News: Keating lands at Brownstein

Monday, December 13, 2021

Keating lands at Brownstein

Dec 13, 2021

Presented by Air Line Pilots Association, Int'l

With Daniel Lippman

KEATING JOINS BROWNSTEIN: Tim Keating, formerly the top lobbyist at aerospace giant Boeing, has joined Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck as a policy director. Keating had worked for Boeing for 14 years, and was promoted in 2018 to executive vice president for government operations, overseeing all of the company's U.S. lobbying operations, before abruptly leaving the company this summer. He was one of a couple high-profile departures for Boeing's government relations office after Raytheon Technologies hired Jeff Shockey away to be its top lobbyist.

— In an interview, Keating told PI that he left Boeing because after more than a decade "it was time for a change," joking that his jump to Brownstein was merely him "failing at retirement." He was previously Honeywell's top lobbyist and before that worked at the lobbying firm Timmons and Company and in former President Bill Clinton 's legislative affairs office, a breadth of experience he hopes to put to use with Brownstein.

— "I've touched all tiers of D.C.," he told PI, adding that he expects to lobby for a range of clients rather than focus on any one policy area. "When you look at a company that size, and that important to the U.S. economy, you touch on every aspect," he said. "There are very few bills that were moving on Capitol Hill that we didn't want to weigh in on."

— Keating oversaw Boeing's lobbying operations during a tumultuous time for the company, as it faced intense global scrutiny over a series of fatal crashes that resulted in the grounding of its fleet of 737 MAX jets and the firing of its chief executive. That blow was compounded by the Covid-19 pandemic, which especially battered the aviation industry.

— "I think bringing that experience and … working strategy for as long as I had, I think it's a good marriage with Brownstein," Keating said of his time at Boeing, as well as in previous roles, which he said taught him that "everything is a campaign — you have to focus on the end game, you can't get so wrapped up in the day to day."

Good afternoon and welcome to PI. Send lobbying tips: coprysko@politico.com . And be sure to follow me on Twitter: @caitlinoprysko.

A message from Air Line Pilots Association, Int'l:

Pilots are committed to keeping our skies safe, and that means keeping two pilots on every flight deck. Help keep the most vital safety feature on board: two highly trained pilots. Learn more.

MARK YOUR CALENDARS: The Justice Department's advance notice of proposed rulemaking for a potentially major rewrite of the Foreign Agents Registration Act hit the federal register this morning, setting off the 60-day public comment period. Those hoping to weigh in on the new rules — which will touch on an array of the statute's provisions from the legal, commercial and academic exemptions to labeling requirements for informational materials disseminated on social media and online platforms — will have until Feb. 11 to do so, per the notice.

Q STREET ELECTS NEW BOARD: Q Street, the professional nonprofit association of LGBTQ lobbyists, has elected Sheila E. Isong of Giffords and David Reid of Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck to its board. Yesenia Chavez of Purple Strategies, Jennifer Kane of Altria and Diego Sánchez of The Raben Group were reelected. They join Q Street President Ben Grove of Thompson Coburn Lobbying & Policy and Secretary Sabrina Kent of the National LGBT Chamber of Commerce on the board for 2022.

BOOKMARK THIS: Insider has launched a new series, Conflicted Congress, that "chronicles the myriad ways members of the US House and Senate have eviscerated their own ethical standards, avoided consequences, and blinded Americans to the many moments when lawmakers' personal finances clash with their public duties."

— The series includes a tool that rates every member on their potential for conflicts of interest based on the personal finances of the member and their top staffers, and debuted with half a dozen articles today outlining lawmakers' ties to the defense industry, Facebook, companies with ties to the fossil fuel industry, companies closely involved in the Covid response and more.

A LOOK AT MANCHIN'S BLIND TRUST: Documents filed by Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) show that the blind trust in which earnings from his family's coal business have been placed for years "is much too small to account for all his reported earnings from the coal company, as of his latest financial disclosure report, which covers 2020 and was filed in May," according to The Washington Post's Michael Kranish and Anna Phillips.

— "Manchin's latest financial disclosure report says that the West Virginia family coal business that he helped found and run, Enersystems , paid him $492,000 in interest, dividends and other income in 2020, and that his share of the firm is worth between $1 million and $5 million. He signed a sworn statement saying he is aware of these earnings, underscoring that he is not blind to them.

— "By contrast, Manchin set up a blind trust with $350,000 in cash in 2012. In his latest financial disclosure report, the senator reported that the Joseph Manchin III Qualified Blind Trust earned no more than $15,000 last year and is worth between $500,000 and $1 million. By design, it is not possible to know precisely what's in the blind trust. But the financial disclosure records show that it doesn't include all of Manchin's income from Enersystems," which ethics experts told the Post "calls into question the impartiality of a senator who in October forced Biden to drop the plan in his Build Back Better bill to phase out the same kinds of coal plants that are key to his family company's profitability."

— A spokesperson for the senator, who declined to be interviewed by the Post, told the paper Manchin "is in full compliance with Senate ethics and financial disclosure rules."

INTERESTS BENEFITING FROM SAUDI ARMS SALES SPENT MILLIONS ON INFLUENCE EFFORTS: "On Tuesday night, the Senate rejected a bipartisan amendment to the annual defense authorization bill that would have blocked the first major arms sale to Saudi Arabia in President Joe Biden's administration," OpenSecrets.org's Anna Massoglia reports, clearing a path for the $650 million arms deal in "a win for Saudi influence operations and defense industry interests that have spent millions in lobbying in 2021."

— "Foreign agents of Saudi Arabia have already reported more than $10 million in spending on foreign lobbying and influence operations in 2021. Saudi interests' spending on foreign lobbying and influence operations has topped $87 million since 2018, the year Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi was killed, according to Foreign Agents Registration Act data.

— "Saudi Arabia has continued to build up its foreign influence operations in the U.S., and has hired new foreign agents with close ties to the Biden administration," like Teneo, which has a strategic partnership with WestExec Advisors, the consulting firm that has supplied the Biden administration with numerous top officials.

— And "Raytheon, the primary manufacturer making money from the Saudi arms sale, has given over $4.5 million to the campaigns and leadership PACs of senators who voted against blocking the sale over the lifetime of their political careers. The defense industry giant has spent $12.7 million on federal lobbying in 2021 so far, making it the highest lobbying spender of the defense industry this year. Defense contractors and weapons companies have collectively spent $98.9 million on lobbying in the first three quarters of 2021."

HUSCH BLACKWELL EXPANDS TO DENVER: Missouri-based Husch Blackwell Strategies is expanding to Denver with local lobbying firm Axiom Politics, becoming HBS Colorado. Axiom's Micki Hackenberger will lead the office, HBS' eighth, working with Erin Goff, Lisa LaBriola and Tamara Mohamed. The Denver offices is the second HBS has opened in a state capital in the last year, joining the firm's Phoenix office.

SPOTTED at American Conservative Union and Cove Strategies' Matt Schlapp and Mercedes Schlapp 's annual Christmas party on Saturday night at their house in Alexandria, per a PI tipster: Stephen and Katie Miller; Reps. Jim Banks (R-Ind.) and Billy Long (R-Mo.); Wolf Global Advisors' Chad Wolf; Newsmax's Sean Spicer; PCG's Katrina Pierson; Steve Biegun; Boeing's Ziad Ojakli; Sheridan Strategies' Devon Spurgeon; DCI Group's Kelly Love; Stanton Park Group's Bryan Wells; CRC Advisors' Adam Kennedy, Laura Schlapp and Mike Martin; BBC's Suzanne Kianpour; Judd Deere; Daravi Strategies' Roma Daravi; and ACU's Laura Nasim.

A message from Air Line Pilots Association, Int'l:

Jobs Report

— Kian Hudson is now of counsel at Barnes & Thornburg LLP, where he'll be helping lead the firm's appeals and critical motions practice. He most recently was deputy solicitor general for the state of Indiana.

— The Public Affairs Council has added Amy Meli as senior director and executive director of the Foundation for Public Affairs. She was most recently senior vice president of consulting at Aristotle.

— Taylor Holgate has been promoted to be senior director for federal government affairs at the Consumer Healthcare Products Association. She most recently was director for federal government affairs at the organization.

— Zach Graves is moving up to become executive director of Lincoln Network, as current leader Garrett Johnson becomes chair of the board of directors. Graves previously was head of policy. Grace Meyer will move up from head of development to COO.

— Max Steele is now director of federal and political comms at Everytown for Gun Safety. He previously was at American Bridge 21st Century, and is an Amy Klobuchar and Bob Casey campaign alum.

— Tyler Crowe is now a telecommunications policy specialist for NTIA's Office of International Affairs. He previously was at the U.S. Chamber's Global Innovation Policy Center and Motion Picture Association.

— Ryan Hom is joining Powell Tate, the D.C.-based unit of Weber Shandwick as part of the agency's social impact team. He was most recently director of executive operations at the United Nations Foundation.

— Al Black has left Hill+Knowlton Strategies , where he was vice president for public sector technology, to pursue new opportunities in A.I., machine learning, broadband and more.

JOIN TUESDAY FOR A WOMEN RULE 2021 REWIND AND A LOOK AHEAD AT 2022: Congress is sprinting to get through a lengthy and challenging legislative to-do list before the end of the year that has major implications for women's rights. Join Women Rule editor Elizabeth Ralph and POLITICO journalists Laura Barrón-López, Eleanor Mueller, Elena Schneider and Elana Schor for a virtual roundtable that will explore the biggest legislative and policy shifts in 2021 affecting women and what lies ahead in 2022. REGISTER HERE.

New Joint Fundraisers

Joe Kent Victory Fund (Joe Kent for Congress, Keep Electing New Talent PAC)

New PACs

The Guardian Super PAC (Super PAC)
HONOR IN GOVERNMENT FUND (Super PAC)
Pacheco Super PAC (Super PAC)

A message from Air Line Pilots Association, Int'l:

Pilots are committed to keeping our skies safe, and that means keeping two pilots on every flight deck. Over a decade of research from NASA and the FAA proves that no computer can match the skill, instinct, and responsiveness of the pilot and co-pilot partnership. Help keep the most vital safety feature on board: two highly trained pilots. Learn more.

New Lobbying Registrations

None.

New Lobbying Terminations

K&L Gates, LLP: Institute Of Scrap Recycling Industries, Inc.

National Association Of State Directors Of Special Education: National Association Of State Directors Of Special Education

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