Lobby Monitor page% - Demokratiezentrum für Transparenz

According to disclosure filings, Nippon Steel's agents have pushed for the planned purchase through the White House, Congress, and several government departments that have jurisdiction over international transactions, including the Department of Commerce, the State Department, and the U.S. Treasury.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the second half of 2024, Nippon Steel significantly increased its lobbying expenditures, spending $1.45 million in Q3 and $1.71 million in Q4, more than doubling the total amount spent by the company during the first two quarters. A Washington Examiner analysis of quarterly activity records indicates that Nippon Steel has already disbursed an extra $1.83 million this year as it tries to finalise a contract.<\/p>\n","post_title":"Nippon Steel spends $6.1M on D.C. lobbying to win U.S. Steel bid, taps Trump allies","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"nippon-steel-spends-6-1m-on-d-c-lobbying-to-win-u-s-steel-bid-taps-trump-allies","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2025-06-03 17:43:43","post_modified_gmt":"2025-06-03 17:43:43","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dctransparency.com\/?p=7929","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"}],"next":false,"prev":true,"total_page":6},"paged":1,"column_class":"jeg_col_2o3","class":"epic_block_3"};

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James Baril, a former senior staffer to Sen. John Cornyn and current chairman of the Senate Finance Subcommittee on International Trade, Customs, and Global Competitiveness, led VOX Global's just-ended Nippon Steel assignment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Through Akin Gump, the Gephardt Group's government affairs branch, strategic communications agency VOX Global, and government affairs consultancy Valiant Strategies LLC also advocated on behalf of Nippon Steel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Ballard and Morgen both made direct contributions to Trump's 2024 campaign; the founder of the business sent cheques to the Trump 47 Committee and Trump Save America PAC totalling $250,000 and $11,600, respectively.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Brian Ballard, a prominent Trump donor and the agency's namesake president, leads his Florida firm's efforts on the Nippon Steel client. He is joined in lobbying by other Trump associates: Daniel McFaul, a member of Trump's transitional team, and Hunter Morgen, a Trump White House policy consultant with expertise in manufacturing and trade.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Akin Gump hired the Trump-affiliated lobbying company Ballard Partners, a foreign agent for the Japanese Embassy, as a subcontractor on the Nippon Steel team last year in exchange<\/a> for a $25,000 monthly fee. According to lobbying activities disclosed under the Foreign Agents Registration Act, Ballard Partners reportedly arranged a phone conversation between Trump and Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba to examine the U.S. election one day following the 2024 presidential contest.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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While the main lobbying firm on Nippon Steel's roster is Akin Gump, a few other powerful figures in the business with strong ties to Capitol Hill have been enlisted to assist in influencing public opinion on the merger issue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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During the last election campaign, Geoffrey Verhoff, another Akin Gump lobbyist hired to help Nippon Steel, was by far the biggest known money bundler for Trump. According to a Federal Election Commission report, Verhoff, who served as vice chairman of the Republican National Committee's financial arm from 2017 to 2021, bundled at least $3.6 million for the Trump 47 Committee. While lobbying for Nippon Steel, Bates also personally donated $10,000 to the Trump 47 Committee, according to campaign finance reports.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The lobbyists at Akin Gump arguing Nippon Steel's case in the nation's capital include Hunter Bates, former chief of staff for former Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY); Reginald Babin, former chief counsel to Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY); and Brian Pomper, who advised the Senate Finance Committee on international trade matters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Just days after the purchase announcement in December 2023, Nippon Steel brought in lobbying company Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld. The corporation has international clients, including the governments of KSA, the UAE, and Japan, as shown by their registration documents. According to a Washington Examiner review of disclosure data, Nippon Steel has since paid Akin Gump more than $5.5 million, which represents around 90% of its lobbying expenses used to advance the US Steel acquisition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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In its attempt to acquire US Steel, Japanese-owned Nippon Steel has invested over $6.1 million in federal lobbying, employing a plethora of powerful politicians, some of whom have close relationships with President Donald Trump<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Many of the authors of these friend-of-the-court briefs, including those authored by Cruz, Cornyn, and Paxton, \"appear to assume, without any real analysis of the record that Sullivan did nothing more than write a newsletter and work on a website that \u2018rated\u2019 legislators,\" the ethics commission said in their response to the petition. These portrayals are inconsistent with the factual evidence that a Texas court grantedsummary judgments in favour of the Commission based on the allegations that Sullivan had broken Texas law.<\/p>\n","post_title":"Supreme court rejects GOP activist\u2019s appeal over Texas lobbying fine","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"supreme-court-rejects-gop-activists-appeal-over-texas-lobbying-fine","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2025-06-04 17:00:04","post_modified_gmt":"2025-06-04 17:00:04","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dctransparency.com\/?p=7937","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":7929,"post_author":"7","post_date":"2025-06-03 17:43:43","post_date_gmt":"2025-06-03 17:43:43","post_content":"\n

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Even though a judge in Denton County ruled in Sullivan's favour, the verdict was reversed, and the case was sent back to Travis County when an appeals court found that Sullivan did not really meet the residency requirements to have the case heard in Denton County from the start<\/a>. The Travis County court decided in favour of the TEC. Therefore, Sullivan lost his appeal. In the meanwhile, Sullivan filed a number of further cases against the commission, all of which were dismissed in federal or state district court.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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In court, Sullivan repeatedly tried to argue that the ethics commission lacked the constitutional authority to enforce the state's ethical laws. By first claiming that he had moved to Denton County, Sullivan was able to have the case heard in a district court there instead of Travis County.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Additionally, Sullivan released a Fiscal Responsibility Index that rates the conservative credentials of members according to their voting record in each session. In another instance of lobbying, the panel discovered that Sullivan utilized that scorecard to sway members' votes while working for Empower Texans.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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After two former state senators complained that Sullivan had engaged in unregistered lobbying, the ethics commission began looking into the matter. For a long time, Sullivan has maintained that his work with the now-defunct Empower Texans was journalism rather than lobbying. However, such an argument was dismissed by the ethics committee. In their 2014 decision, they cited hundreds of letters he often addressed to Republican members to debate legislation and amendments, urging them to support the principles of his group.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The court's decision supports the ethics commission's appeals court verdict. Sullivan will go back to a district court for a jury trial to determine the amount he must pay.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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the Ethics Commission said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The court's decision supports the ethics commission's appeals court verdict. Sullivan will go back to a district court for a jury trial to determine the amount he must pay.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\"Sullivan's actions went far beyond an average citizen who happened to visit with a lawmaker or who spent a day or two at the Texas Capitol during a legislative session,\" <\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

the Ethics Commission said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The court's decision supports the ethics commission's appeals court verdict. Sullivan will go back to a district court for a jury trial to determine the amount he must pay.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\n
\"Sullivan's actions went far beyond an average citizen who happened to visit with a lawmaker or who spent a day or two at the Texas Capitol during a legislative session,\" <\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n
the Ethics Commission said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The court's decision supports the ethics commission's appeals court verdict. Sullivan will go back to a district court for a jury trial to determine the amount he must pay.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
After two former state senators complained that Sullivan had engaged in unregistered lobbying, the ethics commission began looking into the matter. For a long time, Sullivan has maintained that his work with the now-defunct Empower Texans was journalism rather than lobbying. However, such an argument was dismissed by the ethics committee. In their 2014 decision, they cited hundreds of letters he often addressed to Republican members to debate legislation and amendments, urging them to support the principles of his group.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Additionally, Sullivan released a Fiscal Responsibility Index that rates the conservative credentials of members according to their voting record in each session. In another instance of lobbying, the panel discovered that Sullivan utilized that scorecard to sway members' votes while working for Empower Texans.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In court, Sullivan repeatedly tried to argue that the ethics commission lacked the constitutional authority to enforce the state's ethical laws. By first claiming that he had moved to Denton County, Sullivan was able to have the case heard in a district court there instead of Travis County.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Even though a judge in Denton County ruled in Sullivan's favour, the verdict was reversed, and the case was sent back to Travis County when an appeals court found that Sullivan did not really meet the residency requirements to have the case heard in Denton County from the start<\/a>. The Travis County court decided in favour of the TEC. Therefore, Sullivan lost his appeal. In the meanwhile, Sullivan filed a number of further cases against the commission, all of which were dismissed in federal or state district court.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Many of the authors of these friend-of-the-court briefs, including those authored by Cruz, Cornyn, and Paxton, \"appear to assume, without any real analysis of the record that Sullivan did nothing more than write a newsletter and work on a website that \u2018rated\u2019 legislators,\" the ethics commission said in their response to the petition. These portrayals are inconsistent with the factual evidence that a Texas court grantedsummary judgments in favour of the Commission based on the allegations that Sullivan had broken Texas law.<\/p>\n","post_title":"Supreme court rejects GOP activist\u2019s appeal over Texas lobbying fine","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"supreme-court-rejects-gop-activists-appeal-over-texas-lobbying-fine","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2025-06-04 17:00:04","post_modified_gmt":"2025-06-04 17:00:04","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dctransparency.com\/?p=7937","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":7929,"post_author":"7","post_date":"2025-06-03 17:43:43","post_date_gmt":"2025-06-03 17:43:43","post_content":"\n
In its attempt to acquire US Steel, Japanese-owned Nippon Steel has invested over $6.1 million in federal lobbying, employing a plethora of powerful politicians, some of whom have close relationships with President Donald Trump<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Just days after the purchase announcement in December 2023, Nippon Steel brought in lobbying company Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld. The corporation has international clients, including the governments of KSA, the UAE, and Japan, as shown by their registration documents. According to a Washington Examiner review of disclosure data, Nippon Steel has since paid Akin Gump more than $5.5 million, which represents around 90% of its lobbying expenses used to advance the US Steel acquisition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The lobbyists at Akin Gump arguing Nippon Steel's case in the nation's capital include Hunter Bates, former chief of staff for former Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY); Reginald Babin, former chief counsel to Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY); and Brian Pomper, who advised the Senate Finance Committee on international trade matters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
During the last election campaign, Geoffrey Verhoff, another Akin Gump lobbyist hired to help Nippon Steel, was by far the biggest known money bundler for Trump. According to a Federal Election Commission report, Verhoff, who served as vice chairman of the Republican National Committee's financial arm from 2017 to 2021, bundled at least $3.6 million for the Trump 47 Committee. While lobbying for Nippon Steel, Bates also personally donated $10,000 to the Trump 47 Committee, according to campaign finance reports.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
While the main lobbying firm on Nippon Steel's roster is Akin Gump, a few other powerful figures in the business with strong ties to Capitol Hill have been enlisted to assist in influencing public opinion on the merger issue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Akin Gump hired the Trump-affiliated lobbying company Ballard Partners, a foreign agent for the Japanese Embassy, as a subcontractor on the Nippon Steel team last year in exchange<\/a> for a $25,000 monthly fee. According to lobbying activities disclosed under the Foreign Agents Registration Act, Ballard Partners reportedly arranged a phone conversation between Trump and Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba to examine the U.S. election one day following the 2024 presidential contest.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Brian Ballard, a prominent Trump donor and the agency's namesake president, leads his Florida firm's efforts on the Nippon Steel client. He is joined in lobbying by other Trump associates: Daniel McFaul, a member of Trump's transitional team, and Hunter Morgen, a Trump White House policy consultant with expertise in manufacturing and trade.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ballard and Morgen both made direct contributions to Trump's 2024 campaign; the founder of the business sent cheques to the Trump 47 Committee and Trump Save America PAC totalling $250,000 and $11,600, respectively.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Through Akin Gump, the Gephardt Group's government affairs branch, strategic communications agency VOX Global, and government affairs consultancy Valiant Strategies LLC also advocated on behalf of Nippon Steel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
James Baril, a former senior staffer to Sen. John Cornyn and current chairman of the Senate Finance Subcommittee on International Trade, Customs, and Global Competitiveness, led VOX Global's just-ended Nippon Steel assignment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
According to disclosure filings, Nippon Steel's agents have pushed for the planned purchase through the White House, Congress, and several government departments that have jurisdiction over international transactions, including the Department of Commerce, the State Department, and the U.S. Treasury.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In the second half of 2024, Nippon Steel significantly increased its lobbying expenditures, spending $1.45 million in Q3 and $1.71 million in Q4, more than doubling the total amount spent by the company during the first two quarters. A Washington Examiner analysis of quarterly activity records indicates that Nippon Steel has already disbursed an extra $1.83 million this year as it tries to finalise a contract.<\/p>\n","post_title":"Nippon Steel spends $6.1M on D.C. lobbying to win U.S. Steel bid, taps Trump allies","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"nippon-steel-spends-6-1m-on-d-c-lobbying-to-win-u-s-steel-bid-taps-trump-allies","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2025-06-03 17:43:43","post_modified_gmt":"2025-06-03 17:43:43","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dctransparency.com\/?p=7929","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"}],"next":false,"prev":true,"total_page":6},"paged":1,"column_class":"jeg_col_2o3","class":"epic_block_3"};

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\n
In a brief to the U.S. Supreme Court, Sullivan contended that Texas' ethics rules, which impose onerous registration and fee requirements, infringe upon the First Amendment rights of \"ordinary citizens\" who wish to communicate with their elected officials.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n
\"Sullivan's actions went far beyond an average citizen who happened to visit with a lawmaker or who spent a day or two at the Texas Capitol during a legislative session,\" <\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n
the Ethics Commission said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The court's decision supports the ethics commission's appeals court verdict. Sullivan will go back to a district court for a jury trial to determine the amount he must pay.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
After two former state senators complained that Sullivan had engaged in unregistered lobbying, the ethics commission began looking into the matter. For a long time, Sullivan has maintained that his work with the now-defunct Empower Texans was journalism rather than lobbying. However, such an argument was dismissed by the ethics committee. In their 2014 decision, they cited hundreds of letters he often addressed to Republican members to debate legislation and amendments, urging them to support the principles of his group.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Additionally, Sullivan released a Fiscal Responsibility Index that rates the conservative credentials of members according to their voting record in each session. In another instance of lobbying, the panel discovered that Sullivan utilized that scorecard to sway members' votes while working for Empower Texans.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In court, Sullivan repeatedly tried to argue that the ethics commission lacked the constitutional authority to enforce the state's ethical laws. By first claiming that he had moved to Denton County, Sullivan was able to have the case heard in a district court there instead of Travis County.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Even though a judge in Denton County ruled in Sullivan's favour, the verdict was reversed, and the case was sent back to Travis County when an appeals court found that Sullivan did not really meet the residency requirements to have the case heard in Denton County from the start<\/a>. The Travis County court decided in favour of the TEC. Therefore, Sullivan lost his appeal. In the meanwhile, Sullivan filed a number of further cases against the commission, all of which were dismissed in federal or state district court.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Many of the authors of these friend-of-the-court briefs, including those authored by Cruz, Cornyn, and Paxton, \"appear to assume, without any real analysis of the record that Sullivan did nothing more than write a newsletter and work on a website that \u2018rated\u2019 legislators,\" the ethics commission said in their response to the petition. These portrayals are inconsistent with the factual evidence that a Texas court grantedsummary judgments in favour of the Commission based on the allegations that Sullivan had broken Texas law.<\/p>\n","post_title":"Supreme court rejects GOP activist\u2019s appeal over Texas lobbying fine","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"supreme-court-rejects-gop-activists-appeal-over-texas-lobbying-fine","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2025-06-04 17:00:04","post_modified_gmt":"2025-06-04 17:00:04","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dctransparency.com\/?p=7937","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":7929,"post_author":"7","post_date":"2025-06-03 17:43:43","post_date_gmt":"2025-06-03 17:43:43","post_content":"\n
In its attempt to acquire US Steel, Japanese-owned Nippon Steel has invested over $6.1 million in federal lobbying, employing a plethora of powerful politicians, some of whom have close relationships with President Donald Trump<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Just days after the purchase announcement in December 2023, Nippon Steel brought in lobbying company Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld. The corporation has international clients, including the governments of KSA, the UAE, and Japan, as shown by their registration documents. According to a Washington Examiner review of disclosure data, Nippon Steel has since paid Akin Gump more than $5.5 million, which represents around 90% of its lobbying expenses used to advance the US Steel acquisition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The lobbyists at Akin Gump arguing Nippon Steel's case in the nation's capital include Hunter Bates, former chief of staff for former Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY); Reginald Babin, former chief counsel to Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY); and Brian Pomper, who advised the Senate Finance Committee on international trade matters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
During the last election campaign, Geoffrey Verhoff, another Akin Gump lobbyist hired to help Nippon Steel, was by far the biggest known money bundler for Trump. According to a Federal Election Commission report, Verhoff, who served as vice chairman of the Republican National Committee's financial arm from 2017 to 2021, bundled at least $3.6 million for the Trump 47 Committee. While lobbying for Nippon Steel, Bates also personally donated $10,000 to the Trump 47 Committee, according to campaign finance reports.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
While the main lobbying firm on Nippon Steel's roster is Akin Gump, a few other powerful figures in the business with strong ties to Capitol Hill have been enlisted to assist in influencing public opinion on the merger issue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Akin Gump hired the Trump-affiliated lobbying company Ballard Partners, a foreign agent for the Japanese Embassy, as a subcontractor on the Nippon Steel team last year in exchange<\/a> for a $25,000 monthly fee. According to lobbying activities disclosed under the Foreign Agents Registration Act, Ballard Partners reportedly arranged a phone conversation between Trump and Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba to examine the U.S. election one day following the 2024 presidential contest.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Brian Ballard, a prominent Trump donor and the agency's namesake president, leads his Florida firm's efforts on the Nippon Steel client. He is joined in lobbying by other Trump associates: Daniel McFaul, a member of Trump's transitional team, and Hunter Morgen, a Trump White House policy consultant with expertise in manufacturing and trade.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ballard and Morgen both made direct contributions to Trump's 2024 campaign; the founder of the business sent cheques to the Trump 47 Committee and Trump Save America PAC totalling $250,000 and $11,600, respectively.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Through Akin Gump, the Gephardt Group's government affairs branch, strategic communications agency VOX Global, and government affairs consultancy Valiant Strategies LLC also advocated on behalf of Nippon Steel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
James Baril, a former senior staffer to Sen. John Cornyn and current chairman of the Senate Finance Subcommittee on International Trade, Customs, and Global Competitiveness, led VOX Global's just-ended Nippon Steel assignment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
According to disclosure filings, Nippon Steel's agents have pushed for the planned purchase through the White House, Congress, and several government departments that have jurisdiction over international transactions, including the Department of Commerce, the State Department, and the U.S. Treasury.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In the second half of 2024, Nippon Steel significantly increased its lobbying expenditures, spending $1.45 million in Q3 and $1.71 million in Q4, more than doubling the total amount spent by the company during the first two quarters. A Washington Examiner analysis of quarterly activity records indicates that Nippon Steel has already disbursed an extra $1.83 million this year as it tries to finalise a contract.<\/p>\n","post_title":"Nippon Steel spends $6.1M on D.C. lobbying to win U.S. Steel bid, taps Trump allies","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"nippon-steel-spends-6-1m-on-d-c-lobbying-to-win-u-s-steel-bid-taps-trump-allies","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2025-06-03 17:43:43","post_modified_gmt":"2025-06-03 17:43:43","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dctransparency.com\/?p=7929","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"}],"next":false,"prev":true,"total_page":6},"paged":1,"column_class":"jeg_col_2o3","class":"epic_block_3"};

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\n
Sullivan has been appealing a $10,000 ethics commission punishment for failing to register as a lobbyist in 2010 and 2011 since 2014. Earlier this year, he petitioned the nation's highest court to take up the issue. Sullivan was the former chairman of the powerful conservative lobbying organization<\/a> Empower Texans. His attempt to overturn two state appeals court rulings that refused to throw out the fines was denied by the Texas Supreme Court last year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In a brief to the U.S. Supreme Court, Sullivan contended that Texas' ethics rules, which impose onerous registration and fee requirements, infringe upon the First Amendment rights of \"ordinary citizens\" who wish to communicate with their elected officials.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n
\"Sullivan's actions went far beyond an average citizen who happened to visit with a lawmaker or who spent a day or two at the Texas Capitol during a legislative session,\" <\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n
the Ethics Commission said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The court's decision supports the ethics commission's appeals court verdict. Sullivan will go back to a district court for a jury trial to determine the amount he must pay.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
After two former state senators complained that Sullivan had engaged in unregistered lobbying, the ethics commission began looking into the matter. For a long time, Sullivan has maintained that his work with the now-defunct Empower Texans was journalism rather than lobbying. However, such an argument was dismissed by the ethics committee. In their 2014 decision, they cited hundreds of letters he often addressed to Republican members to debate legislation and amendments, urging them to support the principles of his group.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Additionally, Sullivan released a Fiscal Responsibility Index that rates the conservative credentials of members according to their voting record in each session. In another instance of lobbying, the panel discovered that Sullivan utilized that scorecard to sway members' votes while working for Empower Texans.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In court, Sullivan repeatedly tried to argue that the ethics commission lacked the constitutional authority to enforce the state's ethical laws. By first claiming that he had moved to Denton County, Sullivan was able to have the case heard in a district court there instead of Travis County.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Even though a judge in Denton County ruled in Sullivan's favour, the verdict was reversed, and the case was sent back to Travis County when an appeals court found that Sullivan did not really meet the residency requirements to have the case heard in Denton County from the start<\/a>. The Travis County court decided in favour of the TEC. Therefore, Sullivan lost his appeal. In the meanwhile, Sullivan filed a number of further cases against the commission, all of which were dismissed in federal or state district court.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Many of the authors of these friend-of-the-court briefs, including those authored by Cruz, Cornyn, and Paxton, \"appear to assume, without any real analysis of the record that Sullivan did nothing more than write a newsletter and work on a website that \u2018rated\u2019 legislators,\" the ethics commission said in their response to the petition. These portrayals are inconsistent with the factual evidence that a Texas court grantedsummary judgments in favour of the Commission based on the allegations that Sullivan had broken Texas law.<\/p>\n","post_title":"Supreme court rejects GOP activist\u2019s appeal over Texas lobbying fine","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"supreme-court-rejects-gop-activists-appeal-over-texas-lobbying-fine","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2025-06-04 17:00:04","post_modified_gmt":"2025-06-04 17:00:04","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dctransparency.com\/?p=7937","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":7929,"post_author":"7","post_date":"2025-06-03 17:43:43","post_date_gmt":"2025-06-03 17:43:43","post_content":"\n
In its attempt to acquire US Steel, Japanese-owned Nippon Steel has invested over $6.1 million in federal lobbying, employing a plethora of powerful politicians, some of whom have close relationships with President Donald Trump<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Just days after the purchase announcement in December 2023, Nippon Steel brought in lobbying company Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld. The corporation has international clients, including the governments of KSA, the UAE, and Japan, as shown by their registration documents. According to a Washington Examiner review of disclosure data, Nippon Steel has since paid Akin Gump more than $5.5 million, which represents around 90% of its lobbying expenses used to advance the US Steel acquisition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The lobbyists at Akin Gump arguing Nippon Steel's case in the nation's capital include Hunter Bates, former chief of staff for former Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY); Reginald Babin, former chief counsel to Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY); and Brian Pomper, who advised the Senate Finance Committee on international trade matters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
During the last election campaign, Geoffrey Verhoff, another Akin Gump lobbyist hired to help Nippon Steel, was by far the biggest known money bundler for Trump. According to a Federal Election Commission report, Verhoff, who served as vice chairman of the Republican National Committee's financial arm from 2017 to 2021, bundled at least $3.6 million for the Trump 47 Committee. While lobbying for Nippon Steel, Bates also personally donated $10,000 to the Trump 47 Committee, according to campaign finance reports.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
While the main lobbying firm on Nippon Steel's roster is Akin Gump, a few other powerful figures in the business with strong ties to Capitol Hill have been enlisted to assist in influencing public opinion on the merger issue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Akin Gump hired the Trump-affiliated lobbying company Ballard Partners, a foreign agent for the Japanese Embassy, as a subcontractor on the Nippon Steel team last year in exchange<\/a> for a $25,000 monthly fee. According to lobbying activities disclosed under the Foreign Agents Registration Act, Ballard Partners reportedly arranged a phone conversation between Trump and Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba to examine the U.S. election one day following the 2024 presidential contest.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Brian Ballard, a prominent Trump donor and the agency's namesake president, leads his Florida firm's efforts on the Nippon Steel client. He is joined in lobbying by other Trump associates: Daniel McFaul, a member of Trump's transitional team, and Hunter Morgen, a Trump White House policy consultant with expertise in manufacturing and trade.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ballard and Morgen both made direct contributions to Trump's 2024 campaign; the founder of the business sent cheques to the Trump 47 Committee and Trump Save America PAC totalling $250,000 and $11,600, respectively.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Through Akin Gump, the Gephardt Group's government affairs branch, strategic communications agency VOX Global, and government affairs consultancy Valiant Strategies LLC also advocated on behalf of Nippon Steel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
James Baril, a former senior staffer to Sen. John Cornyn and current chairman of the Senate Finance Subcommittee on International Trade, Customs, and Global Competitiveness, led VOX Global's just-ended Nippon Steel assignment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
According to disclosure filings, Nippon Steel's agents have pushed for the planned purchase through the White House, Congress, and several government departments that have jurisdiction over international transactions, including the Department of Commerce, the State Department, and the U.S. Treasury.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In the second half of 2024, Nippon Steel significantly increased its lobbying expenditures, spending $1.45 million in Q3 and $1.71 million in Q4, more than doubling the total amount spent by the company during the first two quarters. A Washington Examiner analysis of quarterly activity records indicates that Nippon Steel has already disbursed an extra $1.83 million this year as it tries to finalise a contract.<\/p>\n","post_title":"Nippon Steel spends $6.1M on D.C. lobbying to win U.S. Steel bid, taps Trump allies","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"nippon-steel-spends-6-1m-on-d-c-lobbying-to-win-u-s-steel-bid-taps-trump-allies","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2025-06-03 17:43:43","post_modified_gmt":"2025-06-03 17:43:43","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dctransparency.com\/?p=7929","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"}],"next":false,"prev":true,"total_page":6},"paged":1,"column_class":"jeg_col_2o3","class":"epic_block_3"};

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\n
The Supreme Court rejected conservative Texas activist Michael Quinn Sullivan's complaint against the Texas Ethics Commission, further undermining his more than ten-year struggle against the state agency that oversees and enforces Texas' campaign finance and lobbying regulations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Sullivan has been appealing a $10,000 ethics commission punishment for failing to register as a lobbyist in 2010 and 2011 since 2014. Earlier this year, he petitioned the nation's highest court to take up the issue. Sullivan was the former chairman of the powerful conservative lobbying organization<\/a> Empower Texans. His attempt to overturn two state appeals court rulings that refused to throw out the fines was denied by the Texas Supreme Court last year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In a brief to the U.S. Supreme Court, Sullivan contended that Texas' ethics rules, which impose onerous registration and fee requirements, infringe upon the First Amendment rights of \"ordinary citizens\" who wish to communicate with their elected officials.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n
\"Sullivan's actions went far beyond an average citizen who happened to visit with a lawmaker or who spent a day or two at the Texas Capitol during a legislative session,\" <\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n
the Ethics Commission said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The court's decision supports the ethics commission's appeals court verdict. Sullivan will go back to a district court for a jury trial to determine the amount he must pay.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
After two former state senators complained that Sullivan had engaged in unregistered lobbying, the ethics commission began looking into the matter. For a long time, Sullivan has maintained that his work with the now-defunct Empower Texans was journalism rather than lobbying. However, such an argument was dismissed by the ethics committee. In their 2014 decision, they cited hundreds of letters he often addressed to Republican members to debate legislation and amendments, urging them to support the principles of his group.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Additionally, Sullivan released a Fiscal Responsibility Index that rates the conservative credentials of members according to their voting record in each session. In another instance of lobbying, the panel discovered that Sullivan utilized that scorecard to sway members' votes while working for Empower Texans.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In court, Sullivan repeatedly tried to argue that the ethics commission lacked the constitutional authority to enforce the state's ethical laws. By first claiming that he had moved to Denton County, Sullivan was able to have the case heard in a district court there instead of Travis County.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Even though a judge in Denton County ruled in Sullivan's favour, the verdict was reversed, and the case was sent back to Travis County when an appeals court found that Sullivan did not really meet the residency requirements to have the case heard in Denton County from the start<\/a>. The Travis County court decided in favour of the TEC. Therefore, Sullivan lost his appeal. In the meanwhile, Sullivan filed a number of further cases against the commission, all of which were dismissed in federal or state district court.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Many of the authors of these friend-of-the-court briefs, including those authored by Cruz, Cornyn, and Paxton, \"appear to assume, without any real analysis of the record that Sullivan did nothing more than write a newsletter and work on a website that \u2018rated\u2019 legislators,\" the ethics commission said in their response to the petition. These portrayals are inconsistent with the factual evidence that a Texas court grantedsummary judgments in favour of the Commission based on the allegations that Sullivan had broken Texas law.<\/p>\n","post_title":"Supreme court rejects GOP activist\u2019s appeal over Texas lobbying fine","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"supreme-court-rejects-gop-activists-appeal-over-texas-lobbying-fine","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2025-06-04 17:00:04","post_modified_gmt":"2025-06-04 17:00:04","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dctransparency.com\/?p=7937","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":7929,"post_author":"7","post_date":"2025-06-03 17:43:43","post_date_gmt":"2025-06-03 17:43:43","post_content":"\n
In its attempt to acquire US Steel, Japanese-owned Nippon Steel has invested over $6.1 million in federal lobbying, employing a plethora of powerful politicians, some of whom have close relationships with President Donald Trump<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Just days after the purchase announcement in December 2023, Nippon Steel brought in lobbying company Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld. The corporation has international clients, including the governments of KSA, the UAE, and Japan, as shown by their registration documents. According to a Washington Examiner review of disclosure data, Nippon Steel has since paid Akin Gump more than $5.5 million, which represents around 90% of its lobbying expenses used to advance the US Steel acquisition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The lobbyists at Akin Gump arguing Nippon Steel's case in the nation's capital include Hunter Bates, former chief of staff for former Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY); Reginald Babin, former chief counsel to Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY); and Brian Pomper, who advised the Senate Finance Committee on international trade matters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
During the last election campaign, Geoffrey Verhoff, another Akin Gump lobbyist hired to help Nippon Steel, was by far the biggest known money bundler for Trump. According to a Federal Election Commission report, Verhoff, who served as vice chairman of the Republican National Committee's financial arm from 2017 to 2021, bundled at least $3.6 million for the Trump 47 Committee. While lobbying for Nippon Steel, Bates also personally donated $10,000 to the Trump 47 Committee, according to campaign finance reports.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
While the main lobbying firm on Nippon Steel's roster is Akin Gump, a few other powerful figures in the business with strong ties to Capitol Hill have been enlisted to assist in influencing public opinion on the merger issue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Akin Gump hired the Trump-affiliated lobbying company Ballard Partners, a foreign agent for the Japanese Embassy, as a subcontractor on the Nippon Steel team last year in exchange<\/a> for a $25,000 monthly fee. According to lobbying activities disclosed under the Foreign Agents Registration Act, Ballard Partners reportedly arranged a phone conversation between Trump and Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba to examine the U.S. election one day following the 2024 presidential contest.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Brian Ballard, a prominent Trump donor and the agency's namesake president, leads his Florida firm's efforts on the Nippon Steel client. He is joined in lobbying by other Trump associates: Daniel McFaul, a member of Trump's transitional team, and Hunter Morgen, a Trump White House policy consultant with expertise in manufacturing and trade.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ballard and Morgen both made direct contributions to Trump's 2024 campaign; the founder of the business sent cheques to the Trump 47 Committee and Trump Save America PAC totalling $250,000 and $11,600, respectively.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Through Akin Gump, the Gephardt Group's government affairs branch, strategic communications agency VOX Global, and government affairs consultancy Valiant Strategies LLC also advocated on behalf of Nippon Steel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
James Baril, a former senior staffer to Sen. John Cornyn and current chairman of the Senate Finance Subcommittee on International Trade, Customs, and Global Competitiveness, led VOX Global's just-ended Nippon Steel assignment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
According to disclosure filings, Nippon Steel's agents have pushed for the planned purchase through the White House, Congress, and several government departments that have jurisdiction over international transactions, including the Department of Commerce, the State Department, and the U.S. Treasury.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In the second half of 2024, Nippon Steel significantly increased its lobbying expenditures, spending $1.45 million in Q3 and $1.71 million in Q4, more than doubling the total amount spent by the company during the first two quarters. A Washington Examiner analysis of quarterly activity records indicates that Nippon Steel has already disbursed an extra $1.83 million this year as it tries to finalise a contract.<\/p>\n","post_title":"Nippon Steel spends $6.1M on D.C. lobbying to win U.S. Steel bid, taps Trump allies","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"nippon-steel-spends-6-1m-on-d-c-lobbying-to-win-u-s-steel-bid-taps-trump-allies","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2025-06-03 17:43:43","post_modified_gmt":"2025-06-03 17:43:43","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dctransparency.com\/?p=7929","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"}],"next":false,"prev":true,"total_page":6},"paged":1,"column_class":"jeg_col_2o3","class":"epic_block_3"};

Page 6 of 21 Previous 1 … 5 6 7 … 21 Next

\n
According to Terrett's research, if a deal is not reached, administrative obstacles would likely slow down everything and postpone final approval until June 9. Crypto lobbying organisations are still optimistic that the GENIUS Act will pass and give stablecoin issuers and consumers in the US the long-needed legislative clarification despite mounting political tensions.<\/p>\n","post_title":"Cryptocurrency lobbying efforts intensify as senate considers unaltered GENIUS Act","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"cryptocurrency-lobbying-efforts-intensify-as-senate-considers-unaltered-genius-act","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2025-06-04 17:27:21","post_modified_gmt":"2025-06-04 17:27:21","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dctransparency.com\/?p=7944","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":7937,"post_author":"7","post_date":"2025-06-04 17:00:04","post_date_gmt":"2025-06-04 17:00:04","post_content":"\n
The Supreme Court rejected conservative Texas activist Michael Quinn Sullivan's complaint against the Texas Ethics Commission, further undermining his more than ten-year struggle against the state agency that oversees and enforces Texas' campaign finance and lobbying regulations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Sullivan has been appealing a $10,000 ethics commission punishment for failing to register as a lobbyist in 2010 and 2011 since 2014. Earlier this year, he petitioned the nation's highest court to take up the issue. Sullivan was the former chairman of the powerful conservative lobbying organization<\/a> Empower Texans. His attempt to overturn two state appeals court rulings that refused to throw out the fines was denied by the Texas Supreme Court last year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In a brief to the U.S. Supreme Court, Sullivan contended that Texas' ethics rules, which impose onerous registration and fee requirements, infringe upon the First Amendment rights of \"ordinary citizens\" who wish to communicate with their elected officials.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n
\"Sullivan's actions went far beyond an average citizen who happened to visit with a lawmaker or who spent a day or two at the Texas Capitol during a legislative session,\" <\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n
the Ethics Commission said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The court's decision supports the ethics commission's appeals court verdict. Sullivan will go back to a district court for a jury trial to determine the amount he must pay.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
After two former state senators complained that Sullivan had engaged in unregistered lobbying, the ethics commission began looking into the matter. For a long time, Sullivan has maintained that his work with the now-defunct Empower Texans was journalism rather than lobbying. However, such an argument was dismissed by the ethics committee. In their 2014 decision, they cited hundreds of letters he often addressed to Republican members to debate legislation and amendments, urging them to support the principles of his group.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Additionally, Sullivan released a Fiscal Responsibility Index that rates the conservative credentials of members according to their voting record in each session. In another instance of lobbying, the panel discovered that Sullivan utilized that scorecard to sway members' votes while working for Empower Texans.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In court, Sullivan repeatedly tried to argue that the ethics commission lacked the constitutional authority to enforce the state's ethical laws. By first claiming that he had moved to Denton County, Sullivan was able to have the case heard in a district court there instead of Travis County.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Even though a judge in Denton County ruled in Sullivan's favour, the verdict was reversed, and the case was sent back to Travis County when an appeals court found that Sullivan did not really meet the residency requirements to have the case heard in Denton County from the start<\/a>. The Travis County court decided in favour of the TEC. Therefore, Sullivan lost his appeal. In the meanwhile, Sullivan filed a number of further cases against the commission, all of which were dismissed in federal or state district court.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Many of the authors of these friend-of-the-court briefs, including those authored by Cruz, Cornyn, and Paxton, \"appear to assume, without any real analysis of the record that Sullivan did nothing more than write a newsletter and work on a website that \u2018rated\u2019 legislators,\" the ethics commission said in their response to the petition. These portrayals are inconsistent with the factual evidence that a Texas court grantedsummary judgments in favour of the Commission based on the allegations that Sullivan had broken Texas law.<\/p>\n","post_title":"Supreme court rejects GOP activist\u2019s appeal over Texas lobbying fine","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"supreme-court-rejects-gop-activists-appeal-over-texas-lobbying-fine","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2025-06-04 17:00:04","post_modified_gmt":"2025-06-04 17:00:04","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dctransparency.com\/?p=7937","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":7929,"post_author":"7","post_date":"2025-06-03 17:43:43","post_date_gmt":"2025-06-03 17:43:43","post_content":"\n
In its attempt to acquire US Steel, Japanese-owned Nippon Steel has invested over $6.1 million in federal lobbying, employing a plethora of powerful politicians, some of whom have close relationships with President Donald Trump<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Just days after the purchase announcement in December 2023, Nippon Steel brought in lobbying company Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld. The corporation has international clients, including the governments of KSA, the UAE, and Japan, as shown by their registration documents. According to a Washington Examiner review of disclosure data, Nippon Steel has since paid Akin Gump more than $5.5 million, which represents around 90% of its lobbying expenses used to advance the US Steel acquisition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The lobbyists at Akin Gump arguing Nippon Steel's case in the nation's capital include Hunter Bates, former chief of staff for former Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY); Reginald Babin, former chief counsel to Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY); and Brian Pomper, who advised the Senate Finance Committee on international trade matters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
During the last election campaign, Geoffrey Verhoff, another Akin Gump lobbyist hired to help Nippon Steel, was by far the biggest known money bundler for Trump. According to a Federal Election Commission report, Verhoff, who served as vice chairman of the Republican National Committee's financial arm from 2017 to 2021, bundled at least $3.6 million for the Trump 47 Committee. While lobbying for Nippon Steel, Bates also personally donated $10,000 to the Trump 47 Committee, according to campaign finance reports.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
While the main lobbying firm on Nippon Steel's roster is Akin Gump, a few other powerful figures in the business with strong ties to Capitol Hill have been enlisted to assist in influencing public opinion on the merger issue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Akin Gump hired the Trump-affiliated lobbying company Ballard Partners, a foreign agent for the Japanese Embassy, as a subcontractor on the Nippon Steel team last year in exchange<\/a> for a $25,000 monthly fee. According to lobbying activities disclosed under the Foreign Agents Registration Act, Ballard Partners reportedly arranged a phone conversation between Trump and Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba to examine the U.S. election one day following the 2024 presidential contest.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Brian Ballard, a prominent Trump donor and the agency's namesake president, leads his Florida firm's efforts on the Nippon Steel client. He is joined in lobbying by other Trump associates: Daniel McFaul, a member of Trump's transitional team, and Hunter Morgen, a Trump White House policy consultant with expertise in manufacturing and trade.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ballard and Morgen both made direct contributions to Trump's 2024 campaign; the founder of the business sent cheques to the Trump 47 Committee and Trump Save America PAC totalling $250,000 and $11,600, respectively.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Through Akin Gump, the Gephardt Group's government affairs branch, strategic communications agency VOX Global, and government affairs consultancy Valiant Strategies LLC also advocated on behalf of Nippon Steel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
James Baril, a former senior staffer to Sen. John Cornyn and current chairman of the Senate Finance Subcommittee on International Trade, Customs, and Global Competitiveness, led VOX Global's just-ended Nippon Steel assignment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
According to disclosure filings, Nippon Steel's agents have pushed for the planned purchase through the White House, Congress, and several government departments that have jurisdiction over international transactions, including the Department of Commerce, the State Department, and the U.S. Treasury.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In the second half of 2024, Nippon Steel significantly increased its lobbying expenditures, spending $1.45 million in Q3 and $1.71 million in Q4, more than doubling the total amount spent by the company during the first two quarters. A Washington Examiner analysis of quarterly activity records indicates that Nippon Steel has already disbursed an extra $1.83 million this year as it tries to finalise a contract.<\/p>\n","post_title":"Nippon Steel spends $6.1M on D.C. lobbying to win U.S. Steel bid, taps Trump allies","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"nippon-steel-spends-6-1m-on-d-c-lobbying-to-win-u-s-steel-bid-taps-trump-allies","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2025-06-03 17:43:43","post_modified_gmt":"2025-06-03 17:43:43","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dctransparency.com\/?p=7929","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"}],"next":false,"prev":true,"total_page":6},"paged":1,"column_class":"jeg_col_2o3","class":"epic_block_3"};

Page 6 of 21 Previous 1 … 5 6 7 … 21 Next

\n
Banks and card networks have strongly opposed the plan, arguing that it is an example of government overreach. Meanwhile, proponents of cryptocurrency are battling to<\/a> prevent the off-topic credit card amendments from destroying their long-awaited success and turning the vote into a political minefield.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
According to Terrett's research, if a deal is not reached, administrative obstacles would likely slow down everything and postpone final approval until June 9. Crypto lobbying organisations are still optimistic that the GENIUS Act will pass and give stablecoin issuers and consumers in the US the long-needed legislative clarification despite mounting political tensions.<\/p>\n","post_title":"Cryptocurrency lobbying efforts intensify as senate considers unaltered GENIUS Act","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"cryptocurrency-lobbying-efforts-intensify-as-senate-considers-unaltered-genius-act","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2025-06-04 17:27:21","post_modified_gmt":"2025-06-04 17:27:21","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dctransparency.com\/?p=7944","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":7937,"post_author":"7","post_date":"2025-06-04 17:00:04","post_date_gmt":"2025-06-04 17:00:04","post_content":"\n
The Supreme Court rejected conservative Texas activist Michael Quinn Sullivan's complaint against the Texas Ethics Commission, further undermining his more than ten-year struggle against the state agency that oversees and enforces Texas' campaign finance and lobbying regulations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Sullivan has been appealing a $10,000 ethics commission punishment for failing to register as a lobbyist in 2010 and 2011 since 2014. Earlier this year, he petitioned the nation's highest court to take up the issue. Sullivan was the former chairman of the powerful conservative lobbying organization<\/a> Empower Texans. His attempt to overturn two state appeals court rulings that refused to throw out the fines was denied by the Texas Supreme Court last year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In a brief to the U.S. Supreme Court, Sullivan contended that Texas' ethics rules, which impose onerous registration and fee requirements, infringe upon the First Amendment rights of \"ordinary citizens\" who wish to communicate with their elected officials.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n
\"Sullivan's actions went far beyond an average citizen who happened to visit with a lawmaker or who spent a day or two at the Texas Capitol during a legislative session,\" <\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n
the Ethics Commission said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The court's decision supports the ethics commission's appeals court verdict. Sullivan will go back to a district court for a jury trial to determine the amount he must pay.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
After two former state senators complained that Sullivan had engaged in unregistered lobbying, the ethics commission began looking into the matter. For a long time, Sullivan has maintained that his work with the now-defunct Empower Texans was journalism rather than lobbying. However, such an argument was dismissed by the ethics committee. In their 2014 decision, they cited hundreds of letters he often addressed to Republican members to debate legislation and amendments, urging them to support the principles of his group.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Additionally, Sullivan released a Fiscal Responsibility Index that rates the conservative credentials of members according to their voting record in each session. In another instance of lobbying, the panel discovered that Sullivan utilized that scorecard to sway members' votes while working for Empower Texans.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In court, Sullivan repeatedly tried to argue that the ethics commission lacked the constitutional authority to enforce the state's ethical laws. By first claiming that he had moved to Denton County, Sullivan was able to have the case heard in a district court there instead of Travis County.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Even though a judge in Denton County ruled in Sullivan's favour, the verdict was reversed, and the case was sent back to Travis County when an appeals court found that Sullivan did not really meet the residency requirements to have the case heard in Denton County from the start<\/a>. The Travis County court decided in favour of the TEC. Therefore, Sullivan lost his appeal. In the meanwhile, Sullivan filed a number of further cases against the commission, all of which were dismissed in federal or state district court.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Many of the authors of these friend-of-the-court briefs, including those authored by Cruz, Cornyn, and Paxton, \"appear to assume, without any real analysis of the record that Sullivan did nothing more than write a newsletter and work on a website that \u2018rated\u2019 legislators,\" the ethics commission said in their response to the petition. These portrayals are inconsistent with the factual evidence that a Texas court grantedsummary judgments in favour of the Commission based on the allegations that Sullivan had broken Texas law.<\/p>\n","post_title":"Supreme court rejects GOP activist\u2019s appeal over Texas lobbying fine","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"supreme-court-rejects-gop-activists-appeal-over-texas-lobbying-fine","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2025-06-04 17:00:04","post_modified_gmt":"2025-06-04 17:00:04","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dctransparency.com\/?p=7937","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":7929,"post_author":"7","post_date":"2025-06-03 17:43:43","post_date_gmt":"2025-06-03 17:43:43","post_content":"\n
In its attempt to acquire US Steel, Japanese-owned Nippon Steel has invested over $6.1 million in federal lobbying, employing a plethora of powerful politicians, some of whom have close relationships with President Donald Trump<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Just days after the purchase announcement in December 2023, Nippon Steel brought in lobbying company Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld. The corporation has international clients, including the governments of KSA, the UAE, and Japan, as shown by their registration documents. According to a Washington Examiner review of disclosure data, Nippon Steel has since paid Akin Gump more than $5.5 million, which represents around 90% of its lobbying expenses used to advance the US Steel acquisition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The lobbyists at Akin Gump arguing Nippon Steel's case in the nation's capital include Hunter Bates, former chief of staff for former Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY); Reginald Babin, former chief counsel to Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY); and Brian Pomper, who advised the Senate Finance Committee on international trade matters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
During the last election campaign, Geoffrey Verhoff, another Akin Gump lobbyist hired to help Nippon Steel, was by far the biggest known money bundler for Trump. According to a Federal Election Commission report, Verhoff, who served as vice chairman of the Republican National Committee's financial arm from 2017 to 2021, bundled at least $3.6 million for the Trump 47 Committee. While lobbying for Nippon Steel, Bates also personally donated $10,000 to the Trump 47 Committee, according to campaign finance reports.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
While the main lobbying firm on Nippon Steel's roster is Akin Gump, a few other powerful figures in the business with strong ties to Capitol Hill have been enlisted to assist in influencing public opinion on the merger issue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Akin Gump hired the Trump-affiliated lobbying company Ballard Partners, a foreign agent for the Japanese Embassy, as a subcontractor on the Nippon Steel team last year in exchange<\/a> for a $25,000 monthly fee. According to lobbying activities disclosed under the Foreign Agents Registration Act, Ballard Partners reportedly arranged a phone conversation between Trump and Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba to examine the U.S. election one day following the 2024 presidential contest.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Brian Ballard, a prominent Trump donor and the agency's namesake president, leads his Florida firm's efforts on the Nippon Steel client. He is joined in lobbying by other Trump associates: Daniel McFaul, a member of Trump's transitional team, and Hunter Morgen, a Trump White House policy consultant with expertise in manufacturing and trade.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ballard and Morgen both made direct contributions to Trump's 2024 campaign; the founder of the business sent cheques to the Trump 47 Committee and Trump Save America PAC totalling $250,000 and $11,600, respectively.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Through Akin Gump, the Gephardt Group's government affairs branch, strategic communications agency VOX Global, and government affairs consultancy Valiant Strategies LLC also advocated on behalf of Nippon Steel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
James Baril, a former senior staffer to Sen. John Cornyn and current chairman of the Senate Finance Subcommittee on International Trade, Customs, and Global Competitiveness, led VOX Global's just-ended Nippon Steel assignment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
According to disclosure filings, Nippon Steel's agents have pushed for the planned purchase through the White House, Congress, and several government departments that have jurisdiction over international transactions, including the Department of Commerce, the State Department, and the U.S. Treasury.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In the second half of 2024, Nippon Steel significantly increased its lobbying expenditures, spending $1.45 million in Q3 and $1.71 million in Q4, more than doubling the total amount spent by the company during the first two quarters. A Washington Examiner analysis of quarterly activity records indicates that Nippon Steel has already disbursed an extra $1.83 million this year as it tries to finalise a contract.<\/p>\n","post_title":"Nippon Steel spends $6.1M on D.C. lobbying to win U.S. Steel bid, taps Trump allies","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"nippon-steel-spends-6-1m-on-d-c-lobbying-to-win-u-s-steel-bid-taps-trump-allies","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2025-06-03 17:43:43","post_modified_gmt":"2025-06-03 17:43:43","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dctransparency.com\/?p=7929","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"}],"next":false,"prev":true,"total_page":6},"paged":1,"column_class":"jeg_col_2o3","class":"epic_block_3"};

Page 6 of 21 Previous 1 … 5 6 7 … 21 Next

\n
The stablecoin proposal may now encounter a snag in credit card fee legislation, even if it is claimed that the bill has enough support to move on to the House. The proposal, which is fiercely opposed by banks and card firms, would require payment networks such as Visa, Mastercard, and American Express to compete on merchant processing rates.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Banks and card networks have strongly opposed the plan, arguing that it is an example of government overreach. Meanwhile, proponents of cryptocurrency are battling to<\/a> prevent the off-topic credit card amendments from destroying their long-awaited success and turning the vote into a political minefield.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
According to Terrett's research, if a deal is not reached, administrative obstacles would likely slow down everything and postpone final approval until June 9. Crypto lobbying organisations are still optimistic that the GENIUS Act will pass and give stablecoin issuers and consumers in the US the long-needed legislative clarification despite mounting political tensions.<\/p>\n","post_title":"Cryptocurrency lobbying efforts intensify as senate considers unaltered GENIUS Act","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"cryptocurrency-lobbying-efforts-intensify-as-senate-considers-unaltered-genius-act","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2025-06-04 17:27:21","post_modified_gmt":"2025-06-04 17:27:21","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dctransparency.com\/?p=7944","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":7937,"post_author":"7","post_date":"2025-06-04 17:00:04","post_date_gmt":"2025-06-04 17:00:04","post_content":"\n
The Supreme Court rejected conservative Texas activist Michael Quinn Sullivan's complaint against the Texas Ethics Commission, further undermining his more than ten-year struggle against the state agency that oversees and enforces Texas' campaign finance and lobbying regulations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Sullivan has been appealing a $10,000 ethics commission punishment for failing to register as a lobbyist in 2010 and 2011 since 2014. Earlier this year, he petitioned the nation's highest court to take up the issue. Sullivan was the former chairman of the powerful conservative lobbying organization<\/a> Empower Texans. His attempt to overturn two state appeals court rulings that refused to throw out the fines was denied by the Texas Supreme Court last year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In a brief to the U.S. Supreme Court, Sullivan contended that Texas' ethics rules, which impose onerous registration and fee requirements, infringe upon the First Amendment rights of \"ordinary citizens\" who wish to communicate with their elected officials.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n
\"Sullivan's actions went far beyond an average citizen who happened to visit with a lawmaker or who spent a day or two at the Texas Capitol during a legislative session,\" <\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n
the Ethics Commission said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The court's decision supports the ethics commission's appeals court verdict. Sullivan will go back to a district court for a jury trial to determine the amount he must pay.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
After two former state senators complained that Sullivan had engaged in unregistered lobbying, the ethics commission began looking into the matter. For a long time, Sullivan has maintained that his work with the now-defunct Empower Texans was journalism rather than lobbying. However, such an argument was dismissed by the ethics committee. In their 2014 decision, they cited hundreds of letters he often addressed to Republican members to debate legislation and amendments, urging them to support the principles of his group.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Additionally, Sullivan released a Fiscal Responsibility Index that rates the conservative credentials of members according to their voting record in each session. In another instance of lobbying, the panel discovered that Sullivan utilized that scorecard to sway members' votes while working for Empower Texans.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In court, Sullivan repeatedly tried to argue that the ethics commission lacked the constitutional authority to enforce the state's ethical laws. By first claiming that he had moved to Denton County, Sullivan was able to have the case heard in a district court there instead of Travis County.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Even though a judge in Denton County ruled in Sullivan's favour, the verdict was reversed, and the case was sent back to Travis County when an appeals court found that Sullivan did not really meet the residency requirements to have the case heard in Denton County from the start<\/a>. The Travis County court decided in favour of the TEC. Therefore, Sullivan lost his appeal. In the meanwhile, Sullivan filed a number of further cases against the commission, all of which were dismissed in federal or state district court.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Many of the authors of these friend-of-the-court briefs, including those authored by Cruz, Cornyn, and Paxton, \"appear to assume, without any real analysis of the record that Sullivan did nothing more than write a newsletter and work on a website that \u2018rated\u2019 legislators,\" the ethics commission said in their response to the petition. These portrayals are inconsistent with the factual evidence that a Texas court grantedsummary judgments in favour of the Commission based on the allegations that Sullivan had broken Texas law.<\/p>\n","post_title":"Supreme court rejects GOP activist\u2019s appeal over Texas lobbying fine","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"supreme-court-rejects-gop-activists-appeal-over-texas-lobbying-fine","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2025-06-04 17:00:04","post_modified_gmt":"2025-06-04 17:00:04","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dctransparency.com\/?p=7937","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":7929,"post_author":"7","post_date":"2025-06-03 17:43:43","post_date_gmt":"2025-06-03 17:43:43","post_content":"\n
In its attempt to acquire US Steel, Japanese-owned Nippon Steel has invested over $6.1 million in federal lobbying, employing a plethora of powerful politicians, some of whom have close relationships with President Donald Trump<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Just days after the purchase announcement in December 2023, Nippon Steel brought in lobbying company Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld. The corporation has international clients, including the governments of KSA, the UAE, and Japan, as shown by their registration documents. According to a Washington Examiner review of disclosure data, Nippon Steel has since paid Akin Gump more than $5.5 million, which represents around 90% of its lobbying expenses used to advance the US Steel acquisition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The lobbyists at Akin Gump arguing Nippon Steel's case in the nation's capital include Hunter Bates, former chief of staff for former Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY); Reginald Babin, former chief counsel to Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY); and Brian Pomper, who advised the Senate Finance Committee on international trade matters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
During the last election campaign, Geoffrey Verhoff, another Akin Gump lobbyist hired to help Nippon Steel, was by far the biggest known money bundler for Trump. According to a Federal Election Commission report, Verhoff, who served as vice chairman of the Republican National Committee's financial arm from 2017 to 2021, bundled at least $3.6 million for the Trump 47 Committee. While lobbying for Nippon Steel, Bates also personally donated $10,000 to the Trump 47 Committee, according to campaign finance reports.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
While the main lobbying firm on Nippon Steel's roster is Akin Gump, a few other powerful figures in the business with strong ties to Capitol Hill have been enlisted to assist in influencing public opinion on the merger issue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Akin Gump hired the Trump-affiliated lobbying company Ballard Partners, a foreign agent for the Japanese Embassy, as a subcontractor on the Nippon Steel team last year in exchange<\/a> for a $25,000 monthly fee. According to lobbying activities disclosed under the Foreign Agents Registration Act, Ballard Partners reportedly arranged a phone conversation between Trump and Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba to examine the U.S. election one day following the 2024 presidential contest.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Brian Ballard, a prominent Trump donor and the agency's namesake president, leads his Florida firm's efforts on the Nippon Steel client. He is joined in lobbying by other Trump associates: Daniel McFaul, a member of Trump's transitional team, and Hunter Morgen, a Trump White House policy consultant with expertise in manufacturing and trade.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ballard and Morgen both made direct contributions to Trump's 2024 campaign; the founder of the business sent cheques to the Trump 47 Committee and Trump Save America PAC totalling $250,000 and $11,600, respectively.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Through Akin Gump, the Gephardt Group's government affairs branch, strategic communications agency VOX Global, and government affairs consultancy Valiant Strategies LLC also advocated on behalf of Nippon Steel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
James Baril, a former senior staffer to Sen. John Cornyn and current chairman of the Senate Finance Subcommittee on International Trade, Customs, and Global Competitiveness, led VOX Global's just-ended Nippon Steel assignment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
According to disclosure filings, Nippon Steel's agents have pushed for the planned purchase through the White House, Congress, and several government departments that have jurisdiction over international transactions, including the Department of Commerce, the State Department, and the U.S. Treasury.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In the second half of 2024, Nippon Steel significantly increased its lobbying expenditures, spending $1.45 million in Q3 and $1.71 million in Q4, more than doubling the total amount spent by the company during the first two quarters. A Washington Examiner analysis of quarterly activity records indicates that Nippon Steel has already disbursed an extra $1.83 million this year as it tries to finalise a contract.<\/p>\n","post_title":"Nippon Steel spends $6.1M on D.C. lobbying to win U.S. Steel bid, taps Trump allies","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"nippon-steel-spends-6-1m-on-d-c-lobbying-to-win-u-s-steel-bid-taps-trump-allies","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2025-06-03 17:43:43","post_modified_gmt":"2025-06-03 17:43:43","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dctransparency.com\/?p=7929","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"}],"next":false,"prev":true,"total_page":6},"paged":1,"column_class":"jeg_col_2o3","class":"epic_block_3"};

Page 6 of 21 Previous 1 … 5 6 7 … 21 Next

\n
A number of Democratic members who had earlier backed out of the measure have changed their minds, pointing to President Donald Trump's connections to the cryptocurrency industry, namely a stablecoin introduced by his family's cryptocurrency company.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The stablecoin proposal may now encounter a snag in credit card fee legislation, even if it is claimed that the bill has enough support to move on to the House. The proposal, which is fiercely opposed by banks and card firms, would require payment networks such as Visa, Mastercard, and American Express to compete on merchant processing rates.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Banks and card networks have strongly opposed the plan, arguing that it is an example of government overreach. Meanwhile, proponents of cryptocurrency are battling to<\/a> prevent the off-topic credit card amendments from destroying their long-awaited success and turning the vote into a political minefield.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
According to Terrett's research, if a deal is not reached, administrative obstacles would likely slow down everything and postpone final approval until June 9. Crypto lobbying organisations are still optimistic that the GENIUS Act will pass and give stablecoin issuers and consumers in the US the long-needed legislative clarification despite mounting political tensions.<\/p>\n","post_title":"Cryptocurrency lobbying efforts intensify as senate considers unaltered GENIUS Act","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"cryptocurrency-lobbying-efforts-intensify-as-senate-considers-unaltered-genius-act","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2025-06-04 17:27:21","post_modified_gmt":"2025-06-04 17:27:21","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dctransparency.com\/?p=7944","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":7937,"post_author":"7","post_date":"2025-06-04 17:00:04","post_date_gmt":"2025-06-04 17:00:04","post_content":"\n
The Supreme Court rejected conservative Texas activist Michael Quinn Sullivan's complaint against the Texas Ethics Commission, further undermining his more than ten-year struggle against the state agency that oversees and enforces Texas' campaign finance and lobbying regulations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Sullivan has been appealing a $10,000 ethics commission punishment for failing to register as a lobbyist in 2010 and 2011 since 2014. Earlier this year, he petitioned the nation's highest court to take up the issue. Sullivan was the former chairman of the powerful conservative lobbying organization<\/a> Empower Texans. His attempt to overturn two state appeals court rulings that refused to throw out the fines was denied by the Texas Supreme Court last year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In a brief to the U.S. Supreme Court, Sullivan contended that Texas' ethics rules, which impose onerous registration and fee requirements, infringe upon the First Amendment rights of \"ordinary citizens\" who wish to communicate with their elected officials.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n
\"Sullivan's actions went far beyond an average citizen who happened to visit with a lawmaker or who spent a day or two at the Texas Capitol during a legislative session,\" <\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n
the Ethics Commission said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The court's decision supports the ethics commission's appeals court verdict. Sullivan will go back to a district court for a jury trial to determine the amount he must pay.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
After two former state senators complained that Sullivan had engaged in unregistered lobbying, the ethics commission began looking into the matter. For a long time, Sullivan has maintained that his work with the now-defunct Empower Texans was journalism rather than lobbying. However, such an argument was dismissed by the ethics committee. In their 2014 decision, they cited hundreds of letters he often addressed to Republican members to debate legislation and amendments, urging them to support the principles of his group.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Additionally, Sullivan released a Fiscal Responsibility Index that rates the conservative credentials of members according to their voting record in each session. In another instance of lobbying, the panel discovered that Sullivan utilized that scorecard to sway members' votes while working for Empower Texans.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In court, Sullivan repeatedly tried to argue that the ethics commission lacked the constitutional authority to enforce the state's ethical laws. By first claiming that he had moved to Denton County, Sullivan was able to have the case heard in a district court there instead of Travis County.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Even though a judge in Denton County ruled in Sullivan's favour, the verdict was reversed, and the case was sent back to Travis County when an appeals court found that Sullivan did not really meet the residency requirements to have the case heard in Denton County from the start<\/a>. The Travis County court decided in favour of the TEC. Therefore, Sullivan lost his appeal. In the meanwhile, Sullivan filed a number of further cases against the commission, all of which were dismissed in federal or state district court.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Many of the authors of these friend-of-the-court briefs, including those authored by Cruz, Cornyn, and Paxton, \"appear to assume, without any real analysis of the record that Sullivan did nothing more than write a newsletter and work on a website that \u2018rated\u2019 legislators,\" the ethics commission said in their response to the petition. These portrayals are inconsistent with the factual evidence that a Texas court grantedsummary judgments in favour of the Commission based on the allegations that Sullivan had broken Texas law.<\/p>\n","post_title":"Supreme court rejects GOP activist\u2019s appeal over Texas lobbying fine","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"supreme-court-rejects-gop-activists-appeal-over-texas-lobbying-fine","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2025-06-04 17:00:04","post_modified_gmt":"2025-06-04 17:00:04","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dctransparency.com\/?p=7937","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":7929,"post_author":"7","post_date":"2025-06-03 17:43:43","post_date_gmt":"2025-06-03 17:43:43","post_content":"\n
In its attempt to acquire US Steel, Japanese-owned Nippon Steel has invested over $6.1 million in federal lobbying, employing a plethora of powerful politicians, some of whom have close relationships with President Donald Trump<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Just days after the purchase announcement in December 2023, Nippon Steel brought in lobbying company Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld. The corporation has international clients, including the governments of KSA, the UAE, and Japan, as shown by their registration documents. According to a Washington Examiner review of disclosure data, Nippon Steel has since paid Akin Gump more than $5.5 million, which represents around 90% of its lobbying expenses used to advance the US Steel acquisition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The lobbyists at Akin Gump arguing Nippon Steel's case in the nation's capital include Hunter Bates, former chief of staff for former Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY); Reginald Babin, former chief counsel to Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY); and Brian Pomper, who advised the Senate Finance Committee on international trade matters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
During the last election campaign, Geoffrey Verhoff, another Akin Gump lobbyist hired to help Nippon Steel, was by far the biggest known money bundler for Trump. According to a Federal Election Commission report, Verhoff, who served as vice chairman of the Republican National Committee's financial arm from 2017 to 2021, bundled at least $3.6 million for the Trump 47 Committee. While lobbying for Nippon Steel, Bates also personally donated $10,000 to the Trump 47 Committee, according to campaign finance reports.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
While the main lobbying firm on Nippon Steel's roster is Akin Gump, a few other powerful figures in the business with strong ties to Capitol Hill have been enlisted to assist in influencing public opinion on the merger issue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Akin Gump hired the Trump-affiliated lobbying company Ballard Partners, a foreign agent for the Japanese Embassy, as a subcontractor on the Nippon Steel team last year in exchange<\/a> for a $25,000 monthly fee. According to lobbying activities disclosed under the Foreign Agents Registration Act, Ballard Partners reportedly arranged a phone conversation between Trump and Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba to examine the U.S. election one day following the 2024 presidential contest.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Brian Ballard, a prominent Trump donor and the agency's namesake president, leads his Florida firm's efforts on the Nippon Steel client. He is joined in lobbying by other Trump associates: Daniel McFaul, a member of Trump's transitional team, and Hunter Morgen, a Trump White House policy consultant with expertise in manufacturing and trade.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ballard and Morgen both made direct contributions to Trump's 2024 campaign; the founder of the business sent cheques to the Trump 47 Committee and Trump Save America PAC totalling $250,000 and $11,600, respectively.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Through Akin Gump, the Gephardt Group's government affairs branch, strategic communications agency VOX Global, and government affairs consultancy Valiant Strategies LLC also advocated on behalf of Nippon Steel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
James Baril, a former senior staffer to Sen. John Cornyn and current chairman of the Senate Finance Subcommittee on International Trade, Customs, and Global Competitiveness, led VOX Global's just-ended Nippon Steel assignment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
According to disclosure filings, Nippon Steel's agents have pushed for the planned purchase through the White House, Congress, and several government departments that have jurisdiction over international transactions, including the Department of Commerce, the State Department, and the U.S. Treasury.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In the second half of 2024, Nippon Steel significantly increased its lobbying expenditures, spending $1.45 million in Q3 and $1.71 million in Q4, more than doubling the total amount spent by the company during the first two quarters. A Washington Examiner analysis of quarterly activity records indicates that Nippon Steel has already disbursed an extra $1.83 million this year as it tries to finalise a contract.<\/p>\n","post_title":"Nippon Steel spends $6.1M on D.C. lobbying to win U.S. Steel bid, taps Trump allies","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"nippon-steel-spends-6-1m-on-d-c-lobbying-to-win-u-s-steel-bid-taps-trump-allies","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2025-06-03 17:43:43","post_modified_gmt":"2025-06-03 17:43:43","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dctransparency.com\/?p=7929","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"}],"next":false,"prev":true,"total_page":6},"paged":1,"column_class":"jeg_col_2o3","class":"epic_block_3"};

Page 6 of 21 Previous 1 … 5 6 7 … 21 Next

\n
The organisations said they respectfully want lawmakers to stick to the bill's fundamental objective, which is to provide a focused and all-encompassing approach to stablecoin supervision as it moves through the amendment process.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A number of Democratic members who had earlier backed out of the measure have changed their minds, pointing to President Donald Trump's connections to the cryptocurrency industry, namely a stablecoin introduced by his family's cryptocurrency company.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The stablecoin proposal may now encounter a snag in credit card fee legislation, even if it is claimed that the bill has enough support to move on to the House. The proposal, which is fiercely opposed by banks and card firms, would require payment networks such as Visa, Mastercard, and American Express to compete on merchant processing rates.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Banks and card networks have strongly opposed the plan, arguing that it is an example of government overreach. Meanwhile, proponents of cryptocurrency are battling to<\/a> prevent the off-topic credit card amendments from destroying their long-awaited success and turning the vote into a political minefield.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
According to Terrett's research, if a deal is not reached, administrative obstacles would likely slow down everything and postpone final approval until June 9. Crypto lobbying organisations are still optimistic that the GENIUS Act will pass and give stablecoin issuers and consumers in the US the long-needed legislative clarification despite mounting political tensions.<\/p>\n","post_title":"Cryptocurrency lobbying efforts intensify as senate considers unaltered GENIUS Act","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"cryptocurrency-lobbying-efforts-intensify-as-senate-considers-unaltered-genius-act","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2025-06-04 17:27:21","post_modified_gmt":"2025-06-04 17:27:21","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dctransparency.com\/?p=7944","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":7937,"post_author":"7","post_date":"2025-06-04 17:00:04","post_date_gmt":"2025-06-04 17:00:04","post_content":"\n
The Supreme Court rejected conservative Texas activist Michael Quinn Sullivan's complaint against the Texas Ethics Commission, further undermining his more than ten-year struggle against the state agency that oversees and enforces Texas' campaign finance and lobbying regulations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Sullivan has been appealing a $10,000 ethics commission punishment for failing to register as a lobbyist in 2010 and 2011 since 2014. Earlier this year, he petitioned the nation's highest court to take up the issue. Sullivan was the former chairman of the powerful conservative lobbying organization<\/a> Empower Texans. His attempt to overturn two state appeals court rulings that refused to throw out the fines was denied by the Texas Supreme Court last year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In a brief to the U.S. Supreme Court, Sullivan contended that Texas' ethics rules, which impose onerous registration and fee requirements, infringe upon the First Amendment rights of \"ordinary citizens\" who wish to communicate with their elected officials.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n
\"Sullivan's actions went far beyond an average citizen who happened to visit with a lawmaker or who spent a day or two at the Texas Capitol during a legislative session,\" <\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n
the Ethics Commission said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The court's decision supports the ethics commission's appeals court verdict. Sullivan will go back to a district court for a jury trial to determine the amount he must pay.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
After two former state senators complained that Sullivan had engaged in unregistered lobbying, the ethics commission began looking into the matter. For a long time, Sullivan has maintained that his work with the now-defunct Empower Texans was journalism rather than lobbying. However, such an argument was dismissed by the ethics committee. In their 2014 decision, they cited hundreds of letters he often addressed to Republican members to debate legislation and amendments, urging them to support the principles of his group.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Additionally, Sullivan released a Fiscal Responsibility Index that rates the conservative credentials of members according to their voting record in each session. In another instance of lobbying, the panel discovered that Sullivan utilized that scorecard to sway members' votes while working for Empower Texans.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In court, Sullivan repeatedly tried to argue that the ethics commission lacked the constitutional authority to enforce the state's ethical laws. By first claiming that he had moved to Denton County, Sullivan was able to have the case heard in a district court there instead of Travis County.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Even though a judge in Denton County ruled in Sullivan's favour, the verdict was reversed, and the case was sent back to Travis County when an appeals court found that Sullivan did not really meet the residency requirements to have the case heard in Denton County from the start<\/a>. The Travis County court decided in favour of the TEC. Therefore, Sullivan lost his appeal. In the meanwhile, Sullivan filed a number of further cases against the commission, all of which were dismissed in federal or state district court.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Many of the authors of these friend-of-the-court briefs, including those authored by Cruz, Cornyn, and Paxton, \"appear to assume, without any real analysis of the record that Sullivan did nothing more than write a newsletter and work on a website that \u2018rated\u2019 legislators,\" the ethics commission said in their response to the petition. These portrayals are inconsistent with the factual evidence that a Texas court grantedsummary judgments in favour of the Commission based on the allegations that Sullivan had broken Texas law.<\/p>\n","post_title":"Supreme court rejects GOP activist\u2019s appeal over Texas lobbying fine","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"supreme-court-rejects-gop-activists-appeal-over-texas-lobbying-fine","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2025-06-04 17:00:04","post_modified_gmt":"2025-06-04 17:00:04","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dctransparency.com\/?p=7937","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":7929,"post_author":"7","post_date":"2025-06-03 17:43:43","post_date_gmt":"2025-06-03 17:43:43","post_content":"\n
In its attempt to acquire US Steel, Japanese-owned Nippon Steel has invested over $6.1 million in federal lobbying, employing a plethora of powerful politicians, some of whom have close relationships with President Donald Trump<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Just days after the purchase announcement in December 2023, Nippon Steel brought in lobbying company Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld. The corporation has international clients, including the governments of KSA, the UAE, and Japan, as shown by their registration documents. According to a Washington Examiner review of disclosure data, Nippon Steel has since paid Akin Gump more than $5.5 million, which represents around 90% of its lobbying expenses used to advance the US Steel acquisition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The lobbyists at Akin Gump arguing Nippon Steel's case in the nation's capital include Hunter Bates, former chief of staff for former Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY); Reginald Babin, former chief counsel to Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY); and Brian Pomper, who advised the Senate Finance Committee on international trade matters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
During the last election campaign, Geoffrey Verhoff, another Akin Gump lobbyist hired to help Nippon Steel, was by far the biggest known money bundler for Trump. According to a Federal Election Commission report, Verhoff, who served as vice chairman of the Republican National Committee's financial arm from 2017 to 2021, bundled at least $3.6 million for the Trump 47 Committee. While lobbying for Nippon Steel, Bates also personally donated $10,000 to the Trump 47 Committee, according to campaign finance reports.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
While the main lobbying firm on Nippon Steel's roster is Akin Gump, a few other powerful figures in the business with strong ties to Capitol Hill have been enlisted to assist in influencing public opinion on the merger issue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Akin Gump hired the Trump-affiliated lobbying company Ballard Partners, a foreign agent for the Japanese Embassy, as a subcontractor on the Nippon Steel team last year in exchange<\/a> for a $25,000 monthly fee. According to lobbying activities disclosed under the Foreign Agents Registration Act, Ballard Partners reportedly arranged a phone conversation between Trump and Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba to examine the U.S. election one day following the 2024 presidential contest.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Brian Ballard, a prominent Trump donor and the agency's namesake president, leads his Florida firm's efforts on the Nippon Steel client. He is joined in lobbying by other Trump associates: Daniel McFaul, a member of Trump's transitional team, and Hunter Morgen, a Trump White House policy consultant with expertise in manufacturing and trade.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ballard and Morgen both made direct contributions to Trump's 2024 campaign; the founder of the business sent cheques to the Trump 47 Committee and Trump Save America PAC totalling $250,000 and $11,600, respectively.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Through Akin Gump, the Gephardt Group's government affairs branch, strategic communications agency VOX Global, and government affairs consultancy Valiant Strategies LLC also advocated on behalf of Nippon Steel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
James Baril, a former senior staffer to Sen. John Cornyn and current chairman of the Senate Finance Subcommittee on International Trade, Customs, and Global Competitiveness, led VOX Global's just-ended Nippon Steel assignment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
According to disclosure filings, Nippon Steel's agents have pushed for the planned purchase through the White House, Congress, and several government departments that have jurisdiction over international transactions, including the Department of Commerce, the State Department, and the U.S. Treasury.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In the second half of 2024, Nippon Steel significantly increased its lobbying expenditures, spending $1.45 million in Q3 and $1.71 million in Q4, more than doubling the total amount spent by the company during the first two quarters. A Washington Examiner analysis of quarterly activity records indicates that Nippon Steel has already disbursed an extra $1.83 million this year as it tries to finalise a contract.<\/p>\n","post_title":"Nippon Steel spends $6.1M on D.C. lobbying to win U.S. Steel bid, taps Trump allies","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"nippon-steel-spends-6-1m-on-d-c-lobbying-to-win-u-s-steel-bid-taps-trump-allies","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2025-06-03 17:43:43","post_modified_gmt":"2025-06-03 17:43:43","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dctransparency.com\/?p=7929","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"}],"next":false,"prev":true,"total_page":6},"paged":1,"column_class":"jeg_col_2o3","class":"epic_block_3"};

Page 6 of 21 Previous 1 … 5 6 7 … 21 Next

\n
Prominent crypto advocacy organisations, including the Blockchain Association, the Digital Chamber, the Crypto Council for Innovation and the DeFi Education Fund, issued a joint statement on June 2, insisting legislators continue their amazing work in order to present the proposal in the House.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The organisations said they respectfully want lawmakers to stick to the bill's fundamental objective, which is to provide a focused and all-encompassing approach to stablecoin supervision as it moves through the amendment process.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A number of Democratic members who had earlier backed out of the measure have changed their minds, pointing to President Donald Trump's connections to the cryptocurrency industry, namely a stablecoin introduced by his family's cryptocurrency company.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The stablecoin proposal may now encounter a snag in credit card fee legislation, even if it is claimed that the bill has enough support to move on to the House. The proposal, which is fiercely opposed by banks and card firms, would require payment networks such as Visa, Mastercard, and American Express to compete on merchant processing rates.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Banks and card networks have strongly opposed the plan, arguing that it is an example of government overreach. Meanwhile, proponents of cryptocurrency are battling to<\/a> prevent the off-topic credit card amendments from destroying their long-awaited success and turning the vote into a political minefield.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
According to Terrett's research, if a deal is not reached, administrative obstacles would likely slow down everything and postpone final approval until June 9. Crypto lobbying organisations are still optimistic that the GENIUS Act will pass and give stablecoin issuers and consumers in the US the long-needed legislative clarification despite mounting political tensions.<\/p>\n","post_title":"Cryptocurrency lobbying efforts intensify as senate considers unaltered GENIUS Act","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"cryptocurrency-lobbying-efforts-intensify-as-senate-considers-unaltered-genius-act","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2025-06-04 17:27:21","post_modified_gmt":"2025-06-04 17:27:21","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dctransparency.com\/?p=7944","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":7937,"post_author":"7","post_date":"2025-06-04 17:00:04","post_date_gmt":"2025-06-04 17:00:04","post_content":"\n
The Supreme Court rejected conservative Texas activist Michael Quinn Sullivan's complaint against the Texas Ethics Commission, further undermining his more than ten-year struggle against the state agency that oversees and enforces Texas' campaign finance and lobbying regulations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Sullivan has been appealing a $10,000 ethics commission punishment for failing to register as a lobbyist in 2010 and 2011 since 2014. Earlier this year, he petitioned the nation's highest court to take up the issue. Sullivan was the former chairman of the powerful conservative lobbying organization<\/a> Empower Texans. His attempt to overturn two state appeals court rulings that refused to throw out the fines was denied by the Texas Supreme Court last year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In a brief to the U.S. Supreme Court, Sullivan contended that Texas' ethics rules, which impose onerous registration and fee requirements, infringe upon the First Amendment rights of \"ordinary citizens\" who wish to communicate with their elected officials.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n
\"Sullivan's actions went far beyond an average citizen who happened to visit with a lawmaker or who spent a day or two at the Texas Capitol during a legislative session,\" <\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n
the Ethics Commission said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The court's decision supports the ethics commission's appeals court verdict. Sullivan will go back to a district court for a jury trial to determine the amount he must pay.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
After two former state senators complained that Sullivan had engaged in unregistered lobbying, the ethics commission began looking into the matter. For a long time, Sullivan has maintained that his work with the now-defunct Empower Texans was journalism rather than lobbying. However, such an argument was dismissed by the ethics committee. In their 2014 decision, they cited hundreds of letters he often addressed to Republican members to debate legislation and amendments, urging them to support the principles of his group.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Additionally, Sullivan released a Fiscal Responsibility Index that rates the conservative credentials of members according to their voting record in each session. In another instance of lobbying, the panel discovered that Sullivan utilized that scorecard to sway members' votes while working for Empower Texans.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In court, Sullivan repeatedly tried to argue that the ethics commission lacked the constitutional authority to enforce the state's ethical laws. By first claiming that he had moved to Denton County, Sullivan was able to have the case heard in a district court there instead of Travis County.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Even though a judge in Denton County ruled in Sullivan's favour, the verdict was reversed, and the case was sent back to Travis County when an appeals court found that Sullivan did not really meet the residency requirements to have the case heard in Denton County from the start<\/a>. The Travis County court decided in favour of the TEC. Therefore, Sullivan lost his appeal. In the meanwhile, Sullivan filed a number of further cases against the commission, all of which were dismissed in federal or state district court.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Many of the authors of these friend-of-the-court briefs, including those authored by Cruz, Cornyn, and Paxton, \"appear to assume, without any real analysis of the record that Sullivan did nothing more than write a newsletter and work on a website that \u2018rated\u2019 legislators,\" the ethics commission said in their response to the petition. These portrayals are inconsistent with the factual evidence that a Texas court grantedsummary judgments in favour of the Commission based on the allegations that Sullivan had broken Texas law.<\/p>\n","post_title":"Supreme court rejects GOP activist\u2019s appeal over Texas lobbying fine","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"supreme-court-rejects-gop-activists-appeal-over-texas-lobbying-fine","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2025-06-04 17:00:04","post_modified_gmt":"2025-06-04 17:00:04","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dctransparency.com\/?p=7937","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":7929,"post_author":"7","post_date":"2025-06-03 17:43:43","post_date_gmt":"2025-06-03 17:43:43","post_content":"\n
In its attempt to acquire US Steel, Japanese-owned Nippon Steel has invested over $6.1 million in federal lobbying, employing a plethora of powerful politicians, some of whom have close relationships with President Donald Trump<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Just days after the purchase announcement in December 2023, Nippon Steel brought in lobbying company Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld. The corporation has international clients, including the governments of KSA, the UAE, and Japan, as shown by their registration documents. According to a Washington Examiner review of disclosure data, Nippon Steel has since paid Akin Gump more than $5.5 million, which represents around 90% of its lobbying expenses used to advance the US Steel acquisition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The lobbyists at Akin Gump arguing Nippon Steel's case in the nation's capital include Hunter Bates, former chief of staff for former Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY); Reginald Babin, former chief counsel to Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY); and Brian Pomper, who advised the Senate Finance Committee on international trade matters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
During the last election campaign, Geoffrey Verhoff, another Akin Gump lobbyist hired to help Nippon Steel, was by far the biggest known money bundler for Trump. According to a Federal Election Commission report, Verhoff, who served as vice chairman of the Republican National Committee's financial arm from 2017 to 2021, bundled at least $3.6 million for the Trump 47 Committee. While lobbying for Nippon Steel, Bates also personally donated $10,000 to the Trump 47 Committee, according to campaign finance reports.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
While the main lobbying firm on Nippon Steel's roster is Akin Gump, a few other powerful figures in the business with strong ties to Capitol Hill have been enlisted to assist in influencing public opinion on the merger issue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Akin Gump hired the Trump-affiliated lobbying company Ballard Partners, a foreign agent for the Japanese Embassy, as a subcontractor on the Nippon Steel team last year in exchange<\/a> for a $25,000 monthly fee. According to lobbying activities disclosed under the Foreign Agents Registration Act, Ballard Partners reportedly arranged a phone conversation between Trump and Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba to examine the U.S. election one day following the 2024 presidential contest.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Brian Ballard, a prominent Trump donor and the agency's namesake president, leads his Florida firm's efforts on the Nippon Steel client. He is joined in lobbying by other Trump associates: Daniel McFaul, a member of Trump's transitional team, and Hunter Morgen, a Trump White House policy consultant with expertise in manufacturing and trade.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ballard and Morgen both made direct contributions to Trump's 2024 campaign; the founder of the business sent cheques to the Trump 47 Committee and Trump Save America PAC totalling $250,000 and $11,600, respectively.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Through Akin Gump, the Gephardt Group's government affairs branch, strategic communications agency VOX Global, and government affairs consultancy Valiant Strategies LLC also advocated on behalf of Nippon Steel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
James Baril, a former senior staffer to Sen. John Cornyn and current chairman of the Senate Finance Subcommittee on International Trade, Customs, and Global Competitiveness, led VOX Global's just-ended Nippon Steel assignment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
According to disclosure filings, Nippon Steel's agents have pushed for the planned purchase through the White House, Congress, and several government departments that have jurisdiction over international transactions, including the Department of Commerce, the State Department, and the U.S. Treasury.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In the second half of 2024, Nippon Steel significantly increased its lobbying expenditures, spending $1.45 million in Q3 and $1.71 million in Q4, more than doubling the total amount spent by the company during the first two quarters. A Washington Examiner analysis of quarterly activity records indicates that Nippon Steel has already disbursed an extra $1.83 million this year as it tries to finalise a contract.<\/p>\n","post_title":"Nippon Steel spends $6.1M on D.C. lobbying to win U.S. Steel bid, taps Trump allies","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"nippon-steel-spends-6-1m-on-d-c-lobbying-to-win-u-s-steel-bid-taps-trump-allies","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2025-06-03 17:43:43","post_modified_gmt":"2025-06-03 17:43:43","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dctransparency.com\/?p=7929","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"}],"next":false,"prev":true,"total_page":6},"paged":1,"column_class":"jeg_col_2o3","class":"epic_block_3"};

Page 6 of 21 Previous 1 … 5 6 7 … 21 Next

\n
Cryptocurrency institutions are backing lawmakers to push through the GENIUS Act<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Prominent crypto advocacy organisations, including the Blockchain Association, the Digital Chamber, the Crypto Council for Innovation and the DeFi Education Fund, issued a joint statement on June 2, insisting legislators continue their amazing work in order to present the proposal in the House.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The organisations said they respectfully want lawmakers to stick to the bill's fundamental objective, which is to provide a focused and all-encompassing approach to stablecoin supervision as it moves through the amendment process.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A number of Democratic members who had earlier backed out of the measure have changed their minds, pointing to President Donald Trump's connections to the cryptocurrency industry, namely a stablecoin introduced by his family's cryptocurrency company.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The stablecoin proposal may now encounter a snag in credit card fee legislation, even if it is claimed that the bill has enough support to move on to the House. The proposal, which is fiercely opposed by banks and card firms, would require payment networks such as Visa, Mastercard, and American Express to compete on merchant processing rates.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Banks and card networks have strongly opposed the plan, arguing that it is an example of government overreach. Meanwhile, proponents of cryptocurrency are battling to<\/a> prevent the off-topic credit card amendments from destroying their long-awaited success and turning the vote into a political minefield.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
According to Terrett's research, if a deal is not reached, administrative obstacles would likely slow down everything and postpone final approval until June 9. Crypto lobbying organisations are still optimistic that the GENIUS Act will pass and give stablecoin issuers and consumers in the US the long-needed legislative clarification despite mounting political tensions.<\/p>\n","post_title":"Cryptocurrency lobbying efforts intensify as senate considers unaltered GENIUS Act","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"cryptocurrency-lobbying-efforts-intensify-as-senate-considers-unaltered-genius-act","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2025-06-04 17:27:21","post_modified_gmt":"2025-06-04 17:27:21","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dctransparency.com\/?p=7944","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":7937,"post_author":"7","post_date":"2025-06-04 17:00:04","post_date_gmt":"2025-06-04 17:00:04","post_content":"\n
The Supreme Court rejected conservative Texas activist Michael Quinn Sullivan's complaint against the Texas Ethics Commission, further undermining his more than ten-year struggle against the state agency that oversees and enforces Texas' campaign finance and lobbying regulations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Sullivan has been appealing a $10,000 ethics commission punishment for failing to register as a lobbyist in 2010 and 2011 since 2014. Earlier this year, he petitioned the nation's highest court to take up the issue. Sullivan was the former chairman of the powerful conservative lobbying organization<\/a> Empower Texans. His attempt to overturn two state appeals court rulings that refused to throw out the fines was denied by the Texas Supreme Court last year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In a brief to the U.S. Supreme Court, Sullivan contended that Texas' ethics rules, which impose onerous registration and fee requirements, infringe upon the First Amendment rights of \"ordinary citizens\" who wish to communicate with their elected officials.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n
\"Sullivan's actions went far beyond an average citizen who happened to visit with a lawmaker or who spent a day or two at the Texas Capitol during a legislative session,\" <\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n
the Ethics Commission said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The court's decision supports the ethics commission's appeals court verdict. Sullivan will go back to a district court for a jury trial to determine the amount he must pay.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
After two former state senators complained that Sullivan had engaged in unregistered lobbying, the ethics commission began looking into the matter. For a long time, Sullivan has maintained that his work with the now-defunct Empower Texans was journalism rather than lobbying. However, such an argument was dismissed by the ethics committee. In their 2014 decision, they cited hundreds of letters he often addressed to Republican members to debate legislation and amendments, urging them to support the principles of his group.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Additionally, Sullivan released a Fiscal Responsibility Index that rates the conservative credentials of members according to their voting record in each session. In another instance of lobbying, the panel discovered that Sullivan utilized that scorecard to sway members' votes while working for Empower Texans.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In court, Sullivan repeatedly tried to argue that the ethics commission lacked the constitutional authority to enforce the state's ethical laws. By first claiming that he had moved to Denton County, Sullivan was able to have the case heard in a district court there instead of Travis County.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Even though a judge in Denton County ruled in Sullivan's favour, the verdict was reversed, and the case was sent back to Travis County when an appeals court found that Sullivan did not really meet the residency requirements to have the case heard in Denton County from the start<\/a>. The Travis County court decided in favour of the TEC. Therefore, Sullivan lost his appeal. In the meanwhile, Sullivan filed a number of further cases against the commission, all of which were dismissed in federal or state district court.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Many of the authors of these friend-of-the-court briefs, including those authored by Cruz, Cornyn, and Paxton, \"appear to assume, without any real analysis of the record that Sullivan did nothing more than write a newsletter and work on a website that \u2018rated\u2019 legislators,\" the ethics commission said in their response to the petition. These portrayals are inconsistent with the factual evidence that a Texas court grantedsummary judgments in favour of the Commission based on the allegations that Sullivan had broken Texas law.<\/p>\n","post_title":"Supreme court rejects GOP activist\u2019s appeal over Texas lobbying fine","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"supreme-court-rejects-gop-activists-appeal-over-texas-lobbying-fine","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2025-06-04 17:00:04","post_modified_gmt":"2025-06-04 17:00:04","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dctransparency.com\/?p=7937","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":7929,"post_author":"7","post_date":"2025-06-03 17:43:43","post_date_gmt":"2025-06-03 17:43:43","post_content":"\n
In its attempt to acquire US Steel, Japanese-owned Nippon Steel has invested over $6.1 million in federal lobbying, employing a plethora of powerful politicians, some of whom have close relationships with President Donald Trump<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Just days after the purchase announcement in December 2023, Nippon Steel brought in lobbying company Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld. The corporation has international clients, including the governments of KSA, the UAE, and Japan, as shown by their registration documents. According to a Washington Examiner review of disclosure data, Nippon Steel has since paid Akin Gump more than $5.5 million, which represents around 90% of its lobbying expenses used to advance the US Steel acquisition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The lobbyists at Akin Gump arguing Nippon Steel's case in the nation's capital include Hunter Bates, former chief of staff for former Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY); Reginald Babin, former chief counsel to Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY); and Brian Pomper, who advised the Senate Finance Committee on international trade matters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
During the last election campaign, Geoffrey Verhoff, another Akin Gump lobbyist hired to help Nippon Steel, was by far the biggest known money bundler for Trump. According to a Federal Election Commission report, Verhoff, who served as vice chairman of the Republican National Committee's financial arm from 2017 to 2021, bundled at least $3.6 million for the Trump 47 Committee. While lobbying for Nippon Steel, Bates also personally donated $10,000 to the Trump 47 Committee, according to campaign finance reports.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
While the main lobbying firm on Nippon Steel's roster is Akin Gump, a few other powerful figures in the business with strong ties to Capitol Hill have been enlisted to assist in influencing public opinion on the merger issue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Akin Gump hired the Trump-affiliated lobbying company Ballard Partners, a foreign agent for the Japanese Embassy, as a subcontractor on the Nippon Steel team last year in exchange<\/a> for a $25,000 monthly fee. According to lobbying activities disclosed under the Foreign Agents Registration Act, Ballard Partners reportedly arranged a phone conversation between Trump and Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba to examine the U.S. election one day following the 2024 presidential contest.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Brian Ballard, a prominent Trump donor and the agency's namesake president, leads his Florida firm's efforts on the Nippon Steel client. He is joined in lobbying by other Trump associates: Daniel McFaul, a member of Trump's transitional team, and Hunter Morgen, a Trump White House policy consultant with expertise in manufacturing and trade.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ballard and Morgen both made direct contributions to Trump's 2024 campaign; the founder of the business sent cheques to the Trump 47 Committee and Trump Save America PAC totalling $250,000 and $11,600, respectively.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Through Akin Gump, the Gephardt Group's government affairs branch, strategic communications agency VOX Global, and government affairs consultancy Valiant Strategies LLC also advocated on behalf of Nippon Steel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
James Baril, a former senior staffer to Sen. John Cornyn and current chairman of the Senate Finance Subcommittee on International Trade, Customs, and Global Competitiveness, led VOX Global's just-ended Nippon Steel assignment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
According to disclosure filings, Nippon Steel's agents have pushed for the planned purchase through the White House, Congress, and several government departments that have jurisdiction over international transactions, including the Department of Commerce, the State Department, and the U.S. Treasury.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In the second half of 2024, Nippon Steel significantly increased its lobbying expenditures, spending $1.45 million in Q3 and $1.71 million in Q4, more than doubling the total amount spent by the company during the first two quarters. A Washington Examiner analysis of quarterly activity records indicates that Nippon Steel has already disbursed an extra $1.83 million this year as it tries to finalise a contract.<\/p>\n","post_title":"Nippon Steel spends $6.1M on D.C. lobbying to win U.S. Steel bid, taps Trump allies","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"nippon-steel-spends-6-1m-on-d-c-lobbying-to-win-u-s-steel-bid-taps-trump-allies","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2025-06-03 17:43:43","post_modified_gmt":"2025-06-03 17:43:43","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dctransparency.com\/?p=7929","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"}],"next":false,"prev":true,"total_page":6},"paged":1,"column_class":"jeg_col_2o3","class":"epic_block_3"};

Page 6 of 21 Previous 1 … 5 6 7 … 21 Next

\n
As early as this week, the bill may be approved by the Senate. On May 19, it passed a procedural vote, meaning it had sufficient support to move on to the House. A statement about the GENIUS Act was released today by the leaders of the four biggest associations representing the digital asset sector.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Cryptocurrency institutions are backing lawmakers to push through the GENIUS Act<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Prominent crypto advocacy organisations, including the Blockchain Association, the Digital Chamber, the Crypto Council for Innovation and the DeFi Education Fund, issued a joint statement on June 2, insisting legislators continue their amazing work in order to present the proposal in the House.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The organisations said they respectfully want lawmakers to stick to the bill's fundamental objective, which is to provide a focused and all-encompassing approach to stablecoin supervision as it moves through the amendment process.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A number of Democratic members who had earlier backed out of the measure have changed their minds, pointing to President Donald Trump's connections to the cryptocurrency industry, namely a stablecoin introduced by his family's cryptocurrency company.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The stablecoin proposal may now encounter a snag in credit card fee legislation, even if it is claimed that the bill has enough support to move on to the House. The proposal, which is fiercely opposed by banks and card firms, would require payment networks such as Visa, Mastercard, and American Express to compete on merchant processing rates.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Banks and card networks have strongly opposed the plan, arguing that it is an example of government overreach. Meanwhile, proponents of cryptocurrency are battling to<\/a> prevent the off-topic credit card amendments from destroying their long-awaited success and turning the vote into a political minefield.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
According to Terrett's research, if a deal is not reached, administrative obstacles would likely slow down everything and postpone final approval until June 9. Crypto lobbying organisations are still optimistic that the GENIUS Act will pass and give stablecoin issuers and consumers in the US the long-needed legislative clarification despite mounting political tensions.<\/p>\n","post_title":"Cryptocurrency lobbying efforts intensify as senate considers unaltered GENIUS Act","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"cryptocurrency-lobbying-efforts-intensify-as-senate-considers-unaltered-genius-act","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2025-06-04 17:27:21","post_modified_gmt":"2025-06-04 17:27:21","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dctransparency.com\/?p=7944","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":7937,"post_author":"7","post_date":"2025-06-04 17:00:04","post_date_gmt":"2025-06-04 17:00:04","post_content":"\n
The Supreme Court rejected conservative Texas activist Michael Quinn Sullivan's complaint against the Texas Ethics Commission, further undermining his more than ten-year struggle against the state agency that oversees and enforces Texas' campaign finance and lobbying regulations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Sullivan has been appealing a $10,000 ethics commission punishment for failing to register as a lobbyist in 2010 and 2011 since 2014. Earlier this year, he petitioned the nation's highest court to take up the issue. Sullivan was the former chairman of the powerful conservative lobbying organization<\/a> Empower Texans. His attempt to overturn two state appeals court rulings that refused to throw out the fines was denied by the Texas Supreme Court last year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In a brief to the U.S. Supreme Court, Sullivan contended that Texas' ethics rules, which impose onerous registration and fee requirements, infringe upon the First Amendment rights of \"ordinary citizens\" who wish to communicate with their elected officials.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n
\"Sullivan's actions went far beyond an average citizen who happened to visit with a lawmaker or who spent a day or two at the Texas Capitol during a legislative session,\" <\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n
the Ethics Commission said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The court's decision supports the ethics commission's appeals court verdict. Sullivan will go back to a district court for a jury trial to determine the amount he must pay.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
After two former state senators complained that Sullivan had engaged in unregistered lobbying, the ethics commission began looking into the matter. For a long time, Sullivan has maintained that his work with the now-defunct Empower Texans was journalism rather than lobbying. However, such an argument was dismissed by the ethics committee. In their 2014 decision, they cited hundreds of letters he often addressed to Republican members to debate legislation and amendments, urging them to support the principles of his group.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Additionally, Sullivan released a Fiscal Responsibility Index that rates the conservative credentials of members according to their voting record in each session. In another instance of lobbying, the panel discovered that Sullivan utilized that scorecard to sway members' votes while working for Empower Texans.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In court, Sullivan repeatedly tried to argue that the ethics commission lacked the constitutional authority to enforce the state's ethical laws. By first claiming that he had moved to Denton County, Sullivan was able to have the case heard in a district court there instead of Travis County.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Even though a judge in Denton County ruled in Sullivan's favour, the verdict was reversed, and the case was sent back to Travis County when an appeals court found that Sullivan did not really meet the residency requirements to have the case heard in Denton County from the start<\/a>. The Travis County court decided in favour of the TEC. Therefore, Sullivan lost his appeal. In the meanwhile, Sullivan filed a number of further cases against the commission, all of which were dismissed in federal or state district court.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Many of the authors of these friend-of-the-court briefs, including those authored by Cruz, Cornyn, and Paxton, \"appear to assume, without any real analysis of the record that Sullivan did nothing more than write a newsletter and work on a website that \u2018rated\u2019 legislators,\" the ethics commission said in their response to the petition. These portrayals are inconsistent with the factual evidence that a Texas court grantedsummary judgments in favour of the Commission based on the allegations that Sullivan had broken Texas law.<\/p>\n","post_title":"Supreme court rejects GOP activist\u2019s appeal over Texas lobbying fine","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"supreme-court-rejects-gop-activists-appeal-over-texas-lobbying-fine","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2025-06-04 17:00:04","post_modified_gmt":"2025-06-04 17:00:04","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dctransparency.com\/?p=7937","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":7929,"post_author":"7","post_date":"2025-06-03 17:43:43","post_date_gmt":"2025-06-03 17:43:43","post_content":"\n
In its attempt to acquire US Steel, Japanese-owned Nippon Steel has invested over $6.1 million in federal lobbying, employing a plethora of powerful politicians, some of whom have close relationships with President Donald Trump<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Just days after the purchase announcement in December 2023, Nippon Steel brought in lobbying company Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld. The corporation has international clients, including the governments of KSA, the UAE, and Japan, as shown by their registration documents. According to a Washington Examiner review of disclosure data, Nippon Steel has since paid Akin Gump more than $5.5 million, which represents around 90% of its lobbying expenses used to advance the US Steel acquisition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The lobbyists at Akin Gump arguing Nippon Steel's case in the nation's capital include Hunter Bates, former chief of staff for former Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY); Reginald Babin, former chief counsel to Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY); and Brian Pomper, who advised the Senate Finance Committee on international trade matters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
During the last election campaign, Geoffrey Verhoff, another Akin Gump lobbyist hired to help Nippon Steel, was by far the biggest known money bundler for Trump. According to a Federal Election Commission report, Verhoff, who served as vice chairman of the Republican National Committee's financial arm from 2017 to 2021, bundled at least $3.6 million for the Trump 47 Committee. While lobbying for Nippon Steel, Bates also personally donated $10,000 to the Trump 47 Committee, according to campaign finance reports.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
While the main lobbying firm on Nippon Steel's roster is Akin Gump, a few other powerful figures in the business with strong ties to Capitol Hill have been enlisted to assist in influencing public opinion on the merger issue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Akin Gump hired the Trump-affiliated lobbying company Ballard Partners, a foreign agent for the Japanese Embassy, as a subcontractor on the Nippon Steel team last year in exchange<\/a> for a $25,000 monthly fee. According to lobbying activities disclosed under the Foreign Agents Registration Act, Ballard Partners reportedly arranged a phone conversation between Trump and Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba to examine the U.S. election one day following the 2024 presidential contest.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Brian Ballard, a prominent Trump donor and the agency's namesake president, leads his Florida firm's efforts on the Nippon Steel client. He is joined in lobbying by other Trump associates: Daniel McFaul, a member of Trump's transitional team, and Hunter Morgen, a Trump White House policy consultant with expertise in manufacturing and trade.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ballard and Morgen both made direct contributions to Trump's 2024 campaign; the founder of the business sent cheques to the Trump 47 Committee and Trump Save America PAC totalling $250,000 and $11,600, respectively.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Through Akin Gump, the Gephardt Group's government affairs branch, strategic communications agency VOX Global, and government affairs consultancy Valiant Strategies LLC also advocated on behalf of Nippon Steel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
James Baril, a former senior staffer to Sen. John Cornyn and current chairman of the Senate Finance Subcommittee on International Trade, Customs, and Global Competitiveness, led VOX Global's just-ended Nippon Steel assignment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
According to disclosure filings, Nippon Steel's agents have pushed for the planned purchase through the White House, Congress, and several government departments that have jurisdiction over international transactions, including the Department of Commerce, the State Department, and the U.S. Treasury.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In the second half of 2024, Nippon Steel significantly increased its lobbying expenditures, spending $1.45 million in Q3 and $1.71 million in Q4, more than doubling the total amount spent by the company during the first two quarters. A Washington Examiner analysis of quarterly activity records indicates that Nippon Steel has already disbursed an extra $1.83 million this year as it tries to finalise a contract.<\/p>\n","post_title":"Nippon Steel spends $6.1M on D.C. lobbying to win U.S. Steel bid, taps Trump allies","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"nippon-steel-spends-6-1m-on-d-c-lobbying-to-win-u-s-steel-bid-taps-trump-allies","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2025-06-03 17:43:43","post_modified_gmt":"2025-06-03 17:43:43","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dctransparency.com\/?p=7929","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"}],"next":false,"prev":true,"total_page":6},"paged":1,"column_class":"jeg_col_2o3","class":"epic_block_3"};

Page 6 of 21 Previous 1 … 5 6 7 … 21 Next

\n
Some senators had hinted that they could try to make changes, which prompted the drive. However, before the measure is done, politicians have been pressured by crypto lobbyists to adopt the bill.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As early as this week, the bill may be approved by the Senate. On May 19, it passed a procedural vote, meaning it had sufficient support to move on to the House. A statement about the GENIUS Act was released today by the leaders of the four biggest associations representing the digital asset sector.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Cryptocurrency institutions are backing lawmakers to push through the GENIUS Act<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Prominent crypto advocacy organisations, including the Blockchain Association, the Digital Chamber, the Crypto Council for Innovation and the DeFi Education Fund, issued a joint statement on June 2, insisting legislators continue their amazing work in order to present the proposal in the House.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The organisations said they respectfully want lawmakers to stick to the bill's fundamental objective, which is to provide a focused and all-encompassing approach to stablecoin supervision as it moves through the amendment process.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A number of Democratic members who had earlier backed out of the measure have changed their minds, pointing to President Donald Trump's connections to the cryptocurrency industry, namely a stablecoin introduced by his family's cryptocurrency company.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The stablecoin proposal may now encounter a snag in credit card fee legislation, even if it is claimed that the bill has enough support to move on to the House. The proposal, which is fiercely opposed by banks and card firms, would require payment networks such as Visa, Mastercard, and American Express to compete on merchant processing rates.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Banks and card networks have strongly opposed the plan, arguing that it is an example of government overreach. Meanwhile, proponents of cryptocurrency are battling to<\/a> prevent the off-topic credit card amendments from destroying their long-awaited success and turning the vote into a political minefield.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
According to Terrett's research, if a deal is not reached, administrative obstacles would likely slow down everything and postpone final approval until June 9. Crypto lobbying organisations are still optimistic that the GENIUS Act will pass and give stablecoin issuers and consumers in the US the long-needed legislative clarification despite mounting political tensions.<\/p>\n","post_title":"Cryptocurrency lobbying efforts intensify as senate considers unaltered GENIUS Act","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"cryptocurrency-lobbying-efforts-intensify-as-senate-considers-unaltered-genius-act","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2025-06-04 17:27:21","post_modified_gmt":"2025-06-04 17:27:21","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dctransparency.com\/?p=7944","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":7937,"post_author":"7","post_date":"2025-06-04 17:00:04","post_date_gmt":"2025-06-04 17:00:04","post_content":"\n
The Supreme Court rejected conservative Texas activist Michael Quinn Sullivan's complaint against the Texas Ethics Commission, further undermining his more than ten-year struggle against the state agency that oversees and enforces Texas' campaign finance and lobbying regulations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Sullivan has been appealing a $10,000 ethics commission punishment for failing to register as a lobbyist in 2010 and 2011 since 2014. Earlier this year, he petitioned the nation's highest court to take up the issue. Sullivan was the former chairman of the powerful conservative lobbying organization<\/a> Empower Texans. His attempt to overturn two state appeals court rulings that refused to throw out the fines was denied by the Texas Supreme Court last year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In a brief to the U.S. Supreme Court, Sullivan contended that Texas' ethics rules, which impose onerous registration and fee requirements, infringe upon the First Amendment rights of \"ordinary citizens\" who wish to communicate with their elected officials.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n
\"Sullivan's actions went far beyond an average citizen who happened to visit with a lawmaker or who spent a day or two at the Texas Capitol during a legislative session,\" <\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n
the Ethics Commission said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The court's decision supports the ethics commission's appeals court verdict. Sullivan will go back to a district court for a jury trial to determine the amount he must pay.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
After two former state senators complained that Sullivan had engaged in unregistered lobbying, the ethics commission began looking into the matter. For a long time, Sullivan has maintained that his work with the now-defunct Empower Texans was journalism rather than lobbying. However, such an argument was dismissed by the ethics committee. In their 2014 decision, they cited hundreds of letters he often addressed to Republican members to debate legislation and amendments, urging them to support the principles of his group.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Additionally, Sullivan released a Fiscal Responsibility Index that rates the conservative credentials of members according to their voting record in each session. In another instance of lobbying, the panel discovered that Sullivan utilized that scorecard to sway members' votes while working for Empower Texans.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In court, Sullivan repeatedly tried to argue that the ethics commission lacked the constitutional authority to enforce the state's ethical laws. By first claiming that he had moved to Denton County, Sullivan was able to have the case heard in a district court there instead of Travis County.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Even though a judge in Denton County ruled in Sullivan's favour, the verdict was reversed, and the case was sent back to Travis County when an appeals court found that Sullivan did not really meet the residency requirements to have the case heard in Denton County from the start<\/a>. The Travis County court decided in favour of the TEC. Therefore, Sullivan lost his appeal. In the meanwhile, Sullivan filed a number of further cases against the commission, all of which were dismissed in federal or state district court.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Many of the authors of these friend-of-the-court briefs, including those authored by Cruz, Cornyn, and Paxton, \"appear to assume, without any real analysis of the record that Sullivan did nothing more than write a newsletter and work on a website that \u2018rated\u2019 legislators,\" the ethics commission said in their response to the petition. These portrayals are inconsistent with the factual evidence that a Texas court grantedsummary judgments in favour of the Commission based on the allegations that Sullivan had broken Texas law.<\/p>\n","post_title":"Supreme court rejects GOP activist\u2019s appeal over Texas lobbying fine","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"supreme-court-rejects-gop-activists-appeal-over-texas-lobbying-fine","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2025-06-04 17:00:04","post_modified_gmt":"2025-06-04 17:00:04","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dctransparency.com\/?p=7937","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":7929,"post_author":"7","post_date":"2025-06-03 17:43:43","post_date_gmt":"2025-06-03 17:43:43","post_content":"\n
In its attempt to acquire US Steel, Japanese-owned Nippon Steel has invested over $6.1 million in federal lobbying, employing a plethora of powerful politicians, some of whom have close relationships with President Donald Trump<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Just days after the purchase announcement in December 2023, Nippon Steel brought in lobbying company Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld. The corporation has international clients, including the governments of KSA, the UAE, and Japan, as shown by their registration documents. According to a Washington Examiner review of disclosure data, Nippon Steel has since paid Akin Gump more than $5.5 million, which represents around 90% of its lobbying expenses used to advance the US Steel acquisition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The lobbyists at Akin Gump arguing Nippon Steel's case in the nation's capital include Hunter Bates, former chief of staff for former Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY); Reginald Babin, former chief counsel to Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY); and Brian Pomper, who advised the Senate Finance Committee on international trade matters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
During the last election campaign, Geoffrey Verhoff, another Akin Gump lobbyist hired to help Nippon Steel, was by far the biggest known money bundler for Trump. According to a Federal Election Commission report, Verhoff, who served as vice chairman of the Republican National Committee's financial arm from 2017 to 2021, bundled at least $3.6 million for the Trump 47 Committee. While lobbying for Nippon Steel, Bates also personally donated $10,000 to the Trump 47 Committee, according to campaign finance reports.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
While the main lobbying firm on Nippon Steel's roster is Akin Gump, a few other powerful figures in the business with strong ties to Capitol Hill have been enlisted to assist in influencing public opinion on the merger issue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Akin Gump hired the Trump-affiliated lobbying company Ballard Partners, a foreign agent for the Japanese Embassy, as a subcontractor on the Nippon Steel team last year in exchange<\/a> for a $25,000 monthly fee. According to lobbying activities disclosed under the Foreign Agents Registration Act, Ballard Partners reportedly arranged a phone conversation between Trump and Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba to examine the U.S. election one day following the 2024 presidential contest.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Brian Ballard, a prominent Trump donor and the agency's namesake president, leads his Florida firm's efforts on the Nippon Steel client. He is joined in lobbying by other Trump associates: Daniel McFaul, a member of Trump's transitional team, and Hunter Morgen, a Trump White House policy consultant with expertise in manufacturing and trade.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ballard and Morgen both made direct contributions to Trump's 2024 campaign; the founder of the business sent cheques to the Trump 47 Committee and Trump Save America PAC totalling $250,000 and $11,600, respectively.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Through Akin Gump, the Gephardt Group's government affairs branch, strategic communications agency VOX Global, and government affairs consultancy Valiant Strategies LLC also advocated on behalf of Nippon Steel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
James Baril, a former senior staffer to Sen. John Cornyn and current chairman of the Senate Finance Subcommittee on International Trade, Customs, and Global Competitiveness, led VOX Global's just-ended Nippon Steel assignment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
According to disclosure filings, Nippon Steel's agents have pushed for the planned purchase through the White House, Congress, and several government departments that have jurisdiction over international transactions, including the Department of Commerce, the State Department, and the U.S. Treasury.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In the second half of 2024, Nippon Steel significantly increased its lobbying expenditures, spending $1.45 million in Q3 and $1.71 million in Q4, more than doubling the total amount spent by the company during the first two quarters. A Washington Examiner analysis of quarterly activity records indicates that Nippon Steel has already disbursed an extra $1.83 million this year as it tries to finalise a contract.<\/p>\n","post_title":"Nippon Steel spends $6.1M on D.C. lobbying to win U.S. Steel bid, taps Trump allies","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"nippon-steel-spends-6-1m-on-d-c-lobbying-to-win-u-s-steel-bid-taps-trump-allies","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2025-06-03 17:43:43","post_modified_gmt":"2025-06-03 17:43:43","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dctransparency.com\/?p=7929","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"}],"next":false,"prev":true,"total_page":6},"paged":1,"column_class":"jeg_col_2o3","class":"epic_block_3"};

Page 6 of 21 Previous 1 … 5 6 7 … 21 Next

\n
The Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for US Stablecoins (GENIUS) Act is in danger of being stalled by suggested modifications, especially those pertaining to credit card fees; therefore, cryptocurrency <\/a>advocates are encouraging Congress to enact it as soon as possible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Some senators had hinted that they could try to make changes, which prompted the drive. However, before the measure is done, politicians have been pressured by crypto lobbyists to adopt the bill.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As early as this week, the bill may be approved by the Senate. On May 19, it passed a procedural vote, meaning it had sufficient support to move on to the House. A statement about the GENIUS Act was released today by the leaders of the four biggest associations representing the digital asset sector.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Cryptocurrency institutions are backing lawmakers to push through the GENIUS Act<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Prominent crypto advocacy organisations, including the Blockchain Association, the Digital Chamber, the Crypto Council for Innovation and the DeFi Education Fund, issued a joint statement on June 2, insisting legislators continue their amazing work in order to present the proposal in the House.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The organisations said they respectfully want lawmakers to stick to the bill's fundamental objective, which is to provide a focused and all-encompassing approach to stablecoin supervision as it moves through the amendment process.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A number of Democratic members who had earlier backed out of the measure have changed their minds, pointing to President Donald Trump's connections to the cryptocurrency industry, namely a stablecoin introduced by his family's cryptocurrency company.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The stablecoin proposal may now encounter a snag in credit card fee legislation, even if it is claimed that the bill has enough support to move on to the House. The proposal, which is fiercely opposed by banks and card firms, would require payment networks such as Visa, Mastercard, and American Express to compete on merchant processing rates.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Banks and card networks have strongly opposed the plan, arguing that it is an example of government overreach. Meanwhile, proponents of cryptocurrency are battling to<\/a> prevent the off-topic credit card amendments from destroying their long-awaited success and turning the vote into a political minefield.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
According to Terrett's research, if a deal is not reached, administrative obstacles would likely slow down everything and postpone final approval until June 9. Crypto lobbying organisations are still optimistic that the GENIUS Act will pass and give stablecoin issuers and consumers in the US the long-needed legislative clarification despite mounting political tensions.<\/p>\n","post_title":"Cryptocurrency lobbying efforts intensify as senate considers unaltered GENIUS Act","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"cryptocurrency-lobbying-efforts-intensify-as-senate-considers-unaltered-genius-act","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2025-06-04 17:27:21","post_modified_gmt":"2025-06-04 17:27:21","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dctransparency.com\/?p=7944","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":7937,"post_author":"7","post_date":"2025-06-04 17:00:04","post_date_gmt":"2025-06-04 17:00:04","post_content":"\n
The Supreme Court rejected conservative Texas activist Michael Quinn Sullivan's complaint against the Texas Ethics Commission, further undermining his more than ten-year struggle against the state agency that oversees and enforces Texas' campaign finance and lobbying regulations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Sullivan has been appealing a $10,000 ethics commission punishment for failing to register as a lobbyist in 2010 and 2011 since 2014. Earlier this year, he petitioned the nation's highest court to take up the issue. Sullivan was the former chairman of the powerful conservative lobbying organization<\/a> Empower Texans. His attempt to overturn two state appeals court rulings that refused to throw out the fines was denied by the Texas Supreme Court last year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In a brief to the U.S. Supreme Court, Sullivan contended that Texas' ethics rules, which impose onerous registration and fee requirements, infringe upon the First Amendment rights of \"ordinary citizens\" who wish to communicate with their elected officials.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n
\"Sullivan's actions went far beyond an average citizen who happened to visit with a lawmaker or who spent a day or two at the Texas Capitol during a legislative session,\" <\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n
the Ethics Commission said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The court's decision supports the ethics commission's appeals court verdict. Sullivan will go back to a district court for a jury trial to determine the amount he must pay.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
After two former state senators complained that Sullivan had engaged in unregistered lobbying, the ethics commission began looking into the matter. For a long time, Sullivan has maintained that his work with the now-defunct Empower Texans was journalism rather than lobbying. However, such an argument was dismissed by the ethics committee. In their 2014 decision, they cited hundreds of letters he often addressed to Republican members to debate legislation and amendments, urging them to support the principles of his group.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Additionally, Sullivan released a Fiscal Responsibility Index that rates the conservative credentials of members according to their voting record in each session. In another instance of lobbying, the panel discovered that Sullivan utilized that scorecard to sway members' votes while working for Empower Texans.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In court, Sullivan repeatedly tried to argue that the ethics commission lacked the constitutional authority to enforce the state's ethical laws. By first claiming that he had moved to Denton County, Sullivan was able to have the case heard in a district court there instead of Travis County.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Even though a judge in Denton County ruled in Sullivan's favour, the verdict was reversed, and the case was sent back to Travis County when an appeals court found that Sullivan did not really meet the residency requirements to have the case heard in Denton County from the start<\/a>. The Travis County court decided in favour of the TEC. Therefore, Sullivan lost his appeal. In the meanwhile, Sullivan filed a number of further cases against the commission, all of which were dismissed in federal or state district court.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Many of the authors of these friend-of-the-court briefs, including those authored by Cruz, Cornyn, and Paxton, \"appear to assume, without any real analysis of the record that Sullivan did nothing more than write a newsletter and work on a website that \u2018rated\u2019 legislators,\" the ethics commission said in their response to the petition. These portrayals are inconsistent with the factual evidence that a Texas court grantedsummary judgments in favour of the Commission based on the allegations that Sullivan had broken Texas law.<\/p>\n","post_title":"Supreme court rejects GOP activist\u2019s appeal over Texas lobbying fine","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"supreme-court-rejects-gop-activists-appeal-over-texas-lobbying-fine","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2025-06-04 17:00:04","post_modified_gmt":"2025-06-04 17:00:04","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dctransparency.com\/?p=7937","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":7929,"post_author":"7","post_date":"2025-06-03 17:43:43","post_date_gmt":"2025-06-03 17:43:43","post_content":"\n
In its attempt to acquire US Steel, Japanese-owned Nippon Steel has invested over $6.1 million in federal lobbying, employing a plethora of powerful politicians, some of whom have close relationships with President Donald Trump<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Just days after the purchase announcement in December 2023, Nippon Steel brought in lobbying company Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld. The corporation has international clients, including the governments of KSA, the UAE, and Japan, as shown by their registration documents. According to a Washington Examiner review of disclosure data, Nippon Steel has since paid Akin Gump more than $5.5 million, which represents around 90% of its lobbying expenses used to advance the US Steel acquisition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The lobbyists at Akin Gump arguing Nippon Steel's case in the nation's capital include Hunter Bates, former chief of staff for former Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY); Reginald Babin, former chief counsel to Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY); and Brian Pomper, who advised the Senate Finance Committee on international trade matters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
During the last election campaign, Geoffrey Verhoff, another Akin Gump lobbyist hired to help Nippon Steel, was by far the biggest known money bundler for Trump. According to a Federal Election Commission report, Verhoff, who served as vice chairman of the Republican National Committee's financial arm from 2017 to 2021, bundled at least $3.6 million for the Trump 47 Committee. While lobbying for Nippon Steel, Bates also personally donated $10,000 to the Trump 47 Committee, according to campaign finance reports.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
While the main lobbying firm on Nippon Steel's roster is Akin Gump, a few other powerful figures in the business with strong ties to Capitol Hill have been enlisted to assist in influencing public opinion on the merger issue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Akin Gump hired the Trump-affiliated lobbying company Ballard Partners, a foreign agent for the Japanese Embassy, as a subcontractor on the Nippon Steel team last year in exchange<\/a> for a $25,000 monthly fee. According to lobbying activities disclosed under the Foreign Agents Registration Act, Ballard Partners reportedly arranged a phone conversation between Trump and Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba to examine the U.S. election one day following the 2024 presidential contest.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Brian Ballard, a prominent Trump donor and the agency's namesake president, leads his Florida firm's efforts on the Nippon Steel client. He is joined in lobbying by other Trump associates: Daniel McFaul, a member of Trump's transitional team, and Hunter Morgen, a Trump White House policy consultant with expertise in manufacturing and trade.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ballard and Morgen both made direct contributions to Trump's 2024 campaign; the founder of the business sent cheques to the Trump 47 Committee and Trump Save America PAC totalling $250,000 and $11,600, respectively.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Through Akin Gump, the Gephardt Group's government affairs branch, strategic communications agency VOX Global, and government affairs consultancy Valiant Strategies LLC also advocated on behalf of Nippon Steel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
James Baril, a former senior staffer to Sen. John Cornyn and current chairman of the Senate Finance Subcommittee on International Trade, Customs, and Global Competitiveness, led VOX Global's just-ended Nippon Steel assignment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
According to disclosure filings, Nippon Steel's agents have pushed for the planned purchase through the White House, Congress, and several government departments that have jurisdiction over international transactions, including the Department of Commerce, the State Department, and the U.S. Treasury.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In the second half of 2024, Nippon Steel significantly increased its lobbying expenditures, spending $1.45 million in Q3 and $1.71 million in Q4, more than doubling the total amount spent by the company during the first two quarters. A Washington Examiner analysis of quarterly activity records indicates that Nippon Steel has already disbursed an extra $1.83 million this year as it tries to finalise a contract.<\/p>\n","post_title":"Nippon Steel spends $6.1M on D.C. lobbying to win U.S. Steel bid, taps Trump allies","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"nippon-steel-spends-6-1m-on-d-c-lobbying-to-win-u-s-steel-bid-taps-trump-allies","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2025-06-03 17:43:43","post_modified_gmt":"2025-06-03 17:43:43","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dctransparency.com\/?p=7929","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"}],"next":false,"prev":true,"total_page":6},"paged":1,"column_class":"jeg_col_2o3","class":"epic_block_3"};

Page 6 of 21 Previous 1 … 5 6 7 … 21 Next

\n
<\/p>\n","post_title":"Medtech giants boost DC lobbying amid policy shifts","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"medtech-giants-boost-dc-lobbying-amid-policy-shifts","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2025-06-10 13:29:20","post_modified_gmt":"2025-06-10 13:29:20","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dctransparency.com\/?p=7952","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":7944,"post_author":"7","post_date":"2025-06-04 17:27:21","post_date_gmt":"2025-06-04 17:27:21","post_content":"\n
The Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for US Stablecoins (GENIUS) Act is in danger of being stalled by suggested modifications, especially those pertaining to credit card fees; therefore, cryptocurrency <\/a>advocates are encouraging Congress to enact it as soon as possible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Some senators had hinted that they could try to make changes, which prompted the drive. However, before the measure is done, politicians have been pressured by crypto lobbyists to adopt the bill.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As early as this week, the bill may be approved by the Senate. On May 19, it passed a procedural vote, meaning it had sufficient support to move on to the House. A statement about the GENIUS Act was released today by the leaders of the four biggest associations representing the digital asset sector.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Cryptocurrency institutions are backing lawmakers to push through the GENIUS Act<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Prominent crypto advocacy organisations, including the Blockchain Association, the Digital Chamber, the Crypto Council for Innovation and the DeFi Education Fund, issued a joint statement on June 2, insisting legislators continue their amazing work in order to present the proposal in the House.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The organisations said they respectfully want lawmakers to stick to the bill's fundamental objective, which is to provide a focused and all-encompassing approach to stablecoin supervision as it moves through the amendment process.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A number of Democratic members who had earlier backed out of the measure have changed their minds, pointing to President Donald Trump's connections to the cryptocurrency industry, namely a stablecoin introduced by his family's cryptocurrency company.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The stablecoin proposal may now encounter a snag in credit card fee legislation, even if it is claimed that the bill has enough support to move on to the House. The proposal, which is fiercely opposed by banks and card firms, would require payment networks such as Visa, Mastercard, and American Express to compete on merchant processing rates.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Banks and card networks have strongly opposed the plan, arguing that it is an example of government overreach. Meanwhile, proponents of cryptocurrency are battling to<\/a> prevent the off-topic credit card amendments from destroying their long-awaited success and turning the vote into a political minefield.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
According to Terrett's research, if a deal is not reached, administrative obstacles would likely slow down everything and postpone final approval until June 9. Crypto lobbying organisations are still optimistic that the GENIUS Act will pass and give stablecoin issuers and consumers in the US the long-needed legislative clarification despite mounting political tensions.<\/p>\n","post_title":"Cryptocurrency lobbying efforts intensify as senate considers unaltered GENIUS Act","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"cryptocurrency-lobbying-efforts-intensify-as-senate-considers-unaltered-genius-act","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2025-06-04 17:27:21","post_modified_gmt":"2025-06-04 17:27:21","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dctransparency.com\/?p=7944","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":7937,"post_author":"7","post_date":"2025-06-04 17:00:04","post_date_gmt":"2025-06-04 17:00:04","post_content":"\n
The Supreme Court rejected conservative Texas activist Michael Quinn Sullivan's complaint against the Texas Ethics Commission, further undermining his more than ten-year struggle against the state agency that oversees and enforces Texas' campaign finance and lobbying regulations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Sullivan has been appealing a $10,000 ethics commission punishment for failing to register as a lobbyist in 2010 and 2011 since 2014. Earlier this year, he petitioned the nation's highest court to take up the issue. Sullivan was the former chairman of the powerful conservative lobbying organization<\/a> Empower Texans. His attempt to overturn two state appeals court rulings that refused to throw out the fines was denied by the Texas Supreme Court last year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In a brief to the U.S. Supreme Court, Sullivan contended that Texas' ethics rules, which impose onerous registration and fee requirements, infringe upon the First Amendment rights of \"ordinary citizens\" who wish to communicate with their elected officials.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n
\"Sullivan's actions went far beyond an average citizen who happened to visit with a lawmaker or who spent a day or two at the Texas Capitol during a legislative session,\" <\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n
the Ethics Commission said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The court's decision supports the ethics commission's appeals court verdict. Sullivan will go back to a district court for a jury trial to determine the amount he must pay.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
After two former state senators complained that Sullivan had engaged in unregistered lobbying, the ethics commission began looking into the matter. For a long time, Sullivan has maintained that his work with the now-defunct Empower Texans was journalism rather than lobbying. However, such an argument was dismissed by the ethics committee. In their 2014 decision, they cited hundreds of letters he often addressed to Republican members to debate legislation and amendments, urging them to support the principles of his group.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Additionally, Sullivan released a Fiscal Responsibility Index that rates the conservative credentials of members according to their voting record in each session. In another instance of lobbying, the panel discovered that Sullivan utilized that scorecard to sway members' votes while working for Empower Texans.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In court, Sullivan repeatedly tried to argue that the ethics commission lacked the constitutional authority to enforce the state's ethical laws. By first claiming that he had moved to Denton County, Sullivan was able to have the case heard in a district court there instead of Travis County.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Even though a judge in Denton County ruled in Sullivan's favour, the verdict was reversed, and the case was sent back to Travis County when an appeals court found that Sullivan did not really meet the residency requirements to have the case heard in Denton County from the start<\/a>. The Travis County court decided in favour of the TEC. Therefore, Sullivan lost his appeal. In the meanwhile, Sullivan filed a number of further cases against the commission, all of which were dismissed in federal or state district court.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Many of the authors of these friend-of-the-court briefs, including those authored by Cruz, Cornyn, and Paxton, \"appear to assume, without any real analysis of the record that Sullivan did nothing more than write a newsletter and work on a website that \u2018rated\u2019 legislators,\" the ethics commission said in their response to the petition. These portrayals are inconsistent with the factual evidence that a Texas court grantedsummary judgments in favour of the Commission based on the allegations that Sullivan had broken Texas law.<\/p>\n","post_title":"Supreme court rejects GOP activist\u2019s appeal over Texas lobbying fine","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"supreme-court-rejects-gop-activists-appeal-over-texas-lobbying-fine","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2025-06-04 17:00:04","post_modified_gmt":"2025-06-04 17:00:04","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dctransparency.com\/?p=7937","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":7929,"post_author":"7","post_date":"2025-06-03 17:43:43","post_date_gmt":"2025-06-03 17:43:43","post_content":"\n
In its attempt to acquire US Steel, Japanese-owned Nippon Steel has invested over $6.1 million in federal lobbying, employing a plethora of powerful politicians, some of whom have close relationships with President Donald Trump<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Just days after the purchase announcement in December 2023, Nippon Steel brought in lobbying company Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld. The corporation has international clients, including the governments of KSA, the UAE, and Japan, as shown by their registration documents. According to a Washington Examiner review of disclosure data, Nippon Steel has since paid Akin Gump more than $5.5 million, which represents around 90% of its lobbying expenses used to advance the US Steel acquisition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The lobbyists at Akin Gump arguing Nippon Steel's case in the nation's capital include Hunter Bates, former chief of staff for former Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY); Reginald Babin, former chief counsel to Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY); and Brian Pomper, who advised the Senate Finance Committee on international trade matters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
During the last election campaign, Geoffrey Verhoff, another Akin Gump lobbyist hired to help Nippon Steel, was by far the biggest known money bundler for Trump. According to a Federal Election Commission report, Verhoff, who served as vice chairman of the Republican National Committee's financial arm from 2017 to 2021, bundled at least $3.6 million for the Trump 47 Committee. While lobbying for Nippon Steel, Bates also personally donated $10,000 to the Trump 47 Committee, according to campaign finance reports.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
While the main lobbying firm on Nippon Steel's roster is Akin Gump, a few other powerful figures in the business with strong ties to Capitol Hill have been enlisted to assist in influencing public opinion on the merger issue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Akin Gump hired the Trump-affiliated lobbying company Ballard Partners, a foreign agent for the Japanese Embassy, as a subcontractor on the Nippon Steel team last year in exchange<\/a> for a $25,000 monthly fee. According to lobbying activities disclosed under the Foreign Agents Registration Act, Ballard Partners reportedly arranged a phone conversation between Trump and Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba to examine the U.S. election one day following the 2024 presidential contest.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Brian Ballard, a prominent Trump donor and the agency's namesake president, leads his Florida firm's efforts on the Nippon Steel client. He is joined in lobbying by other Trump associates: Daniel McFaul, a member of Trump's transitional team, and Hunter Morgen, a Trump White House policy consultant with expertise in manufacturing and trade.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ballard and Morgen both made direct contributions to Trump's 2024 campaign; the founder of the business sent cheques to the Trump 47 Committee and Trump Save America PAC totalling $250,000 and $11,600, respectively.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Through Akin Gump, the Gephardt Group's government affairs branch, strategic communications agency VOX Global, and government affairs consultancy Valiant Strategies LLC also advocated on behalf of Nippon Steel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
James Baril, a former senior staffer to Sen. John Cornyn and current chairman of the Senate Finance Subcommittee on International Trade, Customs, and Global Competitiveness, led VOX Global's just-ended Nippon Steel assignment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
According to disclosure filings, Nippon Steel's agents have pushed for the planned purchase through the White House, Congress, and several government departments that have jurisdiction over international transactions, including the Department of Commerce, the State Department, and the U.S. Treasury.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In the second half of 2024, Nippon Steel significantly increased its lobbying expenditures, spending $1.45 million in Q3 and $1.71 million in Q4, more than doubling the total amount spent by the company during the first two quarters. A Washington Examiner analysis of quarterly activity records indicates that Nippon Steel has already disbursed an extra $1.83 million this year as it tries to finalise a contract.<\/p>\n","post_title":"Nippon Steel spends $6.1M on D.C. lobbying to win U.S. Steel bid, taps Trump allies","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"nippon-steel-spends-6-1m-on-d-c-lobbying-to-win-u-s-steel-bid-taps-trump-allies","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2025-06-03 17:43:43","post_modified_gmt":"2025-06-03 17:43:43","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dctransparency.com\/?p=7929","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"}],"next":false,"prev":true,"total_page":6},"paged":1,"column_class":"jeg_col_2o3","class":"epic_block_3"};

Page 6 of 21 Previous 1 … 5 6 7 … 21 Next

\n
Mehlman Consulting, a Washington, D.C.-based firm that is only a few blocks from the White House, states in a first-quarter filing that it has done around $60,000 for Medtronic and has spoke out on issues concerning the taxation of multinational corporations and U.S. trade policy. Figures are rounded to the nearest $10,000 for disclosure purposes forms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/p>\n","post_title":"Medtech giants boost DC lobbying amid policy shifts","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"medtech-giants-boost-dc-lobbying-amid-policy-shifts","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2025-06-10 13:29:20","post_modified_gmt":"2025-06-10 13:29:20","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dctransparency.com\/?p=7952","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":7944,"post_author":"7","post_date":"2025-06-04 17:27:21","post_date_gmt":"2025-06-04 17:27:21","post_content":"\n
The Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for US Stablecoins (GENIUS) Act is in danger of being stalled by suggested modifications, especially those pertaining to credit card fees; therefore, cryptocurrency <\/a>advocates are encouraging Congress to enact it as soon as possible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Some senators had hinted that they could try to make changes, which prompted the drive. However, before the measure is done, politicians have been pressured by crypto lobbyists to adopt the bill.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As early as this week, the bill may be approved by the Senate. On May 19, it passed a procedural vote, meaning it had sufficient support to move on to the House. A statement about the GENIUS Act was released today by the leaders of the four biggest associations representing the digital asset sector.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Cryptocurrency institutions are backing lawmakers to push through the GENIUS Act<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Prominent crypto advocacy organisations, including the Blockchain Association, the Digital Chamber, the Crypto Council for Innovation and the DeFi Education Fund, issued a joint statement on June 2, insisting legislators continue their amazing work in order to present the proposal in the House.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The organisations said they respectfully want lawmakers to stick to the bill's fundamental objective, which is to provide a focused and all-encompassing approach to stablecoin supervision as it moves through the amendment process.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A number of Democratic members who had earlier backed out of the measure have changed their minds, pointing to President Donald Trump's connections to the cryptocurrency industry, namely a stablecoin introduced by his family's cryptocurrency company.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The stablecoin proposal may now encounter a snag in credit card fee legislation, even if it is claimed that the bill has enough support to move on to the House. The proposal, which is fiercely opposed by banks and card firms, would require payment networks such as Visa, Mastercard, and American Express to compete on merchant processing rates.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Banks and card networks have strongly opposed the plan, arguing that it is an example of government overreach. Meanwhile, proponents of cryptocurrency are battling to<\/a> prevent the off-topic credit card amendments from destroying their long-awaited success and turning the vote into a political minefield.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
According to Terrett's research, if a deal is not reached, administrative obstacles would likely slow down everything and postpone final approval until June 9. Crypto lobbying organisations are still optimistic that the GENIUS Act will pass and give stablecoin issuers and consumers in the US the long-needed legislative clarification despite mounting political tensions.<\/p>\n","post_title":"Cryptocurrency lobbying efforts intensify as senate considers unaltered GENIUS Act","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"cryptocurrency-lobbying-efforts-intensify-as-senate-considers-unaltered-genius-act","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2025-06-04 17:27:21","post_modified_gmt":"2025-06-04 17:27:21","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dctransparency.com\/?p=7944","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":7937,"post_author":"7","post_date":"2025-06-04 17:00:04","post_date_gmt":"2025-06-04 17:00:04","post_content":"\n
The Supreme Court rejected conservative Texas activist Michael Quinn Sullivan's complaint against the Texas Ethics Commission, further undermining his more than ten-year struggle against the state agency that oversees and enforces Texas' campaign finance and lobbying regulations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Sullivan has been appealing a $10,000 ethics commission punishment for failing to register as a lobbyist in 2010 and 2011 since 2014. Earlier this year, he petitioned the nation's highest court to take up the issue. Sullivan was the former chairman of the powerful conservative lobbying organization<\/a> Empower Texans. His attempt to overturn two state appeals court rulings that refused to throw out the fines was denied by the Texas Supreme Court last year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In a brief to the U.S. Supreme Court, Sullivan contended that Texas' ethics rules, which impose onerous registration and fee requirements, infringe upon the First Amendment rights of \"ordinary citizens\" who wish to communicate with their elected officials.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n
\"Sullivan's actions went far beyond an average citizen who happened to visit with a lawmaker or who spent a day or two at the Texas Capitol during a legislative session,\" <\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n
the Ethics Commission said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The court's decision supports the ethics commission's appeals court verdict. Sullivan will go back to a district court for a jury trial to determine the amount he must pay.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
After two former state senators complained that Sullivan had engaged in unregistered lobbying, the ethics commission began looking into the matter. For a long time, Sullivan has maintained that his work with the now-defunct Empower Texans was journalism rather than lobbying. However, such an argument was dismissed by the ethics committee. In their 2014 decision, they cited hundreds of letters he often addressed to Republican members to debate legislation and amendments, urging them to support the principles of his group.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Additionally, Sullivan released a Fiscal Responsibility Index that rates the conservative credentials of members according to their voting record in each session. In another instance of lobbying, the panel discovered that Sullivan utilized that scorecard to sway members' votes while working for Empower Texans.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In court, Sullivan repeatedly tried to argue that the ethics commission lacked the constitutional authority to enforce the state's ethical laws. By first claiming that he had moved to Denton County, Sullivan was able to have the case heard in a district court there instead of Travis County.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Even though a judge in Denton County ruled in Sullivan's favour, the verdict was reversed, and the case was sent back to Travis County when an appeals court found that Sullivan did not really meet the residency requirements to have the case heard in Denton County from the start<\/a>. The Travis County court decided in favour of the TEC. Therefore, Sullivan lost his appeal. In the meanwhile, Sullivan filed a number of further cases against the commission, all of which were dismissed in federal or state district court.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Many of the authors of these friend-of-the-court briefs, including those authored by Cruz, Cornyn, and Paxton, \"appear to assume, without any real analysis of the record that Sullivan did nothing more than write a newsletter and work on a website that \u2018rated\u2019 legislators,\" the ethics commission said in their response to the petition. These portrayals are inconsistent with the factual evidence that a Texas court grantedsummary judgments in favour of the Commission based on the allegations that Sullivan had broken Texas law.<\/p>\n","post_title":"Supreme court rejects GOP activist\u2019s appeal over Texas lobbying fine","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"supreme-court-rejects-gop-activists-appeal-over-texas-lobbying-fine","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2025-06-04 17:00:04","post_modified_gmt":"2025-06-04 17:00:04","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dctransparency.com\/?p=7937","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":7929,"post_author":"7","post_date":"2025-06-03 17:43:43","post_date_gmt":"2025-06-03 17:43:43","post_content":"\n
In its attempt to acquire US Steel, Japanese-owned Nippon Steel has invested over $6.1 million in federal lobbying, employing a plethora of powerful politicians, some of whom have close relationships with President Donald Trump<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Just days after the purchase announcement in December 2023, Nippon Steel brought in lobbying company Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld. The corporation has international clients, including the governments of KSA, the UAE, and Japan, as shown by their registration documents. According to a Washington Examiner review of disclosure data, Nippon Steel has since paid Akin Gump more than $5.5 million, which represents around 90% of its lobbying expenses used to advance the US Steel acquisition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The lobbyists at Akin Gump arguing Nippon Steel's case in the nation's capital include Hunter Bates, former chief of staff for former Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY); Reginald Babin, former chief counsel to Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY); and Brian Pomper, who advised the Senate Finance Committee on international trade matters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
During the last election campaign, Geoffrey Verhoff, another Akin Gump lobbyist hired to help Nippon Steel, was by far the biggest known money bundler for Trump. According to a Federal Election Commission report, Verhoff, who served as vice chairman of the Republican National Committee's financial arm from 2017 to 2021, bundled at least $3.6 million for the Trump 47 Committee. While lobbying for Nippon Steel, Bates also personally donated $10,000 to the Trump 47 Committee, according to campaign finance reports.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
While the main lobbying firm on Nippon Steel's roster is Akin Gump, a few other powerful figures in the business with strong ties to Capitol Hill have been enlisted to assist in influencing public opinion on the merger issue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Akin Gump hired the Trump-affiliated lobbying company Ballard Partners, a foreign agent for the Japanese Embassy, as a subcontractor on the Nippon Steel team last year in exchange<\/a> for a $25,000 monthly fee. According to lobbying activities disclosed under the Foreign Agents Registration Act, Ballard Partners reportedly arranged a phone conversation between Trump and Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba to examine the U.S. election one day following the 2024 presidential contest.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Brian Ballard, a prominent Trump donor and the agency's namesake president, leads his Florida firm's efforts on the Nippon Steel client. He is joined in lobbying by other Trump associates: Daniel McFaul, a member of Trump's transitional team, and Hunter Morgen, a Trump White House policy consultant with expertise in manufacturing and trade.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ballard and Morgen both made direct contributions to Trump's 2024 campaign; the founder of the business sent cheques to the Trump 47 Committee and Trump Save America PAC totalling $250,000 and $11,600, respectively.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Through Akin Gump, the Gephardt Group's government affairs branch, strategic communications agency VOX Global, and government affairs consultancy Valiant Strategies LLC also advocated on behalf of Nippon Steel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
James Baril, a former senior staffer to Sen. John Cornyn and current chairman of the Senate Finance Subcommittee on International Trade, Customs, and Global Competitiveness, led VOX Global's just-ended Nippon Steel assignment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
According to disclosure filings, Nippon Steel's agents have pushed for the planned purchase through the White House, Congress, and several government departments that have jurisdiction over international transactions, including the Department of Commerce, the State Department, and the U.S. Treasury.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In the second half of 2024, Nippon Steel significantly increased its lobbying expenditures, spending $1.45 million in Q3 and $1.71 million in Q4, more than doubling the total amount spent by the company during the first two quarters. A Washington Examiner analysis of quarterly activity records indicates that Nippon Steel has already disbursed an extra $1.83 million this year as it tries to finalise a contract.<\/p>\n","post_title":"Nippon Steel spends $6.1M on D.C. lobbying to win U.S. Steel bid, taps Trump allies","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"nippon-steel-spends-6-1m-on-d-c-lobbying-to-win-u-s-steel-bid-taps-trump-allies","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2025-06-03 17:43:43","post_modified_gmt":"2025-06-03 17:43:43","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dctransparency.com\/?p=7929","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"}],"next":false,"prev":true,"total_page":6},"paged":1,"column_class":"jeg_col_2o3","class":"epic_block_3"};

Page 6 of 21 Previous 1 … 5 6 7 … 21 Next

\n
A consultant from Tarplin, Downs & Young in Washington, D.C., was hired by Abbott and AdvaMed. The topics of national trade and Medicare reimbursement kept coming up in TDY's advocacy for Abbott.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Mehlman Consulting, a Washington, D.C.-based firm that is only a few blocks from the White House, states in a first-quarter filing that it has done around $60,000 for Medtronic and has spoke out on issues concerning the taxation of multinational corporations and U.S. trade policy. Figures are rounded to the nearest $10,000 for disclosure purposes forms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/p>\n","post_title":"Medtech giants boost DC lobbying amid policy shifts","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"medtech-giants-boost-dc-lobbying-amid-policy-shifts","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2025-06-10 13:29:20","post_modified_gmt":"2025-06-10 13:29:20","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dctransparency.com\/?p=7952","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":7944,"post_author":"7","post_date":"2025-06-04 17:27:21","post_date_gmt":"2025-06-04 17:27:21","post_content":"\n
The Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for US Stablecoins (GENIUS) Act is in danger of being stalled by suggested modifications, especially those pertaining to credit card fees; therefore, cryptocurrency <\/a>advocates are encouraging Congress to enact it as soon as possible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Some senators had hinted that they could try to make changes, which prompted the drive. However, before the measure is done, politicians have been pressured by crypto lobbyists to adopt the bill.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As early as this week, the bill may be approved by the Senate. On May 19, it passed a procedural vote, meaning it had sufficient support to move on to the House. A statement about the GENIUS Act was released today by the leaders of the four biggest associations representing the digital asset sector.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Cryptocurrency institutions are backing lawmakers to push through the GENIUS Act<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Prominent crypto advocacy organisations, including the Blockchain Association, the Digital Chamber, the Crypto Council for Innovation and the DeFi Education Fund, issued a joint statement on June 2, insisting legislators continue their amazing work in order to present the proposal in the House.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The organisations said they respectfully want lawmakers to stick to the bill's fundamental objective, which is to provide a focused and all-encompassing approach to stablecoin supervision as it moves through the amendment process.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A number of Democratic members who had earlier backed out of the measure have changed their minds, pointing to President Donald Trump's connections to the cryptocurrency industry, namely a stablecoin introduced by his family's cryptocurrency company.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The stablecoin proposal may now encounter a snag in credit card fee legislation, even if it is claimed that the bill has enough support to move on to the House. The proposal, which is fiercely opposed by banks and card firms, would require payment networks such as Visa, Mastercard, and American Express to compete on merchant processing rates.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Banks and card networks have strongly opposed the plan, arguing that it is an example of government overreach. Meanwhile, proponents of cryptocurrency are battling to<\/a> prevent the off-topic credit card amendments from destroying their long-awaited success and turning the vote into a political minefield.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
According to Terrett's research, if a deal is not reached, administrative obstacles would likely slow down everything and postpone final approval until June 9. Crypto lobbying organisations are still optimistic that the GENIUS Act will pass and give stablecoin issuers and consumers in the US the long-needed legislative clarification despite mounting political tensions.<\/p>\n","post_title":"Cryptocurrency lobbying efforts intensify as senate considers unaltered GENIUS Act","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"cryptocurrency-lobbying-efforts-intensify-as-senate-considers-unaltered-genius-act","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2025-06-04 17:27:21","post_modified_gmt":"2025-06-04 17:27:21","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dctransparency.com\/?p=7944","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":7937,"post_author":"7","post_date":"2025-06-04 17:00:04","post_date_gmt":"2025-06-04 17:00:04","post_content":"\n
The Supreme Court rejected conservative Texas activist Michael Quinn Sullivan's complaint against the Texas Ethics Commission, further undermining his more than ten-year struggle against the state agency that oversees and enforces Texas' campaign finance and lobbying regulations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Sullivan has been appealing a $10,000 ethics commission punishment for failing to register as a lobbyist in 2010 and 2011 since 2014. Earlier this year, he petitioned the nation's highest court to take up the issue. Sullivan was the former chairman of the powerful conservative lobbying organization<\/a> Empower Texans. His attempt to overturn two state appeals court rulings that refused to throw out the fines was denied by the Texas Supreme Court last year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In a brief to the U.S. Supreme Court, Sullivan contended that Texas' ethics rules, which impose onerous registration and fee requirements, infringe upon the First Amendment rights of \"ordinary citizens\" who wish to communicate with their elected officials.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n
\"Sullivan's actions went far beyond an average citizen who happened to visit with a lawmaker or who spent a day or two at the Texas Capitol during a legislative session,\" <\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n
the Ethics Commission said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The court's decision supports the ethics commission's appeals court verdict. Sullivan will go back to a district court for a jury trial to determine the amount he must pay.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
After two former state senators complained that Sullivan had engaged in unregistered lobbying, the ethics commission began looking into the matter. For a long time, Sullivan has maintained that his work with the now-defunct Empower Texans was journalism rather than lobbying. However, such an argument was dismissed by the ethics committee. In their 2014 decision, they cited hundreds of letters he often addressed to Republican members to debate legislation and amendments, urging them to support the principles of his group.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Additionally, Sullivan released a Fiscal Responsibility Index that rates the conservative credentials of members according to their voting record in each session. In another instance of lobbying, the panel discovered that Sullivan utilized that scorecard to sway members' votes while working for Empower Texans.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In court, Sullivan repeatedly tried to argue that the ethics commission lacked the constitutional authority to enforce the state's ethical laws. By first claiming that he had moved to Denton County, Sullivan was able to have the case heard in a district court there instead of Travis County.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Even though a judge in Denton County ruled in Sullivan's favour, the verdict was reversed, and the case was sent back to Travis County when an appeals court found that Sullivan did not really meet the residency requirements to have the case heard in Denton County from the start<\/a>. The Travis County court decided in favour of the TEC. Therefore, Sullivan lost his appeal. In the meanwhile, Sullivan filed a number of further cases against the commission, all of which were dismissed in federal or state district court.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Many of the authors of these friend-of-the-court briefs, including those authored by Cruz, Cornyn, and Paxton, \"appear to assume, without any real analysis of the record that Sullivan did nothing more than write a newsletter and work on a website that \u2018rated\u2019 legislators,\" the ethics commission said in their response to the petition. These portrayals are inconsistent with the factual evidence that a Texas court grantedsummary judgments in favour of the Commission based on the allegations that Sullivan had broken Texas law.<\/p>\n","post_title":"Supreme court rejects GOP activist\u2019s appeal over Texas lobbying fine","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"supreme-court-rejects-gop-activists-appeal-over-texas-lobbying-fine","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2025-06-04 17:00:04","post_modified_gmt":"2025-06-04 17:00:04","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dctransparency.com\/?p=7937","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":7929,"post_author":"7","post_date":"2025-06-03 17:43:43","post_date_gmt":"2025-06-03 17:43:43","post_content":"\n
In its attempt to acquire US Steel, Japanese-owned Nippon Steel has invested over $6.1 million in federal lobbying, employing a plethora of powerful politicians, some of whom have close relationships with President Donald Trump<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Just days after the purchase announcement in December 2023, Nippon Steel brought in lobbying company Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld. The corporation has international clients, including the governments of KSA, the UAE, and Japan, as shown by their registration documents. According to a Washington Examiner review of disclosure data, Nippon Steel has since paid Akin Gump more than $5.5 million, which represents around 90% of its lobbying expenses used to advance the US Steel acquisition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The lobbyists at Akin Gump arguing Nippon Steel's case in the nation's capital include Hunter Bates, former chief of staff for former Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY); Reginald Babin, former chief counsel to Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY); and Brian Pomper, who advised the Senate Finance Committee on international trade matters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
During the last election campaign, Geoffrey Verhoff, another Akin Gump lobbyist hired to help Nippon Steel, was by far the biggest known money bundler for Trump. According to a Federal Election Commission report, Verhoff, who served as vice chairman of the Republican National Committee's financial arm from 2017 to 2021, bundled at least $3.6 million for the Trump 47 Committee. While lobbying for Nippon Steel, Bates also personally donated $10,000 to the Trump 47 Committee, according to campaign finance reports.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
While the main lobbying firm on Nippon Steel's roster is Akin Gump, a few other powerful figures in the business with strong ties to Capitol Hill have been enlisted to assist in influencing public opinion on the merger issue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Akin Gump hired the Trump-affiliated lobbying company Ballard Partners, a foreign agent for the Japanese Embassy, as a subcontractor on the Nippon Steel team last year in exchange<\/a> for a $25,000 monthly fee. According to lobbying activities disclosed under the Foreign Agents Registration Act, Ballard Partners reportedly arranged a phone conversation between Trump and Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba to examine the U.S. election one day following the 2024 presidential contest.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Brian Ballard, a prominent Trump donor and the agency's namesake president, leads his Florida firm's efforts on the Nippon Steel client. He is joined in lobbying by other Trump associates: Daniel McFaul, a member of Trump's transitional team, and Hunter Morgen, a Trump White House policy consultant with expertise in manufacturing and trade.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ballard and Morgen both made direct contributions to Trump's 2024 campaign; the founder of the business sent cheques to the Trump 47 Committee and Trump Save America PAC totalling $250,000 and $11,600, respectively.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Through Akin Gump, the Gephardt Group's government affairs branch, strategic communications agency VOX Global, and government affairs consultancy Valiant Strategies LLC also advocated on behalf of Nippon Steel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
James Baril, a former senior staffer to Sen. John Cornyn and current chairman of the Senate Finance Subcommittee on International Trade, Customs, and Global Competitiveness, led VOX Global's just-ended Nippon Steel assignment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
According to disclosure filings, Nippon Steel's agents have pushed for the planned purchase through the White House, Congress, and several government departments that have jurisdiction over international transactions, including the Department of Commerce, the State Department, and the U.S. Treasury.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In the second half of 2024, Nippon Steel significantly increased its lobbying expenditures, spending $1.45 million in Q3 and $1.71 million in Q4, more than doubling the total amount spent by the company during the first two quarters. A Washington Examiner analysis of quarterly activity records indicates that Nippon Steel has already disbursed an extra $1.83 million this year as it tries to finalise a contract.<\/p>\n","post_title":"Nippon Steel spends $6.1M on D.C. lobbying to win U.S. Steel bid, taps Trump allies","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"nippon-steel-spends-6-1m-on-d-c-lobbying-to-win-u-s-steel-bid-taps-trump-allies","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2025-06-03 17:43:43","post_modified_gmt":"2025-06-03 17:43:43","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dctransparency.com\/?p=7929","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"}],"next":false,"prev":true,"total_page":6},"paged":1,"column_class":"jeg_col_2o3","class":"epic_block_3"};

Page 6 of 21 Previous 1 … 5 6 7 … 21 Next

\n
Some businesses in D.C. have begun collaborating with MedTech and AdvaMed enterprises. Disclosures show that AdvaMed and Boston Scientific paid the law firm Alston & Bird $30,000<\/a> and $80,000, respectively, for services spanning from commerce to artificial intelligence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A consultant from Tarplin, Downs & Young in Washington, D.C., was hired by Abbott and AdvaMed. The topics of national trade and Medicare reimbursement kept coming up in TDY's advocacy for Abbott.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Mehlman Consulting, a Washington, D.C.-based firm that is only a few blocks from the White House, states in a first-quarter filing that it has done around $60,000 for Medtronic and has spoke out on issues concerning the taxation of multinational corporations and U.S. trade policy. Figures are rounded to the nearest $10,000 for disclosure purposes forms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/p>\n","post_title":"Medtech giants boost DC lobbying amid policy shifts","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"medtech-giants-boost-dc-lobbying-amid-policy-shifts","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2025-06-10 13:29:20","post_modified_gmt":"2025-06-10 13:29:20","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dctransparency.com\/?p=7952","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":7944,"post_author":"7","post_date":"2025-06-04 17:27:21","post_date_gmt":"2025-06-04 17:27:21","post_content":"\n
The Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for US Stablecoins (GENIUS) Act is in danger of being stalled by suggested modifications, especially those pertaining to credit card fees; therefore, cryptocurrency <\/a>advocates are encouraging Congress to enact it as soon as possible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Some senators had hinted that they could try to make changes, which prompted the drive. However, before the measure is done, politicians have been pressured by crypto lobbyists to adopt the bill.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As early as this week, the bill may be approved by the Senate. On May 19, it passed a procedural vote, meaning it had sufficient support to move on to the House. A statement about the GENIUS Act was released today by the leaders of the four biggest associations representing the digital asset sector.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Cryptocurrency institutions are backing lawmakers to push through the GENIUS Act<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Prominent crypto advocacy organisations, including the Blockchain Association, the Digital Chamber, the Crypto Council for Innovation and the DeFi Education Fund, issued a joint statement on June 2, insisting legislators continue their amazing work in order to present the proposal in the House.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The organisations said they respectfully want lawmakers to stick to the bill's fundamental objective, which is to provide a focused and all-encompassing approach to stablecoin supervision as it moves through the amendment process.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A number of Democratic members who had earlier backed out of the measure have changed their minds, pointing to President Donald Trump's connections to the cryptocurrency industry, namely a stablecoin introduced by his family's cryptocurrency company.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The stablecoin proposal may now encounter a snag in credit card fee legislation, even if it is claimed that the bill has enough support to move on to the House. The proposal, which is fiercely opposed by banks and card firms, would require payment networks such as Visa, Mastercard, and American Express to compete on merchant processing rates.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Banks and card networks have strongly opposed the plan, arguing that it is an example of government overreach. Meanwhile, proponents of cryptocurrency are battling to<\/a> prevent the off-topic credit card amendments from destroying their long-awaited success and turning the vote into a political minefield.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
According to Terrett's research, if a deal is not reached, administrative obstacles would likely slow down everything and postpone final approval until June 9. Crypto lobbying organisations are still optimistic that the GENIUS Act will pass and give stablecoin issuers and consumers in the US the long-needed legislative clarification despite mounting political tensions.<\/p>\n","post_title":"Cryptocurrency lobbying efforts intensify as senate considers unaltered GENIUS Act","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"cryptocurrency-lobbying-efforts-intensify-as-senate-considers-unaltered-genius-act","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2025-06-04 17:27:21","post_modified_gmt":"2025-06-04 17:27:21","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dctransparency.com\/?p=7944","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":7937,"post_author":"7","post_date":"2025-06-04 17:00:04","post_date_gmt":"2025-06-04 17:00:04","post_content":"\n
The Supreme Court rejected conservative Texas activist Michael Quinn Sullivan's complaint against the Texas Ethics Commission, further undermining his more than ten-year struggle against the state agency that oversees and enforces Texas' campaign finance and lobbying regulations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Sullivan has been appealing a $10,000 ethics commission punishment for failing to register as a lobbyist in 2010 and 2011 since 2014. Earlier this year, he petitioned the nation's highest court to take up the issue. Sullivan was the former chairman of the powerful conservative lobbying organization<\/a> Empower Texans. His attempt to overturn two state appeals court rulings that refused to throw out the fines was denied by the Texas Supreme Court last year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In a brief to the U.S. Supreme Court, Sullivan contended that Texas' ethics rules, which impose onerous registration and fee requirements, infringe upon the First Amendment rights of \"ordinary citizens\" who wish to communicate with their elected officials.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n
\"Sullivan's actions went far beyond an average citizen who happened to visit with a lawmaker or who spent a day or two at the Texas Capitol during a legislative session,\" <\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n
the Ethics Commission said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The court's decision supports the ethics commission's appeals court verdict. Sullivan will go back to a district court for a jury trial to determine the amount he must pay.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
After two former state senators complained that Sullivan had engaged in unregistered lobbying, the ethics commission began looking into the matter. For a long time, Sullivan has maintained that his work with the now-defunct Empower Texans was journalism rather than lobbying. However, such an argument was dismissed by the ethics committee. In their 2014 decision, they cited hundreds of letters he often addressed to Republican members to debate legislation and amendments, urging them to support the principles of his group.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Additionally, Sullivan released a Fiscal Responsibility Index that rates the conservative credentials of members according to their voting record in each session. In another instance of lobbying, the panel discovered that Sullivan utilized that scorecard to sway members' votes while working for Empower Texans.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In court, Sullivan repeatedly tried to argue that the ethics commission lacked the constitutional authority to enforce the state's ethical laws. By first claiming that he had moved to Denton County, Sullivan was able to have the case heard in a district court there instead of Travis County.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Even though a judge in Denton County ruled in Sullivan's favour, the verdict was reversed, and the case was sent back to Travis County when an appeals court found that Sullivan did not really meet the residency requirements to have the case heard in Denton County from the start<\/a>. The Travis County court decided in favour of the TEC. Therefore, Sullivan lost his appeal. In the meanwhile, Sullivan filed a number of further cases against the commission, all of which were dismissed in federal or state district court.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Many of the authors of these friend-of-the-court briefs, including those authored by Cruz, Cornyn, and Paxton, \"appear to assume, without any real analysis of the record that Sullivan did nothing more than write a newsletter and work on a website that \u2018rated\u2019 legislators,\" the ethics commission said in their response to the petition. These portrayals are inconsistent with the factual evidence that a Texas court grantedsummary judgments in favour of the Commission based on the allegations that Sullivan had broken Texas law.<\/p>\n","post_title":"Supreme court rejects GOP activist\u2019s appeal over Texas lobbying fine","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"supreme-court-rejects-gop-activists-appeal-over-texas-lobbying-fine","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2025-06-04 17:00:04","post_modified_gmt":"2025-06-04 17:00:04","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dctransparency.com\/?p=7937","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":7929,"post_author":"7","post_date":"2025-06-03 17:43:43","post_date_gmt":"2025-06-03 17:43:43","post_content":"\n
In its attempt to acquire US Steel, Japanese-owned Nippon Steel has invested over $6.1 million in federal lobbying, employing a plethora of powerful politicians, some of whom have close relationships with President Donald Trump<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Just days after the purchase announcement in December 2023, Nippon Steel brought in lobbying company Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld. The corporation has international clients, including the governments of KSA, the UAE, and Japan, as shown by their registration documents. According to a Washington Examiner review of disclosure data, Nippon Steel has since paid Akin Gump more than $5.5 million, which represents around 90% of its lobbying expenses used to advance the US Steel acquisition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The lobbyists at Akin Gump arguing Nippon Steel's case in the nation's capital include Hunter Bates, former chief of staff for former Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY); Reginald Babin, former chief counsel to Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY); and Brian Pomper, who advised the Senate Finance Committee on international trade matters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
During the last election campaign, Geoffrey Verhoff, another Akin Gump lobbyist hired to help Nippon Steel, was by far the biggest known money bundler for Trump. According to a Federal Election Commission report, Verhoff, who served as vice chairman of the Republican National Committee's financial arm from 2017 to 2021, bundled at least $3.6 million for the Trump 47 Committee. While lobbying for Nippon Steel, Bates also personally donated $10,000 to the Trump 47 Committee, according to campaign finance reports.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
While the main lobbying firm on Nippon Steel's roster is Akin Gump, a few other powerful figures in the business with strong ties to Capitol Hill have been enlisted to assist in influencing public opinion on the merger issue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Akin Gump hired the Trump-affiliated lobbying company Ballard Partners, a foreign agent for the Japanese Embassy, as a subcontractor on the Nippon Steel team last year in exchange<\/a> for a $25,000 monthly fee. According to lobbying activities disclosed under the Foreign Agents Registration Act, Ballard Partners reportedly arranged a phone conversation between Trump and Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba to examine the U.S. election one day following the 2024 presidential contest.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Brian Ballard, a prominent Trump donor and the agency's namesake president, leads his Florida firm's efforts on the Nippon Steel client. He is joined in lobbying by other Trump associates: Daniel McFaul, a member of Trump's transitional team, and Hunter Morgen, a Trump White House policy consultant with expertise in manufacturing and trade.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ballard and Morgen both made direct contributions to Trump's 2024 campaign; the founder of the business sent cheques to the Trump 47 Committee and Trump Save America PAC totalling $250,000 and $11,600, respectively.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Through Akin Gump, the Gephardt Group's government affairs branch, strategic communications agency VOX Global, and government affairs consultancy Valiant Strategies LLC also advocated on behalf of Nippon Steel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
James Baril, a former senior staffer to Sen. John Cornyn and current chairman of the Senate Finance Subcommittee on International Trade, Customs, and Global Competitiveness, led VOX Global's just-ended Nippon Steel assignment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
According to disclosure filings, Nippon Steel's agents have pushed for the planned purchase through the White House, Congress, and several government departments that have jurisdiction over international transactions, including the Department of Commerce, the State Department, and the U.S. Treasury.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In the second half of 2024, Nippon Steel significantly increased its lobbying expenditures, spending $1.45 million in Q3 and $1.71 million in Q4, more than doubling the total amount spent by the company during the first two quarters. A Washington Examiner analysis of quarterly activity records indicates that Nippon Steel has already disbursed an extra $1.83 million this year as it tries to finalise a contract.<\/p>\n","post_title":"Nippon Steel spends $6.1M on D.C. lobbying to win U.S. Steel bid, taps Trump allies","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"nippon-steel-spends-6-1m-on-d-c-lobbying-to-win-u-s-steel-bid-taps-trump-allies","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2025-06-03 17:43:43","post_modified_gmt":"2025-06-03 17:43:43","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dctransparency.com\/?p=7929","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"}],"next":false,"prev":true,"total_page":6},"paged":1,"column_class":"jeg_col_2o3","class":"epic_block_3"};

Page 6 of 21 Previous 1 … 5 6 7 … 21 Next

\n
How are lobbying firms like TDY influencing medtech policy?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Some businesses in D.C. have begun collaborating with MedTech and AdvaMed enterprises. Disclosures show that AdvaMed and Boston Scientific paid the law firm Alston & Bird $30,000<\/a> and $80,000, respectively, for services spanning from commerce to artificial intelligence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A consultant from Tarplin, Downs & Young in Washington, D.C., was hired by Abbott and AdvaMed. The topics of national trade and Medicare reimbursement kept coming up in TDY's advocacy for Abbott.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Mehlman Consulting, a Washington, D.C.-based firm that is only a few blocks from the White House, states in a first-quarter filing that it has done around $60,000 for Medtronic and has spoke out on issues concerning the taxation of multinational corporations and U.S. trade policy. Figures are rounded to the nearest $10,000 for disclosure purposes forms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/p>\n","post_title":"Medtech giants boost DC lobbying amid policy shifts","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"medtech-giants-boost-dc-lobbying-amid-policy-shifts","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2025-06-10 13:29:20","post_modified_gmt":"2025-06-10 13:29:20","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dctransparency.com\/?p=7952","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":7944,"post_author":"7","post_date":"2025-06-04 17:27:21","post_date_gmt":"2025-06-04 17:27:21","post_content":"\n
The Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for US Stablecoins (GENIUS) Act is in danger of being stalled by suggested modifications, especially those pertaining to credit card fees; therefore, cryptocurrency <\/a>advocates are encouraging Congress to enact it as soon as possible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Some senators had hinted that they could try to make changes, which prompted the drive. However, before the measure is done, politicians have been pressured by crypto lobbyists to adopt the bill.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As early as this week, the bill may be approved by the Senate. On May 19, it passed a procedural vote, meaning it had sufficient support to move on to the House. A statement about the GENIUS Act was released today by the leaders of the four biggest associations representing the digital asset sector.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Cryptocurrency institutions are backing lawmakers to push through the GENIUS Act<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Prominent crypto advocacy organisations, including the Blockchain Association, the Digital Chamber, the Crypto Council for Innovation and the DeFi Education Fund, issued a joint statement on June 2, insisting legislators continue their amazing work in order to present the proposal in the House.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The organisations said they respectfully want lawmakers to stick to the bill's fundamental objective, which is to provide a focused and all-encompassing approach to stablecoin supervision as it moves through the amendment process.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A number of Democratic members who had earlier backed out of the measure have changed their minds, pointing to President Donald Trump's connections to the cryptocurrency industry, namely a stablecoin introduced by his family's cryptocurrency company.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The stablecoin proposal may now encounter a snag in credit card fee legislation, even if it is claimed that the bill has enough support to move on to the House. The proposal, which is fiercely opposed by banks and card firms, would require payment networks such as Visa, Mastercard, and American Express to compete on merchant processing rates.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Banks and card networks have strongly opposed the plan, arguing that it is an example of government overreach. Meanwhile, proponents of cryptocurrency are battling to<\/a> prevent the off-topic credit card amendments from destroying their long-awaited success and turning the vote into a political minefield.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
According to Terrett's research, if a deal is not reached, administrative obstacles would likely slow down everything and postpone final approval until June 9. Crypto lobbying organisations are still optimistic that the GENIUS Act will pass and give stablecoin issuers and consumers in the US the long-needed legislative clarification despite mounting political tensions.<\/p>\n","post_title":"Cryptocurrency lobbying efforts intensify as senate considers unaltered GENIUS Act","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"cryptocurrency-lobbying-efforts-intensify-as-senate-considers-unaltered-genius-act","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2025-06-04 17:27:21","post_modified_gmt":"2025-06-04 17:27:21","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dctransparency.com\/?p=7944","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":7937,"post_author":"7","post_date":"2025-06-04 17:00:04","post_date_gmt":"2025-06-04 17:00:04","post_content":"\n
The Supreme Court rejected conservative Texas activist Michael Quinn Sullivan's complaint against the Texas Ethics Commission, further undermining his more than ten-year struggle against the state agency that oversees and enforces Texas' campaign finance and lobbying regulations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Sullivan has been appealing a $10,000 ethics commission punishment for failing to register as a lobbyist in 2010 and 2011 since 2014. Earlier this year, he petitioned the nation's highest court to take up the issue. Sullivan was the former chairman of the powerful conservative lobbying organization<\/a> Empower Texans. His attempt to overturn two state appeals court rulings that refused to throw out the fines was denied by the Texas Supreme Court last year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In a brief to the U.S. Supreme Court, Sullivan contended that Texas' ethics rules, which impose onerous registration and fee requirements, infringe upon the First Amendment rights of \"ordinary citizens\" who wish to communicate with their elected officials.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n
\"Sullivan's actions went far beyond an average citizen who happened to visit with a lawmaker or who spent a day or two at the Texas Capitol during a legislative session,\" <\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n
the Ethics Commission said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The court's decision supports the ethics commission's appeals court verdict. Sullivan will go back to a district court for a jury trial to determine the amount he must pay.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
After two former state senators complained that Sullivan had engaged in unregistered lobbying, the ethics commission began looking into the matter. For a long time, Sullivan has maintained that his work with the now-defunct Empower Texans was journalism rather than lobbying. However, such an argument was dismissed by the ethics committee. In their 2014 decision, they cited hundreds of letters he often addressed to Republican members to debate legislation and amendments, urging them to support the principles of his group.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Additionally, Sullivan released a Fiscal Responsibility Index that rates the conservative credentials of members according to their voting record in each session. In another instance of lobbying, the panel discovered that Sullivan utilized that scorecard to sway members' votes while working for Empower Texans.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In court, Sullivan repeatedly tried to argue that the ethics commission lacked the constitutional authority to enforce the state's ethical laws. By first claiming that he had moved to Denton County, Sullivan was able to have the case heard in a district court there instead of Travis County.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Even though a judge in Denton County ruled in Sullivan's favour, the verdict was reversed, and the case was sent back to Travis County when an appeals court found that Sullivan did not really meet the residency requirements to have the case heard in Denton County from the start<\/a>. The Travis County court decided in favour of the TEC. Therefore, Sullivan lost his appeal. In the meanwhile, Sullivan filed a number of further cases against the commission, all of which were dismissed in federal or state district court.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Many of the authors of these friend-of-the-court briefs, including those authored by Cruz, Cornyn, and Paxton, \"appear to assume, without any real analysis of the record that Sullivan did nothing more than write a newsletter and work on a website that \u2018rated\u2019 legislators,\" the ethics commission said in their response to the petition. These portrayals are inconsistent with the factual evidence that a Texas court grantedsummary judgments in favour of the Commission based on the allegations that Sullivan had broken Texas law.<\/p>\n","post_title":"Supreme court rejects GOP activist\u2019s appeal over Texas lobbying fine","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"supreme-court-rejects-gop-activists-appeal-over-texas-lobbying-fine","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2025-06-04 17:00:04","post_modified_gmt":"2025-06-04 17:00:04","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dctransparency.com\/?p=7937","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":7929,"post_author":"7","post_date":"2025-06-03 17:43:43","post_date_gmt":"2025-06-03 17:43:43","post_content":"\n
In its attempt to acquire US Steel, Japanese-owned Nippon Steel has invested over $6.1 million in federal lobbying, employing a plethora of powerful politicians, some of whom have close relationships with President Donald Trump<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Just days after the purchase announcement in December 2023, Nippon Steel brought in lobbying company Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld. The corporation has international clients, including the governments of KSA, the UAE, and Japan, as shown by their registration documents. According to a Washington Examiner review of disclosure data, Nippon Steel has since paid Akin Gump more than $5.5 million, which represents around 90% of its lobbying expenses used to advance the US Steel acquisition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The lobbyists at Akin Gump arguing Nippon Steel's case in the nation's capital include Hunter Bates, former chief of staff for former Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY); Reginald Babin, former chief counsel to Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY); and Brian Pomper, who advised the Senate Finance Committee on international trade matters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
During the last election campaign, Geoffrey Verhoff, another Akin Gump lobbyist hired to help Nippon Steel, was by far the biggest known money bundler for Trump. According to a Federal Election Commission report, Verhoff, who served as vice chairman of the Republican National Committee's financial arm from 2017 to 2021, bundled at least $3.6 million for the Trump 47 Committee. While lobbying for Nippon Steel, Bates also personally donated $10,000 to the Trump 47 Committee, according to campaign finance reports.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
While the main lobbying firm on Nippon Steel's roster is Akin Gump, a few other powerful figures in the business with strong ties to Capitol Hill have been enlisted to assist in influencing public opinion on the merger issue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Akin Gump hired the Trump-affiliated lobbying company Ballard Partners, a foreign agent for the Japanese Embassy, as a subcontractor on the Nippon Steel team last year in exchange<\/a> for a $25,000 monthly fee. According to lobbying activities disclosed under the Foreign Agents Registration Act, Ballard Partners reportedly arranged a phone conversation between Trump and Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba to examine the U.S. election one day following the 2024 presidential contest.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Brian Ballard, a prominent Trump donor and the agency's namesake president, leads his Florida firm's efforts on the Nippon Steel client. He is joined in lobbying by other Trump associates: Daniel McFaul, a member of Trump's transitional team, and Hunter Morgen, a Trump White House policy consultant with expertise in manufacturing and trade.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ballard and Morgen both made direct contributions to Trump's 2024 campaign; the founder of the business sent cheques to the Trump 47 Committee and Trump Save America PAC totalling $250,000 and $11,600, respectively.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Through Akin Gump, the Gephardt Group's government affairs branch, strategic communications agency VOX Global, and government affairs consultancy Valiant Strategies LLC also advocated on behalf of Nippon Steel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
James Baril, a former senior staffer to Sen. John Cornyn and current chairman of the Senate Finance Subcommittee on International Trade, Customs, and Global Competitiveness, led VOX Global's just-ended Nippon Steel assignment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
According to disclosure filings, Nippon Steel's agents have pushed for the planned purchase through the White House, Congress, and several government departments that have jurisdiction over international transactions, including the Department of Commerce, the State Department, and the U.S. Treasury.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In the second half of 2024, Nippon Steel significantly increased its lobbying expenditures, spending $1.45 million in Q3 and $1.71 million in Q4, more than doubling the total amount spent by the company during the first two quarters. A Washington Examiner analysis of quarterly activity records indicates that Nippon Steel has already disbursed an extra $1.83 million this year as it tries to finalise a contract.<\/p>\n","post_title":"Nippon Steel spends $6.1M on D.C. lobbying to win U.S. Steel bid, taps Trump allies","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"nippon-steel-spends-6-1m-on-d-c-lobbying-to-win-u-s-steel-bid-taps-trump-allies","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2025-06-03 17:43:43","post_modified_gmt":"2025-06-03 17:43:43","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dctransparency.com\/?p=7929","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"}],"next":false,"prev":true,"total_page":6},"paged":1,"column_class":"jeg_col_2o3","class":"epic_block_3"};

Page 6 of 21 Previous 1 … 5 6 7 … 21 Next

\n
In the first quarter of 2024, Medtronic, a Fridley-based company, boosted its federal lobbying spending by 10% to $1.07 million. They discussed topics including artificial intelligence, supply chains, tariffs, and the \"FDA workforce.\"<\/p>\n\n\n\n
How are lobbying firms like TDY influencing medtech policy?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Some businesses in D.C. have begun collaborating with MedTech and AdvaMed enterprises. Disclosures show that AdvaMed and Boston Scientific paid the law firm Alston & Bird $30,000<\/a> and $80,000, respectively, for services spanning from commerce to artificial intelligence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A consultant from Tarplin, Downs & Young in Washington, D.C., was hired by Abbott and AdvaMed. The topics of national trade and Medicare reimbursement kept coming up in TDY's advocacy for Abbott.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Mehlman Consulting, a Washington, D.C.-based firm that is only a few blocks from the White House, states in a first-quarter filing that it has done around $60,000 for Medtronic and has spoke out on issues concerning the taxation of multinational corporations and U.S. trade policy. Figures are rounded to the nearest $10,000 for disclosure purposes forms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/p>\n","post_title":"Medtech giants boost DC lobbying amid policy shifts","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"medtech-giants-boost-dc-lobbying-amid-policy-shifts","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2025-06-10 13:29:20","post_modified_gmt":"2025-06-10 13:29:20","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dctransparency.com\/?p=7952","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":7944,"post_author":"7","post_date":"2025-06-04 17:27:21","post_date_gmt":"2025-06-04 17:27:21","post_content":"\n
The Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for US Stablecoins (GENIUS) Act is in danger of being stalled by suggested modifications, especially those pertaining to credit card fees; therefore, cryptocurrency <\/a>advocates are encouraging Congress to enact it as soon as possible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Some senators had hinted that they could try to make changes, which prompted the drive. However, before the measure is done, politicians have been pressured by crypto lobbyists to adopt the bill.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As early as this week, the bill may be approved by the Senate. On May 19, it passed a procedural vote, meaning it had sufficient support to move on to the House. A statement about the GENIUS Act was released today by the leaders of the four biggest associations representing the digital asset sector.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Cryptocurrency institutions are backing lawmakers to push through the GENIUS Act<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Prominent crypto advocacy organisations, including the Blockchain Association, the Digital Chamber, the Crypto Council for Innovation and the DeFi Education Fund, issued a joint statement on June 2, insisting legislators continue their amazing work in order to present the proposal in the House.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The organisations said they respectfully want lawmakers to stick to the bill's fundamental objective, which is to provide a focused and all-encompassing approach to stablecoin supervision as it moves through the amendment process.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A number of Democratic members who had earlier backed out of the measure have changed their minds, pointing to President Donald Trump's connections to the cryptocurrency industry, namely a stablecoin introduced by his family's cryptocurrency company.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The stablecoin proposal may now encounter a snag in credit card fee legislation, even if it is claimed that the bill has enough support to move on to the House. The proposal, which is fiercely opposed by banks and card firms, would require payment networks such as Visa, Mastercard, and American Express to compete on merchant processing rates.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Banks and card networks have strongly opposed the plan, arguing that it is an example of government overreach. Meanwhile, proponents of cryptocurrency are battling to<\/a> prevent the off-topic credit card amendments from destroying their long-awaited success and turning the vote into a political minefield.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
According to Terrett's research, if a deal is not reached, administrative obstacles would likely slow down everything and postpone final approval until June 9. Crypto lobbying organisations are still optimistic that the GENIUS Act will pass and give stablecoin issuers and consumers in the US the long-needed legislative clarification despite mounting political tensions.<\/p>\n","post_title":"Cryptocurrency lobbying efforts intensify as senate considers unaltered GENIUS Act","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"cryptocurrency-lobbying-efforts-intensify-as-senate-considers-unaltered-genius-act","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2025-06-04 17:27:21","post_modified_gmt":"2025-06-04 17:27:21","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dctransparency.com\/?p=7944","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":7937,"post_author":"7","post_date":"2025-06-04 17:00:04","post_date_gmt":"2025-06-04 17:00:04","post_content":"\n
The Supreme Court rejected conservative Texas activist Michael Quinn Sullivan's complaint against the Texas Ethics Commission, further undermining his more than ten-year struggle against the state agency that oversees and enforces Texas' campaign finance and lobbying regulations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Sullivan has been appealing a $10,000 ethics commission punishment for failing to register as a lobbyist in 2010 and 2011 since 2014. Earlier this year, he petitioned the nation's highest court to take up the issue. Sullivan was the former chairman of the powerful conservative lobbying organization<\/a> Empower Texans. His attempt to overturn two state appeals court rulings that refused to throw out the fines was denied by the Texas Supreme Court last year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In a brief to the U.S. Supreme Court, Sullivan contended that Texas' ethics rules, which impose onerous registration and fee requirements, infringe upon the First Amendment rights of \"ordinary citizens\" who wish to communicate with their elected officials.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n
\"Sullivan's actions went far beyond an average citizen who happened to visit with a lawmaker or who spent a day or two at the Texas Capitol during a legislative session,\" <\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n
the Ethics Commission said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The court's decision supports the ethics commission's appeals court verdict. Sullivan will go back to a district court for a jury trial to determine the amount he must pay.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
After two former state senators complained that Sullivan had engaged in unregistered lobbying, the ethics commission began looking into the matter. For a long time, Sullivan has maintained that his work with the now-defunct Empower Texans was journalism rather than lobbying. However, such an argument was dismissed by the ethics committee. In their 2014 decision, they cited hundreds of letters he often addressed to Republican members to debate legislation and amendments, urging them to support the principles of his group.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Additionally, Sullivan released a Fiscal Responsibility Index that rates the conservative credentials of members according to their voting record in each session. In another instance of lobbying, the panel discovered that Sullivan utilized that scorecard to sway members' votes while working for Empower Texans.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In court, Sullivan repeatedly tried to argue that the ethics commission lacked the constitutional authority to enforce the state's ethical laws. By first claiming that he had moved to Denton County, Sullivan was able to have the case heard in a district court there instead of Travis County.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Even though a judge in Denton County ruled in Sullivan's favour, the verdict was reversed, and the case was sent back to Travis County when an appeals court found that Sullivan did not really meet the residency requirements to have the case heard in Denton County from the start<\/a>. The Travis County court decided in favour of the TEC. Therefore, Sullivan lost his appeal. In the meanwhile, Sullivan filed a number of further cases against the commission, all of which were dismissed in federal or state district court.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Many of the authors of these friend-of-the-court briefs, including those authored by Cruz, Cornyn, and Paxton, \"appear to assume, without any real analysis of the record that Sullivan did nothing more than write a newsletter and work on a website that \u2018rated\u2019 legislators,\" the ethics commission said in their response to the petition. These portrayals are inconsistent with the factual evidence that a Texas court grantedsummary judgments in favour of the Commission based on the allegations that Sullivan had broken Texas law.<\/p>\n","post_title":"Supreme court rejects GOP activist\u2019s appeal over Texas lobbying fine","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"supreme-court-rejects-gop-activists-appeal-over-texas-lobbying-fine","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2025-06-04 17:00:04","post_modified_gmt":"2025-06-04 17:00:04","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dctransparency.com\/?p=7937","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":7929,"post_author":"7","post_date":"2025-06-03 17:43:43","post_date_gmt":"2025-06-03 17:43:43","post_content":"\n
In its attempt to acquire US Steel, Japanese-owned Nippon Steel has invested over $6.1 million in federal lobbying, employing a plethora of powerful politicians, some of whom have close relationships with President Donald Trump<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Just days after the purchase announcement in December 2023, Nippon Steel brought in lobbying company Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld. The corporation has international clients, including the governments of KSA, the UAE, and Japan, as shown by their registration documents. According to a Washington Examiner review of disclosure data, Nippon Steel has since paid Akin Gump more than $5.5 million, which represents around 90% of its lobbying expenses used to advance the US Steel acquisition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The lobbyists at Akin Gump arguing Nippon Steel's case in the nation's capital include Hunter Bates, former chief of staff for former Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY); Reginald Babin, former chief counsel to Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY); and Brian Pomper, who advised the Senate Finance Committee on international trade matters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
During the last election campaign, Geoffrey Verhoff, another Akin Gump lobbyist hired to help Nippon Steel, was by far the biggest known money bundler for Trump. According to a Federal Election Commission report, Verhoff, who served as vice chairman of the Republican National Committee's financial arm from 2017 to 2021, bundled at least $3.6 million for the Trump 47 Committee. While lobbying for Nippon Steel, Bates also personally donated $10,000 to the Trump 47 Committee, according to campaign finance reports.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
While the main lobbying firm on Nippon Steel's roster is Akin Gump, a few other powerful figures in the business with strong ties to Capitol Hill have been enlisted to assist in influencing public opinion on the merger issue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Akin Gump hired the Trump-affiliated lobbying company Ballard Partners, a foreign agent for the Japanese Embassy, as a subcontractor on the Nippon Steel team last year in exchange<\/a> for a $25,000 monthly fee. According to lobbying activities disclosed under the Foreign Agents Registration Act, Ballard Partners reportedly arranged a phone conversation between Trump and Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba to examine the U.S. election one day following the 2024 presidential contest.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Brian Ballard, a prominent Trump donor and the agency's namesake president, leads his Florida firm's efforts on the Nippon Steel client. He is joined in lobbying by other Trump associates: Daniel McFaul, a member of Trump's transitional team, and Hunter Morgen, a Trump White House policy consultant with expertise in manufacturing and trade.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ballard and Morgen both made direct contributions to Trump's 2024 campaign; the founder of the business sent cheques to the Trump 47 Committee and Trump Save America PAC totalling $250,000 and $11,600, respectively.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Through Akin Gump, the Gephardt Group's government affairs branch, strategic communications agency VOX Global, and government affairs consultancy Valiant Strategies LLC also advocated on behalf of Nippon Steel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
James Baril, a former senior staffer to Sen. John Cornyn and current chairman of the Senate Finance Subcommittee on International Trade, Customs, and Global Competitiveness, led VOX Global's just-ended Nippon Steel assignment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
According to disclosure filings, Nippon Steel's agents have pushed for the planned purchase through the White House, Congress, and several government departments that have jurisdiction over international transactions, including the Department of Commerce, the State Department, and the U.S. Treasury.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In the second half of 2024, Nippon Steel significantly increased its lobbying expenditures, spending $1.45 million in Q3 and $1.71 million in Q4, more than doubling the total amount spent by the company during the first two quarters. A Washington Examiner analysis of quarterly activity records indicates that Nippon Steel has already disbursed an extra $1.83 million this year as it tries to finalise a contract.<\/p>\n","post_title":"Nippon Steel spends $6.1M on D.C. lobbying to win U.S. Steel bid, taps Trump allies","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"nippon-steel-spends-6-1m-on-d-c-lobbying-to-win-u-s-steel-bid-taps-trump-allies","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2025-06-03 17:43:43","post_modified_gmt":"2025-06-03 17:43:43","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dctransparency.com\/?p=7929","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"}],"next":false,"prev":true,"total_page":6},"paged":1,"column_class":"jeg_col_2o3","class":"epic_block_3"};

Page 6 of 21 Previous 1 … 5 6 7 … 21 Next

\n
Files show that company representatives lobbied Congress on supply chain issues, promoting issues like the House Select Committee's decisions on strategic competition between the United States and the Chinese Communist Party that could impact the medical device supply chain.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In the first quarter of 2024, Medtronic, a Fridley-based company, boosted its federal lobbying spending by 10% to $1.07 million. They discussed topics including artificial intelligence, supply chains, tariffs, and the \"FDA workforce.\"<\/p>\n\n\n\n
How are lobbying firms like TDY influencing medtech policy?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Some businesses in D.C. have begun collaborating with MedTech and AdvaMed enterprises. Disclosures show that AdvaMed and Boston Scientific paid the law firm Alston & Bird $30,000<\/a> and $80,000, respectively, for services spanning from commerce to artificial intelligence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A consultant from Tarplin, Downs & Young in Washington, D.C., was hired by Abbott and AdvaMed. The topics of national trade and Medicare reimbursement kept coming up in TDY's advocacy for Abbott.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Mehlman Consulting, a Washington, D.C.-based firm that is only a few blocks from the White House, states in a first-quarter filing that it has done around $60,000 for Medtronic and has spoke out on issues concerning the taxation of multinational corporations and U.S. trade policy. Figures are rounded to the nearest $10,000 for disclosure purposes forms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/p>\n","post_title":"Medtech giants boost DC lobbying amid policy shifts","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"medtech-giants-boost-dc-lobbying-amid-policy-shifts","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2025-06-10 13:29:20","post_modified_gmt":"2025-06-10 13:29:20","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dctransparency.com\/?p=7952","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":7944,"post_author":"7","post_date":"2025-06-04 17:27:21","post_date_gmt":"2025-06-04 17:27:21","post_content":"\n
The Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for US Stablecoins (GENIUS) Act is in danger of being stalled by suggested modifications, especially those pertaining to credit card fees; therefore, cryptocurrency <\/a>advocates are encouraging Congress to enact it as soon as possible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Some senators had hinted that they could try to make changes, which prompted the drive. However, before the measure is done, politicians have been pressured by crypto lobbyists to adopt the bill.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As early as this week, the bill may be approved by the Senate. On May 19, it passed a procedural vote, meaning it had sufficient support to move on to the House. A statement about the GENIUS Act was released today by the leaders of the four biggest associations representing the digital asset sector.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Cryptocurrency institutions are backing lawmakers to push through the GENIUS Act<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Prominent crypto advocacy organisations, including the Blockchain Association, the Digital Chamber, the Crypto Council for Innovation and the DeFi Education Fund, issued a joint statement on June 2, insisting legislators continue their amazing work in order to present the proposal in the House.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The organisations said they respectfully want lawmakers to stick to the bill's fundamental objective, which is to provide a focused and all-encompassing approach to stablecoin supervision as it moves through the amendment process.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A number of Democratic members who had earlier backed out of the measure have changed their minds, pointing to President Donald Trump's connections to the cryptocurrency industry, namely a stablecoin introduced by his family's cryptocurrency company.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The stablecoin proposal may now encounter a snag in credit card fee legislation, even if it is claimed that the bill has enough support to move on to the House. The proposal, which is fiercely opposed by banks and card firms, would require payment networks such as Visa, Mastercard, and American Express to compete on merchant processing rates.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Banks and card networks have strongly opposed the plan, arguing that it is an example of government overreach. Meanwhile, proponents of cryptocurrency are battling to<\/a> prevent the off-topic credit card amendments from destroying their long-awaited success and turning the vote into a political minefield.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
According to Terrett's research, if a deal is not reached, administrative obstacles would likely slow down everything and postpone final approval until June 9. Crypto lobbying organisations are still optimistic that the GENIUS Act will pass and give stablecoin issuers and consumers in the US the long-needed legislative clarification despite mounting political tensions.<\/p>\n","post_title":"Cryptocurrency lobbying efforts intensify as senate considers unaltered GENIUS Act","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"cryptocurrency-lobbying-efforts-intensify-as-senate-considers-unaltered-genius-act","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2025-06-04 17:27:21","post_modified_gmt":"2025-06-04 17:27:21","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dctransparency.com\/?p=7944","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":7937,"post_author":"7","post_date":"2025-06-04 17:00:04","post_date_gmt":"2025-06-04 17:00:04","post_content":"\n
The Supreme Court rejected conservative Texas activist Michael Quinn Sullivan's complaint against the Texas Ethics Commission, further undermining his more than ten-year struggle against the state agency that oversees and enforces Texas' campaign finance and lobbying regulations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Sullivan has been appealing a $10,000 ethics commission punishment for failing to register as a lobbyist in 2010 and 2011 since 2014. Earlier this year, he petitioned the nation's highest court to take up the issue. Sullivan was the former chairman of the powerful conservative lobbying organization<\/a> Empower Texans. His attempt to overturn two state appeals court rulings that refused to throw out the fines was denied by the Texas Supreme Court last year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In a brief to the U.S. Supreme Court, Sullivan contended that Texas' ethics rules, which impose onerous registration and fee requirements, infringe upon the First Amendment rights of \"ordinary citizens\" who wish to communicate with their elected officials.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n
\"Sullivan's actions went far beyond an average citizen who happened to visit with a lawmaker or who spent a day or two at the Texas Capitol during a legislative session,\" <\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n
the Ethics Commission said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The court's decision supports the ethics commission's appeals court verdict. Sullivan will go back to a district court for a jury trial to determine the amount he must pay.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
After two former state senators complained that Sullivan had engaged in unregistered lobbying, the ethics commission began looking into the matter. For a long time, Sullivan has maintained that his work with the now-defunct Empower Texans was journalism rather than lobbying. However, such an argument was dismissed by the ethics committee. In their 2014 decision, they cited hundreds of letters he often addressed to Republican members to debate legislation and amendments, urging them to support the principles of his group.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Additionally, Sullivan released a Fiscal Responsibility Index that rates the conservative credentials of members according to their voting record in each session. In another instance of lobbying, the panel discovered that Sullivan utilized that scorecard to sway members' votes while working for Empower Texans.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In court, Sullivan repeatedly tried to argue that the ethics commission lacked the constitutional authority to enforce the state's ethical laws. By first claiming that he had moved to Denton County, Sullivan was able to have the case heard in a district court there instead of Travis County.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Even though a judge in Denton County ruled in Sullivan's favour, the verdict was reversed, and the case was sent back to Travis County when an appeals court found that Sullivan did not really meet the residency requirements to have the case heard in Denton County from the start<\/a>. The Travis County court decided in favour of the TEC. Therefore, Sullivan lost his appeal. In the meanwhile, Sullivan filed a number of further cases against the commission, all of which were dismissed in federal or state district court.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Many of the authors of these friend-of-the-court briefs, including those authored by Cruz, Cornyn, and Paxton, \"appear to assume, without any real analysis of the record that Sullivan did nothing more than write a newsletter and work on a website that \u2018rated\u2019 legislators,\" the ethics commission said in their response to the petition. These portrayals are inconsistent with the factual evidence that a Texas court grantedsummary judgments in favour of the Commission based on the allegations that Sullivan had broken Texas law.<\/p>\n","post_title":"Supreme court rejects GOP activist\u2019s appeal over Texas lobbying fine","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"supreme-court-rejects-gop-activists-appeal-over-texas-lobbying-fine","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2025-06-04 17:00:04","post_modified_gmt":"2025-06-04 17:00:04","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dctransparency.com\/?p=7937","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":7929,"post_author":"7","post_date":"2025-06-03 17:43:43","post_date_gmt":"2025-06-03 17:43:43","post_content":"\n
In its attempt to acquire US Steel, Japanese-owned Nippon Steel has invested over $6.1 million in federal lobbying, employing a plethora of powerful politicians, some of whom have close relationships with President Donald Trump<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Just days after the purchase announcement in December 2023, Nippon Steel brought in lobbying company Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld. The corporation has international clients, including the governments of KSA, the UAE, and Japan, as shown by their registration documents. According to a Washington Examiner review of disclosure data, Nippon Steel has since paid Akin Gump more than $5.5 million, which represents around 90% of its lobbying expenses used to advance the US Steel acquisition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The lobbyists at Akin Gump arguing Nippon Steel's case in the nation's capital include Hunter Bates, former chief of staff for former Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY); Reginald Babin, former chief counsel to Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY); and Brian Pomper, who advised the Senate Finance Committee on international trade matters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
During the last election campaign, Geoffrey Verhoff, another Akin Gump lobbyist hired to help Nippon Steel, was by far the biggest known money bundler for Trump. According to a Federal Election Commission report, Verhoff, who served as vice chairman of the Republican National Committee's financial arm from 2017 to 2021, bundled at least $3.6 million for the Trump 47 Committee. While lobbying for Nippon Steel, Bates also personally donated $10,000 to the Trump 47 Committee, according to campaign finance reports.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
While the main lobbying firm on Nippon Steel's roster is Akin Gump, a few other powerful figures in the business with strong ties to Capitol Hill have been enlisted to assist in influencing public opinion on the merger issue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Akin Gump hired the Trump-affiliated lobbying company Ballard Partners, a foreign agent for the Japanese Embassy, as a subcontractor on the Nippon Steel team last year in exchange<\/a> for a $25,000 monthly fee. According to lobbying activities disclosed under the Foreign Agents Registration Act, Ballard Partners reportedly arranged a phone conversation between Trump and Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba to examine the U.S. election one day following the 2024 presidential contest.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Brian Ballard, a prominent Trump donor and the agency's namesake president, leads his Florida firm's efforts on the Nippon Steel client. He is joined in lobbying by other Trump associates: Daniel McFaul, a member of Trump's transitional team, and Hunter Morgen, a Trump White House policy consultant with expertise in manufacturing and trade.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ballard and Morgen both made direct contributions to Trump's 2024 campaign; the founder of the business sent cheques to the Trump 47 Committee and Trump Save America PAC totalling $250,000 and $11,600, respectively.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Through Akin Gump, the Gephardt Group's government affairs branch, strategic communications agency VOX Global, and government affairs consultancy Valiant Strategies LLC also advocated on behalf of Nippon Steel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
James Baril, a former senior staffer to Sen. John Cornyn and current chairman of the Senate Finance Subcommittee on International Trade, Customs, and Global Competitiveness, led VOX Global's just-ended Nippon Steel assignment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
According to disclosure filings, Nippon Steel's agents have pushed for the planned purchase through the White House, Congress, and several government departments that have jurisdiction over international transactions, including the Department of Commerce, the State Department, and the U.S. Treasury.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In the second half of 2024, Nippon Steel significantly increased its lobbying expenditures, spending $1.45 million in Q3 and $1.71 million in Q4, more than doubling the total amount spent by the company during the first two quarters. A Washington Examiner analysis of quarterly activity records indicates that Nippon Steel has already disbursed an extra $1.83 million this year as it tries to finalise a contract.<\/p>\n","post_title":"Nippon Steel spends $6.1M on D.C. lobbying to win U.S. Steel bid, taps Trump allies","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"nippon-steel-spends-6-1m-on-d-c-lobbying-to-win-u-s-steel-bid-taps-trump-allies","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2025-06-03 17:43:43","post_modified_gmt":"2025-06-03 17:43:43","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dctransparency.com\/?p=7929","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"}],"next":false,"prev":true,"total_page":6},"paged":1,"column_class":"jeg_col_2o3","class":"epic_block_3"};

Page 6 of 21 Previous 1 … 5 6 7 … 21 Next

\n
Boston Scientific, which has a sizable cardiology subsidiary located in Minnesota, increased its spending by around 20% during the first three months of 2025, reporting $572,000 in federal lobbying.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Files show that company representatives lobbied Congress on supply chain issues, promoting issues like the House Select Committee's decisions on strategic competition between the United States and the Chinese Communist Party that could impact the medical device supply chain.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In the first quarter of 2024, Medtronic, a Fridley-based company, boosted its federal lobbying spending by 10% to $1.07 million. They discussed topics including artificial intelligence, supply chains, tariffs, and the \"FDA workforce.\"<\/p>\n\n\n\n
How are lobbying firms like TDY influencing medtech policy?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Some businesses in D.C. have begun collaborating with MedTech and AdvaMed enterprises. Disclosures show that AdvaMed and Boston Scientific paid the law firm Alston & Bird $30,000<\/a> and $80,000, respectively, for services spanning from commerce to artificial intelligence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A consultant from Tarplin, Downs & Young in Washington, D.C., was hired by Abbott and AdvaMed. The topics of national trade and Medicare reimbursement kept coming up in TDY's advocacy for Abbott.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Mehlman Consulting, a Washington, D.C.-based firm that is only a few blocks from the White House, states in a first-quarter filing that it has done around $60,000 for Medtronic and has spoke out on issues concerning the taxation of multinational corporations and U.S. trade policy. Figures are rounded to the nearest $10,000 for disclosure purposes forms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/p>\n","post_title":"Medtech giants boost DC lobbying amid policy shifts","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"medtech-giants-boost-dc-lobbying-amid-policy-shifts","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2025-06-10 13:29:20","post_modified_gmt":"2025-06-10 13:29:20","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dctransparency.com\/?p=7952","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":7944,"post_author":"7","post_date":"2025-06-04 17:27:21","post_date_gmt":"2025-06-04 17:27:21","post_content":"\n
The Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for US Stablecoins (GENIUS) Act is in danger of being stalled by suggested modifications, especially those pertaining to credit card fees; therefore, cryptocurrency <\/a>advocates are encouraging Congress to enact it as soon as possible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Some senators had hinted that they could try to make changes, which prompted the drive. However, before the measure is done, politicians have been pressured by crypto lobbyists to adopt the bill.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As early as this week, the bill may be approved by the Senate. On May 19, it passed a procedural vote, meaning it had sufficient support to move on to the House. A statement about the GENIUS Act was released today by the leaders of the four biggest associations representing the digital asset sector.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Cryptocurrency institutions are backing lawmakers to push through the GENIUS Act<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Prominent crypto advocacy organisations, including the Blockchain Association, the Digital Chamber, the Crypto Council for Innovation and the DeFi Education Fund, issued a joint statement on June 2, insisting legislators continue their amazing work in order to present the proposal in the House.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The organisations said they respectfully want lawmakers to stick to the bill's fundamental objective, which is to provide a focused and all-encompassing approach to stablecoin supervision as it moves through the amendment process.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A number of Democratic members who had earlier backed out of the measure have changed their minds, pointing to President Donald Trump's connections to the cryptocurrency industry, namely a stablecoin introduced by his family's cryptocurrency company.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The stablecoin proposal may now encounter a snag in credit card fee legislation, even if it is claimed that the bill has enough support to move on to the House. The proposal, which is fiercely opposed by banks and card firms, would require payment networks such as Visa, Mastercard, and American Express to compete on merchant processing rates.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Banks and card networks have strongly opposed the plan, arguing that it is an example of government overreach. Meanwhile, proponents of cryptocurrency are battling to<\/a> prevent the off-topic credit card amendments from destroying their long-awaited success and turning the vote into a political minefield.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
According to Terrett's research, if a deal is not reached, administrative obstacles would likely slow down everything and postpone final approval until June 9. Crypto lobbying organisations are still optimistic that the GENIUS Act will pass and give stablecoin issuers and consumers in the US the long-needed legislative clarification despite mounting political tensions.<\/p>\n","post_title":"Cryptocurrency lobbying efforts intensify as senate considers unaltered GENIUS Act","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"cryptocurrency-lobbying-efforts-intensify-as-senate-considers-unaltered-genius-act","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2025-06-04 17:27:21","post_modified_gmt":"2025-06-04 17:27:21","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dctransparency.com\/?p=7944","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":7937,"post_author":"7","post_date":"2025-06-04 17:00:04","post_date_gmt":"2025-06-04 17:00:04","post_content":"\n
The Supreme Court rejected conservative Texas activist Michael Quinn Sullivan's complaint against the Texas Ethics Commission, further undermining his more than ten-year struggle against the state agency that oversees and enforces Texas' campaign finance and lobbying regulations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Sullivan has been appealing a $10,000 ethics commission punishment for failing to register as a lobbyist in 2010 and 2011 since 2014. Earlier this year, he petitioned the nation's highest court to take up the issue. Sullivan was the former chairman of the powerful conservative lobbying organization<\/a> Empower Texans. His attempt to overturn two state appeals court rulings that refused to throw out the fines was denied by the Texas Supreme Court last year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In a brief to the U.S. Supreme Court, Sullivan contended that Texas' ethics rules, which impose onerous registration and fee requirements, infringe upon the First Amendment rights of \"ordinary citizens\" who wish to communicate with their elected officials.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n
\"Sullivan's actions went far beyond an average citizen who happened to visit with a lawmaker or who spent a day or two at the Texas Capitol during a legislative session,\" <\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n
the Ethics Commission said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The court's decision supports the ethics commission's appeals court verdict. Sullivan will go back to a district court for a jury trial to determine the amount he must pay.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
After two former state senators complained that Sullivan had engaged in unregistered lobbying, the ethics commission began looking into the matter. For a long time, Sullivan has maintained that his work with the now-defunct Empower Texans was journalism rather than lobbying. However, such an argument was dismissed by the ethics committee. In their 2014 decision, they cited hundreds of letters he often addressed to Republican members to debate legislation and amendments, urging them to support the principles of his group.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Additionally, Sullivan released a Fiscal Responsibility Index that rates the conservative credentials of members according to their voting record in each session. In another instance of lobbying, the panel discovered that Sullivan utilized that scorecard to sway members' votes while working for Empower Texans.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In court, Sullivan repeatedly tried to argue that the ethics commission lacked the constitutional authority to enforce the state's ethical laws. By first claiming that he had moved to Denton County, Sullivan was able to have the case heard in a district court there instead of Travis County.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Even though a judge in Denton County ruled in Sullivan's favour, the verdict was reversed, and the case was sent back to Travis County when an appeals court found that Sullivan did not really meet the residency requirements to have the case heard in Denton County from the start<\/a>. The Travis County court decided in favour of the TEC. Therefore, Sullivan lost his appeal. In the meanwhile, Sullivan filed a number of further cases against the commission, all of which were dismissed in federal or state district court.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Many of the authors of these friend-of-the-court briefs, including those authored by Cruz, Cornyn, and Paxton, \"appear to assume, without any real analysis of the record that Sullivan did nothing more than write a newsletter and work on a website that \u2018rated\u2019 legislators,\" the ethics commission said in their response to the petition. These portrayals are inconsistent with the factual evidence that a Texas court grantedsummary judgments in favour of the Commission based on the allegations that Sullivan had broken Texas law.<\/p>\n","post_title":"Supreme court rejects GOP activist\u2019s appeal over Texas lobbying fine","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"supreme-court-rejects-gop-activists-appeal-over-texas-lobbying-fine","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2025-06-04 17:00:04","post_modified_gmt":"2025-06-04 17:00:04","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dctransparency.com\/?p=7937","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":7929,"post_author":"7","post_date":"2025-06-03 17:43:43","post_date_gmt":"2025-06-03 17:43:43","post_content":"\n
In its attempt to acquire US Steel, Japanese-owned Nippon Steel has invested over $6.1 million in federal lobbying, employing a plethora of powerful politicians, some of whom have close relationships with President Donald Trump<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Just days after the purchase announcement in December 2023, Nippon Steel brought in lobbying company Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld. The corporation has international clients, including the governments of KSA, the UAE, and Japan, as shown by their registration documents. According to a Washington Examiner review of disclosure data, Nippon Steel has since paid Akin Gump more than $5.5 million, which represents around 90% of its lobbying expenses used to advance the US Steel acquisition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The lobbyists at Akin Gump arguing Nippon Steel's case in the nation's capital include Hunter Bates, former chief of staff for former Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY); Reginald Babin, former chief counsel to Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY); and Brian Pomper, who advised the Senate Finance Committee on international trade matters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
During the last election campaign, Geoffrey Verhoff, another Akin Gump lobbyist hired to help Nippon Steel, was by far the biggest known money bundler for Trump. According to a Federal Election Commission report, Verhoff, who served as vice chairman of the Republican National Committee's financial arm from 2017 to 2021, bundled at least $3.6 million for the Trump 47 Committee. While lobbying for Nippon Steel, Bates also personally donated $10,000 to the Trump 47 Committee, according to campaign finance reports.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
While the main lobbying firm on Nippon Steel's roster is Akin Gump, a few other powerful figures in the business with strong ties to Capitol Hill have been enlisted to assist in influencing public opinion on the merger issue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Akin Gump hired the Trump-affiliated lobbying company Ballard Partners, a foreign agent for the Japanese Embassy, as a subcontractor on the Nippon Steel team last year in exchange<\/a> for a $25,000 monthly fee. According to lobbying activities disclosed under the Foreign Agents Registration Act, Ballard Partners reportedly arranged a phone conversation between Trump and Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba to examine the U.S. election one day following the 2024 presidential contest.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Brian Ballard, a prominent Trump donor and the agency's namesake president, leads his Florida firm's efforts on the Nippon Steel client. He is joined in lobbying by other Trump associates: Daniel McFaul, a member of Trump's transitional team, and Hunter Morgen, a Trump White House policy consultant with expertise in manufacturing and trade.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ballard and Morgen both made direct contributions to Trump's 2024 campaign; the founder of the business sent cheques to the Trump 47 Committee and Trump Save America PAC totalling $250,000 and $11,600, respectively.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Through Akin Gump, the Gephardt Group's government affairs branch, strategic communications agency VOX Global, and government affairs consultancy Valiant Strategies LLC also advocated on behalf of Nippon Steel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
James Baril, a former senior staffer to Sen. John Cornyn and current chairman of the Senate Finance Subcommittee on International Trade, Customs, and Global Competitiveness, led VOX Global's just-ended Nippon Steel assignment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
According to disclosure filings, Nippon Steel's agents have pushed for the planned purchase through the White House, Congress, and several government departments that have jurisdiction over international transactions, including the Department of Commerce, the State Department, and the U.S. Treasury.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In the second half of 2024, Nippon Steel significantly increased its lobbying expenditures, spending $1.45 million in Q3 and $1.71 million in Q4, more than doubling the total amount spent by the company during the first two quarters. A Washington Examiner analysis of quarterly activity records indicates that Nippon Steel has already disbursed an extra $1.83 million this year as it tries to finalise a contract.<\/p>\n","post_title":"Nippon Steel spends $6.1M on D.C. lobbying to win U.S. Steel bid, taps Trump allies","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"nippon-steel-spends-6-1m-on-d-c-lobbying-to-win-u-s-steel-bid-taps-trump-allies","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2025-06-03 17:43:43","post_modified_gmt":"2025-06-03 17:43:43","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dctransparency.com\/?p=7929","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"}],"next":false,"prev":true,"total_page":6},"paged":1,"column_class":"jeg_col_2o3","class":"epic_block_3"};

Page 6 of 21 Previous 1 … 5 6 7 … 21 Next

\n
Boston Scientific, Abbott Laboratories, and Medtronic all acknowledged pushing for long-supported causes, including taxes and Medicare eligibility. However, documents also show that the Trump administration's goals have changed, moving from increasing tariffs with foreign nations to reducing the size of the federal workforce.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Boston Scientific, which has a sizable cardiology subsidiary located in Minnesota, increased its spending by around 20% during the first three months of 2025, reporting $572,000 in federal lobbying.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Files show that company representatives lobbied Congress on supply chain issues, promoting issues like the House Select Committee's decisions on strategic competition between the United States and the Chinese Communist Party that could impact the medical device supply chain.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In the first quarter of 2024, Medtronic, a Fridley-based company, boosted its federal lobbying spending by 10% to $1.07 million. They discussed topics including artificial intelligence, supply chains, tariffs, and the \"FDA workforce.\"<\/p>\n\n\n\n
How are lobbying firms like TDY influencing medtech policy?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Some businesses in D.C. have begun collaborating with MedTech and AdvaMed enterprises. Disclosures show that AdvaMed and Boston Scientific paid the law firm Alston & Bird $30,000<\/a> and $80,000, respectively, for services spanning from commerce to artificial intelligence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A consultant from Tarplin, Downs & Young in Washington, D.C., was hired by Abbott and AdvaMed. The topics of national trade and Medicare reimbursement kept coming up in TDY's advocacy for Abbott.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Mehlman Consulting, a Washington, D.C.-based firm that is only a few blocks from the White House, states in a first-quarter filing that it has done around $60,000 for Medtronic and has spoke out on issues concerning the taxation of multinational corporations and U.S. trade policy. Figures are rounded to the nearest $10,000 for disclosure purposes forms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/p>\n","post_title":"Medtech giants boost DC lobbying amid policy shifts","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"medtech-giants-boost-dc-lobbying-amid-policy-shifts","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2025-06-10 13:29:20","post_modified_gmt":"2025-06-10 13:29:20","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dctransparency.com\/?p=7952","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":7944,"post_author":"7","post_date":"2025-06-04 17:27:21","post_date_gmt":"2025-06-04 17:27:21","post_content":"\n
The Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for US Stablecoins (GENIUS) Act is in danger of being stalled by suggested modifications, especially those pertaining to credit card fees; therefore, cryptocurrency <\/a>advocates are encouraging Congress to enact it as soon as possible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Some senators had hinted that they could try to make changes, which prompted the drive. However, before the measure is done, politicians have been pressured by crypto lobbyists to adopt the bill.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As early as this week, the bill may be approved by the Senate. On May 19, it passed a procedural vote, meaning it had sufficient support to move on to the House. A statement about the GENIUS Act was released today by the leaders of the four biggest associations representing the digital asset sector.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Cryptocurrency institutions are backing lawmakers to push through the GENIUS Act<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Prominent crypto advocacy organisations, including the Blockchain Association, the Digital Chamber, the Crypto Council for Innovation and the DeFi Education Fund, issued a joint statement on June 2, insisting legislators continue their amazing work in order to present the proposal in the House.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The organisations said they respectfully want lawmakers to stick to the bill's fundamental objective, which is to provide a focused and all-encompassing approach to stablecoin supervision as it moves through the amendment process.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A number of Democratic members who had earlier backed out of the measure have changed their minds, pointing to President Donald Trump's connections to the cryptocurrency industry, namely a stablecoin introduced by his family's cryptocurrency company.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The stablecoin proposal may now encounter a snag in credit card fee legislation, even if it is claimed that the bill has enough support to move on to the House. The proposal, which is fiercely opposed by banks and card firms, would require payment networks such as Visa, Mastercard, and American Express to compete on merchant processing rates.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Banks and card networks have strongly opposed the plan, arguing that it is an example of government overreach. Meanwhile, proponents of cryptocurrency are battling to<\/a> prevent the off-topic credit card amendments from destroying their long-awaited success and turning the vote into a political minefield.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
According to Terrett's research, if a deal is not reached, administrative obstacles would likely slow down everything and postpone final approval until June 9. Crypto lobbying organisations are still optimistic that the GENIUS Act will pass and give stablecoin issuers and consumers in the US the long-needed legislative clarification despite mounting political tensions.<\/p>\n","post_title":"Cryptocurrency lobbying efforts intensify as senate considers unaltered GENIUS Act","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"cryptocurrency-lobbying-efforts-intensify-as-senate-considers-unaltered-genius-act","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2025-06-04 17:27:21","post_modified_gmt":"2025-06-04 17:27:21","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dctransparency.com\/?p=7944","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":7937,"post_author":"7","post_date":"2025-06-04 17:00:04","post_date_gmt":"2025-06-04 17:00:04","post_content":"\n
The Supreme Court rejected conservative Texas activist Michael Quinn Sullivan's complaint against the Texas Ethics Commission, further undermining his more than ten-year struggle against the state agency that oversees and enforces Texas' campaign finance and lobbying regulations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Sullivan has been appealing a $10,000 ethics commission punishment for failing to register as a lobbyist in 2010 and 2011 since 2014. Earlier this year, he petitioned the nation's highest court to take up the issue. Sullivan was the former chairman of the powerful conservative lobbying organization<\/a> Empower Texans. His attempt to overturn two state appeals court rulings that refused to throw out the fines was denied by the Texas Supreme Court last year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In a brief to the U.S. Supreme Court, Sullivan contended that Texas' ethics rules, which impose onerous registration and fee requirements, infringe upon the First Amendment rights of \"ordinary citizens\" who wish to communicate with their elected officials.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n
\"Sullivan's actions went far beyond an average citizen who happened to visit with a lawmaker or who spent a day or two at the Texas Capitol during a legislative session,\" <\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n
the Ethics Commission said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The court's decision supports the ethics commission's appeals court verdict. Sullivan will go back to a district court for a jury trial to determine the amount he must pay.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
After two former state senators complained that Sullivan had engaged in unregistered lobbying, the ethics commission began looking into the matter. For a long time, Sullivan has maintained that his work with the now-defunct Empower Texans was journalism rather than lobbying. However, such an argument was dismissed by the ethics committee. In their 2014 decision, they cited hundreds of letters he often addressed to Republican members to debate legislation and amendments, urging them to support the principles of his group.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Additionally, Sullivan released a Fiscal Responsibility Index that rates the conservative credentials of members according to their voting record in each session. In another instance of lobbying, the panel discovered that Sullivan utilized that scorecard to sway members' votes while working for Empower Texans.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In court, Sullivan repeatedly tried to argue that the ethics commission lacked the constitutional authority to enforce the state's ethical laws. By first claiming that he had moved to Denton County, Sullivan was able to have the case heard in a district court there instead of Travis County.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Even though a judge in Denton County ruled in Sullivan's favour, the verdict was reversed, and the case was sent back to Travis County when an appeals court found that Sullivan did not really meet the residency requirements to have the case heard in Denton County from the start<\/a>. The Travis County court decided in favour of the TEC. Therefore, Sullivan lost his appeal. In the meanwhile, Sullivan filed a number of further cases against the commission, all of which were dismissed in federal or state district court.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Many of the authors of these friend-of-the-court briefs, including those authored by Cruz, Cornyn, and Paxton, \"appear to assume, without any real analysis of the record that Sullivan did nothing more than write a newsletter and work on a website that \u2018rated\u2019 legislators,\" the ethics commission said in their response to the petition. These portrayals are inconsistent with the factual evidence that a Texas court grantedsummary judgments in favour of the Commission based on the allegations that Sullivan had broken Texas law.<\/p>\n","post_title":"Supreme court rejects GOP activist\u2019s appeal over Texas lobbying fine","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"supreme-court-rejects-gop-activists-appeal-over-texas-lobbying-fine","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2025-06-04 17:00:04","post_modified_gmt":"2025-06-04 17:00:04","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dctransparency.com\/?p=7937","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":7929,"post_author":"7","post_date":"2025-06-03 17:43:43","post_date_gmt":"2025-06-03 17:43:43","post_content":"\n
In its attempt to acquire US Steel, Japanese-owned Nippon Steel has invested over $6.1 million in federal lobbying, employing a plethora of powerful politicians, some of whom have close relationships with President Donald Trump<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Just days after the purchase announcement in December 2023, Nippon Steel brought in lobbying company Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld. The corporation has international clients, including the governments of KSA, the UAE, and Japan, as shown by their registration documents. According to a Washington Examiner review of disclosure data, Nippon Steel has since paid Akin Gump more than $5.5 million, which represents around 90% of its lobbying expenses used to advance the US Steel acquisition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The lobbyists at Akin Gump arguing Nippon Steel's case in the nation's capital include Hunter Bates, former chief of staff for former Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY); Reginald Babin, former chief counsel to Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY); and Brian Pomper, who advised the Senate Finance Committee on international trade matters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
During the last election campaign, Geoffrey Verhoff, another Akin Gump lobbyist hired to help Nippon Steel, was by far the biggest known money bundler for Trump. According to a Federal Election Commission report, Verhoff, who served as vice chairman of the Republican National Committee's financial arm from 2017 to 2021, bundled at least $3.6 million for the Trump 47 Committee. While lobbying for Nippon Steel, Bates also personally donated $10,000 to the Trump 47 Committee, according to campaign finance reports.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
While the main lobbying firm on Nippon Steel's roster is Akin Gump, a few other powerful figures in the business with strong ties to Capitol Hill have been enlisted to assist in influencing public opinion on the merger issue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Akin Gump hired the Trump-affiliated lobbying company Ballard Partners, a foreign agent for the Japanese Embassy, as a subcontractor on the Nippon Steel team last year in exchange<\/a> for a $25,000 monthly fee. According to lobbying activities disclosed under the Foreign Agents Registration Act, Ballard Partners reportedly arranged a phone conversation between Trump and Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba to examine the U.S. election one day following the 2024 presidential contest.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Brian Ballard, a prominent Trump donor and the agency's namesake president, leads his Florida firm's efforts on the Nippon Steel client. He is joined in lobbying by other Trump associates: Daniel McFaul, a member of Trump's transitional team, and Hunter Morgen, a Trump White House policy consultant with expertise in manufacturing and trade.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ballard and Morgen both made direct contributions to Trump's 2024 campaign; the founder of the business sent cheques to the Trump 47 Committee and Trump Save America PAC totalling $250,000 and $11,600, respectively.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Through Akin Gump, the Gephardt Group's government affairs branch, strategic communications agency VOX Global, and government affairs consultancy Valiant Strategies LLC also advocated on behalf of Nippon Steel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
James Baril, a former senior staffer to Sen. John Cornyn and current chairman of the Senate Finance Subcommittee on International Trade, Customs, and Global Competitiveness, led VOX Global's just-ended Nippon Steel assignment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
According to disclosure filings, Nippon Steel's agents have pushed for the planned purchase through the White House, Congress, and several government departments that have jurisdiction over international transactions, including the Department of Commerce, the State Department, and the U.S. Treasury.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In the second half of 2024, Nippon Steel significantly increased its lobbying expenditures, spending $1.45 million in Q3 and $1.71 million in Q4, more than doubling the total amount spent by the company during the first two quarters. A Washington Examiner analysis of quarterly activity records indicates that Nippon Steel has already disbursed an extra $1.83 million this year as it tries to finalise a contract.<\/p>\n","post_title":"Nippon Steel spends $6.1M on D.C. lobbying to win U.S. Steel bid, taps Trump allies","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"nippon-steel-spends-6-1m-on-d-c-lobbying-to-win-u-s-steel-bid-taps-trump-allies","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2025-06-03 17:43:43","post_modified_gmt":"2025-06-03 17:43:43","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dctransparency.com\/?p=7929","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"}],"next":false,"prev":true,"total_page":6},"paged":1,"column_class":"jeg_col_2o3","class":"epic_block_3"};

Page 6 of 21 Previous 1 … 5 6 7 … 21 Next

\n
Nonprofit OpenSecrets has reported that medtech companies, which employ tens of thousands of Minnesotans, have boosted their financial contributions to lobbying <\/a>efforts in Washington, D.C. by over $600,000 in the first quarter of this year, as uncertainty in the city's business landscape grows.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Boston Scientific, Abbott Laboratories, and Medtronic all acknowledged pushing for long-supported causes, including taxes and Medicare eligibility. However, documents also show that the Trump administration's goals have changed, moving from increasing tariffs with foreign nations to reducing the size of the federal workforce.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Boston Scientific, which has a sizable cardiology subsidiary located in Minnesota, increased its spending by around 20% during the first three months of 2025, reporting $572,000 in federal lobbying.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Files show that company representatives lobbied Congress on supply chain issues, promoting issues like the House Select Committee's decisions on strategic competition between the United States and the Chinese Communist Party that could impact the medical device supply chain.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In the first quarter of 2024, Medtronic, a Fridley-based company, boosted its federal lobbying spending by 10% to $1.07 million. They discussed topics including artificial intelligence, supply chains, tariffs, and the \"FDA workforce.\"<\/p>\n\n\n\n
How are lobbying firms like TDY influencing medtech policy?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Some businesses in D.C. have begun collaborating with MedTech and AdvaMed enterprises. Disclosures show that AdvaMed and Boston Scientific paid the law firm Alston & Bird $30,000<\/a> and $80,000, respectively, for services spanning from commerce to artificial intelligence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A consultant from Tarplin, Downs & Young in Washington, D.C., was hired by Abbott and AdvaMed. The topics of national trade and Medicare reimbursement kept coming up in TDY's advocacy for Abbott.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Mehlman Consulting, a Washington, D.C.-based firm that is only a few blocks from the White House, states in a first-quarter filing that it has done around $60,000 for Medtronic and has spoke out on issues concerning the taxation of multinational corporations and U.S. trade policy. Figures are rounded to the nearest $10,000 for disclosure purposes forms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/p>\n","post_title":"Medtech giants boost DC lobbying amid policy shifts","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"medtech-giants-boost-dc-lobbying-amid-policy-shifts","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2025-06-10 13:29:20","post_modified_gmt":"2025-06-10 13:29:20","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dctransparency.com\/?p=7952","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":7944,"post_author":"7","post_date":"2025-06-04 17:27:21","post_date_gmt":"2025-06-04 17:27:21","post_content":"\n
The Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for US Stablecoins (GENIUS) Act is in danger of being stalled by suggested modifications, especially those pertaining to credit card fees; therefore, cryptocurrency <\/a>advocates are encouraging Congress to enact it as soon as possible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Some senators had hinted that they could try to make changes, which prompted the drive. However, before the measure is done, politicians have been pressured by crypto lobbyists to adopt the bill.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As early as this week, the bill may be approved by the Senate. On May 19, it passed a procedural vote, meaning it had sufficient support to move on to the House. A statement about the GENIUS Act was released today by the leaders of the four biggest associations representing the digital asset sector.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Cryptocurrency institutions are backing lawmakers to push through the GENIUS Act<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Prominent crypto advocacy organisations, including the Blockchain Association, the Digital Chamber, the Crypto Council for Innovation and the DeFi Education Fund, issued a joint statement on June 2, insisting legislators continue their amazing work in order to present the proposal in the House.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The organisations said they respectfully want lawmakers to stick to the bill's fundamental objective, which is to provide a focused and all-encompassing approach to stablecoin supervision as it moves through the amendment process.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A number of Democratic members who had earlier backed out of the measure have changed their minds, pointing to President Donald Trump's connections to the cryptocurrency industry, namely a stablecoin introduced by his family's cryptocurrency company.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The stablecoin proposal may now encounter a snag in credit card fee legislation, even if it is claimed that the bill has enough support to move on to the House. The proposal, which is fiercely opposed by banks and card firms, would require payment networks such as Visa, Mastercard, and American Express to compete on merchant processing rates.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Banks and card networks have strongly opposed the plan, arguing that it is an example of government overreach. Meanwhile, proponents of cryptocurrency are battling to<\/a> prevent the off-topic credit card amendments from destroying their long-awaited success and turning the vote into a political minefield.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
According to Terrett's research, if a deal is not reached, administrative obstacles would likely slow down everything and postpone final approval until June 9. Crypto lobbying organisations are still optimistic that the GENIUS Act will pass and give stablecoin issuers and consumers in the US the long-needed legislative clarification despite mounting political tensions.<\/p>\n","post_title":"Cryptocurrency lobbying efforts intensify as senate considers unaltered GENIUS Act","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"cryptocurrency-lobbying-efforts-intensify-as-senate-considers-unaltered-genius-act","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2025-06-04 17:27:21","post_modified_gmt":"2025-06-04 17:27:21","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dctransparency.com\/?p=7944","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":7937,"post_author":"7","post_date":"2025-06-04 17:00:04","post_date_gmt":"2025-06-04 17:00:04","post_content":"\n
The Supreme Court rejected conservative Texas activist Michael Quinn Sullivan's complaint against the Texas Ethics Commission, further undermining his more than ten-year struggle against the state agency that oversees and enforces Texas' campaign finance and lobbying regulations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Sullivan has been appealing a $10,000 ethics commission punishment for failing to register as a lobbyist in 2010 and 2011 since 2014. Earlier this year, he petitioned the nation's highest court to take up the issue. Sullivan was the former chairman of the powerful conservative lobbying organization<\/a> Empower Texans. His attempt to overturn two state appeals court rulings that refused to throw out the fines was denied by the Texas Supreme Court last year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In a brief to the U.S. Supreme Court, Sullivan contended that Texas' ethics rules, which impose onerous registration and fee requirements, infringe upon the First Amendment rights of \"ordinary citizens\" who wish to communicate with their elected officials.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n
\"Sullivan's actions went far beyond an average citizen who happened to visit with a lawmaker or who spent a day or two at the Texas Capitol during a legislative session,\" <\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n
the Ethics Commission said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The court's decision supports the ethics commission's appeals court verdict. Sullivan will go back to a district court for a jury trial to determine the amount he must pay.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
After two former state senators complained that Sullivan had engaged in unregistered lobbying, the ethics commission began looking into the matter. For a long time, Sullivan has maintained that his work with the now-defunct Empower Texans was journalism rather than lobbying. However, such an argument was dismissed by the ethics committee. In their 2014 decision, they cited hundreds of letters he often addressed to Republican members to debate legislation and amendments, urging them to support the principles of his group.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Additionally, Sullivan released a Fiscal Responsibility Index that rates the conservative credentials of members according to their voting record in each session. In another instance of lobbying, the panel discovered that Sullivan utilized that scorecard to sway members' votes while working for Empower Texans.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In court, Sullivan repeatedly tried to argue that the ethics commission lacked the constitutional authority to enforce the state's ethical laws. By first claiming that he had moved to Denton County, Sullivan was able to have the case heard in a district court there instead of Travis County.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Even though a judge in Denton County ruled in Sullivan's favour, the verdict was reversed, and the case was sent back to Travis County when an appeals court found that Sullivan did not really meet the residency requirements to have the case heard in Denton County from the start<\/a>. The Travis County court decided in favour of the TEC. Therefore, Sullivan lost his appeal. In the meanwhile, Sullivan filed a number of further cases against the commission, all of which were dismissed in federal or state district court.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Many of the authors of these friend-of-the-court briefs, including those authored by Cruz, Cornyn, and Paxton, \"appear to assume, without any real analysis of the record that Sullivan did nothing more than write a newsletter and work on a website that \u2018rated\u2019 legislators,\" the ethics commission said in their response to the petition. These portrayals are inconsistent with the factual evidence that a Texas court grantedsummary judgments in favour of the Commission based on the allegations that Sullivan had broken Texas law.<\/p>\n","post_title":"Supreme court rejects GOP activist\u2019s appeal over Texas lobbying fine","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"supreme-court-rejects-gop-activists-appeal-over-texas-lobbying-fine","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2025-06-04 17:00:04","post_modified_gmt":"2025-06-04 17:00:04","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dctransparency.com\/?p=7937","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":7929,"post_author":"7","post_date":"2025-06-03 17:43:43","post_date_gmt":"2025-06-03 17:43:43","post_content":"\n
In its attempt to acquire US Steel, Japanese-owned Nippon Steel has invested over $6.1 million in federal lobbying, employing a plethora of powerful politicians, some of whom have close relationships with President Donald Trump<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Just days after the purchase announcement in December 2023, Nippon Steel brought in lobbying company Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld. The corporation has international clients, including the governments of KSA, the UAE, and Japan, as shown by their registration documents. According to a Washington Examiner review of disclosure data, Nippon Steel has since paid Akin Gump more than $5.5 million, which represents around 90% of its lobbying expenses used to advance the US Steel acquisition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The lobbyists at Akin Gump arguing Nippon Steel's case in the nation's capital include Hunter Bates, former chief of staff for former Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY); Reginald Babin, former chief counsel to Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY); and Brian Pomper, who advised the Senate Finance Committee on international trade matters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
During the last election campaign, Geoffrey Verhoff, another Akin Gump lobbyist hired to help Nippon Steel, was by far the biggest known money bundler for Trump. According to a Federal Election Commission report, Verhoff, who served as vice chairman of the Republican National Committee's financial arm from 2017 to 2021, bundled at least $3.6 million for the Trump 47 Committee. While lobbying for Nippon Steel, Bates also personally donated $10,000 to the Trump 47 Committee, according to campaign finance reports.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
While the main lobbying firm on Nippon Steel's roster is Akin Gump, a few other powerful figures in the business with strong ties to Capitol Hill have been enlisted to assist in influencing public opinion on the merger issue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Akin Gump hired the Trump-affiliated lobbying company Ballard Partners, a foreign agent for the Japanese Embassy, as a subcontractor on the Nippon Steel team last year in exchange<\/a> for a $25,000 monthly fee. According to lobbying activities disclosed under the Foreign Agents Registration Act, Ballard Partners reportedly arranged a phone conversation between Trump and Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba to examine the U.S. election one day following the 2024 presidential contest.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Brian Ballard, a prominent Trump donor and the agency's namesake president, leads his Florida firm's efforts on the Nippon Steel client. He is joined in lobbying by other Trump associates: Daniel McFaul, a member of Trump's transitional team, and Hunter Morgen, a Trump White House policy consultant with expertise in manufacturing and trade.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ballard and Morgen both made direct contributions to Trump's 2024 campaign; the founder of the business sent cheques to the Trump 47 Committee and Trump Save America PAC totalling $250,000 and $11,600, respectively.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Through Akin Gump, the Gephardt Group's government affairs branch, strategic communications agency VOX Global, and government affairs consultancy Valiant Strategies LLC also advocated on behalf of Nippon Steel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
James Baril, a former senior staffer to Sen. John Cornyn and current chairman of the Senate Finance Subcommittee on International Trade, Customs, and Global Competitiveness, led VOX Global's just-ended Nippon Steel assignment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
According to disclosure filings, Nippon Steel's agents have pushed for the planned purchase through the White House, Congress, and several government departments that have jurisdiction over international transactions, including the Department of Commerce, the State Department, and the U.S. Treasury.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In the second half of 2024, Nippon Steel significantly increased its lobbying expenditures, spending $1.45 million in Q3 and $1.71 million in Q4, more than doubling the total amount spent by the company during the first two quarters. A Washington Examiner analysis of quarterly activity records indicates that Nippon Steel has already disbursed an extra $1.83 million this year as it tries to finalise a contract.<\/p>\n","post_title":"Nippon Steel spends $6.1M on D.C. lobbying to win U.S. Steel bid, taps Trump allies","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"nippon-steel-spends-6-1m-on-d-c-lobbying-to-win-u-s-steel-bid-taps-trump-allies","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2025-06-03 17:43:43","post_modified_gmt":"2025-06-03 17:43:43","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dctransparency.com\/?p=7929","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"}],"next":false,"prev":true,"total_page":6},"paged":1,"column_class":"jeg_col_2o3","class":"epic_block_3"};

Page 6 of 21 Previous 1 … 5 6 7 … 21 Next

\n
Franklin County already has a two-person Government Affairs office run by the Board of Commissioners that represents the county in lobbying the Ohio General Assembly and federal representatives.<\/p>\n","post_title":"Trump cuts push Franklin County to get help from D.C. lobbyists","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"trump-cuts-push-franklin-county-to-get-help-from-d-c-lobbyists","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2025-06-12 18:23:39","post_modified_gmt":"2025-06-12 18:23:39","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dctransparency.com\/?p=7963","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":7952,"post_author":"7","post_date":"2025-06-10 13:29:20","post_date_gmt":"2025-06-10 13:29:20","post_content":"\n
Nonprofit OpenSecrets has reported that medtech companies, which employ tens of thousands of Minnesotans, have boosted their financial contributions to lobbying <\/a>efforts in Washington, D.C. by over $600,000 in the first quarter of this year, as uncertainty in the city's business landscape grows.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Boston Scientific, Abbott Laboratories, and Medtronic all acknowledged pushing for long-supported causes, including taxes and Medicare eligibility. However, documents also show that the Trump administration's goals have changed, moving from increasing tariffs with foreign nations to reducing the size of the federal workforce.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Boston Scientific, which has a sizable cardiology subsidiary located in Minnesota, increased its spending by around 20% during the first three months of 2025, reporting $572,000 in federal lobbying.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Files show that company representatives lobbied Congress on supply chain issues, promoting issues like the House Select Committee's decisions on strategic competition between the United States and the Chinese Communist Party that could impact the medical device supply chain.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In the first quarter of 2024, Medtronic, a Fridley-based company, boosted its federal lobbying spending by 10% to $1.07 million. They discussed topics including artificial intelligence, supply chains, tariffs, and the \"FDA workforce.\"<\/p>\n\n\n\n
How are lobbying firms like TDY influencing medtech policy?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Some businesses in D.C. have begun collaborating with MedTech and AdvaMed enterprises. Disclosures show that AdvaMed and Boston Scientific paid the law firm Alston & Bird $30,000<\/a> and $80,000, respectively, for services spanning from commerce to artificial intelligence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A consultant from Tarplin, Downs & Young in Washington, D.C., was hired by Abbott and AdvaMed. The topics of national trade and Medicare reimbursement kept coming up in TDY's advocacy for Abbott.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Mehlman Consulting, a Washington, D.C.-based firm that is only a few blocks from the White House, states in a first-quarter filing that it has done around $60,000 for Medtronic and has spoke out on issues concerning the taxation of multinational corporations and U.S. trade policy. Figures are rounded to the nearest $10,000 for disclosure purposes forms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/p>\n","post_title":"Medtech giants boost DC lobbying amid policy shifts","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"medtech-giants-boost-dc-lobbying-amid-policy-shifts","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2025-06-10 13:29:20","post_modified_gmt":"2025-06-10 13:29:20","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dctransparency.com\/?p=7952","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":7944,"post_author":"7","post_date":"2025-06-04 17:27:21","post_date_gmt":"2025-06-04 17:27:21","post_content":"\n
The Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for US Stablecoins (GENIUS) Act is in danger of being stalled by suggested modifications, especially those pertaining to credit card fees; therefore, cryptocurrency <\/a>advocates are encouraging Congress to enact it as soon as possible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Some senators had hinted that they could try to make changes, which prompted the drive. However, before the measure is done, politicians have been pressured by crypto lobbyists to adopt the bill.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As early as this week, the bill may be approved by the Senate. On May 19, it passed a procedural vote, meaning it had sufficient support to move on to the House. A statement about the GENIUS Act was released today by the leaders of the four biggest associations representing the digital asset sector.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Cryptocurrency institutions are backing lawmakers to push through the GENIUS Act<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Prominent crypto advocacy organisations, including the Blockchain Association, the Digital Chamber, the Crypto Council for Innovation and the DeFi Education Fund, issued a joint statement on June 2, insisting legislators continue their amazing work in order to present the proposal in the House.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The organisations said they respectfully want lawmakers to stick to the bill's fundamental objective, which is to provide a focused and all-encompassing approach to stablecoin supervision as it moves through the amendment process.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A number of Democratic members who had earlier backed out of the measure have changed their minds, pointing to President Donald Trump's connections to the cryptocurrency industry, namely a stablecoin introduced by his family's cryptocurrency company.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The stablecoin proposal may now encounter a snag in credit card fee legislation, even if it is claimed that the bill has enough support to move on to the House. The proposal, which is fiercely opposed by banks and card firms, would require payment networks such as Visa, Mastercard, and American Express to compete on merchant processing rates.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Banks and card networks have strongly opposed the plan, arguing that it is an example of government overreach. Meanwhile, proponents of cryptocurrency are battling to<\/a> prevent the off-topic credit card amendments from destroying their long-awaited success and turning the vote into a political minefield.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
According to Terrett's research, if a deal is not reached, administrative obstacles would likely slow down everything and postpone final approval until June 9. Crypto lobbying organisations are still optimistic that the GENIUS Act will pass and give stablecoin issuers and consumers in the US the long-needed legislative clarification despite mounting political tensions.<\/p>\n","post_title":"Cryptocurrency lobbying efforts intensify as senate considers unaltered GENIUS Act","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"cryptocurrency-lobbying-efforts-intensify-as-senate-considers-unaltered-genius-act","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2025-06-04 17:27:21","post_modified_gmt":"2025-06-04 17:27:21","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dctransparency.com\/?p=7944","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":7937,"post_author":"7","post_date":"2025-06-04 17:00:04","post_date_gmt":"2025-06-04 17:00:04","post_content":"\n
The Supreme Court rejected conservative Texas activist Michael Quinn Sullivan's complaint against the Texas Ethics Commission, further undermining his more than ten-year struggle against the state agency that oversees and enforces Texas' campaign finance and lobbying regulations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Sullivan has been appealing a $10,000 ethics commission punishment for failing to register as a lobbyist in 2010 and 2011 since 2014. Earlier this year, he petitioned the nation's highest court to take up the issue. Sullivan was the former chairman of the powerful conservative lobbying organization<\/a> Empower Texans. His attempt to overturn two state appeals court rulings that refused to throw out the fines was denied by the Texas Supreme Court last year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In a brief to the U.S. Supreme Court, Sullivan contended that Texas' ethics rules, which impose onerous registration and fee requirements, infringe upon the First Amendment rights of \"ordinary citizens\" who wish to communicate with their elected officials.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n
\"Sullivan's actions went far beyond an average citizen who happened to visit with a lawmaker or who spent a day or two at the Texas Capitol during a legislative session,\" <\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n
the Ethics Commission said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The court's decision supports the ethics commission's appeals court verdict. Sullivan will go back to a district court for a jury trial to determine the amount he must pay.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
After two former state senators complained that Sullivan had engaged in unregistered lobbying, the ethics commission began looking into the matter. For a long time, Sullivan has maintained that his work with the now-defunct Empower Texans was journalism rather than lobbying. However, such an argument was dismissed by the ethics committee. In their 2014 decision, they cited hundreds of letters he often addressed to Republican members to debate legislation and amendments, urging them to support the principles of his group.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Additionally, Sullivan released a Fiscal Responsibility Index that rates the conservative credentials of members according to their voting record in each session. In another instance of lobbying, the panel discovered that Sullivan utilized that scorecard to sway members' votes while working for Empower Texans.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In court, Sullivan repeatedly tried to argue that the ethics commission lacked the constitutional authority to enforce the state's ethical laws. By first claiming that he had moved to Denton County, Sullivan was able to have the case heard in a district court there instead of Travis County.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Even though a judge in Denton County ruled in Sullivan's favour, the verdict was reversed, and the case was sent back to Travis County when an appeals court found that Sullivan did not really meet the residency requirements to have the case heard in Denton County from the start<\/a>. The Travis County court decided in favour of the TEC. Therefore, Sullivan lost his appeal. In the meanwhile, Sullivan filed a number of further cases against the commission, all of which were dismissed in federal or state district court.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Many of the authors of these friend-of-the-court briefs, including those authored by Cruz, Cornyn, and Paxton, \"appear to assume, without any real analysis of the record that Sullivan did nothing more than write a newsletter and work on a website that \u2018rated\u2019 legislators,\" the ethics commission said in their response to the petition. These portrayals are inconsistent with the factual evidence that a Texas court grantedsummary judgments in favour of the Commission based on the allegations that Sullivan had broken Texas law.<\/p>\n","post_title":"Supreme court rejects GOP activist\u2019s appeal over Texas lobbying fine","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"supreme-court-rejects-gop-activists-appeal-over-texas-lobbying-fine","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2025-06-04 17:00:04","post_modified_gmt":"2025-06-04 17:00:04","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dctransparency.com\/?p=7937","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":7929,"post_author":"7","post_date":"2025-06-03 17:43:43","post_date_gmt":"2025-06-03 17:43:43","post_content":"\n
In its attempt to acquire US Steel, Japanese-owned Nippon Steel has invested over $6.1 million in federal lobbying, employing a plethora of powerful politicians, some of whom have close relationships with President Donald Trump<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Just days after the purchase announcement in December 2023, Nippon Steel brought in lobbying company Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld. The corporation has international clients, including the governments of KSA, the UAE, and Japan, as shown by their registration documents. According to a Washington Examiner review of disclosure data, Nippon Steel has since paid Akin Gump more than $5.5 million, which represents around 90% of its lobbying expenses used to advance the US Steel acquisition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The lobbyists at Akin Gump arguing Nippon Steel's case in the nation's capital include Hunter Bates, former chief of staff for former Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY); Reginald Babin, former chief counsel to Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY); and Brian Pomper, who advised the Senate Finance Committee on international trade matters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
During the last election campaign, Geoffrey Verhoff, another Akin Gump lobbyist hired to help Nippon Steel, was by far the biggest known money bundler for Trump. According to a Federal Election Commission report, Verhoff, who served as vice chairman of the Republican National Committee's financial arm from 2017 to 2021, bundled at least $3.6 million for the Trump 47 Committee. While lobbying for Nippon Steel, Bates also personally donated $10,000 to the Trump 47 Committee, according to campaign finance reports.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
While the main lobbying firm on Nippon Steel's roster is Akin Gump, a few other powerful figures in the business with strong ties to Capitol Hill have been enlisted to assist in influencing public opinion on the merger issue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Akin Gump hired the Trump-affiliated lobbying company Ballard Partners, a foreign agent for the Japanese Embassy, as a subcontractor on the Nippon Steel team last year in exchange<\/a> for a $25,000 monthly fee. According to lobbying activities disclosed under the Foreign Agents Registration Act, Ballard Partners reportedly arranged a phone conversation between Trump and Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba to examine the U.S. election one day following the 2024 presidential contest.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Brian Ballard, a prominent Trump donor and the agency's namesake president, leads his Florida firm's efforts on the Nippon Steel client. He is joined in lobbying by other Trump associates: Daniel McFaul, a member of Trump's transitional team, and Hunter Morgen, a Trump White House policy consultant with expertise in manufacturing and trade.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ballard and Morgen both made direct contributions to Trump's 2024 campaign; the founder of the business sent cheques to the Trump 47 Committee and Trump Save America PAC totalling $250,000 and $11,600, respectively.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Through Akin Gump, the Gephardt Group's government affairs branch, strategic communications agency VOX Global, and government affairs consultancy Valiant Strategies LLC also advocated on behalf of Nippon Steel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
James Baril, a former senior staffer to Sen. John Cornyn and current chairman of the Senate Finance Subcommittee on International Trade, Customs, and Global Competitiveness, led VOX Global's just-ended Nippon Steel assignment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
According to disclosure filings, Nippon Steel's agents have pushed for the planned purchase through the White House, Congress, and several government departments that have jurisdiction over international transactions, including the Department of Commerce, the State Department, and the U.S. Treasury.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In the second half of 2024, Nippon Steel significantly increased its lobbying expenditures, spending $1.45 million in Q3 and $1.71 million in Q4, more than doubling the total amount spent by the company during the first two quarters. A Washington Examiner analysis of quarterly activity records indicates that Nippon Steel has already disbursed an extra $1.83 million this year as it tries to finalise a contract.<\/p>\n","post_title":"Nippon Steel spends $6.1M on D.C. lobbying to win U.S. Steel bid, taps Trump allies","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"nippon-steel-spends-6-1m-on-d-c-lobbying-to-win-u-s-steel-bid-taps-trump-allies","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2025-06-03 17:43:43","post_modified_gmt":"2025-06-03 17:43:43","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dctransparency.com\/?p=7929","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"}],"next":false,"prev":true,"total_page":6},"paged":1,"column_class":"jeg_col_2o3","class":"epic_block_3"};

Page 6 of 21 Previous 1 … 5 6 7 … 21 Next

\n
This action strengthens the county's current connections and lobbying efforts. In response to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention cutting $250<\/a> million in funds via the Ohio Department of Health, which affected local agencies like Franklin County's, Crawley said she visited with Sen. Bernie Moreno's office.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Franklin County already has a two-person Government Affairs office run by the Board of Commissioners that represents the county in lobbying the Ohio General Assembly and federal representatives.<\/p>\n","post_title":"Trump cuts push Franklin County to get help from D.C. lobbyists","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"trump-cuts-push-franklin-county-to-get-help-from-d-c-lobbyists","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2025-06-12 18:23:39","post_modified_gmt":"2025-06-12 18:23:39","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dctransparency.com\/?p=7963","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":7952,"post_author":"7","post_date":"2025-06-10 13:29:20","post_date_gmt":"2025-06-10 13:29:20","post_content":"\n
Nonprofit OpenSecrets has reported that medtech companies, which employ tens of thousands of Minnesotans, have boosted their financial contributions to lobbying <\/a>efforts in Washington, D.C. by over $600,000 in the first quarter of this year, as uncertainty in the city's business landscape grows.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Boston Scientific, Abbott Laboratories, and Medtronic all acknowledged pushing for long-supported causes, including taxes and Medicare eligibility. However, documents also show that the Trump administration's goals have changed, moving from increasing tariffs with foreign nations to reducing the size of the federal workforce.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Boston Scientific, which has a sizable cardiology subsidiary located in Minnesota, increased its spending by around 20% during the first three months of 2025, reporting $572,000 in federal lobbying.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Files show that company representatives lobbied Congress on supply chain issues, promoting issues like the House Select Committee's decisions on strategic competition between the United States and the Chinese Communist Party that could impact the medical device supply chain.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In the first quarter of 2024, Medtronic, a Fridley-based company, boosted its federal lobbying spending by 10% to $1.07 million. They discussed topics including artificial intelligence, supply chains, tariffs, and the \"FDA workforce.\"<\/p>\n\n\n\n
How are lobbying firms like TDY influencing medtech policy?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Some businesses in D.C. have begun collaborating with MedTech and AdvaMed enterprises. Disclosures show that AdvaMed and Boston Scientific paid the law firm Alston & Bird $30,000<\/a> and $80,000, respectively, for services spanning from commerce to artificial intelligence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A consultant from Tarplin, Downs & Young in Washington, D.C., was hired by Abbott and AdvaMed. The topics of national trade and Medicare reimbursement kept coming up in TDY's advocacy for Abbott.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Mehlman Consulting, a Washington, D.C.-based firm that is only a few blocks from the White House, states in a first-quarter filing that it has done around $60,000 for Medtronic and has spoke out on issues concerning the taxation of multinational corporations and U.S. trade policy. Figures are rounded to the nearest $10,000 for disclosure purposes forms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/p>\n","post_title":"Medtech giants boost DC lobbying amid policy shifts","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"medtech-giants-boost-dc-lobbying-amid-policy-shifts","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2025-06-10 13:29:20","post_modified_gmt":"2025-06-10 13:29:20","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dctransparency.com\/?p=7952","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":7944,"post_author":"7","post_date":"2025-06-04 17:27:21","post_date_gmt":"2025-06-04 17:27:21","post_content":"\n
The Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for US Stablecoins (GENIUS) Act is in danger of being stalled by suggested modifications, especially those pertaining to credit card fees; therefore, cryptocurrency <\/a>advocates are encouraging Congress to enact it as soon as possible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Some senators had hinted that they could try to make changes, which prompted the drive. However, before the measure is done, politicians have been pressured by crypto lobbyists to adopt the bill.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As early as this week, the bill may be approved by the Senate. On May 19, it passed a procedural vote, meaning it had sufficient support to move on to the House. A statement about the GENIUS Act was released today by the leaders of the four biggest associations representing the digital asset sector.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Cryptocurrency institutions are backing lawmakers to push through the GENIUS Act<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Prominent crypto advocacy organisations, including the Blockchain Association, the Digital Chamber, the Crypto Council for Innovation and the DeFi Education Fund, issued a joint statement on June 2, insisting legislators continue their amazing work in order to present the proposal in the House.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The organisations said they respectfully want lawmakers to stick to the bill's fundamental objective, which is to provide a focused and all-encompassing approach to stablecoin supervision as it moves through the amendment process.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A number of Democratic members who had earlier backed out of the measure have changed their minds, pointing to President Donald Trump's connections to the cryptocurrency industry, namely a stablecoin introduced by his family's cryptocurrency company.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The stablecoin proposal may now encounter a snag in credit card fee legislation, even if it is claimed that the bill has enough support to move on to the House. The proposal, which is fiercely opposed by banks and card firms, would require payment networks such as Visa, Mastercard, and American Express to compete on merchant processing rates.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Banks and card networks have strongly opposed the plan, arguing that it is an example of government overreach. Meanwhile, proponents of cryptocurrency are battling to<\/a> prevent the off-topic credit card amendments from destroying their long-awaited success and turning the vote into a political minefield.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
According to Terrett's research, if a deal is not reached, administrative obstacles would likely slow down everything and postpone final approval until June 9. Crypto lobbying organisations are still optimistic that the GENIUS Act will pass and give stablecoin issuers and consumers in the US the long-needed legislative clarification despite mounting political tensions.<\/p>\n","post_title":"Cryptocurrency lobbying efforts intensify as senate considers unaltered GENIUS Act","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"cryptocurrency-lobbying-efforts-intensify-as-senate-considers-unaltered-genius-act","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2025-06-04 17:27:21","post_modified_gmt":"2025-06-04 17:27:21","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dctransparency.com\/?p=7944","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":7937,"post_author":"7","post_date":"2025-06-04 17:00:04","post_date_gmt":"2025-06-04 17:00:04","post_content":"\n
The Supreme Court rejected conservative Texas activist Michael Quinn Sullivan's complaint against the Texas Ethics Commission, further undermining his more than ten-year struggle against the state agency that oversees and enforces Texas' campaign finance and lobbying regulations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Sullivan has been appealing a $10,000 ethics commission punishment for failing to register as a lobbyist in 2010 and 2011 since 2014. Earlier this year, he petitioned the nation's highest court to take up the issue. Sullivan was the former chairman of the powerful conservative lobbying organization<\/a> Empower Texans. His attempt to overturn two state appeals court rulings that refused to throw out the fines was denied by the Texas Supreme Court last year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In a brief to the U.S. Supreme Court, Sullivan contended that Texas' ethics rules, which impose onerous registration and fee requirements, infringe upon the First Amendment rights of \"ordinary citizens\" who wish to communicate with their elected officials.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n
\"Sullivan's actions went far beyond an average citizen who happened to visit with a lawmaker or who spent a day or two at the Texas Capitol during a legislative session,\" <\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n
the Ethics Commission said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The court's decision supports the ethics commission's appeals court verdict. Sullivan will go back to a district court for a jury trial to determine the amount he must pay.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
After two former state senators complained that Sullivan had engaged in unregistered lobbying, the ethics commission began looking into the matter. For a long time, Sullivan has maintained that his work with the now-defunct Empower Texans was journalism rather than lobbying. However, such an argument was dismissed by the ethics committee. In their 2014 decision, they cited hundreds of letters he often addressed to Republican members to debate legislation and amendments, urging them to support the principles of his group.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Additionally, Sullivan released a Fiscal Responsibility Index that rates the conservative credentials of members according to their voting record in each session. In another instance of lobbying, the panel discovered that Sullivan utilized that scorecard to sway members' votes while working for Empower Texans.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In court, Sullivan repeatedly tried to argue that the ethics commission lacked the constitutional authority to enforce the state's ethical laws. By first claiming that he had moved to Denton County, Sullivan was able to have the case heard in a district court there instead of Travis County.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Even though a judge in Denton County ruled in Sullivan's favour, the verdict was reversed, and the case was sent back to Travis County when an appeals court found that Sullivan did not really meet the residency requirements to have the case heard in Denton County from the start<\/a>. The Travis County court decided in favour of the TEC. Therefore, Sullivan lost his appeal. In the meanwhile, Sullivan filed a number of further cases against the commission, all of which were dismissed in federal or state district court.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Many of the authors of these friend-of-the-court briefs, including those authored by Cruz, Cornyn, and Paxton, \"appear to assume, without any real analysis of the record that Sullivan did nothing more than write a newsletter and work on a website that \u2018rated\u2019 legislators,\" the ethics commission said in their response to the petition. These portrayals are inconsistent with the factual evidence that a Texas court grantedsummary judgments in favour of the Commission based on the allegations that Sullivan had broken Texas law.<\/p>\n","post_title":"Supreme court rejects GOP activist\u2019s appeal over Texas lobbying fine","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"supreme-court-rejects-gop-activists-appeal-over-texas-lobbying-fine","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2025-06-04 17:00:04","post_modified_gmt":"2025-06-04 17:00:04","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dctransparency.com\/?p=7937","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":7929,"post_author":"7","post_date":"2025-06-03 17:43:43","post_date_gmt":"2025-06-03 17:43:43","post_content":"\n
In its attempt to acquire US Steel, Japanese-owned Nippon Steel has invested over $6.1 million in federal lobbying, employing a plethora of powerful politicians, some of whom have close relationships with President Donald Trump<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Just days after the purchase announcement in December 2023, Nippon Steel brought in lobbying company Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld. The corporation has international clients, including the governments of KSA, the UAE, and Japan, as shown by their registration documents. According to a Washington Examiner review of disclosure data, Nippon Steel has since paid Akin Gump more than $5.5 million, which represents around 90% of its lobbying expenses used to advance the US Steel acquisition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The lobbyists at Akin Gump arguing Nippon Steel's case in the nation's capital include Hunter Bates, former chief of staff for former Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY); Reginald Babin, former chief counsel to Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY); and Brian Pomper, who advised the Senate Finance Committee on international trade matters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
During the last election campaign, Geoffrey Verhoff, another Akin Gump lobbyist hired to help Nippon Steel, was by far the biggest known money bundler for Trump. According to a Federal Election Commission report, Verhoff, who served as vice chairman of the Republican National Committee's financial arm from 2017 to 2021, bundled at least $3.6 million for the Trump 47 Committee. While lobbying for Nippon Steel, Bates also personally donated $10,000 to the Trump 47 Committee, according to campaign finance reports.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
While the main lobbying firm on Nippon Steel's roster is Akin Gump, a few other powerful figures in the business with strong ties to Capitol Hill have been enlisted to assist in influencing public opinion on the merger issue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Akin Gump hired the Trump-affiliated lobbying company Ballard Partners, a foreign agent for the Japanese Embassy, as a subcontractor on the Nippon Steel team last year in exchange<\/a> for a $25,000 monthly fee. According to lobbying activities disclosed under the Foreign Agents Registration Act, Ballard Partners reportedly arranged a phone conversation between Trump and Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba to examine the U.S. election one day following the 2024 presidential contest.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Brian Ballard, a prominent Trump donor and the agency's namesake president, leads his Florida firm's efforts on the Nippon Steel client. He is joined in lobbying by other Trump associates: Daniel McFaul, a member of Trump's transitional team, and Hunter Morgen, a Trump White House policy consultant with expertise in manufacturing and trade.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ballard and Morgen both made direct contributions to Trump's 2024 campaign; the founder of the business sent cheques to the Trump 47 Committee and Trump Save America PAC totalling $250,000 and $11,600, respectively.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Through Akin Gump, the Gephardt Group's government affairs branch, strategic communications agency VOX Global, and government affairs consultancy Valiant Strategies LLC also advocated on behalf of Nippon Steel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
James Baril, a former senior staffer to Sen. John Cornyn and current chairman of the Senate Finance Subcommittee on International Trade, Customs, and Global Competitiveness, led VOX Global's just-ended Nippon Steel assignment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
According to disclosure filings, Nippon Steel's agents have pushed for the planned purchase through the White House, Congress, and several government departments that have jurisdiction over international transactions, including the Department of Commerce, the State Department, and the U.S. Treasury.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In the second half of 2024, Nippon Steel significantly increased its lobbying expenditures, spending $1.45 million in Q3 and $1.71 million in Q4, more than doubling the total amount spent by the company during the first two quarters. A Washington Examiner analysis of quarterly activity records indicates that Nippon Steel has already disbursed an extra $1.83 million this year as it tries to finalise a contract.<\/p>\n","post_title":"Nippon Steel spends $6.1M on D.C. lobbying to win U.S. Steel bid, taps Trump allies","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"nippon-steel-spends-6-1m-on-d-c-lobbying-to-win-u-s-steel-bid-taps-trump-allies","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2025-06-03 17:43:43","post_modified_gmt":"2025-06-03 17:43:43","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dctransparency.com\/?p=7929","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"}],"next":false,"prev":true,"total_page":6},"paged":1,"column_class":"jeg_col_2o3","class":"epic_block_3"};

Page 6 of 21 Previous 1 … 5 6 7 … 21 Next

\n
\"These are unprecedented times, and we believe it's crucial for us to meet with our federal representatives, get a handle on what's happening at the agency level, strengthen those relationships, and let our representatives know what matters most to us residents,\" Crawley said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This action strengthens the county's current connections and lobbying efforts. In response to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention cutting $250<\/a> million in funds via the Ohio Department of Health, which affected local agencies like Franklin County's, Crawley said she visited with Sen. Bernie Moreno's office.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Franklin County already has a two-person Government Affairs office run by the Board of Commissioners that represents the county in lobbying the Ohio General Assembly and federal representatives.<\/p>\n","post_title":"Trump cuts push Franklin County to get help from D.C. lobbyists","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"trump-cuts-push-franklin-county-to-get-help-from-d-c-lobbyists","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2025-06-12 18:23:39","post_modified_gmt":"2025-06-12 18:23:39","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dctransparency.com\/?p=7963","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":7952,"post_author":"7","post_date":"2025-06-10 13:29:20","post_date_gmt":"2025-06-10 13:29:20","post_content":"\n
Nonprofit OpenSecrets has reported that medtech companies, which employ tens of thousands of Minnesotans, have boosted their financial contributions to lobbying <\/a>efforts in Washington, D.C. by over $600,000 in the first quarter of this year, as uncertainty in the city's business landscape grows.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Boston Scientific, Abbott Laboratories, and Medtronic all acknowledged pushing for long-supported causes, including taxes and Medicare eligibility. However, documents also show that the Trump administration's goals have changed, moving from increasing tariffs with foreign nations to reducing the size of the federal workforce.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Boston Scientific, which has a sizable cardiology subsidiary located in Minnesota, increased its spending by around 20% during the first three months of 2025, reporting $572,000 in federal lobbying.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Files show that company representatives lobbied Congress on supply chain issues, promoting issues like the House Select Committee's decisions on strategic competition between the United States and the Chinese Communist Party that could impact the medical device supply chain.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In the first quarter of 2024, Medtronic, a Fridley-based company, boosted its federal lobbying spending by 10% to $1.07 million. They discussed topics including artificial intelligence, supply chains, tariffs, and the \"FDA workforce.\"<\/p>\n\n\n\n
How are lobbying firms like TDY influencing medtech policy?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Some businesses in D.C. have begun collaborating with MedTech and AdvaMed enterprises. Disclosures show that AdvaMed and Boston Scientific paid the law firm Alston & Bird $30,000<\/a> and $80,000, respectively, for services spanning from commerce to artificial intelligence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A consultant from Tarplin, Downs & Young in Washington, D.C., was hired by Abbott and AdvaMed. The topics of national trade and Medicare reimbursement kept coming up in TDY's advocacy for Abbott.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Mehlman Consulting, a Washington, D.C.-based firm that is only a few blocks from the White House, states in a first-quarter filing that it has done around $60,000 for Medtronic and has spoke out on issues concerning the taxation of multinational corporations and U.S. trade policy. Figures are rounded to the nearest $10,000 for disclosure purposes forms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/p>\n","post_title":"Medtech giants boost DC lobbying amid policy shifts","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"medtech-giants-boost-dc-lobbying-amid-policy-shifts","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2025-06-10 13:29:20","post_modified_gmt":"2025-06-10 13:29:20","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dctransparency.com\/?p=7952","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":7944,"post_author":"7","post_date":"2025-06-04 17:27:21","post_date_gmt":"2025-06-04 17:27:21","post_content":"\n
The Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for US Stablecoins (GENIUS) Act is in danger of being stalled by suggested modifications, especially those pertaining to credit card fees; therefore, cryptocurrency <\/a>advocates are encouraging Congress to enact it as soon as possible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Some senators had hinted that they could try to make changes, which prompted the drive. However, before the measure is done, politicians have been pressured by crypto lobbyists to adopt the bill.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As early as this week, the bill may be approved by the Senate. On May 19, it passed a procedural vote, meaning it had sufficient support to move on to the House. A statement about the GENIUS Act was released today by the leaders of the four biggest associations representing the digital asset sector.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Cryptocurrency institutions are backing lawmakers to push through the GENIUS Act<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Prominent crypto advocacy organisations, including the Blockchain Association, the Digital Chamber, the Crypto Council for Innovation and the DeFi Education Fund, issued a joint statement on June 2, insisting legislators continue their amazing work in order to present the proposal in the House.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The organisations said they respectfully want lawmakers to stick to the bill's fundamental objective, which is to provide a focused and all-encompassing approach to stablecoin supervision as it moves through the amendment process.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A number of Democratic members who had earlier backed out of the measure have changed their minds, pointing to President Donald Trump's connections to the cryptocurrency industry, namely a stablecoin introduced by his family's cryptocurrency company.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The stablecoin proposal may now encounter a snag in credit card fee legislation, even if it is claimed that the bill has enough support to move on to the House. The proposal, which is fiercely opposed by banks and card firms, would require payment networks such as Visa, Mastercard, and American Express to compete on merchant processing rates.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Banks and card networks have strongly opposed the plan, arguing that it is an example of government overreach. Meanwhile, proponents of cryptocurrency are battling to<\/a> prevent the off-topic credit card amendments from destroying their long-awaited success and turning the vote into a political minefield.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
According to Terrett's research, if a deal is not reached, administrative obstacles would likely slow down everything and postpone final approval until June 9. Crypto lobbying organisations are still optimistic that the GENIUS Act will pass and give stablecoin issuers and consumers in the US the long-needed legislative clarification despite mounting political tensions.<\/p>\n","post_title":"Cryptocurrency lobbying efforts intensify as senate considers unaltered GENIUS Act","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"cryptocurrency-lobbying-efforts-intensify-as-senate-considers-unaltered-genius-act","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2025-06-04 17:27:21","post_modified_gmt":"2025-06-04 17:27:21","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dctransparency.com\/?p=7944","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":7937,"post_author":"7","post_date":"2025-06-04 17:00:04","post_date_gmt":"2025-06-04 17:00:04","post_content":"\n
The Supreme Court rejected conservative Texas activist Michael Quinn Sullivan's complaint against the Texas Ethics Commission, further undermining his more than ten-year struggle against the state agency that oversees and enforces Texas' campaign finance and lobbying regulations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Sullivan has been appealing a $10,000 ethics commission punishment for failing to register as a lobbyist in 2010 and 2011 since 2014. Earlier this year, he petitioned the nation's highest court to take up the issue. Sullivan was the former chairman of the powerful conservative lobbying organization<\/a> Empower Texans. His attempt to overturn two state appeals court rulings that refused to throw out the fines was denied by the Texas Supreme Court last year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In a brief to the U.S. Supreme Court, Sullivan contended that Texas' ethics rules, which impose onerous registration and fee requirements, infringe upon the First Amendment rights of \"ordinary citizens\" who wish to communicate with their elected officials.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n
\"Sullivan's actions went far beyond an average citizen who happened to visit with a lawmaker or who spent a day or two at the Texas Capitol during a legislative session,\" <\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n
the Ethics Commission said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The court's decision supports the ethics commission's appeals court verdict. Sullivan will go back to a district court for a jury trial to determine the amount he must pay.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
After two former state senators complained that Sullivan had engaged in unregistered lobbying, the ethics commission began looking into the matter. For a long time, Sullivan has maintained that his work with the now-defunct Empower Texans was journalism rather than lobbying. However, such an argument was dismissed by the ethics committee. In their 2014 decision, they cited hundreds of letters he often addressed to Republican members to debate legislation and amendments, urging them to support the principles of his group.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Additionally, Sullivan released a Fiscal Responsibility Index that rates the conservative credentials of members according to their voting record in each session. In another instance of lobbying, the panel discovered that Sullivan utilized that scorecard to sway members' votes while working for Empower Texans.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In court, Sullivan repeatedly tried to argue that the ethics commission lacked the constitutional authority to enforce the state's ethical laws. By first claiming that he had moved to Denton County, Sullivan was able to have the case heard in a district court there instead of Travis County.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Even though a judge in Denton County ruled in Sullivan's favour, the verdict was reversed, and the case was sent back to Travis County when an appeals court found that Sullivan did not really meet the residency requirements to have the case heard in Denton County from the start<\/a>. The Travis County court decided in favour of the TEC. Therefore, Sullivan lost his appeal. In the meanwhile, Sullivan filed a number of further cases against the commission, all of which were dismissed in federal or state district court.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Many of the authors of these friend-of-the-court briefs, including those authored by Cruz, Cornyn, and Paxton, \"appear to assume, without any real analysis of the record that Sullivan did nothing more than write a newsletter and work on a website that \u2018rated\u2019 legislators,\" the ethics commission said in their response to the petition. These portrayals are inconsistent with the factual evidence that a Texas court grantedsummary judgments in favour of the Commission based on the allegations that Sullivan had broken Texas law.<\/p>\n","post_title":"Supreme court rejects GOP activist\u2019s appeal over Texas lobbying fine","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"supreme-court-rejects-gop-activists-appeal-over-texas-lobbying-fine","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2025-06-04 17:00:04","post_modified_gmt":"2025-06-04 17:00:04","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dctransparency.com\/?p=7937","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":7929,"post_author":"7","post_date":"2025-06-03 17:43:43","post_date_gmt":"2025-06-03 17:43:43","post_content":"\n
In its attempt to acquire US Steel, Japanese-owned Nippon Steel has invested over $6.1 million in federal lobbying, employing a plethora of powerful politicians, some of whom have close relationships with President Donald Trump<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Just days after the purchase announcement in December 2023, Nippon Steel brought in lobbying company Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld. The corporation has international clients, including the governments of KSA, the UAE, and Japan, as shown by their registration documents. According to a Washington Examiner review of disclosure data, Nippon Steel has since paid Akin Gump more than $5.5 million, which represents around 90% of its lobbying expenses used to advance the US Steel acquisition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The lobbyists at Akin Gump arguing Nippon Steel's case in the nation's capital include Hunter Bates, former chief of staff for former Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY); Reginald Babin, former chief counsel to Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY); and Brian Pomper, who advised the Senate Finance Committee on international trade matters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
During the last election campaign, Geoffrey Verhoff, another Akin Gump lobbyist hired to help Nippon Steel, was by far the biggest known money bundler for Trump. According to a Federal Election Commission report, Verhoff, who served as vice chairman of the Republican National Committee's financial arm from 2017 to 2021, bundled at least $3.6 million for the Trump 47 Committee. While lobbying for Nippon Steel, Bates also personally donated $10,000 to the Trump 47 Committee, according to campaign finance reports.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
While the main lobbying firm on Nippon Steel's roster is Akin Gump, a few other powerful figures in the business with strong ties to Capitol Hill have been enlisted to assist in influencing public opinion on the merger issue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Akin Gump hired the Trump-affiliated lobbying company Ballard Partners, a foreign agent for the Japanese Embassy, as a subcontractor on the Nippon Steel team last year in exchange<\/a> for a $25,000 monthly fee. According to lobbying activities disclosed under the Foreign Agents Registration Act, Ballard Partners reportedly arranged a phone conversation between Trump and Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba to examine the U.S. election one day following the 2024 presidential contest.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Brian Ballard, a prominent Trump donor and the agency's namesake president, leads his Florida firm's efforts on the Nippon Steel client. He is joined in lobbying by other Trump associates: Daniel McFaul, a member of Trump's transitional team, and Hunter Morgen, a Trump White House policy consultant with expertise in manufacturing and trade.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ballard and Morgen both made direct contributions to Trump's 2024 campaign; the founder of the business sent cheques to the Trump 47 Committee and Trump Save America PAC totalling $250,000 and $11,600, respectively.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Through Akin Gump, the Gephardt Group's government affairs branch, strategic communications agency VOX Global, and government affairs consultancy Valiant Strategies LLC also advocated on behalf of Nippon Steel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
James Baril, a former senior staffer to Sen. John Cornyn and current chairman of the Senate Finance Subcommittee on International Trade, Customs, and Global Competitiveness, led VOX Global's just-ended Nippon Steel assignment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
According to disclosure filings, Nippon Steel's agents have pushed for the planned purchase through the White House, Congress, and several government departments that have jurisdiction over international transactions, including the Department of Commerce, the State Department, and the U.S. Treasury.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In the second half of 2024, Nippon Steel significantly increased its lobbying expenditures, spending $1.45 million in Q3 and $1.71 million in Q4, more than doubling the total amount spent by the company during the first two quarters. A Washington Examiner analysis of quarterly activity records indicates that Nippon Steel has already disbursed an extra $1.83 million this year as it tries to finalise a contract.<\/p>\n","post_title":"Nippon Steel spends $6.1M on D.C. lobbying to win U.S. Steel bid, taps Trump allies","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"nippon-steel-spends-6-1m-on-d-c-lobbying-to-win-u-s-steel-bid-taps-trump-allies","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2025-06-03 17:43:43","post_modified_gmt":"2025-06-03 17:43:43","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dctransparency.com\/?p=7929","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"}],"next":false,"prev":true,"total_page":6},"paged":1,"column_class":"jeg_col_2o3","class":"epic_block_3"};

Page 6 of 21 Previous 1 … 5 6 7 … 21 Next

\n
For a year's worth of lobbying and consulting work, the county will pay Batie and Associates $96,000. At their June 10 meeting, the three Democratic commissioners unanimously authorized the deal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\"These are unprecedented times, and we believe it's crucial for us to meet with our federal representatives, get a handle on what's happening at the agency level, strengthen those relationships, and let our representatives know what matters most to us residents,\" Crawley said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This action strengthens the county's current connections and lobbying efforts. In response to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention cutting $250<\/a> million in funds via the Ohio Department of Health, which affected local agencies like Franklin County's, Crawley said she visited with Sen. Bernie Moreno's office.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Franklin County already has a two-person Government Affairs office run by the Board of Commissioners that represents the county in lobbying the Ohio General Assembly and federal representatives.<\/p>\n","post_title":"Trump cuts push Franklin County to get help from D.C. lobbyists","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"trump-cuts-push-franklin-county-to-get-help-from-d-c-lobbyists","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2025-06-12 18:23:39","post_modified_gmt":"2025-06-12 18:23:39","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dctransparency.com\/?p=7963","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":7952,"post_author":"7","post_date":"2025-06-10 13:29:20","post_date_gmt":"2025-06-10 13:29:20","post_content":"\n
Nonprofit OpenSecrets has reported that medtech companies, which employ tens of thousands of Minnesotans, have boosted their financial contributions to lobbying <\/a>efforts in Washington, D.C. by over $600,000 in the first quarter of this year, as uncertainty in the city's business landscape grows.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Boston Scientific, Abbott Laboratories, and Medtronic all acknowledged pushing for long-supported causes, including taxes and Medicare eligibility. However, documents also show that the Trump administration's goals have changed, moving from increasing tariffs with foreign nations to reducing the size of the federal workforce.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Boston Scientific, which has a sizable cardiology subsidiary located in Minnesota, increased its spending by around 20% during the first three months of 2025, reporting $572,000 in federal lobbying.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Files show that company representatives lobbied Congress on supply chain issues, promoting issues like the House Select Committee's decisions on strategic competition between the United States and the Chinese Communist Party that could impact the medical device supply chain.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In the first quarter of 2024, Medtronic, a Fridley-based company, boosted its federal lobbying spending by 10% to $1.07 million. They discussed topics including artificial intelligence, supply chains, tariffs, and the \"FDA workforce.\"<\/p>\n\n\n\n
How are lobbying firms like TDY influencing medtech policy?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Some businesses in D.C. have begun collaborating with MedTech and AdvaMed enterprises. Disclosures show that AdvaMed and Boston Scientific paid the law firm Alston & Bird $30,000<\/a> and $80,000, respectively, for services spanning from commerce to artificial intelligence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A consultant from Tarplin, Downs & Young in Washington, D.C., was hired by Abbott and AdvaMed. The topics of national trade and Medicare reimbursement kept coming up in TDY's advocacy for Abbott.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Mehlman Consulting, a Washington, D.C.-based firm that is only a few blocks from the White House, states in a first-quarter filing that it has done around $60,000 for Medtronic and has spoke out on issues concerning the taxation of multinational corporations and U.S. trade policy. Figures are rounded to the nearest $10,000 for disclosure purposes forms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/p>\n","post_title":"Medtech giants boost DC lobbying amid policy shifts","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"medtech-giants-boost-dc-lobbying-amid-policy-shifts","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2025-06-10 13:29:20","post_modified_gmt":"2025-06-10 13:29:20","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dctransparency.com\/?p=7952","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":7944,"post_author":"7","post_date":"2025-06-04 17:27:21","post_date_gmt":"2025-06-04 17:27:21","post_content":"\n
The Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for US Stablecoins (GENIUS) Act is in danger of being stalled by suggested modifications, especially those pertaining to credit card fees; therefore, cryptocurrency <\/a>advocates are encouraging Congress to enact it as soon as possible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Some senators had hinted that they could try to make changes, which prompted the drive. However, before the measure is done, politicians have been pressured by crypto lobbyists to adopt the bill.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As early as this week, the bill may be approved by the Senate. On May 19, it passed a procedural vote, meaning it had sufficient support to move on to the House. A statement about the GENIUS Act was released today by the leaders of the four biggest associations representing the digital asset sector.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Cryptocurrency institutions are backing lawmakers to push through the GENIUS Act<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Prominent crypto advocacy organisations, including the Blockchain Association, the Digital Chamber, the Crypto Council for Innovation and the DeFi Education Fund, issued a joint statement on June 2, insisting legislators continue their amazing work in order to present the proposal in the House.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The organisations said they respectfully want lawmakers to stick to the bill's fundamental objective, which is to provide a focused and all-encompassing approach to stablecoin supervision as it moves through the amendment process.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A number of Democratic members who had earlier backed out of the measure have changed their minds, pointing to President Donald Trump's connections to the cryptocurrency industry, namely a stablecoin introduced by his family's cryptocurrency company.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The stablecoin proposal may now encounter a snag in credit card fee legislation, even if it is claimed that the bill has enough support to move on to the House. The proposal, which is fiercely opposed by banks and card firms, would require payment networks such as Visa, Mastercard, and American Express to compete on merchant processing rates.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Banks and card networks have strongly opposed the plan, arguing that it is an example of government overreach. Meanwhile, proponents of cryptocurrency are battling to<\/a> prevent the off-topic credit card amendments from destroying their long-awaited success and turning the vote into a political minefield.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
According to Terrett's research, if a deal is not reached, administrative obstacles would likely slow down everything and postpone final approval until June 9. Crypto lobbying organisations are still optimistic that the GENIUS Act will pass and give stablecoin issuers and consumers in the US the long-needed legislative clarification despite mounting political tensions.<\/p>\n","post_title":"Cryptocurrency lobbying efforts intensify as senate considers unaltered GENIUS Act","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"cryptocurrency-lobbying-efforts-intensify-as-senate-considers-unaltered-genius-act","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2025-06-04 17:27:21","post_modified_gmt":"2025-06-04 17:27:21","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dctransparency.com\/?p=7944","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":7937,"post_author":"7","post_date":"2025-06-04 17:00:04","post_date_gmt":"2025-06-04 17:00:04","post_content":"\n
The Supreme Court rejected conservative Texas activist Michael Quinn Sullivan's complaint against the Texas Ethics Commission, further undermining his more than ten-year struggle against the state agency that oversees and enforces Texas' campaign finance and lobbying regulations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Sullivan has been appealing a $10,000 ethics commission punishment for failing to register as a lobbyist in 2010 and 2011 since 2014. Earlier this year, he petitioned the nation's highest court to take up the issue. Sullivan was the former chairman of the powerful conservative lobbying organization<\/a> Empower Texans. His attempt to overturn two state appeals court rulings that refused to throw out the fines was denied by the Texas Supreme Court last year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In a brief to the U.S. Supreme Court, Sullivan contended that Texas' ethics rules, which impose onerous registration and fee requirements, infringe upon the First Amendment rights of \"ordinary citizens\" who wish to communicate with their elected officials.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n
\"Sullivan's actions went far beyond an average citizen who happened to visit with a lawmaker or who spent a day or two at the Texas Capitol during a legislative session,\" <\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n
the Ethics Commission said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The court's decision supports the ethics commission's appeals court verdict. Sullivan will go back to a district court for a jury trial to determine the amount he must pay.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
After two former state senators complained that Sullivan had engaged in unregistered lobbying, the ethics commission began looking into the matter. For a long time, Sullivan has maintained that his work with the now-defunct Empower Texans was journalism rather than lobbying. However, such an argument was dismissed by the ethics committee. In their 2014 decision, they cited hundreds of letters he often addressed to Republican members to debate legislation and amendments, urging them to support the principles of his group.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Additionally, Sullivan released a Fiscal Responsibility Index that rates the conservative credentials of members according to their voting record in each session. In another instance of lobbying, the panel discovered that Sullivan utilized that scorecard to sway members' votes while working for Empower Texans.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In court, Sullivan repeatedly tried to argue that the ethics commission lacked the constitutional authority to enforce the state's ethical laws. By first claiming that he had moved to Denton County, Sullivan was able to have the case heard in a district court there instead of Travis County.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Even though a judge in Denton County ruled in Sullivan's favour, the verdict was reversed, and the case was sent back to Travis County when an appeals court found that Sullivan did not really meet the residency requirements to have the case heard in Denton County from the start<\/a>. The Travis County court decided in favour of the TEC. Therefore, Sullivan lost his appeal. In the meanwhile, Sullivan filed a number of further cases against the commission, all of which were dismissed in federal or state district court.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Many of the authors of these friend-of-the-court briefs, including those authored by Cruz, Cornyn, and Paxton, \"appear to assume, without any real analysis of the record that Sullivan did nothing more than write a newsletter and work on a website that \u2018rated\u2019 legislators,\" the ethics commission said in their response to the petition. These portrayals are inconsistent with the factual evidence that a Texas court grantedsummary judgments in favour of the Commission based on the allegations that Sullivan had broken Texas law.<\/p>\n","post_title":"Supreme court rejects GOP activist\u2019s appeal over Texas lobbying fine","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"supreme-court-rejects-gop-activists-appeal-over-texas-lobbying-fine","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2025-06-04 17:00:04","post_modified_gmt":"2025-06-04 17:00:04","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dctransparency.com\/?p=7937","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":7929,"post_author":"7","post_date":"2025-06-03 17:43:43","post_date_gmt":"2025-06-03 17:43:43","post_content":"\n
In its attempt to acquire US Steel, Japanese-owned Nippon Steel has invested over $6.1 million in federal lobbying, employing a plethora of powerful politicians, some of whom have close relationships with President Donald Trump<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Just days after the purchase announcement in December 2023, Nippon Steel brought in lobbying company Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld. The corporation has international clients, including the governments of KSA, the UAE, and Japan, as shown by their registration documents. According to a Washington Examiner review of disclosure data, Nippon Steel has since paid Akin Gump more than $5.5 million, which represents around 90% of its lobbying expenses used to advance the US Steel acquisition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The lobbyists at Akin Gump arguing Nippon Steel's case in the nation's capital include Hunter Bates, former chief of staff for former Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY); Reginald Babin, former chief counsel to Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY); and Brian Pomper, who advised the Senate Finance Committee on international trade matters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
During the last election campaign, Geoffrey Verhoff, another Akin Gump lobbyist hired to help Nippon Steel, was by far the biggest known money bundler for Trump. According to a Federal Election Commission report, Verhoff, who served as vice chairman of the Republican National Committee's financial arm from 2017 to 2021, bundled at least $3.6 million for the Trump 47 Committee. While lobbying for Nippon Steel, Bates also personally donated $10,000 to the Trump 47 Committee, according to campaign finance reports.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
While the main lobbying firm on Nippon Steel's roster is Akin Gump, a few other powerful figures in the business with strong ties to Capitol Hill have been enlisted to assist in influencing public opinion on the merger issue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Akin Gump hired the Trump-affiliated lobbying company Ballard Partners, a foreign agent for the Japanese Embassy, as a subcontractor on the Nippon Steel team last year in exchange<\/a> for a $25,000 monthly fee. According to lobbying activities disclosed under the Foreign Agents Registration Act, Ballard Partners reportedly arranged a phone conversation between Trump and Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba to examine the U.S. election one day following the 2024 presidential contest.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Brian Ballard, a prominent Trump donor and the agency's namesake president, leads his Florida firm's efforts on the Nippon Steel client. He is joined in lobbying by other Trump associates: Daniel McFaul, a member of Trump's transitional team, and Hunter Morgen, a Trump White House policy consultant with expertise in manufacturing and trade.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ballard and Morgen both made direct contributions to Trump's 2024 campaign; the founder of the business sent cheques to the Trump 47 Committee and Trump Save America PAC totalling $250,000 and $11,600, respectively.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Through Akin Gump, the Gephardt Group's government affairs branch, strategic communications agency VOX Global, and government affairs consultancy Valiant Strategies LLC also advocated on behalf of Nippon Steel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
James Baril, a former senior staffer to Sen. John Cornyn and current chairman of the Senate Finance Subcommittee on International Trade, Customs, and Global Competitiveness, led VOX Global's just-ended Nippon Steel assignment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
According to disclosure filings, Nippon Steel's agents have pushed for the planned purchase through the White House, Congress, and several government departments that have jurisdiction over international transactions, including the Department of Commerce, the State Department, and the U.S. Treasury.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In the second half of 2024, Nippon Steel significantly increased its lobbying expenditures, spending $1.45 million in Q3 and $1.71 million in Q4, more than doubling the total amount spent by the company during the first two quarters. A Washington Examiner analysis of quarterly activity records indicates that Nippon Steel has already disbursed an extra $1.83 million this year as it tries to finalise a contract.<\/p>\n","post_title":"Nippon Steel spends $6.1M on D.C. lobbying to win U.S. Steel bid, taps Trump allies","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"nippon-steel-spends-6-1m-on-d-c-lobbying-to-win-u-s-steel-bid-taps-trump-allies","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2025-06-03 17:43:43","post_modified_gmt":"2025-06-03 17:43:43","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dctransparency.com\/?p=7929","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"}],"next":false,"prev":true,"total_page":6},"paged":1,"column_class":"jeg_col_2o3","class":"epic_block_3"};

Page 6 of 21 Previous 1 … 5 6 7 … 21 Next

\n
According to Crawley, since so many federal awards have been reduced or are currently in uncertainty, the commissioners also wish to promote county programs that get federal funding.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For a year's worth of lobbying and consulting work, the county will pay Batie and Associates $96,000. At their June 10 meeting, the three Democratic commissioners unanimously authorized the deal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\"These are unprecedented times, and we believe it's crucial for us to meet with our federal representatives, get a handle on what's happening at the agency level, strengthen those relationships, and let our representatives know what matters most to us residents,\" Crawley said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This action strengthens the county's current connections and lobbying efforts. In response to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention cutting $250<\/a> million in funds via the Ohio Department of Health, which affected local agencies like Franklin County's, Crawley said she visited with Sen. Bernie Moreno's office.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Franklin County already has a two-person Government Affairs office run by the Board of Commissioners that represents the county in lobbying the Ohio General Assembly and federal representatives.<\/p>\n","post_title":"Trump cuts push Franklin County to get help from D.C. lobbyists","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"trump-cuts-push-franklin-county-to-get-help-from-d-c-lobbyists","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2025-06-12 18:23:39","post_modified_gmt":"2025-06-12 18:23:39","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dctransparency.com\/?p=7963","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":7952,"post_author":"7","post_date":"2025-06-10 13:29:20","post_date_gmt":"2025-06-10 13:29:20","post_content":"\n
Nonprofit OpenSecrets has reported that medtech companies, which employ tens of thousands of Minnesotans, have boosted their financial contributions to lobbying <\/a>efforts in Washington, D.C. by over $600,000 in the first quarter of this year, as uncertainty in the city's business landscape grows.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Boston Scientific, Abbott Laboratories, and Medtronic all acknowledged pushing for long-supported causes, including taxes and Medicare eligibility. However, documents also show that the Trump administration's goals have changed, moving from increasing tariffs with foreign nations to reducing the size of the federal workforce.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Boston Scientific, which has a sizable cardiology subsidiary located in Minnesota, increased its spending by around 20% during the first three months of 2025, reporting $572,000 in federal lobbying.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Files show that company representatives lobbied Congress on supply chain issues, promoting issues like the House Select Committee's decisions on strategic competition between the United States and the Chinese Communist Party that could impact the medical device supply chain.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In the first quarter of 2024, Medtronic, a Fridley-based company, boosted its federal lobbying spending by 10% to $1.07 million. They discussed topics including artificial intelligence, supply chains, tariffs, and the \"FDA workforce.\"<\/p>\n\n\n\n
How are lobbying firms like TDY influencing medtech policy?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Some businesses in D.C. have begun collaborating with MedTech and AdvaMed enterprises. Disclosures show that AdvaMed and Boston Scientific paid the law firm Alston & Bird $30,000<\/a> and $80,000, respectively, for services spanning from commerce to artificial intelligence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A consultant from Tarplin, Downs & Young in Washington, D.C., was hired by Abbott and AdvaMed. The topics of national trade and Medicare reimbursement kept coming up in TDY's advocacy for Abbott.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Mehlman Consulting, a Washington, D.C.-based firm that is only a few blocks from the White House, states in a first-quarter filing that it has done around $60,000 for Medtronic and has spoke out on issues concerning the taxation of multinational corporations and U.S. trade policy. Figures are rounded to the nearest $10,000 for disclosure purposes forms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/p>\n","post_title":"Medtech giants boost DC lobbying amid policy shifts","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"medtech-giants-boost-dc-lobbying-amid-policy-shifts","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2025-06-10 13:29:20","post_modified_gmt":"2025-06-10 13:29:20","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dctransparency.com\/?p=7952","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":7944,"post_author":"7","post_date":"2025-06-04 17:27:21","post_date_gmt":"2025-06-04 17:27:21","post_content":"\n
The Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for US Stablecoins (GENIUS) Act is in danger of being stalled by suggested modifications, especially those pertaining to credit card fees; therefore, cryptocurrency <\/a>advocates are encouraging Congress to enact it as soon as possible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Some senators had hinted that they could try to make changes, which prompted the drive. However, before the measure is done, politicians have been pressured by crypto lobbyists to adopt the bill.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As early as this week, the bill may be approved by the Senate. On May 19, it passed a procedural vote, meaning it had sufficient support to move on to the House. A statement about the GENIUS Act was released today by the leaders of the four biggest associations representing the digital asset sector.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Cryptocurrency institutions are backing lawmakers to push through the GENIUS Act<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Prominent crypto advocacy organisations, including the Blockchain Association, the Digital Chamber, the Crypto Council for Innovation and the DeFi Education Fund, issued a joint statement on June 2, insisting legislators continue their amazing work in order to present the proposal in the House.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The organisations said they respectfully want lawmakers to stick to the bill's fundamental objective, which is to provide a focused and all-encompassing approach to stablecoin supervision as it moves through the amendment process.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A number of Democratic members who had earlier backed out of the measure have changed their minds, pointing to President Donald Trump's connections to the cryptocurrency industry, namely a stablecoin introduced by his family's cryptocurrency company.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The stablecoin proposal may now encounter a snag in credit card fee legislation, even if it is claimed that the bill has enough support to move on to the House. The proposal, which is fiercely opposed by banks and card firms, would require payment networks such as Visa, Mastercard, and American Express to compete on merchant processing rates.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Banks and card networks have strongly opposed the plan, arguing that it is an example of government overreach. Meanwhile, proponents of cryptocurrency are battling to<\/a> prevent the off-topic credit card amendments from destroying their long-awaited success and turning the vote into a political minefield.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
According to Terrett's research, if a deal is not reached, administrative obstacles would likely slow down everything and postpone final approval until June 9. Crypto lobbying organisations are still optimistic that the GENIUS Act will pass and give stablecoin issuers and consumers in the US the long-needed legislative clarification despite mounting political tensions.<\/p>\n","post_title":"Cryptocurrency lobbying efforts intensify as senate considers unaltered GENIUS Act","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"cryptocurrency-lobbying-efforts-intensify-as-senate-considers-unaltered-genius-act","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2025-06-04 17:27:21","post_modified_gmt":"2025-06-04 17:27:21","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dctransparency.com\/?p=7944","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":7937,"post_author":"7","post_date":"2025-06-04 17:00:04","post_date_gmt":"2025-06-04 17:00:04","post_content":"\n
The Supreme Court rejected conservative Texas activist Michael Quinn Sullivan's complaint against the Texas Ethics Commission, further undermining his more than ten-year struggle against the state agency that oversees and enforces Texas' campaign finance and lobbying regulations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Sullivan has been appealing a $10,000 ethics commission punishment for failing to register as a lobbyist in 2010 and 2011 since 2014. Earlier this year, he petitioned the nation's highest court to take up the issue. Sullivan was the former chairman of the powerful conservative lobbying organization<\/a> Empower Texans. His attempt to overturn two state appeals court rulings that refused to throw out the fines was denied by the Texas Supreme Court last year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In a brief to the U.S. Supreme Court, Sullivan contended that Texas' ethics rules, which impose onerous registration and fee requirements, infringe upon the First Amendment rights of \"ordinary citizens\" who wish to communicate with their elected officials.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n
\"Sullivan's actions went far beyond an average citizen who happened to visit with a lawmaker or who spent a day or two at the Texas Capitol during a legislative session,\" <\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n
the Ethics Commission said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The court's decision supports the ethics commission's appeals court verdict. Sullivan will go back to a district court for a jury trial to determine the amount he must pay.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
After two former state senators complained that Sullivan had engaged in unregistered lobbying, the ethics commission began looking into the matter. For a long time, Sullivan has maintained that his work with the now-defunct Empower Texans was journalism rather than lobbying. However, such an argument was dismissed by the ethics committee. In their 2014 decision, they cited hundreds of letters he often addressed to Republican members to debate legislation and amendments, urging them to support the principles of his group.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Additionally, Sullivan released a Fiscal Responsibility Index that rates the conservative credentials of members according to their voting record in each session. In another instance of lobbying, the panel discovered that Sullivan utilized that scorecard to sway members' votes while working for Empower Texans.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In court, Sullivan repeatedly tried to argue that the ethics commission lacked the constitutional authority to enforce the state's ethical laws. By first claiming that he had moved to Denton County, Sullivan was able to have the case heard in a district court there instead of Travis County.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Even though a judge in Denton County ruled in Sullivan's favour, the verdict was reversed, and the case was sent back to Travis County when an appeals court found that Sullivan did not really meet the residency requirements to have the case heard in Denton County from the start<\/a>. The Travis County court decided in favour of the TEC. Therefore, Sullivan lost his appeal. In the meanwhile, Sullivan filed a number of further cases against the commission, all of which were dismissed in federal or state district court.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Many of the authors of these friend-of-the-court briefs, including those authored by Cruz, Cornyn, and Paxton, \"appear to assume, without any real analysis of the record that Sullivan did nothing more than write a newsletter and work on a website that \u2018rated\u2019 legislators,\" the ethics commission said in their response to the petition. These portrayals are inconsistent with the factual evidence that a Texas court grantedsummary judgments in favour of the Commission based on the allegations that Sullivan had broken Texas law.<\/p>\n","post_title":"Supreme court rejects GOP activist\u2019s appeal over Texas lobbying fine","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"supreme-court-rejects-gop-activists-appeal-over-texas-lobbying-fine","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2025-06-04 17:00:04","post_modified_gmt":"2025-06-04 17:00:04","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dctransparency.com\/?p=7937","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":7929,"post_author":"7","post_date":"2025-06-03 17:43:43","post_date_gmt":"2025-06-03 17:43:43","post_content":"\n
In its attempt to acquire US Steel, Japanese-owned Nippon Steel has invested over $6.1 million in federal lobbying, employing a plethora of powerful politicians, some of whom have close relationships with President Donald Trump<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Just days after the purchase announcement in December 2023, Nippon Steel brought in lobbying company Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld. The corporation has international clients, including the governments of KSA, the UAE, and Japan, as shown by their registration documents. According to a Washington Examiner review of disclosure data, Nippon Steel has since paid Akin Gump more than $5.5 million, which represents around 90% of its lobbying expenses used to advance the US Steel acquisition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The lobbyists at Akin Gump arguing Nippon Steel's case in the nation's capital include Hunter Bates, former chief of staff for former Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY); Reginald Babin, former chief counsel to Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY); and Brian Pomper, who advised the Senate Finance Committee on international trade matters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
During the last election campaign, Geoffrey Verhoff, another Akin Gump lobbyist hired to help Nippon Steel, was by far the biggest known money bundler for Trump. According to a Federal Election Commission report, Verhoff, who served as vice chairman of the Republican National Committee's financial arm from 2017 to 2021, bundled at least $3.6 million for the Trump 47 Committee. While lobbying for Nippon Steel, Bates also personally donated $10,000 to the Trump 47 Committee, according to campaign finance reports.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
While the main lobbying firm on Nippon Steel's roster is Akin Gump, a few other powerful figures in the business with strong ties to Capitol Hill have been enlisted to assist in influencing public opinion on the merger issue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Akin Gump hired the Trump-affiliated lobbying company Ballard Partners, a foreign agent for the Japanese Embassy, as a subcontractor on the Nippon Steel team last year in exchange<\/a> for a $25,000 monthly fee. According to lobbying activities disclosed under the Foreign Agents Registration Act, Ballard Partners reportedly arranged a phone conversation between Trump and Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba to examine the U.S. election one day following the 2024 presidential contest.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Brian Ballard, a prominent Trump donor and the agency's namesake president, leads his Florida firm's efforts on the Nippon Steel client. He is joined in lobbying by other Trump associates: Daniel McFaul, a member of Trump's transitional team, and Hunter Morgen, a Trump White House policy consultant with expertise in manufacturing and trade.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ballard and Morgen both made direct contributions to Trump's 2024 campaign; the founder of the business sent cheques to the Trump 47 Committee and Trump Save America PAC totalling $250,000 and $11,600, respectively.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Through Akin Gump, the Gephardt Group's government affairs branch, strategic communications agency VOX Global, and government affairs consultancy Valiant Strategies LLC also advocated on behalf of Nippon Steel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
James Baril, a former senior staffer to Sen. John Cornyn and current chairman of the Senate Finance Subcommittee on International Trade, Customs, and Global Competitiveness, led VOX Global's just-ended Nippon Steel assignment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
According to disclosure filings, Nippon Steel's agents have pushed for the planned purchase through the White House, Congress, and several government departments that have jurisdiction over international transactions, including the Department of Commerce, the State Department, and the U.S. Treasury.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In the second half of 2024, Nippon Steel significantly increased its lobbying expenditures, spending $1.45 million in Q3 and $1.71 million in Q4, more than doubling the total amount spent by the company during the first two quarters. A Washington Examiner analysis of quarterly activity records indicates that Nippon Steel has already disbursed an extra $1.83 million this year as it tries to finalise a contract.<\/p>\n","post_title":"Nippon Steel spends $6.1M on D.C. lobbying to win U.S. Steel bid, taps Trump allies","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"nippon-steel-spends-6-1m-on-d-c-lobbying-to-win-u-s-steel-bid-taps-trump-allies","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2025-06-03 17:43:43","post_modified_gmt":"2025-06-03 17:43:43","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dctransparency.com\/?p=7929","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"}],"next":false,"prev":true,"total_page":6},"paged":1,"column_class":"jeg_col_2o3","class":"epic_block_3"};

Page 6 of 21 Previous 1 … 5 6 7 … 21 Next

\n
The commissioners are worried about anticipated federal changes that might hurt citizens, including cuts to Medicaid, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), and Head Start, Franklin County Commissioner Erica C. Crawley said. Crawley has referred to Head Start, which provides low-income families with childcare funding, as a lifeline.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
According to Crawley, since so many federal awards have been reduced or are currently in uncertainty, the commissioners also wish to promote county programs that get federal funding.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For a year's worth of lobbying and consulting work, the county will pay Batie and Associates $96,000. At their June 10 meeting, the three Democratic commissioners unanimously authorized the deal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\"These are unprecedented times, and we believe it's crucial for us to meet with our federal representatives, get a handle on what's happening at the agency level, strengthen those relationships, and let our representatives know what matters most to us residents,\" Crawley said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This action strengthens the county's current connections and lobbying efforts. In response to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention cutting $250<\/a> million in funds via the Ohio Department of Health, which affected local agencies like Franklin County's, Crawley said she visited with Sen. Bernie Moreno's office.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Franklin County already has a two-person Government Affairs office run by the Board of Commissioners that represents the county in lobbying the Ohio General Assembly and federal representatives.<\/p>\n","post_title":"Trump cuts push Franklin County to get help from D.C. lobbyists","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"trump-cuts-push-franklin-county-to-get-help-from-d-c-lobbyists","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2025-06-12 18:23:39","post_modified_gmt":"2025-06-12 18:23:39","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dctransparency.com\/?p=7963","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":7952,"post_author":"7","post_date":"2025-06-10 13:29:20","post_date_gmt":"2025-06-10 13:29:20","post_content":"\n
Nonprofit OpenSecrets has reported that medtech companies, which employ tens of thousands of Minnesotans, have boosted their financial contributions to lobbying <\/a>efforts in Washington, D.C. by over $600,000 in the first quarter of this year, as uncertainty in the city's business landscape grows.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Boston Scientific, Abbott Laboratories, and Medtronic all acknowledged pushing for long-supported causes, including taxes and Medicare eligibility. However, documents also show that the Trump administration's goals have changed, moving from increasing tariffs with foreign nations to reducing the size of the federal workforce.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Boston Scientific, which has a sizable cardiology subsidiary located in Minnesota, increased its spending by around 20% during the first three months of 2025, reporting $572,000 in federal lobbying.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Files show that company representatives lobbied Congress on supply chain issues, promoting issues like the House Select Committee's decisions on strategic competition between the United States and the Chinese Communist Party that could impact the medical device supply chain.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In the first quarter of 2024, Medtronic, a Fridley-based company, boosted its federal lobbying spending by 10% to $1.07 million. They discussed topics including artificial intelligence, supply chains, tariffs, and the \"FDA workforce.\"<\/p>\n\n\n\n
How are lobbying firms like TDY influencing medtech policy?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Some businesses in D.C. have begun collaborating with MedTech and AdvaMed enterprises. Disclosures show that AdvaMed and Boston Scientific paid the law firm Alston & Bird $30,000<\/a> and $80,000, respectively, for services spanning from commerce to artificial intelligence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A consultant from Tarplin, Downs & Young in Washington, D.C., was hired by Abbott and AdvaMed. The topics of national trade and Medicare reimbursement kept coming up in TDY's advocacy for Abbott.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Mehlman Consulting, a Washington, D.C.-based firm that is only a few blocks from the White House, states in a first-quarter filing that it has done around $60,000 for Medtronic and has spoke out on issues concerning the taxation of multinational corporations and U.S. trade policy. Figures are rounded to the nearest $10,000 for disclosure purposes forms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/p>\n","post_title":"Medtech giants boost DC lobbying amid policy shifts","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"medtech-giants-boost-dc-lobbying-amid-policy-shifts","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2025-06-10 13:29:20","post_modified_gmt":"2025-06-10 13:29:20","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dctransparency.com\/?p=7952","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":7944,"post_author":"7","post_date":"2025-06-04 17:27:21","post_date_gmt":"2025-06-04 17:27:21","post_content":"\n
The Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for US Stablecoins (GENIUS) Act is in danger of being stalled by suggested modifications, especially those pertaining to credit card fees; therefore, cryptocurrency <\/a>advocates are encouraging Congress to enact it as soon as possible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Some senators had hinted that they could try to make changes, which prompted the drive. However, before the measure is done, politicians have been pressured by crypto lobbyists to adopt the bill.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As early as this week, the bill may be approved by the Senate. On May 19, it passed a procedural vote, meaning it had sufficient support to move on to the House. A statement about the GENIUS Act was released today by the leaders of the four biggest associations representing the digital asset sector.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Cryptocurrency institutions are backing lawmakers to push through the GENIUS Act<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Prominent crypto advocacy organisations, including the Blockchain Association, the Digital Chamber, the Crypto Council for Innovation and the DeFi Education Fund, issued a joint statement on June 2, insisting legislators continue their amazing work in order to present the proposal in the House.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The organisations said they respectfully want lawmakers to stick to the bill's fundamental objective, which is to provide a focused and all-encompassing approach to stablecoin supervision as it moves through the amendment process.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A number of Democratic members who had earlier backed out of the measure have changed their minds, pointing to President Donald Trump's connections to the cryptocurrency industry, namely a stablecoin introduced by his family's cryptocurrency company.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The stablecoin proposal may now encounter a snag in credit card fee legislation, even if it is claimed that the bill has enough support to move on to the House. The proposal, which is fiercely opposed by banks and card firms, would require payment networks such as Visa, Mastercard, and American Express to compete on merchant processing rates.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Banks and card networks have strongly opposed the plan, arguing that it is an example of government overreach. Meanwhile, proponents of cryptocurrency are battling to<\/a> prevent the off-topic credit card amendments from destroying their long-awaited success and turning the vote into a political minefield.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
According to Terrett's research, if a deal is not reached, administrative obstacles would likely slow down everything and postpone final approval until June 9. Crypto lobbying organisations are still optimistic that the GENIUS Act will pass and give stablecoin issuers and consumers in the US the long-needed legislative clarification despite mounting political tensions.<\/p>\n","post_title":"Cryptocurrency lobbying efforts intensify as senate considers unaltered GENIUS Act","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"cryptocurrency-lobbying-efforts-intensify-as-senate-considers-unaltered-genius-act","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2025-06-04 17:27:21","post_modified_gmt":"2025-06-04 17:27:21","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dctransparency.com\/?p=7944","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":7937,"post_author":"7","post_date":"2025-06-04 17:00:04","post_date_gmt":"2025-06-04 17:00:04","post_content":"\n
The Supreme Court rejected conservative Texas activist Michael Quinn Sullivan's complaint against the Texas Ethics Commission, further undermining his more than ten-year struggle against the state agency that oversees and enforces Texas' campaign finance and lobbying regulations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Sullivan has been appealing a $10,000 ethics commission punishment for failing to register as a lobbyist in 2010 and 2011 since 2014. Earlier this year, he petitioned the nation's highest court to take up the issue. Sullivan was the former chairman of the powerful conservative lobbying organization<\/a> Empower Texans. His attempt to overturn two state appeals court rulings that refused to throw out the fines was denied by the Texas Supreme Court last year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In a brief to the U.S. Supreme Court, Sullivan contended that Texas' ethics rules, which impose onerous registration and fee requirements, infringe upon the First Amendment rights of \"ordinary citizens\" who wish to communicate with their elected officials.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n
\"Sullivan's actions went far beyond an average citizen who happened to visit with a lawmaker or who spent a day or two at the Texas Capitol during a legislative session,\" <\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n
the Ethics Commission said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The court's decision supports the ethics commission's appeals court verdict. Sullivan will go back to a district court for a jury trial to determine the amount he must pay.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
After two former state senators complained that Sullivan had engaged in unregistered lobbying, the ethics commission began looking into the matter. For a long time, Sullivan has maintained that his work with the now-defunct Empower Texans was journalism rather than lobbying. However, such an argument was dismissed by the ethics committee. In their 2014 decision, they cited hundreds of letters he often addressed to Republican members to debate legislation and amendments, urging them to support the principles of his group.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Additionally, Sullivan released a Fiscal Responsibility Index that rates the conservative credentials of members according to their voting record in each session. In another instance of lobbying, the panel discovered that Sullivan utilized that scorecard to sway members' votes while working for Empower Texans.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In court, Sullivan repeatedly tried to argue that the ethics commission lacked the constitutional authority to enforce the state's ethical laws. By first claiming that he had moved to Denton County, Sullivan was able to have the case heard in a district court there instead of Travis County.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Even though a judge in Denton County ruled in Sullivan's favour, the verdict was reversed, and the case was sent back to Travis County when an appeals court found that Sullivan did not really meet the residency requirements to have the case heard in Denton County from the start<\/a>. The Travis County court decided in favour of the TEC. Therefore, Sullivan lost his appeal. In the meanwhile, Sullivan filed a number of further cases against the commission, all of which were dismissed in federal or state district court.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Many of the authors of these friend-of-the-court briefs, including those authored by Cruz, Cornyn, and Paxton, \"appear to assume, without any real analysis of the record that Sullivan did nothing more than write a newsletter and work on a website that \u2018rated\u2019 legislators,\" the ethics commission said in their response to the petition. These portrayals are inconsistent with the factual evidence that a Texas court grantedsummary judgments in favour of the Commission based on the allegations that Sullivan had broken Texas law.<\/p>\n","post_title":"Supreme court rejects GOP activist\u2019s appeal over Texas lobbying fine","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"supreme-court-rejects-gop-activists-appeal-over-texas-lobbying-fine","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2025-06-04 17:00:04","post_modified_gmt":"2025-06-04 17:00:04","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dctransparency.com\/?p=7937","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":7929,"post_author":"7","post_date":"2025-06-03 17:43:43","post_date_gmt":"2025-06-03 17:43:43","post_content":"\n
In its attempt to acquire US Steel, Japanese-owned Nippon Steel has invested over $6.1 million in federal lobbying, employing a plethora of powerful politicians, some of whom have close relationships with President Donald Trump<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Just days after the purchase announcement in December 2023, Nippon Steel brought in lobbying company Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld. The corporation has international clients, including the governments of KSA, the UAE, and Japan, as shown by their registration documents. According to a Washington Examiner review of disclosure data, Nippon Steel has since paid Akin Gump more than $5.5 million, which represents around 90% of its lobbying expenses used to advance the US Steel acquisition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The lobbyists at Akin Gump arguing Nippon Steel's case in the nation's capital include Hunter Bates, former chief of staff for former Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY); Reginald Babin, former chief counsel to Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY); and Brian Pomper, who advised the Senate Finance Committee on international trade matters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
During the last election campaign, Geoffrey Verhoff, another Akin Gump lobbyist hired to help Nippon Steel, was by far the biggest known money bundler for Trump. According to a Federal Election Commission report, Verhoff, who served as vice chairman of the Republican National Committee's financial arm from 2017 to 2021, bundled at least $3.6 million for the Trump 47 Committee. While lobbying for Nippon Steel, Bates also personally donated $10,000 to the Trump 47 Committee, according to campaign finance reports.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
While the main lobbying firm on Nippon Steel's roster is Akin Gump, a few other powerful figures in the business with strong ties to Capitol Hill have been enlisted to assist in influencing public opinion on the merger issue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Akin Gump hired the Trump-affiliated lobbying company Ballard Partners, a foreign agent for the Japanese Embassy, as a subcontractor on the Nippon Steel team last year in exchange<\/a> for a $25,000 monthly fee. According to lobbying activities disclosed under the Foreign Agents Registration Act, Ballard Partners reportedly arranged a phone conversation between Trump and Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba to examine the U.S. election one day following the 2024 presidential contest.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Brian Ballard, a prominent Trump donor and the agency's namesake president, leads his Florida firm's efforts on the Nippon Steel client. He is joined in lobbying by other Trump associates: Daniel McFaul, a member of Trump's transitional team, and Hunter Morgen, a Trump White House policy consultant with expertise in manufacturing and trade.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ballard and Morgen both made direct contributions to Trump's 2024 campaign; the founder of the business sent cheques to the Trump 47 Committee and Trump Save America PAC totalling $250,000 and $11,600, respectively.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Through Akin Gump, the Gephardt Group's government affairs branch, strategic communications agency VOX Global, and government affairs consultancy Valiant Strategies LLC also advocated on behalf of Nippon Steel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
James Baril, a former senior staffer to Sen. John Cornyn and current chairman of the Senate Finance Subcommittee on International Trade, Customs, and Global Competitiveness, led VOX Global's just-ended Nippon Steel assignment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
According to disclosure filings, Nippon Steel's agents have pushed for the planned purchase through the White House, Congress, and several government departments that have jurisdiction over international transactions, including the Department of Commerce, the State Department, and the U.S. Treasury.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In the second half of 2024, Nippon Steel significantly increased its lobbying expenditures, spending $1.45 million in Q3 and $1.71 million in Q4, more than doubling the total amount spent by the company during the first two quarters. A Washington Examiner analysis of quarterly activity records indicates that Nippon Steel has already disbursed an extra $1.83 million this year as it tries to finalise a contract.<\/p>\n","post_title":"Nippon Steel spends $6.1M on D.C. lobbying to win U.S. Steel bid, taps Trump allies","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"nippon-steel-spends-6-1m-on-d-c-lobbying-to-win-u-s-steel-bid-taps-trump-allies","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2025-06-03 17:43:43","post_modified_gmt":"2025-06-03 17:43:43","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dctransparency.com\/?p=7929","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"}],"next":false,"prev":true,"total_page":6},"paged":1,"column_class":"jeg_col_2o3","class":"epic_block_3"};

Page 6 of 21 Previous 1 … 5 6 7 … 21 Next

\n
Consulting firms and contractors affected by these cuts have been actively lobbying <\/a>federal agencies, including the General Services Administration (GSA), to avoid contract terminations or to negotiate exemptions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The commissioners are worried about anticipated federal changes that might hurt citizens, including cuts to Medicaid, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), and Head Start, Franklin County Commissioner Erica C. Crawley said. Crawley has referred to Head Start, which provides low-income families with childcare funding, as a lifeline.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
According to Crawley, since so many federal awards have been reduced or are currently in uncertainty, the commissioners also wish to promote county programs that get federal funding.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For a year's worth of lobbying and consulting work, the county will pay Batie and Associates $96,000. At their June 10 meeting, the three Democratic commissioners unanimously authorized the deal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\"These are unprecedented times, and we believe it's crucial for us to meet with our federal representatives, get a handle on what's happening at the agency level, strengthen those relationships, and let our representatives know what matters most to us residents,\" Crawley said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This action strengthens the county's current connections and lobbying efforts. In response to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention cutting $250<\/a> million in funds via the Ohio Department of Health, which affected local agencies like Franklin County's, Crawley said she visited with Sen. Bernie Moreno's office.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Franklin County already has a two-person Government Affairs office run by the Board of Commissioners that represents the county in lobbying the Ohio General Assembly and federal representatives.<\/p>\n","post_title":"Trump cuts push Franklin County to get help from D.C. lobbyists","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"trump-cuts-push-franklin-county-to-get-help-from-d-c-lobbyists","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2025-06-12 18:23:39","post_modified_gmt":"2025-06-12 18:23:39","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dctransparency.com\/?p=7963","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":7952,"post_author":"7","post_date":"2025-06-10 13:29:20","post_date_gmt":"2025-06-10 13:29:20","post_content":"\n
Nonprofit OpenSecrets has reported that medtech companies, which employ tens of thousands of Minnesotans, have boosted their financial contributions to lobbying <\/a>efforts in Washington, D.C. by over $600,000 in the first quarter of this year, as uncertainty in the city's business landscape grows.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Boston Scientific, Abbott Laboratories, and Medtronic all acknowledged pushing for long-supported causes, including taxes and Medicare eligibility. However, documents also show that the Trump administration's goals have changed, moving from increasing tariffs with foreign nations to reducing the size of the federal workforce.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Boston Scientific, which has a sizable cardiology subsidiary located in Minnesota, increased its spending by around 20% during the first three months of 2025, reporting $572,000 in federal lobbying.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Files show that company representatives lobbied Congress on supply chain issues, promoting issues like the House Select Committee's decisions on strategic competition between the United States and the Chinese Communist Party that could impact the medical device supply chain.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In the first quarter of 2024, Medtronic, a Fridley-based company, boosted its federal lobbying spending by 10% to $1.07 million. They discussed topics including artificial intelligence, supply chains, tariffs, and the \"FDA workforce.\"<\/p>\n\n\n\n
How are lobbying firms like TDY influencing medtech policy?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Some businesses in D.C. have begun collaborating with MedTech and AdvaMed enterprises. Disclosures show that AdvaMed and Boston Scientific paid the law firm Alston & Bird $30,000<\/a> and $80,000, respectively, for services spanning from commerce to artificial intelligence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A consultant from Tarplin, Downs & Young in Washington, D.C., was hired by Abbott and AdvaMed. The topics of national trade and Medicare reimbursement kept coming up in TDY's advocacy for Abbott.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Mehlman Consulting, a Washington, D.C.-based firm that is only a few blocks from the White House, states in a first-quarter filing that it has done around $60,000 for Medtronic and has spoke out on issues concerning the taxation of multinational corporations and U.S. trade policy. Figures are rounded to the nearest $10,000 for disclosure purposes forms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/p>\n","post_title":"Medtech giants boost DC lobbying amid policy shifts","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"medtech-giants-boost-dc-lobbying-amid-policy-shifts","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2025-06-10 13:29:20","post_modified_gmt":"2025-06-10 13:29:20","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dctransparency.com\/?p=7952","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":7944,"post_author":"7","post_date":"2025-06-04 17:27:21","post_date_gmt":"2025-06-04 17:27:21","post_content":"\n
The Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for US Stablecoins (GENIUS) Act is in danger of being stalled by suggested modifications, especially those pertaining to credit card fees; therefore, cryptocurrency <\/a>advocates are encouraging Congress to enact it as soon as possible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Some senators had hinted that they could try to make changes, which prompted the drive. However, before the measure is done, politicians have been pressured by crypto lobbyists to adopt the bill.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As early as this week, the bill may be approved by the Senate. On May 19, it passed a procedural vote, meaning it had sufficient support to move on to the House. A statement about the GENIUS Act was released today by the leaders of the four biggest associations representing the digital asset sector.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Cryptocurrency institutions are backing lawmakers to push through the GENIUS Act<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Prominent crypto advocacy organisations, including the Blockchain Association, the Digital Chamber, the Crypto Council for Innovation and the DeFi Education Fund, issued a joint statement on June 2, insisting legislators continue their amazing work in order to present the proposal in the House.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The organisations said they respectfully want lawmakers to stick to the bill's fundamental objective, which is to provide a focused and all-encompassing approach to stablecoin supervision as it moves through the amendment process.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A number of Democratic members who had earlier backed out of the measure have changed their minds, pointing to President Donald Trump's connections to the cryptocurrency industry, namely a stablecoin introduced by his family's cryptocurrency company.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The stablecoin proposal may now encounter a snag in credit card fee legislation, even if it is claimed that the bill has enough support to move on to the House. The proposal, which is fiercely opposed by banks and card firms, would require payment networks such as Visa, Mastercard, and American Express to compete on merchant processing rates.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Banks and card networks have strongly opposed the plan, arguing that it is an example of government overreach. Meanwhile, proponents of cryptocurrency are battling to<\/a> prevent the off-topic credit card amendments from destroying their long-awaited success and turning the vote into a political minefield.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
According to Terrett's research, if a deal is not reached, administrative obstacles would likely slow down everything and postpone final approval until June 9. Crypto lobbying organisations are still optimistic that the GENIUS Act will pass and give stablecoin issuers and consumers in the US the long-needed legislative clarification despite mounting political tensions.<\/p>\n","post_title":"Cryptocurrency lobbying efforts intensify as senate considers unaltered GENIUS Act","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"cryptocurrency-lobbying-efforts-intensify-as-senate-considers-unaltered-genius-act","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2025-06-04 17:27:21","post_modified_gmt":"2025-06-04 17:27:21","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dctransparency.com\/?p=7944","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":7937,"post_author":"7","post_date":"2025-06-04 17:00:04","post_date_gmt":"2025-06-04 17:00:04","post_content":"\n
The Supreme Court rejected conservative Texas activist Michael Quinn Sullivan's complaint against the Texas Ethics Commission, further undermining his more than ten-year struggle against the state agency that oversees and enforces Texas' campaign finance and lobbying regulations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Sullivan has been appealing a $10,000 ethics commission punishment for failing to register as a lobbyist in 2010 and 2011 since 2014. Earlier this year, he petitioned the nation's highest court to take up the issue. Sullivan was the former chairman of the powerful conservative lobbying organization<\/a> Empower Texans. His attempt to overturn two state appeals court rulings that refused to throw out the fines was denied by the Texas Supreme Court last year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In a brief to the U.S. Supreme Court, Sullivan contended that Texas' ethics rules, which impose onerous registration and fee requirements, infringe upon the First Amendment rights of \"ordinary citizens\" who wish to communicate with their elected officials.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n
\"Sullivan's actions went far beyond an average citizen who happened to visit with a lawmaker or who spent a day or two at the Texas Capitol during a legislative session,\" <\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n
the Ethics Commission said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The court's decision supports the ethics commission's appeals court verdict. Sullivan will go back to a district court for a jury trial to determine the amount he must pay.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
After two former state senators complained that Sullivan had engaged in unregistered lobbying, the ethics commission began looking into the matter. For a long time, Sullivan has maintained that his work with the now-defunct Empower Texans was journalism rather than lobbying. However, such an argument was dismissed by the ethics committee. In their 2014 decision, they cited hundreds of letters he often addressed to Republican members to debate legislation and amendments, urging them to support the principles of his group.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Additionally, Sullivan released a Fiscal Responsibility Index that rates the conservative credentials of members according to their voting record in each session. In another instance of lobbying, the panel discovered that Sullivan utilized that scorecard to sway members' votes while working for Empower Texans.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In court, Sullivan repeatedly tried to argue that the ethics commission lacked the constitutional authority to enforce the state's ethical laws. By first claiming that he had moved to Denton County, Sullivan was able to have the case heard in a district court there instead of Travis County.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Even though a judge in Denton County ruled in Sullivan's favour, the verdict was reversed, and the case was sent back to Travis County when an appeals court found that Sullivan did not really meet the residency requirements to have the case heard in Denton County from the start<\/a>. The Travis County court decided in favour of the TEC. Therefore, Sullivan lost his appeal. In the meanwhile, Sullivan filed a number of further cases against the commission, all of which were dismissed in federal or state district court.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Many of the authors of these friend-of-the-court briefs, including those authored by Cruz, Cornyn, and Paxton, \"appear to assume, without any real analysis of the record that Sullivan did nothing more than write a newsletter and work on a website that \u2018rated\u2019 legislators,\" the ethics commission said in their response to the petition. These portrayals are inconsistent with the factual evidence that a Texas court grantedsummary judgments in favour of the Commission based on the allegations that Sullivan had broken Texas law.<\/p>\n","post_title":"Supreme court rejects GOP activist\u2019s appeal over Texas lobbying fine","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"supreme-court-rejects-gop-activists-appeal-over-texas-lobbying-fine","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2025-06-04 17:00:04","post_modified_gmt":"2025-06-04 17:00:04","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dctransparency.com\/?p=7937","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":7929,"post_author":"7","post_date":"2025-06-03 17:43:43","post_date_gmt":"2025-06-03 17:43:43","post_content":"\n
In its attempt to acquire US Steel, Japanese-owned Nippon Steel has invested over $6.1 million in federal lobbying, employing a plethora of powerful politicians, some of whom have close relationships with President Donald Trump<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Just days after the purchase announcement in December 2023, Nippon Steel brought in lobbying company Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld. The corporation has international clients, including the governments of KSA, the UAE, and Japan, as shown by their registration documents. According to a Washington Examiner review of disclosure data, Nippon Steel has since paid Akin Gump more than $5.5 million, which represents around 90% of its lobbying expenses used to advance the US Steel acquisition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The lobbyists at Akin Gump arguing Nippon Steel's case in the nation's capital include Hunter Bates, former chief of staff for former Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY); Reginald Babin, former chief counsel to Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY); and Brian Pomper, who advised the Senate Finance Committee on international trade matters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
During the last election campaign, Geoffrey Verhoff, another Akin Gump lobbyist hired to help Nippon Steel, was by far the biggest known money bundler for Trump. According to a Federal Election Commission report, Verhoff, who served as vice chairman of the Republican National Committee's financial arm from 2017 to 2021, bundled at least $3.6 million for the Trump 47 Committee. While lobbying for Nippon Steel, Bates also personally donated $10,000 to the Trump 47 Committee, according to campaign finance reports.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
While the main lobbying firm on Nippon Steel's roster is Akin Gump, a few other powerful figures in the business with strong ties to Capitol Hill have been enlisted to assist in influencing public opinion on the merger issue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Akin Gump hired the Trump-affiliated lobbying company Ballard Partners, a foreign agent for the Japanese Embassy, as a subcontractor on the Nippon Steel team last year in exchange<\/a> for a $25,000 monthly fee. According to lobbying activities disclosed under the Foreign Agents Registration Act, Ballard Partners reportedly arranged a phone conversation between Trump and Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba to examine the U.S. election one day following the 2024 presidential contest.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Brian Ballard, a prominent Trump donor and the agency's namesake president, leads his Florida firm's efforts on the Nippon Steel client. He is joined in lobbying by other Trump associates: Daniel McFaul, a member of Trump's transitional team, and Hunter Morgen, a Trump White House policy consultant with expertise in manufacturing and trade.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ballard and Morgen both made direct contributions to Trump's 2024 campaign; the founder of the business sent cheques to the Trump 47 Committee and Trump Save America PAC totalling $250,000 and $11,600, respectively.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Through Akin Gump, the Gephardt Group's government affairs branch, strategic communications agency VOX Global, and government affairs consultancy Valiant Strategies LLC also advocated on behalf of Nippon Steel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
James Baril, a former senior staffer to Sen. John Cornyn and current chairman of the Senate Finance Subcommittee on International Trade, Customs, and Global Competitiveness, led VOX Global's just-ended Nippon Steel assignment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
According to disclosure filings, Nippon Steel's agents have pushed for the planned purchase through the White House, Congress, and several government departments that have jurisdiction over international transactions, including the Department of Commerce, the State Department, and the U.S. Treasury.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In the second half of 2024, Nippon Steel significantly increased its lobbying expenditures, spending $1.45 million in Q3 and $1.71 million in Q4, more than doubling the total amount spent by the company during the first two quarters. A Washington Examiner analysis of quarterly activity records indicates that Nippon Steel has already disbursed an extra $1.83 million this year as it tries to finalise a contract.<\/p>\n","post_title":"Nippon Steel spends $6.1M on D.C. lobbying to win U.S. Steel bid, taps Trump allies","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"nippon-steel-spends-6-1m-on-d-c-lobbying-to-win-u-s-steel-bid-taps-trump-allies","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2025-06-03 17:43:43","post_modified_gmt":"2025-06-03 17:43:43","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dctransparency.com\/?p=7929","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"}],"next":false,"prev":true,"total_page":6},"paged":1,"column_class":"jeg_col_2o3","class":"epic_block_3"};

Page 6 of 21 Previous 1 … 5 6 7 … 21 Next

\n
The Trump administration initiated a large-scale review and cutback of federal government consulting contracts, targeting over 20,000 contracts for \"non-essential\" services, resulting in cancellations worth billions of dollars. This initiative has caused significant disruption in the Washington D.C. area contracting industry, including layoffs and contract renegotiations aimed at reducing costs and improving productivity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Consulting firms and contractors affected by these cuts have been actively lobbying <\/a>federal agencies, including the General Services Administration (GSA), to avoid contract terminations or to negotiate exemptions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The commissioners are worried about anticipated federal changes that might hurt citizens, including cuts to Medicaid, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), and Head Start, Franklin County Commissioner Erica C. Crawley said. Crawley has referred to Head Start, which provides low-income families with childcare funding, as a lifeline.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
According to Crawley, since so many federal awards have been reduced or are currently in uncertainty, the commissioners also wish to promote county programs that get federal funding.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For a year's worth of lobbying and consulting work, the county will pay Batie and Associates $96,000. At their June 10 meeting, the three Democratic commissioners unanimously authorized the deal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\"These are unprecedented times, and we believe it's crucial for us to meet with our federal representatives, get a handle on what's happening at the agency level, strengthen those relationships, and let our representatives know what matters most to us residents,\" Crawley said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This action strengthens the county's current connections and lobbying efforts. In response to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention cutting $250<\/a> million in funds via the Ohio Department of Health, which affected local agencies like Franklin County's, Crawley said she visited with Sen. Bernie Moreno's office.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Franklin County already has a two-person Government Affairs office run by the Board of Commissioners that represents the county in lobbying the Ohio General Assembly and federal representatives.<\/p>\n","post_title":"Trump cuts push Franklin County to get help from D.C. lobbyists","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"trump-cuts-push-franklin-county-to-get-help-from-d-c-lobbyists","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2025-06-12 18:23:39","post_modified_gmt":"2025-06-12 18:23:39","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dctransparency.com\/?p=7963","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":7952,"post_author":"7","post_date":"2025-06-10 13:29:20","post_date_gmt":"2025-06-10 13:29:20","post_content":"\n
Nonprofit OpenSecrets has reported that medtech companies, which employ tens of thousands of Minnesotans, have boosted their financial contributions to lobbying <\/a>efforts in Washington, D.C. by over $600,000 in the first quarter of this year, as uncertainty in the city's business landscape grows.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Boston Scientific, Abbott Laboratories, and Medtronic all acknowledged pushing for long-supported causes, including taxes and Medicare eligibility. However, documents also show that the Trump administration's goals have changed, moving from increasing tariffs with foreign nations to reducing the size of the federal workforce.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Boston Scientific, which has a sizable cardiology subsidiary located in Minnesota, increased its spending by around 20% during the first three months of 2025, reporting $572,000 in federal lobbying.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Files show that company representatives lobbied Congress on supply chain issues, promoting issues like the House Select Committee's decisions on strategic competition between the United States and the Chinese Communist Party that could impact the medical device supply chain.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In the first quarter of 2024, Medtronic, a Fridley-based company, boosted its federal lobbying spending by 10% to $1.07 million. They discussed topics including artificial intelligence, supply chains, tariffs, and the \"FDA workforce.\"<\/p>\n\n\n\n
How are lobbying firms like TDY influencing medtech policy?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Some businesses in D.C. have begun collaborating with MedTech and AdvaMed enterprises. Disclosures show that AdvaMed and Boston Scientific paid the law firm Alston & Bird $30,000<\/a> and $80,000, respectively, for services spanning from commerce to artificial intelligence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A consultant from Tarplin, Downs & Young in Washington, D.C., was hired by Abbott and AdvaMed. The topics of national trade and Medicare reimbursement kept coming up in TDY's advocacy for Abbott.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Mehlman Consulting, a Washington, D.C.-based firm that is only a few blocks from the White House, states in a first-quarter filing that it has done around $60,000 for Medtronic and has spoke out on issues concerning the taxation of multinational corporations and U.S. trade policy. Figures are rounded to the nearest $10,000 for disclosure purposes forms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/p>\n","post_title":"Medtech giants boost DC lobbying amid policy shifts","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"medtech-giants-boost-dc-lobbying-amid-policy-shifts","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2025-06-10 13:29:20","post_modified_gmt":"2025-06-10 13:29:20","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dctransparency.com\/?p=7952","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":7944,"post_author":"7","post_date":"2025-06-04 17:27:21","post_date_gmt":"2025-06-04 17:27:21","post_content":"\n
The Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for US Stablecoins (GENIUS) Act is in danger of being stalled by suggested modifications, especially those pertaining to credit card fees; therefore, cryptocurrency <\/a>advocates are encouraging Congress to enact it as soon as possible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Some senators had hinted that they could try to make changes, which prompted the drive. However, before the measure is done, politicians have been pressured by crypto lobbyists to adopt the bill.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As early as this week, the bill may be approved by the Senate. On May 19, it passed a procedural vote, meaning it had sufficient support to move on to the House. A statement about the GENIUS Act was released today by the leaders of the four biggest associations representing the digital asset sector.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Cryptocurrency institutions are backing lawmakers to push through the GENIUS Act<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Prominent crypto advocacy organisations, including the Blockchain Association, the Digital Chamber, the Crypto Council for Innovation and the DeFi Education Fund, issued a joint statement on June 2, insisting legislators continue their amazing work in order to present the proposal in the House.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The organisations said they respectfully want lawmakers to stick to the bill's fundamental objective, which is to provide a focused and all-encompassing approach to stablecoin supervision as it moves through the amendment process.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A number of Democratic members who had earlier backed out of the measure have changed their minds, pointing to President Donald Trump's connections to the cryptocurrency industry, namely a stablecoin introduced by his family's cryptocurrency company.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The stablecoin proposal may now encounter a snag in credit card fee legislation, even if it is claimed that the bill has enough support to move on to the House. The proposal, which is fiercely opposed by banks and card firms, would require payment networks such as Visa, Mastercard, and American Express to compete on merchant processing rates.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Banks and card networks have strongly opposed the plan, arguing that it is an example of government overreach. Meanwhile, proponents of cryptocurrency are battling to<\/a> prevent the off-topic credit card amendments from destroying their long-awaited success and turning the vote into a political minefield.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
According to Terrett's research, if a deal is not reached, administrative obstacles would likely slow down everything and postpone final approval until June 9. Crypto lobbying organisations are still optimistic that the GENIUS Act will pass and give stablecoin issuers and consumers in the US the long-needed legislative clarification despite mounting political tensions.<\/p>\n","post_title":"Cryptocurrency lobbying efforts intensify as senate considers unaltered GENIUS Act","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"cryptocurrency-lobbying-efforts-intensify-as-senate-considers-unaltered-genius-act","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2025-06-04 17:27:21","post_modified_gmt":"2025-06-04 17:27:21","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dctransparency.com\/?p=7944","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":7937,"post_author":"7","post_date":"2025-06-04 17:00:04","post_date_gmt":"2025-06-04 17:00:04","post_content":"\n
The Supreme Court rejected conservative Texas activist Michael Quinn Sullivan's complaint against the Texas Ethics Commission, further undermining his more than ten-year struggle against the state agency that oversees and enforces Texas' campaign finance and lobbying regulations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Sullivan has been appealing a $10,000 ethics commission punishment for failing to register as a lobbyist in 2010 and 2011 since 2014. Earlier this year, he petitioned the nation's highest court to take up the issue. Sullivan was the former chairman of the powerful conservative lobbying organization<\/a> Empower Texans. His attempt to overturn two state appeals court rulings that refused to throw out the fines was denied by the Texas Supreme Court last year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In a brief to the U.S. Supreme Court, Sullivan contended that Texas' ethics rules, which impose onerous registration and fee requirements, infringe upon the First Amendment rights of \"ordinary citizens\" who wish to communicate with their elected officials.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n
\"Sullivan's actions went far beyond an average citizen who happened to visit with a lawmaker or who spent a day or two at the Texas Capitol during a legislative session,\" <\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n
the Ethics Commission said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The court's decision supports the ethics commission's appeals court verdict. Sullivan will go back to a district court for a jury trial to determine the amount he must pay.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
After two former state senators complained that Sullivan had engaged in unregistered lobbying, the ethics commission began looking into the matter. For a long time, Sullivan has maintained that his work with the now-defunct Empower Texans was journalism rather than lobbying. However, such an argument was dismissed by the ethics committee. In their 2014 decision, they cited hundreds of letters he often addressed to Republican members to debate legislation and amendments, urging them to support the principles of his group.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Additionally, Sullivan released a Fiscal Responsibility Index that rates the conservative credentials of members according to their voting record in each session. In another instance of lobbying, the panel discovered that Sullivan utilized that scorecard to sway members' votes while working for Empower Texans.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In court, Sullivan repeatedly tried to argue that the ethics commission lacked the constitutional authority to enforce the state's ethical laws. By first claiming that he had moved to Denton County, Sullivan was able to have the case heard in a district court there instead of Travis County.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Even though a judge in Denton County ruled in Sullivan's favour, the verdict was reversed, and the case was sent back to Travis County when an appeals court found that Sullivan did not really meet the residency requirements to have the case heard in Denton County from the start<\/a>. The Travis County court decided in favour of the TEC. Therefore, Sullivan lost his appeal. In the meanwhile, Sullivan filed a number of further cases against the commission, all of which were dismissed in federal or state district court.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Many of the authors of these friend-of-the-court briefs, including those authored by Cruz, Cornyn, and Paxton, \"appear to assume, without any real analysis of the record that Sullivan did nothing more than write a newsletter and work on a website that \u2018rated\u2019 legislators,\" the ethics commission said in their response to the petition. These portrayals are inconsistent with the factual evidence that a Texas court grantedsummary judgments in favour of the Commission based on the allegations that Sullivan had broken Texas law.<\/p>\n","post_title":"Supreme court rejects GOP activist\u2019s appeal over Texas lobbying fine","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"supreme-court-rejects-gop-activists-appeal-over-texas-lobbying-fine","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2025-06-04 17:00:04","post_modified_gmt":"2025-06-04 17:00:04","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dctransparency.com\/?p=7937","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":7929,"post_author":"7","post_date":"2025-06-03 17:43:43","post_date_gmt":"2025-06-03 17:43:43","post_content":"\n
In its attempt to acquire US Steel, Japanese-owned Nippon Steel has invested over $6.1 million in federal lobbying, employing a plethora of powerful politicians, some of whom have close relationships with President Donald Trump<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Just days after the purchase announcement in December 2023, Nippon Steel brought in lobbying company Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld. The corporation has international clients, including the governments of KSA, the UAE, and Japan, as shown by their registration documents. According to a Washington Examiner review of disclosure data, Nippon Steel has since paid Akin Gump more than $5.5 million, which represents around 90% of its lobbying expenses used to advance the US Steel acquisition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The lobbyists at Akin Gump arguing Nippon Steel's case in the nation's capital include Hunter Bates, former chief of staff for former Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY); Reginald Babin, former chief counsel to Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY); and Brian Pomper, who advised the Senate Finance Committee on international trade matters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
During the last election campaign, Geoffrey Verhoff, another Akin Gump lobbyist hired to help Nippon Steel, was by far the biggest known money bundler for Trump. According to a Federal Election Commission report, Verhoff, who served as vice chairman of the Republican National Committee's financial arm from 2017 to 2021, bundled at least $3.6 million for the Trump 47 Committee. While lobbying for Nippon Steel, Bates also personally donated $10,000 to the Trump 47 Committee, according to campaign finance reports.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
While the main lobbying firm on Nippon Steel's roster is Akin Gump, a few other powerful figures in the business with strong ties to Capitol Hill have been enlisted to assist in influencing public opinion on the merger issue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Akin Gump hired the Trump-affiliated lobbying company Ballard Partners, a foreign agent for the Japanese Embassy, as a subcontractor on the Nippon Steel team last year in exchange<\/a> for a $25,000 monthly fee. According to lobbying activities disclosed under the Foreign Agents Registration Act, Ballard Partners reportedly arranged a phone conversation between Trump and Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba to examine the U.S. election one day following the 2024 presidential contest.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Brian Ballard, a prominent Trump donor and the agency's namesake president, leads his Florida firm's efforts on the Nippon Steel client. He is joined in lobbying by other Trump associates: Daniel McFaul, a member of Trump's transitional team, and Hunter Morgen, a Trump White House policy consultant with expertise in manufacturing and trade.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ballard and Morgen both made direct contributions to Trump's 2024 campaign; the founder of the business sent cheques to the Trump 47 Committee and Trump Save America PAC totalling $250,000 and $11,600, respectively.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Through Akin Gump, the Gephardt Group's government affairs branch, strategic communications agency VOX Global, and government affairs consultancy Valiant Strategies LLC also advocated on behalf of Nippon Steel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
James Baril, a former senior staffer to Sen. John Cornyn and current chairman of the Senate Finance Subcommittee on International Trade, Customs, and Global Competitiveness, led VOX Global's just-ended Nippon Steel assignment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
According to disclosure filings, Nippon Steel's agents have pushed for the planned purchase through the White House, Congress, and several government departments that have jurisdiction over international transactions, including the Department of Commerce, the State Department, and the U.S. Treasury.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In the second half of 2024, Nippon Steel significantly increased its lobbying expenditures, spending $1.45 million in Q3 and $1.71 million in Q4, more than doubling the total amount spent by the company during the first two quarters. A Washington Examiner analysis of quarterly activity records indicates that Nippon Steel has already disbursed an extra $1.83 million this year as it tries to finalise a contract.<\/p>\n","post_title":"Nippon Steel spends $6.1M on D.C. lobbying to win U.S. Steel bid, taps Trump allies","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"nippon-steel-spends-6-1m-on-d-c-lobbying-to-win-u-s-steel-bid-taps-trump-allies","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2025-06-03 17:43:43","post_modified_gmt":"2025-06-03 17:43:43","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dctransparency.com\/?p=7929","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"}],"next":false,"prev":true,"total_page":6},"paged":1,"column_class":"jeg_col_2o3","class":"epic_block_3"};

Page 6 of 21 Previous 1 … 5 6 7 … 21 Next

\n
Franklin County officials are acting proactively as US President Donald Trump<\/a>'s administration continues to implement rapid-fire policy changes. The Franklin County Board of Commissioners has, for the first time, enlisted a Washington lobbying company to represent the county before federal agencies and Congress. Additionally, the business will assist county officials in staying up to date with the rapidly evolving federal situation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Trump administration initiated a large-scale review and cutback of federal government consulting contracts, targeting over 20,000 contracts for \"non-essential\" services, resulting in cancellations worth billions of dollars. This initiative has caused significant disruption in the Washington D.C. area contracting industry, including layoffs and contract renegotiations aimed at reducing costs and improving productivity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Consulting firms and contractors affected by these cuts have been actively lobbying <\/a>federal agencies, including the General Services Administration (GSA), to avoid contract terminations or to negotiate exemptions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The commissioners are worried about anticipated federal changes that might hurt citizens, including cuts to Medicaid, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), and Head Start, Franklin County Commissioner Erica C. Crawley said. Crawley has referred to Head Start, which provides low-income families with childcare funding, as a lifeline.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
According to Crawley, since so many federal awards have been reduced or are currently in uncertainty, the commissioners also wish to promote county programs that get federal funding.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For a year's worth of lobbying and consulting work, the county will pay Batie and Associates $96,000. At their June 10 meeting, the three Democratic commissioners unanimously authorized the deal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\"These are unprecedented times, and we believe it's crucial for us to meet with our federal representatives, get a handle on what's happening at the agency level, strengthen those relationships, and let our representatives know what matters most to us residents,\" Crawley said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This action strengthens the county's current connections and lobbying efforts. In response to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention cutting $250<\/a> million in funds via the Ohio Department of Health, which affected local agencies like Franklin County's, Crawley said she visited with Sen. Bernie Moreno's office.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Franklin County already has a two-person Government Affairs office run by the Board of Commissioners that represents the county in lobbying the Ohio General Assembly and federal representatives.<\/p>\n","post_title":"Trump cuts push Franklin County to get help from D.C. lobbyists","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"trump-cuts-push-franklin-county-to-get-help-from-d-c-lobbyists","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2025-06-12 18:23:39","post_modified_gmt":"2025-06-12 18:23:39","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dctransparency.com\/?p=7963","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":7952,"post_author":"7","post_date":"2025-06-10 13:29:20","post_date_gmt":"2025-06-10 13:29:20","post_content":"\n
Nonprofit OpenSecrets has reported that medtech companies, which employ tens of thousands of Minnesotans, have boosted their financial contributions to lobbying <\/a>efforts in Washington, D.C. by over $600,000 in the first quarter of this year, as uncertainty in the city's business landscape grows.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Boston Scientific, Abbott Laboratories, and Medtronic all acknowledged pushing for long-supported causes, including taxes and Medicare eligibility. However, documents also show that the Trump administration's goals have changed, moving from increasing tariffs with foreign nations to reducing the size of the federal workforce.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Boston Scientific, which has a sizable cardiology subsidiary located in Minnesota, increased its spending by around 20% during the first three months of 2025, reporting $572,000 in federal lobbying.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Files show that company representatives lobbied Congress on supply chain issues, promoting issues like the House Select Committee's decisions on strategic competition between the United States and the Chinese Communist Party that could impact the medical device supply chain.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In the first quarter of 2024, Medtronic, a Fridley-based company, boosted its federal lobbying spending by 10% to $1.07 million. They discussed topics including artificial intelligence, supply chains, tariffs, and the \"FDA workforce.\"<\/p>\n\n\n\n
How are lobbying firms like TDY influencing medtech policy?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Some businesses in D.C. have begun collaborating with MedTech and AdvaMed enterprises. Disclosures show that AdvaMed and Boston Scientific paid the law firm Alston & Bird $30,000<\/a> and $80,000, respectively, for services spanning from commerce to artificial intelligence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A consultant from Tarplin, Downs & Young in Washington, D.C., was hired by Abbott and AdvaMed. The topics of national trade and Medicare reimbursement kept coming up in TDY's advocacy for Abbott.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Mehlman Consulting, a Washington, D.C.-based firm that is only a few blocks from the White House, states in a first-quarter filing that it has done around $60,000 for Medtronic and has spoke out on issues concerning the taxation of multinational corporations and U.S. trade policy. Figures are rounded to the nearest $10,000 for disclosure purposes forms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/p>\n","post_title":"Medtech giants boost DC lobbying amid policy shifts","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"medtech-giants-boost-dc-lobbying-amid-policy-shifts","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2025-06-10 13:29:20","post_modified_gmt":"2025-06-10 13:29:20","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dctransparency.com\/?p=7952","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":7944,"post_author":"7","post_date":"2025-06-04 17:27:21","post_date_gmt":"2025-06-04 17:27:21","post_content":"\n
The Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for US Stablecoins (GENIUS) Act is in danger of being stalled by suggested modifications, especially those pertaining to credit card fees; therefore, cryptocurrency <\/a>advocates are encouraging Congress to enact it as soon as possible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Some senators had hinted that they could try to make changes, which prompted the drive. However, before the measure is done, politicians have been pressured by crypto lobbyists to adopt the bill.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As early as this week, the bill may be approved by the Senate. On May 19, it passed a procedural vote, meaning it had sufficient support to move on to the House. A statement about the GENIUS Act was released today by the leaders of the four biggest associations representing the digital asset sector.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Cryptocurrency institutions are backing lawmakers to push through the GENIUS Act<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Prominent crypto advocacy organisations, including the Blockchain Association, the Digital Chamber, the Crypto Council for Innovation and the DeFi Education Fund, issued a joint statement on June 2, insisting legislators continue their amazing work in order to present the proposal in the House.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The organisations said they respectfully want lawmakers to stick to the bill's fundamental objective, which is to provide a focused and all-encompassing approach to stablecoin supervision as it moves through the amendment process.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A number of Democratic members who had earlier backed out of the measure have changed their minds, pointing to President Donald Trump's connections to the cryptocurrency industry, namely a stablecoin introduced by his family's cryptocurrency company.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The stablecoin proposal may now encounter a snag in credit card fee legislation, even if it is claimed that the bill has enough support to move on to the House. The proposal, which is fiercely opposed by banks and card firms, would require payment networks such as Visa, Mastercard, and American Express to compete on merchant processing rates.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Banks and card networks have strongly opposed the plan, arguing that it is an example of government overreach. Meanwhile, proponents of cryptocurrency are battling to<\/a> prevent the off-topic credit card amendments from destroying their long-awaited success and turning the vote into a political minefield.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
According to Terrett's research, if a deal is not reached, administrative obstacles would likely slow down everything and postpone final approval until June 9. Crypto lobbying organisations are still optimistic that the GENIUS Act will pass and give stablecoin issuers and consumers in the US the long-needed legislative clarification despite mounting political tensions.<\/p>\n","post_title":"Cryptocurrency lobbying efforts intensify as senate considers unaltered GENIUS Act","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"cryptocurrency-lobbying-efforts-intensify-as-senate-considers-unaltered-genius-act","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2025-06-04 17:27:21","post_modified_gmt":"2025-06-04 17:27:21","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dctransparency.com\/?p=7944","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":7937,"post_author":"7","post_date":"2025-06-04 17:00:04","post_date_gmt":"2025-06-04 17:00:04","post_content":"\n
The Supreme Court rejected conservative Texas activist Michael Quinn Sullivan's complaint against the Texas Ethics Commission, further undermining his more than ten-year struggle against the state agency that oversees and enforces Texas' campaign finance and lobbying regulations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Sullivan has been appealing a $10,000 ethics commission punishment for failing to register as a lobbyist in 2010 and 2011 since 2014. Earlier this year, he petitioned the nation's highest court to take up the issue. Sullivan was the former chairman of the powerful conservative lobbying organization<\/a> Empower Texans. His attempt to overturn two state appeals court rulings that refused to throw out the fines was denied by the Texas Supreme Court last year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In a brief to the U.S. Supreme Court, Sullivan contended that Texas' ethics rules, which impose onerous registration and fee requirements, infringe upon the First Amendment rights of \"ordinary citizens\" who wish to communicate with their elected officials.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n
\"Sullivan's actions went far beyond an average citizen who happened to visit with a lawmaker or who spent a day or two at the Texas Capitol during a legislative session,\" <\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n
the Ethics Commission said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The court's decision supports the ethics commission's appeals court verdict. Sullivan will go back to a district court for a jury trial to determine the amount he must pay.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
After two former state senators complained that Sullivan had engaged in unregistered lobbying, the ethics commission began looking into the matter. For a long time, Sullivan has maintained that his work with the now-defunct Empower Texans was journalism rather than lobbying. However, such an argument was dismissed by the ethics committee. In their 2014 decision, they cited hundreds of letters he often addressed to Republican members to debate legislation and amendments, urging them to support the principles of his group.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Additionally, Sullivan released a Fiscal Responsibility Index that rates the conservative credentials of members according to their voting record in each session. In another instance of lobbying, the panel discovered that Sullivan utilized that scorecard to sway members' votes while working for Empower Texans.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In court, Sullivan repeatedly tried to argue that the ethics commission lacked the constitutional authority to enforce the state's ethical laws. By first claiming that he had moved to Denton County, Sullivan was able to have the case heard in a district court there instead of Travis County.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Even though a judge in Denton County ruled in Sullivan's favour, the verdict was reversed, and the case was sent back to Travis County when an appeals court found that Sullivan did not really meet the residency requirements to have the case heard in Denton County from the start<\/a>. The Travis County court decided in favour of the TEC. Therefore, Sullivan lost his appeal. In the meanwhile, Sullivan filed a number of further cases against the commission, all of which were dismissed in federal or state district court.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Many of the authors of these friend-of-the-court briefs, including those authored by Cruz, Cornyn, and Paxton, \"appear to assume, without any real analysis of the record that Sullivan did nothing more than write a newsletter and work on a website that \u2018rated\u2019 legislators,\" the ethics commission said in their response to the petition. These portrayals are inconsistent with the factual evidence that a Texas court grantedsummary judgments in favour of the Commission based on the allegations that Sullivan had broken Texas law.<\/p>\n","post_title":"Supreme court rejects GOP activist\u2019s appeal over Texas lobbying fine","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"supreme-court-rejects-gop-activists-appeal-over-texas-lobbying-fine","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2025-06-04 17:00:04","post_modified_gmt":"2025-06-04 17:00:04","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dctransparency.com\/?p=7937","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":7929,"post_author":"7","post_date":"2025-06-03 17:43:43","post_date_gmt":"2025-06-03 17:43:43","post_content":"\n
In its attempt to acquire US Steel, Japanese-owned Nippon Steel has invested over $6.1 million in federal lobbying, employing a plethora of powerful politicians, some of whom have close relationships with President Donald Trump<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Just days after the purchase announcement in December 2023, Nippon Steel brought in lobbying company Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld. The corporation has international clients, including the governments of KSA, the UAE, and Japan, as shown by their registration documents. According to a Washington Examiner review of disclosure data, Nippon Steel has since paid Akin Gump more than $5.5 million, which represents around 90% of its lobbying expenses used to advance the US Steel acquisition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The lobbyists at Akin Gump arguing Nippon Steel's case in the nation's capital include Hunter Bates, former chief of staff for former Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY); Reginald Babin, former chief counsel to Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY); and Brian Pomper, who advised the Senate Finance Committee on international trade matters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
During the last election campaign, Geoffrey Verhoff, another Akin Gump lobbyist hired to help Nippon Steel, was by far the biggest known money bundler for Trump. According to a Federal Election Commission report, Verhoff, who served as vice chairman of the Republican National Committee's financial arm from 2017 to 2021, bundled at least $3.6 million for the Trump 47 Committee. While lobbying for Nippon Steel, Bates also personally donated $10,000 to the Trump 47 Committee, according to campaign finance reports.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
While the main lobbying firm on Nippon Steel's roster is Akin Gump, a few other powerful figures in the business with strong ties to Capitol Hill have been enlisted to assist in influencing public opinion on the merger issue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Akin Gump hired the Trump-affiliated lobbying company Ballard Partners, a foreign agent for the Japanese Embassy, as a subcontractor on the Nippon Steel team last year in exchange<\/a> for a $25,000 monthly fee. According to lobbying activities disclosed under the Foreign Agents Registration Act, Ballard Partners reportedly arranged a phone conversation between Trump and Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba to examine the U.S. election one day following the 2024 presidential contest.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Brian Ballard, a prominent Trump donor and the agency's namesake president, leads his Florida firm's efforts on the Nippon Steel client. He is joined in lobbying by other Trump associates: Daniel McFaul, a member of Trump's transitional team, and Hunter Morgen, a Trump White House policy consultant with expertise in manufacturing and trade.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ballard and Morgen both made direct contributions to Trump's 2024 campaign; the founder of the business sent cheques to the Trump 47 Committee and Trump Save America PAC totalling $250,000 and $11,600, respectively.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Through Akin Gump, the Gephardt Group's government affairs branch, strategic communications agency VOX Global, and government affairs consultancy Valiant Strategies LLC also advocated on behalf of Nippon Steel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
James Baril, a former senior staffer to Sen. John Cornyn and current chairman of the Senate Finance Subcommittee on International Trade, Customs, and Global Competitiveness, led VOX Global's just-ended Nippon Steel assignment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
According to disclosure filings, Nippon Steel's agents have pushed for the planned purchase through the White House, Congress, and several government departments that have jurisdiction over international transactions, including the Department of Commerce, the State Department, and the U.S. Treasury.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In the second half of 2024, Nippon Steel significantly increased its lobbying expenditures, spending $1.45 million in Q3 and $1.71 million in Q4, more than doubling the total amount spent by the company during the first two quarters. A Washington Examiner analysis of quarterly activity records indicates that Nippon Steel has already disbursed an extra $1.83 million this year as it tries to finalise a contract.<\/p>\n","post_title":"Nippon Steel spends $6.1M on D.C. lobbying to win U.S. Steel bid, taps Trump allies","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"nippon-steel-spends-6-1m-on-d-c-lobbying-to-win-u-s-steel-bid-taps-trump-allies","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2025-06-03 17:43:43","post_modified_gmt":"2025-06-03 17:43:43","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dctransparency.com\/?p=7929","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"}],"next":false,"prev":true,"total_page":6},"paged":1,"column_class":"jeg_col_2o3","class":"epic_block_3"};

Page 6 of 21 Previous 1 … 5 6 7 … 21 Next

Lobby Monitor

Lobby Monitor

New York lobbying spending hit $67M in April and May

June 16, 2025

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Corporate leaders lobby against proposed foreign investment taxation

June 14, 2025

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Universities push back as Trump’s ‘Big, Beautiful Bill’ threatens higher education funding

June 14, 2025

Lobby Monitor

Louisiana attorney general opens Inquiry into CVS lobbying practices via mass messaging

June 14, 2025

Lobby Monitor

Powerful lobbyists rush to block landmark New York debt reform bill

June 14, 2025

Trump cuts push Franklin County to get help from D.C. lobbyists

by Research Staff
June 12, 2025
0

Franklin County officials are acting proactively as US President Donald Trump's administration continues to implement rapid-fire policy changes. The Franklin...

Medtech giants boost DC lobbying amid policy shifts

by Research Staff
June 10, 2025
0

Nonprofit OpenSecrets has reported that medtech companies, which employ tens of thousands of Minnesotans, have boosted their financial contributions to...

Cryptocurrency lobbying efforts intensify as senate considers unaltered GENIUS Act

by Research Staff
June 4, 2025
0

The Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for US Stablecoins (GENIUS) Act is in danger of being stalled by suggested modifications,...

Supreme court rejects GOP activist’s appeal over Texas lobbying fine

by Research Staff
June 4, 2025
0

The Supreme Court rejected conservative Texas activist Michael Quinn Sullivan's complaint against the Texas Ethics Commission, further undermining his more...

Nippon Steel spends $6.1M on D.C. lobbying to win U.S. Steel bid, taps Trump allies

by Research Staff
June 3, 2025
0

In its attempt to acquire US Steel, Japanese-owned Nippon Steel has invested over $6.1 million in federal lobbying, employing a...

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