LAWMAKERS WEIGH A BAN ON FIRMS LOBBYING FOR CHINESE COMPANIES: Several members of Congress are considering closing their doors entirely to meetings with lobbying firms that represent companies linked to the Chinese military, five people familiar with the matter told Daniel.

— “It’s definitely a conversation among members on the China committee,” said one Republican committee member, who noted that a bipartisan group of members was discussing the idea. “These companies represent our adversary and there is obviously an orchestrated effort on their part to buy us off with lobbying firms to gain influence.”

— The ban lawmakers are considering would include firms that represent Chinese companies on the Pentagon’s so-called 1260H entity list, even if they’re trying to meet to discuss American clients — a potentially massive upheaval, given that several of the firms are among the most lucrative in town.

— A photo has been circulating on Capitol Hill listing various Chinese companies and their lobbying firms, as well as different federal government entity lists that they are on. Included on the list are Chinese drone maker DJI, which has the Vogel Group, Avoq (formerly Subject Matter) and CLS Strategies on retainer, and lidar maker Hesai Group, which retains Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck and Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld. None of the firms responded to a request for comment.

— Some Hill staffers have informally told Brownstein — K Street’s top lobbying firm by revenue — to not take such clients, according to one of the people. And one senior Republican congressional staffer said they’ve already started to avoid the firms in question. “I don’t answer their calls. I don’t forward their emails and don’t reply to their emails until I hear confirmation that they are not playing for both sides and trying to make a profit off of what’s likely to be a coming Chinese-U.S. conflict,” said the person, who said they keep a list of the firms printed out on their desk.

— But so far no lawmakers have publicly said they are avoiding such meetings. “The more moderate members seem to be extremely hesitant and opposed to these types of efforts,” said one GOP congressional staffer who has worked on this issue extensively.

— “Going after lobbying firms, especially those tied to China, is like touching the third rail of politics,” added Craig Singleton, a senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, a think tank hawkish on China issues. “These firms wield an outsized impact on policymaking and fundraising, and members know it.”

— Singleton said that based on his conversations with members and staffers, another idea that is being discussed is a new transparency directive that would require lobbyists who want to engage Hill offices to disclose whether they or their firm represent any Chinese companies and, if so, to provide those company names.

— “China’s lobbying roster reads like a who’s who of Washington insiders, from retired Pentagon brass to former high-ranking congressional aides. One moment they’re advocating for a Fortune 100 company or U.S. defense contractor, the next they’re billing hours for DJI, Huawei, or another Chinese firm linked to China’s military or Chinese human rights atrocities,” he said.

— The idea of blacklisting these lobbying firms was first discussed a few years ago but didn’t come to fruition because the firms represent so many American companies and groups that it was seen as impractical, one of the people involved said, but the rumblings have picked back up in recent months as some in Washington try to counter Chinese influence.

— The issue has also spurred various legislative proposals. In 2021, Rep. Mike Gallagher (R-Wis.) and Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) introduced a bill that would force lobbyists for Chinese companies to register under FARA, which a person close to the China committee said will be reintroduced. And senators have introduced a bill in the past two Congresses that would overrule FARA’s commercial and LDA exemptions for clients based in a country deemed a U.S. adversary.

Happy Wednesday and welcome to PI. Send valentines K Street tips and gossip: [email protected]. And be sure to follow me on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter: @caitlinoprysko.

SHERIFFS KEY VOTE PRIVACY AMENDMENT TO FISA BILL: The main trade association representing U.S. sheriffs is wading into Congress’ fight over reauthorizing controversial spy powers, warning of political backlash for lawmakers who support a bipartisan amendment that sheriffs say would “kneecap law enforcement.”

— The threat from the National Sheriffs’ Association revolves around proposed language from House Freedom Caucus member Rep. Warren Davidson (R-Ohio) that would bar data brokers from selling consumer data to law enforcement and require a warrant before searching for Americans’ information.

— “The Sheriffs of this great country don’t often keep score on House amendments, but on this one, we will keep score and know who our friends are by their votes against Congressman Davidson’s amendment, which empowers the cartels and further erodes the rule of law in our nation,” the association’s president, Greg Champagne, warned in a letter to lawmakers on Tuesday.

— He highlighted a number of policy concerns facing Congress, including fentanyl deaths, the border crisis, the war in Gaza, education and crime. Instead of focusing on those, he argued, “Congress plans to kneecap law enforcement with a poorly thought out, ill-timed and politically motivated fund raising amendment that brings shame to its supporters in the U.S. House of Representatives.”

— Davidson’s amendment speaks to a broader fight between privacy hawks and national security hawks that is scrambling Congress’ usual ideological divide and prompted House Speaker Mike Johnson to pull the bill this afternoon. The language is also backed by Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.), the chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, and Reps. Jerry Nadler (D-N.Y.), Andy Biggs (R-Ariz.), Ken Buck (R-Colo.), Zoe Lofgren (D-Calif.) and Sara Jacobs (D-Calif.) in the House, as well as privacy hawks in the Senate and groups like the ACLU and the Electronic Privacy Information Center.

ANNALS OF THE REVOLVING DOOR: “Liz Rosenberg, assistant Treasury secretary for terrorist financing and financial crimes, will join Bank of America later this month as a global financial crimes public policy executive,” our Katy O’Donnell reports.

— “Rosenberg will serve on the bank’s global financial crimes leadership team, according to an internal memo obtained by POLITICO. She previously served as counsel to the deputy Treasury secretary in the Biden administration and as undersecretary for terrorism and financial intelligence in the Obama administration,” and “was instrumental in developing the U.S. financial response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022, including a policy to cap the price of Russian oil.”

— Meanwhile our Zach Warmbrodt reports that a push by Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) to secure ethics assurances from former representative and Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development nominee Sean Patrick Maloney has paid off — the latest win in her “crusade against crypto and the broader revolving door between Washington and corporate America.”

— Maloney, “who once led House Democrats’ campaign arm, has told Warren that he plans to give up work on crypto issues if confirmed” as OECD ambassador, which came after Warren “raised concerns about his role advising Coinbase, the largest U.S. crypto exchange. She now plans to support his confirmation, which is awaiting consideration by the full Senate.”

BROWNSTEIN SIGNS 12: Brownstein Hyatt is preparing to file a dozen new lobbying registrations, with the firm adding nine new clients just this year, according to drafts of the registrations shared early with PI. The new clients include several major trade associations: CTIA, which represents the wireless industry, and the American Hotel & Lodging Association, which represents the hospitality industry.

— The firm has also signed telecom giant Verizon, Florida’s Airglades International Airport, the utility provider Consolidated Mutual Water Company, the Hawaii Pacific Foundation and AI defense company Modern Intelligence. Former Alaska Sen. Mark Pryor is also registering to lobby on behalf of the conservation group Ducks Unlimited, and former Rep. Ed Royce will resume lobbying for home infusion therapy provider KabaFusion.

— The new filings will also include several clients signed last year. Rental car giant Hertz hired Brownstein more than four months ago to lobby on tax issues like allowing businesses to immediately resume writing off 100 percent of capital expenditures, a provision in the 2017 tax bill that had begun to phase out and which would be revived as part of a bipartisan tax deal awaiting Senate action.

— In December, Brownstein signed the mining company Ivanhoe Electric Inc. to work on “funding and global infrastructure issues related to mining developments” in Saudi Arabia, where Ivanhoe has entered into a joint exploration venture with state-owned Ma’aden.

UKRAINE ADVOCATES PRESS THEIR CASE WITH JOHNSON: Razom for Ukraine, a nonprofit pushing Congress to approve another batch of aid to the country, has launched another ad blitz looking to ramp up pressure on Johnson to bring a Senate-passed package to the House floor for a vote.

— Razom is pouring six figures into the campaign, which is running mainly on Fox News and digitally in D.C. as well as in Johnson’s district and the districts of several other lawmakers whom Razom views as on the fence.

— “Families lost everything when Putin invaded Ukraine, but these brave people decided to take a stand and fight for their freedom,” a reverend from Bakersfield, California, says in the spot. “I was inspired by that so my congregation, along with others, now pray and rally for Ukraine. Putin must be stopped. Christians are being persecuted and slaughtered. These are crimes against humanity.”

JOHNSON HUDDLES WITH HEALTH CARE LOBBYISTS: Johnson’s K Street fundraising spin continued this week. The speaker hauled in six figures at a fundraising dinner Monday, which was hosted by Julie Hershey Carr and Dave Peluso of Kountoupes, Denham, Carr & Reid, Amy Jensen of SplitOak Strategies, Aron Griffin and Sohini Gupta of AHIP, Marty McGuinness of Unum and the PACs for Guidewell and the American Academy Of Family Physicians, the firm told PI.

Jobs Report

— Craig Sharman has joined Hubbell as vice president of government relations. He was previously at Johnson Controls and Tyco and is a House Homeland Security Committee (Bennie Thompson) alum.

— Stephanie Wiswall and Jake Sticka are joining Rational 360. Wiswall will be senior vice president on the health care team and previously was head of U.S. policy at AstraZeneca. Sticka will be vice president of the digital team and previously was a partner at Rising Tide Interactive.

— Joe Boddicker is joining Alston & Bird as counsel in the federal and international tax group. He previously was a law clerk in the U.S. Tax Court and is a Senate Finance Committee alum.

— Connor Murphy is now deputy government affairs director at Schagrin Associates. He previously was a legislative director for former Rep. Bill Johnson (R-Ohio) and is a Joni Ernst alum.

— Ryan Blaney is now a partner in Jones Day’s cybersecurity, privacy and data protection practice. He previously was a partner and co-head of the global privacy and cybersecurity group at Proskauer.

— Jaylen Black is now vice president of communications and marketing at Planned Parenthood Southeast. She previously was a communications and political consultant and is a Stacey Abrams gubernatorial campaign and Raphael Warnock alum.

New Joint Fundraisers

Ernst Hagerty Victory (Sens. Joni Ernst, Bill Hagerty)

New PACs

Best and Brightest PAC (Hybrid PAC)

California State Association of Electrical Workers (Super PAC)

Democrats For The Next Generation (Super PAC)

Ganamos PAC (Super PAC)

HOOSIERS FOR A SECURE BORDER (Super PAC)

Mississippi Taxpayer Freedom PAC (Super PAC)

Place America First (Super PAC)

PresidentialPAC.com (Super PAC)

Revenue Based Finance Coalition, Inc. Political Action Committee (PAC)

United Democrats Fund (Super PAC)

New Lobbying REGISTRATIONS

Alpine Group Partners, LLC.: Dynavax Technologies

Becker & Poliakoff, P.A.: Zoological Society Of The Palm Beach (The)

Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney Pc: Brsi L.P., D/B/A Benefit Recovery

David Kasten: Secure Future Research Dba Control Ai

Defazio And Associates Consulting LLC: American Trucking Association

Defazio And Associates Consulting LLC: Association Of Flight Atttendants Cwa

Defazio And Associates Consulting LLC: The Dawn Project

Defazio And Associates Consulting LLC: Trimet

Defazio And Associates Consulting LLC: United Brotherhood Of Carpenters

Ehrlich & Associates: Centracom Interactive (Dba Of Central Utah Telephone)

Ehrlich & Associates: Hilliary Communications

Imperium Global Advisors: Neurable

Lincoln Park Group L.L.C.: Mcguirewoods Consulting On Behalf Of County Of Dupage, Il

Mcginnis Lockridge: Xtagon Energy, Inc.

Natural Resource Results LLC: Alameda County Flood Control And Water Conservation District, Zone 7

Owen Evans Ingols: Orano USa LLC

Pittenger Global Advisory LLC: Quantinuum Ltd.

Solvay Chemicals Inc.: Solvay Chemicals Inc.

The Gaboton Group, LLC: Fresno Economic Opportunities Commission

The Madison Group: The Learning Experience

Tiber Creek Group: Pharmaceutical Industry Labor Management Association

New Lobbying Terminations

Alpine Group Partners, LLC.: Xxii Century Group

Bluff Point Strategies LLC: Secure Identity, LLC

Haggerty Policy Solutions: Amgen

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