Pro-Trump lobbyist lands big clients for new D.C. office
WASHINGTON – A prominent Florida lobbyist who raised money for President Trump’s campaign and his inaugural committee this week landed a slew of corporate clients, eager to tap those connections to help them navigate the new administration.
Fifteen clients — ranging from online retail giant Amazon.com to Spanish-language network Univision — signed contracts with Brian Ballard’s new federal lobbying firm, Ballard Partners. He says more corporations will join the roster next week.
His lobbying partner, Susie Wiles, managed Trump’s Florida campaign.
Ballard said he doesn’t plan to act in a way that’s “exploitative of the relationship” he has with Trump and the White House. But he added: “I do think it’s clear that I understand his thinking, and I think I can provide some strategic counsel.”
Trump made “draining the swamp” of Washington special interests a rallying cry of his campaign, but his presidency and the unified Republican control of the nation’s capital have sparked new lobbying opportunities for companies seeking to influence everything from tax policy to Trump’s pledge to slash federal regulations.
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The new president also has demonstrated he’s willing to single out individual companies. Trump and Amazon had a contentious relationship during the campaign, with Trump taking to Twitter to complain about Amazon founder Jeff Bezos’ ownership of The Washington Post.
(After the election, Bezos congratulated Trump on his win and joined other tech executives who met the real-estate magnate in New York. But he has joined dozens of other tech executives who have raised alarms about Trump temporary immigration ban.)
During the campaign, Trump had a run-in with a well-known Univision figure, Jorge Ramos. Trump ejected the opinionated anchor from an Iowa news conference last summer after a heated exchange about the then-candidate’s immigration policies.
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Another Washington client for Ballard already signaled its support for Trump. The GEO Group, one of the nation’s largest private-prison operators, donated more than $200,000 in the 2016 election to a pro-Trump super PAC.
The company opposed the Obama administration’s move to phase out the use of privately run federal prisons. But the industry views Trump’s law-and-order stance as good for business.
GEO Group, based in Florida, is among several of Ballard’s existing state clients expanding with him to Washington, he said. Other Washington clients include the American Health Care Association, the U.S. Sugar Corporation and American Airlines, he said.
Ballard has deep ties to the Republican establishment as a top Florida fundraiser for the presidential campaigns of Arizona Sen. John McCain in 2008 and former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney in 2012.
Ballard, who has lobbied for the Trump businesses in Florida, initially backed Jeb Bush and then Florida Sen. Marco Rubio in the 2016 Republican presidential primary before joining Trump’s camp. He also served as a finance co-chair of Trump’s inaugural committee, which raised a record $100 million for the real-estate magnate’s swearing-in festivities.
Two former top advisers to Trump — his former campaign manager Corey Lewandowski and campaign adviser Barry Bennett — opened a political consulting firm in December.
