American investor Stephen Lynch hiredWilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr LLP to lobby on commodity and energy transit infrastructure days before The Wall Street Journal reported he wanted to buy the Nord Stream 2 pipeline if it comes up for auction in a Swiss bankruptcy proceeding. Lynch called this “a once-in-a-generation opportunity for American and European control over European energy supply for the rest of the fossil-fuel era.” The lobbyist on the account is Rob Lehman, former chief of staff to Sen. Rob Portman (R-Ohio).
S-3 Groupregistered to monitor issues related to “the responsible production of American oil and gas” on behalf of the American Exploration & Production Council, a trade association representing some of the country’s largest independent oil and natural gas companies. The lobbyist on the account is Matt Bravo, former director of floor operations for House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.).
Finance
Andreessen Horowitz, the venture capital firm founded by Marc Andreessen and Ben Horowitz, hiredCornerstone Government Affairs to lobby on issues related to technology, blockchain, cryptocurrency and energy. Both billionaires donated millions to pro-cryptocurrency and pro-Trump super PACs and have publicly celebrated the president-elect’s victory. David Planning, former floor director for House Majority Whip Tom Emmer (R-Minn.) and special assistant to the president for legislative affairs under former President Trump, will work on the account.
Journalism
Freedom of the Press FoundationhiredCozen O'Connor Public Strategies to lobby on issues related to the Protect Reporters from Exploitative State Spying (PRESS) Act, which would bar the federal government from compelling journalists and telecommunication providers to disclose sources or records a journalist obtained or created in the course of their work. The lobbyist on the account is Madison Smith, former majority staff director for the Senate Finance Subcommittee on International Trade, Customs, and Global Competitiveness and a Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) alum.
Health care
New York University’s Langone Healthhired BGR Government Affairs to provide “strategic counsel and policy analysis related to federal payment and policy issues and government funding impacting hospitals generally and NYU Langone Health specifically.” One of the lobbyists on the account is Remy Brim, former senior Food and Drug Administration (FDA) policy adviser to Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.) on the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee and a Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) alum.
