CHAMBER PITCHES IMMIGRATION BOOST AS INFLATION SALVE: The U.S. Chamber of Commerce's chief executive, Suzanne Clark , is calling on the Biden administration to welcome twice the number of legal immigrants to the U.S., arguing the influx could accomplish the twin goals of easing inflation and addressing widespread worker shortages. — In her first delivery of the group's annual "State of American Business" address Tuesday and a press conference with reporters, Clark pointed to immigration as one way the federal government could move to address a trio of economic issues that have bedeviled the Biden administration in recent months: inflation, worker shortages and supply chain disruptions. — "There are people who want to come to a dynamic economy and work, and we should double the amount of illegal immigration into this country," Clark told reporters. "We need more workers, we should welcome people who want to come here and go to school and stay, or come here and work — particularly in high tech areas or other areas where we just simply don't have the workers." — Clark reiterated those points in a statement this morning after the Labor Department reported inflation had jumped at its highest rate since the 1980s last month. She also called for alleviating barriers for the formerly incarcerated and for parents — an issue Democrats are seeking to address in their party-line reconciliation package that Clark said the Chamber would "be happy" to see "disappear into the midterms." — "We don't like this legislation. And we don't like its process," Clark said of the bill, which the business group has fought hard to kill. She referred to policies within the broader $1.7 trillion climate and social spending package bill — which would likely be paid for by tax hikes on corporations — that the Chamber does support as needles in a haystack, but argued that bipartisan policy changes are more durable than party-line bills. BRADLEY DEFENDS CHAMBER DONATIONS TO ELECTION OBJECTORS: In her address Tuesday, Clark urged the business community and its supporters on the Hill to "be as loud as the extremists" in the policy realm, and to be "focused on winning people over to their ideas — and on the merits of those ideas." Later, Neil Bradley, the organization's chief lobbyist, defended contributing to the campaigns of lawmakers who voted against certifying the presidential election results last year after the insurrection at the Capitol. — "It wasn't just the question of a vote that evening, but all the things that led up to the events of Jan. 6, and then what policymakers have been doing since that either to build trust in our election system and institutions or erode it," Bradley said, adding that the Chamber has also donated to lawmakers who voted to impeach former President Donald Trump over the insurrection and reiterating that support will be based on "the totality" of a member's actions. — As the Chamber gears up for midterms this fall, Bradley declined to say how much the group plans to spend, saying only that "we'll spend an amount and in places that we think can make a difference to support candidates in both parties who are committed to free enterprise and advancing the interests of the business community." RED HORSE ADDS ADAMS CAMPAIGN MANAGER: Red Horse Strategies is announcing a slate of new hires and promotions. Katie Moore and Michael DeLoach are joining the strategic comms firm as a partner and president for issue advocacy, respectively. Moore previously was campaign manager for Eric Adams' New York City mayoral campaign. DeLoach is currently deputy commissioner at the NYC Department of Environmental Protection. In addition, Ryan Rudominer will be deputy director in the D.C. office. — Chris Fleming is being promoted to managing director in the D.C. office and senior vice president for advocacy and media affairs, Matthew Rey is being promoted to partner, Aaron Hecht is being promoted to president for campaigns, and Meredith Korda is being promoted to vice president. HOUSE CONSERVATIVES MOVE TO DISCHARGE BIG TECH CRACKDOWN: "Dozens of Republicans have signed onto a petition seeking to bring bipartisan antitrust legislation to a vote in the House," POLITICO's Emily Birnbaum reports, putting "pressure on House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to clarify whether she intends to bring a package of anti-monopoly bills aimed at the big tech companies to the floor." — "The group of 39 Republicans who have signed onto the discharge petition is led by Colorado Rep. Ken Buck , the top Republican on the House Judiciary antitrust subcommittee," and was endorsed later by the conservative House Freedom Caucus. "Discharge petitions are typically used by the minority party to force a vote on bills they prioritize. But Republicans would need a majority of the House, or 218 votes, for the bill to actually go to the floor." — "It's make or break time for Congress to push against Big Tech," Buck said in a statement. "The bill, H.R. 3460 (117), would give state attorneys general control over which courts hear antitrust cases." And it "has bipartisan support, including from House Judiciary antitrust Chair David Cicilline (D-R.I.). But a spokesperson for Cicilline told POLITICO last month that Cicilline is 'not involved in the discharge petition in any way.'" WHO SINEMA'S AIDES ARE LOBBYING FOR: "Two of Sen. Kyrsten Sinema's former aides have recently lobbied for corporate giants that have sought to influence President Joe Biden's agenda," CNBC's Brian Schwartz reports. "The ex-staffers worked on behalf of financial giant HSBC, Starbucks, investment firm C5 Capital, Duke Energy, lead and copper producer Doe Run Company and mining concern Broken Hill Proprietary, according to registration and quarterly reports." — Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck's Kate Gonzales and HSBC's Alyssa Marois "appear to be rare examples of former Sinema staffers registered to lobby the federal government. Their position makes them particularly valuable to their clients since their former boss, an Arizona Democrat, is a pivotal vote in a Senate split 50-50 by party." — Gonzales, who left Sinema's office last spring, is barred by ethics rules from lobbying her former boss just yet. But Marios, who worked in Sinema's House office, "helped to lobby for HSBC on bills in which Sinema has played a major role" in the third quarter of last year, lobbying disclosures show. "The report lists the House-passed Build Back Better Act, the American Rescue Plan signed last year and the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act) passed in 2020." | 
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