With Daniel Lippman ESPER JOINS SQUIRE: Former Defense Secretary Mark Esper is returning to the lobbying world following his stint leading the Pentagon during the Trump administration, joining Squire Patton Boggs as a senior adviser. Esper won’t register to lobby for the firm, but will offer strategic advice to clients on the nexus between national security and domestic and foreign policy. — Esper was first tapped by former President Donald Trump as Army secretary starting in 2017 before being elevated to Defense secretary in 2019, but his hire isn’t exactly an attempt by Squire to bolster its ties to Trump in case of his reelection — after butting heads over the role of the military in quelling civil protests throughout 2020, Trump fired Esper days after the election. Esper has since become a vocal critic of his former boss, even being featured in a debate-day ad from Vice President Kamala Harris’ campaign last week. — Prior to joining the Trump administration, Esper spent over a decade in the influence industry, working for the Aerospace Industries Association and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce before becoming a top lobbyist at defense contractor RTX. Since leaving office, Esper has served as head of the national security practice at venture capital firm Red Cell Partners — a role he’s holding on to — while also joining a number of different think tanks and public policy boards, including the global advisory council for crypto exchange Coinbase. — Squire spokesperson Angelo Kakolyris told PI that Esper’s work at the firm will focus on national and multinational companies, and that there is “no prospect” at the moment of Esper performing any FARA work for the firm, whose foreign clients include the Angolan government, the South Korean Embassy and the Palestinian Authority. — Esper is the latest in a string of national security-focused hires by the firm, which aims to become a “compelling destination for clients who confront a sharp increase in national security challenges resulting from an increasingly turbulent geopolitical environment,” global CEO Mark Ruehlmann said in a statement. — “Economic security is now national security,” Ed Newberry, the firm’s global managing partner, said in a statement, touting Esper’s “unrivaled understanding of how national security and economic policy — including international trade, technology, and investment policy — impact regions and industries” as an “invaluable asset” to the firm’s clients. Happy Thursday and welcome to PI. Send lobbying gossip, rumors, tips or complaints: coprysko@politico.com. And be sure to follow me on X: @caitlinoprysko. FIRST IN PI — CHAMBER HOSTS ANOTHER BATCH OF HOUSE CANDIDATES: The Chamber is convening another batch of Republican House candidates and business leaders today as part of the group’s bid to line up allies in a Republican Party that has increasingly kept corporate America at arm’s length. — The summit is led by Chamber senior political strategist Ashlee Rich Stephenson and follows a similar forum hosted earlier this spring. Chief policy officer Neil Bradley will pitch candidates on prioritizing policies slated to achieve at least 3 percent annual economic growth and on the Chamber’s asks for next year’s tax debate. Additional sessions will focus on trade and AI and the workforce. Candidates will also meet with former Rep. Rodney Davis (R-Ill.), who’s now with the Chamber, and will get to mingle with Chamber members. — Candidates slated to attend at least some portions of the forum include Abe Hamadeh of Arizona, Jeff Hurd and Jeff Crank of Colorado, Mike Haridopolos of Florida, Marlin Stutzman and Mark Messmer of Indiana, Derek Schmidt of Kansas, Bob Onder of Missouri, Tim Moore of North Carolina, Julie Fedorchak of North Dakota, Craig Goldman of Texas and Michael Baumgartner of Washington. GETTING THE LAST LAUGH?: Just months after being kicked out of tech trade group NetChoice following pressure from the Hill, TikTok’s lobbying shop has lured away longtime NetChoice official Carl Szabo, Daniel reports. Szabo had been with NetChoice for nearly 14 years, serving as its vice president and general counsel. AMAZON JOINS MPA: “Hollywood’s top lobbying group, the Motion Picture Association, has a powerful new member: Amazon. The tech giant’s decision to join the M.P.A. after a long courtship reflects its ambition in the streaming and film businesses — as well as the association’s need to add muscle,” The New York Times’ Brooks Barnes reports. Amazon, which owns MGM Studios, is the first new member of the trade group since 2019, when Netflix joined. Its other members are Paramount Pictures, Sony Pictures, Universal Studios, Walt Disney Studios and Warner Bros. Discovery. BLACK CRYPTO ADVOCATES ON THE HILL: Advocates pushing for more diversity in conversations around digital assets are set to hold their first policy panel on the Hill today ahead of this weekend’s Black Blockchain Summit. — The panel will include the GOP staff director of the Senate Banking Committee, Lila Nieves-Lee, as well as top government affairs officials from Robinhood, Galaxy and Consensys, CGCN Group’s Ja’Ron Smith and radio host and summit founder Sinclair Skinner, and Rep. Byron Donalds (R-Fla.), who’s viewed as a rising star in the party, will also deliver remarks. — As Congress appears closer than ever to enacting a landmark regulatory framework for digital assets, “we needed to ensure that lawmakers understand that getting into this space isn't just about wealthy individuals making investments,” said Smith, who worked in the White House advising Trump on issues affecting Black communities. “It's how this technology can kind of democratize markets and make capital access easier for all Americans, including the Black community.” — Today's panel is a jumping-off point “for us to really change the conversation around blockchain technology and ensure that whatever regulatory regime or policy solutions come out of this benefits all Americans," Smith told PI. THE SCRAMBLE TO DECODE HARRIS: “As they strategize about how to curry favor and build relationships with a potential Harris White House,” our Hailey Fuchs reports that Washington’s influence industry is “confronting questions similar to the ones many voters now face: Who is Kamala Harris? What does she care about, and whom does she trust?” — After decades spent “cultivating ties with President Joe Biden’s inner circle,” K Street is confronted with a leader of the Democratic ticket who’s been in Washington for a fraction of that time. Complicating matters further, “during her time as a California senator, Harris’ office was seen as either ambivalent to or dismissive of the requests of corporate interests. During her years as vice president, she was seen as superfluous to the core policymaking process.” — Those “rushing to catch up on years of relationship-building” feel they caught a break with Harris’ addition of seasoned operatives like Stephanie Cutter and David Plouffe — both of whom hail from consulting firms and “provide a means to reach or understand the Harris operation.” HERE’S ONE OPPORTUNITY: The Harris campaign plans to give Tim Walz’s fundraising prowess a bit of a face-lift “as the team aims to pour millions more dollars into resource-intensive ground organizing in battleground states,” per our Meredith Lee Hill, planning to dispatch the Minnesota governor “to go ‘everywhere’ to pull in more donations … likely after the vice presidential candidate debate Oct. 1.” NO LIGHT AT THE END OF THE TUNNEL: “US lawmakers are signaling to China that the world’s second-largest economy and its companies face a tough slog in America for the foreseeable future, regardless of who controls Washington after the November election,” Bloomberg’s Steven T. Dennis and Alexander Ruoff report. — “At a divisive point in the country’s campaign cycle, House members overcame partisan tensions to vote resoundingly last week to blacklist several Chinese biotech firms from lucrative US-funded research. It was a rare moment of accord that roundly neutralized Chinese lobbying efforts.” — “More bills are likely to follow” the BIOSECURE Act, with Senate Intel Chair Mark Warner (D-Va.) opening the door to “broader legislation setting rules for Chinese technology companies rather [than] what he calls a ‘Whac-a-Mole’ approach targeting specific firms.” — “Strategic industries like artificial intelligence and advanced computing may be next, other lawmakers in both parties said. Temu, the online shopping giant, and other Chinese exporters face bipartisan efforts to eliminate a tariff exemption that has helped fuel their US business.” FLYING IN: Leaders from the Fertilizer Institute were on the Hill this week to lobby for passage of a long-term farm bill and the preservation of key clean energy tax credits. The trade group’s meetings included staff for House Speaker Mike Johnson, the Senate Environment & Public Works Committee, and the Senate and House Agriculture committees. — The Business Roundtable and Cigna this week convened chief executives and policymakers to discuss ways for employers to support mental health needs in the workforce, with a panel including Accenture CEO Julie Sweet, USAA CEO Wayne Peacock and Rockwell Automation CEO Blake Moret, and a fireside chat between Cigna CEO David Cordani and Sens. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) and Pete Ricketts (R-Neb.). SPOTTED on Wednesday at a panel discussion and reception on America’s alcoholic beverages marketplace and regulation hosted by the Congressional 21st Amendment Caucus co-Chairs Stephanie Bice (R-Okla.) and Susie Lee (D-Nev.), per a tipster: Rep. Abigail Spanberger (D-Va.), former Rep. Marlin Stutzman (R-Ind.), American Beverage Licensees’ John Bodnovich, Wine & Spirits Wholesalers of America’s Francis Creighton, American Dairy Science Association’s Amanda Nguyen and National Beer Wholesalers Association’s Craig Purser. — And at Nationals Park for Anheuser-Busch's 7th annual Brew Across America competition: Reps. David Rouzer (R-N.C.) and Rick Larsen (D-Wash.), who took home the Brew Democracy Cup. for “Coastal Shine,” brewed at Wicked Weed Brewing in North Carolina; and Reps. Nikki Budzinski (D-Ill.) and Zach Nunn (R-Iowa) who took home the People’s Choice Award for “This BudZ for You,” brewed in Anheuser-Busch’s St. Louis Brewery. — And at the National Portrait Gallery for a dinner hosted by the National Confectioners Association, per a tipster: John Downs, Christopher Gindlesperger and Brian McKeon of NCA, Reps. GT Thompson (R-Pa.), Jimmy Gomez (D-Calif.), Andy Harris (R-Md.) and Chris Pappas (D-N.H.) and Sens. Bob Casey (D-Pa.) and Peter Welch (D-Vt.). — And at a reception hosted by the Asian American Hotel Owners Association as part of its annual fly-in, per a tipster: Reps. Judy Chu (D-Calif.), Marilyn Strickland (D-Wash.), Josh Gottheimer (D-N.J.), Dusty Johnson (R-S.D.), Russell Fry (R-S.C.), Chuck Edwards (R-N.C.), Greg Stanton (D-Ariz.), Michael Guest (R-Miss.), Mike Ezell (R-Miss.), Bill Foster (D-Ill.), John Duarte (R-Calif.), Shri Thanedar (D-Mich.), Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-Ill.), Jim Costa (D-Calif.), Michelle Steel (R-Calif.), Glenn Grothman (R-Wis.), Tim Walberg (R-Mich.), Lori Trahan (D-Mass.), Ralph Norman (R-S.C.) and Andy Harris.
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