Bottom Line: TikTok on the clock
Technology
TikTok signaled its staying involved in Washington less than five months after President Biden signed a bill that would force its Chinese parent company ByteDance to divest or face a nationwide ban, hiring Ballard Partners to lobby on issues related to internet technology and content platform regulations.
The team of lobbyists not only includes veteran Republican lobbyist Brian Ballard and Daniel McFaul, former chief of staff to Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.), but also Michael LaRosa, former press secretary to first lady Jill Biden whose lobbying is limited to Congress.
T-Mobile hired Convergence Strategies to lobby on issues related to broadband deployment, universal service, spectrum policy, regulatory enforcement and public safety. The lobbyist on the account is Eric Einhorn, former chief of staff to Sen. Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii), a member of the Senate Commerce Committee.
Budget
The Loudoun County, Va., hired Becker & Poliakoff to lobby on issues related to community project funding. Around 25 miles west of Washington, Loudoun was the richest county in the country by median household income in 2023, according to U.S. News & World Report. Anthony Bedell, former deputy assistant secretary for congressional affairs at the Department of Transportation, will work on the account.
Natural resources
The National Ocean Industries Association — a trade association representing the offshore oil, gas, wind and ocean minerals industries — hired Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck to monitor the status of the Export-Import Bank of the United States (Exim) loan for a Mozambique liquid natural gas (LNG) project. One of the lobbyists on the account is Jon Hrobsky, former deputy director of the U.S. Minerals Management Service.
Agriculture
The Organic Trade Association hired Monument Advocacy to lobby on issues related to agriculture and organics. One of the lobbyists on the account is T.A. Hawks, former minority staff director of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry.
Small business
United HomeCare hired Becker & Poliakoff to lobby on issues related to the Small Business Administration Paycheck Protection Program. One of the lobbyists on the account is Alfonso Lopez, former assistant administrator for congressional and intergovernmental affairs at the Small Business Administration.