With Daniel Lippman FIRST IN PI — HOYER AIDE HEADS TO SHEIN: Shein , the controversial e-commerce giant founded in China, has continued to build out its government affairs presence, bringing on a new staffer for a former member of House Democratic leadership. — Chloe Brown is joining the retailer from the office of former House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, where she served as member services director and senior adviser for Hoyer and House Democrats’ Regional Leadership Council. — Brown will be Shein’s director of government relations and stakeholder engagement, heading up the company’s “advocacy efforts, building meaningful relationships with Members of Congress, policymakers, and government officials, and strengthening engagement with key stakeholders,” according to an email announcing her hiring shared with PI. — The company’s hires until this point had skewed Republican, given congressional Republicans’ frequent hammering of the company over Shein’s Chinese origins and supply chain. Kent Knutson, who joined in January to lead Shein’s D.C. office, is a Republican, and four of the five lobbying firms Shein hired earlier this year are led by Republicans. Over the summer, Shein hired Kelly Dixon Chambers, the Republican staff director for the powerful House Rules Committee.. — But Shein has faced a fair amount of criticism from lawmakers in both parties who accuse it of abusing the de minimis threshold, which allows duty-free entry for low-value shipments to the U.S. Democrats have chastised fast-fashion companies, like Shein, for their impact on climate change. — Brown won’t be the only Democrat in Shein’s D.C. office. Sirat Attapit, Shein’s vice president of U.S. government relations since last year, is a former Xavier Becerra aide and briefly helped the Biden White House with confirmations in 2022. PBM LOBBYIST MOVES OVER TO AKIN: Jocelyn Wiles has left the Pharmaceutical Care Management Association after half a decade to join Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld, where she’ll be a senior policy adviser. Wiles was most recently assistant vice president of federal affairs at PCMA, which represents pharmacy benefit managers. — Before that, Wiles was one of the lead Democratic lobbyists for America's Essential Hospitals and worked at HHS and for several members of Congress, including Reps. Kathy Castor (D-Fla.) and Barbara Lee (D-Calif.). At Akin, Wiles will continue working on health care policy, which is expected to be one of a few major focuses of the lame duck. Happy Monday and welcome to PI, where your host was immensely grateful this morning to whoever turned me on to rechargeable hand warmers for chilly dog walks. Send K Street tips and advice for surviving winter in the city with a pup: coprysko@politico.com. And be sure to follow me on X: @caitlinoprysko. BALLARD GOES (WAY) SOUTH OF THE BORDER: The latest phase in Ballard Partners’ global expansion is taking the firm run by top Donald Trump fundraiser Brian Ballard to Latin America. Ballard has struck up a strategic partnership with Argentinian advisory firm Cefeidas Group as part of an international network the firm launched this summer, with Trump’s possible return to the White House appearing ever more likely. — The international expansion has seen Ballard add partnerships with consulting firms in South Korea, Japan and the U.K. — all places where stakeholders are surely hoping their governments don’t get crosswise with the U.S. under a second Trump presidency. Ballard also opened a Middle East outpost of its own in Riyadh earlier this year. — Under the partnerships, the foreign firms’ clients gain access to Ballard’s lobbyists and expertise across the U.S. and vice versa — while continuing to operate independently under their existing management teams. — Having a foothold in Latin America will likely be even more valuable after a campaign in which Trump’s anti-immigrant rhetoric has reached a new fever pitch. The firms’ alliance will comprise lobbying, regulatory and public affairs as well as risk and crisis management services. — It also aims to “increase our capacity to provide our clients with enhanced and unparalleled access to American markets, industries, and institutions,” Cefeidas Group managing director Juan Cruz Díaz said in a statement, noting that “this is a pivotal time for Latin America, and our clients will be positioned to take full advantage of the cooperation throughout the hemisphere.” A CURIOUS SIDE HUSTLE: “A New York House Republican facing a tough reelection fight starred last month in a slick promotional video for a cancer treatment practice around the same time he took in a generous batch of campaign donations from its doctors,” per our Emily Ngo. — “Rep. Nick LaLota (R-N.Y.) praised the ‘upbeat spirit’ at the New York Cancer & Blood Specialists in the two-minute spot posted within days of affiliated physicians and a related PAC contributing $18,000 to his reelection bid. They also gave $130,000 to House Speaker Mike Johnson’s Grow the Majority committee — half of which then went to LaLota, according to Federal Election Commission records reviewed by POLITICO.” LESSONS LEARNED: “With the White House appearing increasingly up for grabs, and especially as polls have tightened, numerous billionaires and other leading executives have taken steps in recent months to stay out of the race,” The Washington Post ’s Jeff Stein, Jacqueline Alemany and Josh Dawsey report. — “Others who previously backed Democrats have stayed silent this election, which some critics and Trump supporters alike have interpreted as a peace offering to the GOP presidential nominee.” — Executives’ skittishness comes after, during his first term in office, “Trump exploited the power of the federal government to try to punish a wide range of perceived enemies in the business community who he thought were defying him in various ways.” Now, Trump has spoken to business leaders who support his campaign in explicitly transactional terms and “frequently talked about retribution during the campaign.” — The decision appears to be paying off: “Trump allies hailed what they say are signs of neutrality from other billionaires,” like last week’s decisions by Post owner and Amazon founder Jeff Bezos and Los Angeles Times owner Patrick Soon-Shiong to scuttle their papers’ plans to endorse Vice President Kamala Harris. RELATED READING: “Big Tech CEOs are calling up Trump, seeking to rekindle their relationship with the former president ahead of Election Day,” by CNN’s Steve Contorno and Alayna Treene THE NEW FRONTIER OF DARK MONEY: “Political campaigns and their surrogates are pouring millions of dollars into social media influencers with scant regulatory oversight or public transparency, as they embrace a marketing tactic that has revolutionized the U.S. economy,” the Post’s Cat Zakrzewski reports. — “Online influencers who usually traffic in makeup, crocheting or parenting are earning thousands of dollars for a single TikTok or Instagram post on behalf of groups backing” Harris or Trump. “Political groups that use other forms of advertising are required to disclose their affiliations. … But freelance online creators are under no such obligation for political posts, even though federal regulations demand they say so when promoting a commercial product.” — The trend is sparking fears that “the hottest new sector of political advertising could be abused by political groups to manipulate public opinion, and that federal election rules have failed to keep pace with the ways social media has transformed campaigning.”
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