From the White House to the halls of Congress to less glamorous federal government agencies, lobbyists are tasked with delivering their clients’ messages throughout Washington, D.C.
OpenSecrets’ recently-revamped lobbying database includes the ability to see which lobbyists are attempting to influence each government agency.
The White House (2,493 lobbyists), Treasury Department (2,354) and Department of Health and Human Services (2,318) make up the top three most-lobbied agencies under President Donald Trump.
These figures are similar to President Barack Obama’s final years, and slightly down from the lobbying blitz in 2011. Only a few select offices close to the president have seen spikes in lobbying activity in the Trump era.
For example, 644 individuals reported lobbying Vice President Mike Pence’s office last year and 461 so far this year. That’s a major increase from the Obama administration, when the number of individuals lobbying Vice President Joe Biden peaked at 327 in 2011.
A large number of these lobbyists work for firms with ties to the president. Ballard Partners, run by prolific Trump fundraiser Brian Ballard, reported dispatching four lobbyists to Pence’s office on behalf of eight clients, including tech giant Amazon, which recently lost out on a $10 billion Pentagon contract that Trump was personally interested in.
Jeff Miller, a top bundler for the Trump campaign, reported lobbying Pence on behalf of Pfizer, Amazon Web Services and Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, among others.
Through September of this year, 59 percent of those reporting lobbying the vice president’s office are former government employees. These agency numbers are based strictly on what lobbyists report in their public disclosures, which are filed with Congress every three months.
In addition to Pence’s office, more lobbyists are reporting lobbying the National Economic Council, a small department tasked with advising the president on global economic policy.
The council, led by conservative economist Larry Kudlow, was the subject of lobbying by 964 individuals so far this year, according to public disclosures. Last year’s tally of 1,159 was an all-time record, and more than double the office’s peak under Obama.
Kudlow is leading the Trump administration’s trade negotiations with China, a hot topic driving up lobbying spending and drawing lobbyists to his Washington office.
Several high profile chipmakers with interest in Trump’s blacklist against Chinese firm Huawei reported dispatching lobbyists to Kudlow’s office this year. Five lobbyists with West Front Strategies reported lobbying the National Economic Council on behalf of Intel, along with 16 lobbyists from firms representing Qualcomm. Microsoft, IBM and the Semiconductor Industry Association also reported sending lobbyists to Kudlow’s office.
Fourteen former members of Congress reported lobbying the department this year, including former Rep. Vic Fazio (D-Calif.) on behalf of Qualcomm and former Rep. Benjamin Quayle (R-Ariz.) on behalf of Microsoft.
Following a high-priced lobbying campaign from chipmakers, the Trump administration in July decided to partially lift its ban and allow U.S. companies to do business with Huawei. Kudlow invited chipmakers to a Huawei-related meeting later that month.
OpenSecrets’s new database also reveals the specific issues lobbyists report working on. As usual, the federal budget and appropriations is the top issue (4,134 lobbyists), followed by taxes (4,024), health issues (3,774), trade (2,930) and transportation (2,426).
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