“Kalshi’s profit margins depend on keeping Washington on its good side. It’s spending big in D.C. to make that happen as the prediction market company manages regulatory threats, potential legislative action and public relations challenges,” NOTUS reports.

“Kalshi now has over two-dozen federal lobbyists working on its behalf. Almost all of them have congressional bona fides, including a pair of one-time legislative directors under Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and a handful of former chiefs of staff and senior counsels to other lawmakers.”

“Companies that do business with Canada, and the lawmakers who represent them, are ramping up their lobbying for carveouts from new U.S. tariffs on Canada,” Semafor reports.

“When President Trump returned to power, a group of his former campaign and administration officials started a federal lobbying practice. Mo Strategies, which has registered an array of corporate clients, is now expanding into the newly-lucrative world of pardons,” CBS News reports.

“Business is booming.”

“Congress members would be permanently banned from becoming lobbyists after they leave office under a new bipartisan bill,” CNBC reports.

“The legislation would not only ban senators and U.S. House members from being registered lobbyists, but would also prevent then from being compensated for trying to influence lawmakers and staff on behalf of companies or groups — closing a loophole that would allow former lawmakers to lobby without being a registered lobbyist.”

“Roger Stone, who in the 1980s helped invent Washington’s modern influence industry, is back in the lobbying business. And he’s earning millions of dollars for his services,” Politico reports.

“With his longtime friend and former client Donald Trump back in the White House, Stone has returned to the lobbying work that first made him wealthy and helped cement his place in Republican politics. And with the president’s willingness to entertain corporate interests well established, clients are willing to pay big bucks for a lobbyist with a relationship with the president that few others can claim.”

Federal lobbying spending hit $5.24 billion in 2025, reaching the highest level ever recorded by a wide margin, Legistorm reports.

This was a $768 million increase from 2024 and the largest year-over-year jump on record.

“President Donald Trump’s second term is already delivering a massive payday for Washington’s top lobbying shops — especially those with close ties to the administration,” Politico reports.

Wall Street Journal: “Corporate and foreign interests that used to rely primarily on paid lobbyists to pitch their case to lawmakers and administration officials are instead pouring money into trying to get their cause promoted by a group of young, conservative influencers known to be close to Trump’s staff.”

“A camera-ready pack of Gen-Z social-media natives—many of whom were too young to vote when Trump announced his first run for office—are reaping the rewards. They don’t work for traditional news outlets and are thus unshackled from newsroom ethics rules, such as the typical ban on accepting gifts worth more than $25. They don’t have to follow the disclosure laws that apply to big-money super PACs or lobbyists. And they have large followings eager to hear pro-Trump views, a gold mine for those looking to sway both Washington and the public.”

Washington Post: “It’s common for firms with ties to the party occupying the White House to experience surges in business when the governing party changes, and established firms with bipartisan practices also reported strong revenue this year. But the six firms that have seen the highest revenue growth mostly have strong ties to Trump.”

A must-read: Devils’ Advocates: The Hidden Story of Rudy Giuliani, Hunter Biden, and the Washington Insiders on the Payrolls of Corrupt Foreign Interests by Kenneth P. Vogel.

“Vogel takes us inside Washington’s murky foreign lobbying industry, providing an unsparing look at the politically connected and morally flexible Americans who get rich working on behalf of brutal dictators, corrupt oligarchs, and pitiless arms dealers.”

Devils' Advocates

The Hidden Story of Rudy Giuliani, Hunter Biden, and the Washington Insiders on the Payrolls of Corrupt Foreign Interests

by Kenneth P. Vogel · William Morrow · 2025

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Politico: “Much of the private sector is paralyzed by Trump’s broader efforts to leverage the might of the government to bend companies to his whims.”

“But that pressure is magnified in government affairs shops across Washington, where corporations are desperate to curry Trump’s favor and avoid his wrath.”