outlined by Sanders and Wyden could be easily avoided and difficult to implement, with large corporations able to reclassify workers as contractors to avoid potential penalties." — Senate Budget Chair Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Finance Chair Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), who championed the proposal as part of the White House's coronavirus relief package, were "expected to face an uphill battle in persuading the entire Senate Democratic caucus to support a proposal they would have only days to draft. The White House has not indicated support for the corporate tax penalty idea." | | | | DON'T MISS "THE RECAST": Power dynamics are changing. "Influence" is changing. More people are demanding a seat at the table, insisting that all politics is personal and not all policy is equitable. "The Recast" is our new, twice-weekly newsletter that breaks down how race and identity are recasting politics, policy, and power in America. And POLITICO is recasting how we report on this crucial intersection, bringing you fresh insights, scoops and dispatches from across the country, and new voices that challenge "business as usual." Don't miss out on this important new newsletter, SUBSCRIBE NOW. Thank you to our sponsor, Intel. | | | | | HOW DOES THE BIDEN WHITE HOUSE STACK UP ON TRANSPARENCY?: "Few bars have been set lower than the one Joe Biden has had to clear when it comes to bringing transparency back to the White House," POLITICO's Anita Kumar reports. "But five weeks into office, Biden has fallen short of his former boss, Barack Obama, in several areas, and is under pressure to do more to restore confidence in the federal government following Trump's chaotic term in the White House." — "Among the critiques: The schedules for the president and vice president aren't posted online. The White House comment line is shut down. There are no citizen petitions on the White House's website. The White House has committed to releasing visitor logs. But it doesn't plan to divulge the names of attendees of virtual meetings, which are the primary mode of interaction until the coronavirus pandemic eases." FITNESS STUDIOS STILL FIGHTING FOR INCLUSION IN RELIEF BILL: As Biden's $1.9 trillion relief package moves over to the Senate after clearing the House in the early hours of Saturday morning, the coalition representing gyms and fitness studios across the country is urging lawmakers to include targeted relief the industry has pleaded for for months. — In a letter to congressional leadership the Community Gyms Coalition , whose members include local gyms as well as franchises like CrossFit, Zumba and Orangetheory Fitness, argued that relief programs like the PPP and economic injury disaster loans "have not provided small gyms and fitness facilities with the funds necessary to stave off failure," pointing to a recent survey of small, independent gyms and studios which found existing aid programs have not helped close to two-thirds of respondents. — Reps. Mike Quigley (D-Ill.) and Brian Fitzpatrick (R-Pa.) introduced a bill last month that would create a grant program with up to $30 billion in relief for struggling gyms and fitness studios, and the coalition held a virtual fly-in to lobby for its incorporation into Democrats' aid package. Biden's "American Rescue Plan Act provides such relief for some of the hardest-hit industries, but it does not for America's tens of thousands of community gyms and fitness studios," the group wrote in its letter today. | | | | A message from Brilliant:   | | | MOLINARI JOINS AMERICAN ITALIAN FOOD LOBBY: Former congresswoman and chief Google lobbyist Susan Molinari has been tapped to co-chair the American Italian Food Coalition , an alliance that represents 450 Italian companies and manufacturers seeking to sell their products in the U.S. Former Rep. Lou Barletta (R-Pa.) serves as the group's other co-chair. Molinari led Google's public policy shops across the Americas from 2012 to 2019, advocating on issues like data privacy, antitrust and election misinformation. A Republican, Molinari represented Staten Island, N.Y., in the House in the 1990s. CORRECTION: Friday's version of POLITICO Influence misidentified Holland & Knight's affiliation with Saudi Arabia. They do not lobby for Saudi Arabia. | | | — Elizabeth Brooks is now director of federal government affairs at AstraZeneca. She most recently was senior director of federal government affairs at CVS Health. — Neema Guliani is now head of national security, democracy, and civil rights public policy for the Americas at Twitter. She was previously a senior legislative counsel at the ACLU. Twitter also added Elizabeth Busby to the policy communications team to work on public policy, safety policy, and elections work. She was most recently deputy national press secretary to Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer. — Jason Hill is now vice president of government affairs at Stanford Health Care. He was previously director of public policy and government relations at The Permanente Federation. — Kevin Bruce has joined Arena Energy as senior counsel and director of government affairs. He was previously the senior counsel and director of government and public affairs at Fieldwood Energy and is also co-founder and executive director of the Gulf Energy Alliance, a coalition of leading independent offshore energy producers. — Lia Nitake has joined TechNet as deputy executive director for California and the Southwest. She most recently served as an economic development and public affairs consultant in Sacramento. | | | | For regulatory affairs professionals: AgencyIQ FDA Forecast 2021. In its inaugural year, AgencyIQ's FDA Forecast predicts the FDA regulatory changes coming in 2021 and how they will impact the life sciences industry. Follow this link to learn more and download the summary. | | | | | | | | Save America Joint Fundraising Committee (Make America Great Again PAC, Save America PAC) | | | Americans Keeping Country First (Super PAC)
Buckeye Conservatives PAC (Super PAC)
CEILING AND VISIBILITY UNLIMITED (Leadership PAC: Rep. Scott Franklin (R-Fla.))
Messiah Inc (PAC)
Never Again PAC (Super PAC)
Save Our Schools (Super PAC)
The United Congress PAC (PAC) | | New Lobbying Registrations | | None. | | New Lobbying Terminations | | Bay Bridge Strategies, Inc.: Peck Madigan Jones (On Behalf Of Eos Energy Storage LLC)
Mr. Dan Perrin: Starship Hsa
Munk Policy & Law: Rivian Automotive LLC
The Nickles Group, LLC: Scan Health Plan | | | | A message from Brilliant: Start learning with Brilliant and develop the quantitative skills needed for a STEM career. Brilliant's interactive problem-solving and guided lessons will lead you to mastery. Learn More | | | | | | | Follow us | | | | |
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