With Daniel Lippman A NEW NORD STREAM REGISTRATION: Miami investor and GOP donor Stephen Lynch has brought on several Washington power players for help getting the green light on his bid to purchase the contentious Nord Stream 2 pipeline in Europe. — The state-owned natural gas pipeline running from Russia to Germany had been a geopolitical chess piece long before Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, but punishing sanctions on Moscow shut down the venture before it ever became operational. An attack on the pipeline later that year was attributed to Ukrainian saboteurs. — The Wall Street Journal reported last month that Lynch, who has made a career off of buying distressed Russian assets, has been pressing the Treasury Department since February for permission to bid on the pipeline should it come up for auction during bankruptcy proceedings. — To help sell his proposal to policymakers, Lynch has retained trade veteran Robert Lehman of the white shoe law firm Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr as well as former Louisiana Sen. John Breaux and Mat Lapinski of Crossroads Strategies, according to a pair of disclosure filings. — He’s briefed several senators, the State Department and Treasury on the idea, according to the Journal, pitching the acquisition as a means of leverage for the West in any peace talks between Russia and Ukraine — a prospect that appears likelier than ever after Donald Trump’s election, which Lynch supported to the tune of more than $300,000, FEC filings show. WHAT FUNDING THE INAUGURATION GETS YOU: Trump’s inaugural committee has unveiled new details about the lavish perks granted to its top funders. Donors in the highest tier — those who either give $1 million or raise $2 million — will exclusively score a pair of tickets to an “intimate dinner” two days before the inauguration with Vice President-elect JD Vance and his wife, Usha, according to summaries obtained by PI. — The packages are available starting for donors who give $50,000 or raise $100,000, and all include priority booking at the inauguration’s designated hotels. — In addition to an invite to dinner with the Vances, the top donors will receive six tickets to the full suite of inaugural events over the course of three days. Those include a “victory rally,” a reception with Cabinet nominees, an interfaith service and a candlelight dinner with the Trumps, as well as the swearing-in ceremony and VIP tickets for the parade and black-tie “Starlight Ball” on inauguration night. — The number of tickets for inaugural events decreases for each tier, with donors who give below $250,000 or raise below $500,000 dropping off the list for the candlelight dinner. Happy Tuesday and welcome back to PI. Send influence tips: coprysko@politico.com. And be sure to follow me on X: @caitlinoprysko. ENERGY FIRMS LOBBY UP: With Trump set to take office next month on a pledge to “drill, baby, drill,” there’s been a burst of new lobbying hires as the energy industry looks to capitalize on that momentum. They include LNG company Venture Global last month retained Trump adviser Bryan Lanza of Mercury Public Affairs ahead of Venture’s initial public offering and the presumed end of the Biden administration’s pause on new LNG projects. — Industry trade association American Exploration & Production Council hired S-3 Group to “support the responsible production of American oil and gas” earlier this week, while defense- and domestic energy-focused advocacy group Securing America’s Future Energy hired GOP-led Fierce Government Relations and the Democratic firm Public Strategies Washington to work on permitting and national security. — Meanwhile LG Electronics USA, which makes EV batteries and semiconductors — products both benefiting from federal subsidies Trump has threatened to claw back — has hired PSW as well, along with Capitol Counsel, to lobby on battery manufacturing, supply chains and trade. HELP WANTED: “Veteran GOP operative Dan Conston is leaving his role running House Republicans’ top super PAC,” the Congressional Leadership Fund, after six years, our Ally Mutnick reports. — “Conston, a top ally of Kevin McCarthy, remained in charge of the group after Mike Johnson took over the speakership. His departure means Johnson will have to install another operative to lead the group in 2026, when Republicans will seek to defend a tiny majority during Donald Trump’s second administration. Conston will stay on as a senior adviser for the super PAC and its sister nonprofit, the American Action Network.” FORWARD GLOBAL PLANTS FLAG IN SOUTH FLORIDA: The global consultancy previously known as Avisa Partners is opening an office in Miami, the firm’s second outpost in the U.S. and its first outside of D.C. Though co-managing director Noe Garcia told PI in a statement that they’ve been mulling the move for a few years now, it appears fortuitous in the aftermath of last month’s election — especially considering the political operative tapped to run the new office. — Jose Mallea, who ran Secretary of State-designate Marco Rubio’s first Senate campaign, will serve as a managing partner and head of the Miami office, where he’ll help develop the firm’s client base in Latin America. Mallea was most recently chief executive of the LIBRE Initiative and is a former Miami mayoral chief of staff, George W. Bush White House aide and State Department alum. — Forward Global chose Miami for the next step of its U.S. expansion because of its “pro-business environment, booming industrial base (particularly in areas like financial services)” and increasing role on the international stage, Garcia told PI. But there’s one other major perk. “Of course,” he added, “the fact that South Florida is the home of the next U.S. president is certainly an added benefit to Forward Global and its clients.” MORE NEW BUSINESS: Fanatics Holdings, the sports merchandiser that is also becoming a major player in sports betting, has hired federal lobbyists for the first time. The retailer last month retained the Duberstein Group to work on issues related to the de minimis threshold, youth sports, gaming and economic development, according to a disclosure. — Ben Howard, a former Trump, Steve Scalise and McCarthy aide, will work on the account along with former Senate GOP Secretary Dave Schiappa, former Obama National Economic Council aide Elizabeth Kelley and former Joe Crowley chief of staff Kate Winkler Keating, according to a disclosure filing. RIYADH’S SPORTS BETS ABOUT TO PAY OFF: “Saudi Arabia’s growing influence and massive spending in global sports ahead of being confirmed by FIFA as the 2034 World Cup host was detailed on Monday in a report that cited risks to good governance off the field,” per the Associated Press’ Graham Dunbar. — “More than 900 sponsor deals — more than one-third traced to the $925 billion Saudi sovereign wealth fund — and a network of officials with overlapping state, business and sports roles were cited by Play The Game, a publicly funded sports ethics institute in Denmark.” — “The oil-rich kingdom’s investment of tens of billions of dollars in soccer, golf, boxing, tennis, the Esports Olympics and a yet-to-be-built ski resort will get its most coveted prize next week from FIFA, the 2034 World Cup in men’s soccer.” — That’s thanks to close ties forged between Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and FIFA’s president since 2018 — a time when the kingdom was under fierce criticism over the killing of Jamal Khashoggi and other human rights violations, and which the report argues Riyadh’s strategy of investing in sports “seeks to divert attention from.”
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