Trump's White House Favors Firms with Strong Ties to the President

Strategic Insights -

Lobbying expenditures in Washington, D.C. have increased by 21 percent this year, with several firms having ties to President Donald Trump seeing significant revenue growth. Ballard Partners, founded by GOP fundraiser and Trump ally Brian Ballard, has become the highest-paid lobbying shop in Washington so far this year, more than quadrupling its revenue. The firm represents clients such as Harvard University and TikTok, with a total of $450,000 paid by TikTok to lobby the federal government, including the White House. Other firms with ties to Trump, such as Miller Strategies and Mercury Public Affairs, have also seen significant revenue growth, with Mercury more than doubling its revenue.

Key Takeaways:

  • Ballard Partners has more than quadrupled its revenue this year, becoming the highest-paid lobbying shop in Washington, D.C.
  • The firm represents clients such as Harvard University and TikTok, with a total of $450,000 paid by TikTok to lobby the federal government, including the White House.
  • Miller Strategies, a firm founded by Jeff Miller, who served as the finance director for Trump's inauguration, has quadrupled its revenue compared with the same period last year.
  • Mercury Public Affairs, where Susie Wiles also used to be employed, has more than doubled its revenue.
  • The six firms that have seen the highest revenue growth mostly have strong ties to Trump, with most of the current White House staffers having recently departed to set up their own lobbying and advisory firms.
  • Firms with strong ties to Trump have seen a 21 percent increase in lobbying expenditures this year, with several firms seeing a significant surge in business.
  • Established institutions such as Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck and Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld have continued to attract clients, but firms with strong ties to Trump have seen the most pronounced gains, with Ballard Partners leading the way.

Statistics:

  • Lobbying expenditures in Washington, D.C. have increased by 21 percent this year.
  • Ballard Partners has more than quadrupled its revenue this year, with a total of $24 million in revenue in 2020.
  • Miller Strategies has quadrupled its revenue compared with the same period last year.
  • Mercury Public Affairs has more than doubled its revenue.
  • The Chinese-owned social media app TikTok has paid Ballard $450,000 to lobby the federal government, including the White House, on issues related to internet technology, regulation of content platform.
  • The White House said such deals were meant to serve the interests of Americans.

Sources:

  • "By Julian Mark; Federica Cocco For the first time, a firm that once employed President Donald Trump's chief of staff, Susie Wiles, and Attorney General Pam Bondi became the highest-paid lobbying shop in Washington so far this year, underscoring an intense demand for inroads into Trump's orbit."
  • "According to a Washington Post analysis of disclosure reports made public this week."
  • "If the pace continues through year's end, it would be the largest annual increase since at least 1998, according to OpenSecrets data."
  • "Miller Strategies, a firm founded in 2017 by Jeff Miller, who served as the finance director for Trump's inauguration, quadrupled its revenue compared with the same period last year."
  • "Miller Strategies was not close to being a top-earning firm by the time Trump left the White House in 2020."
  • "The era of special interest groups colluding with Washington, D.C., to get a free ride off the backs of the American people ended the day President Trump took office," White House spokesman Kush Desai wrote in an email.