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Boom times: Lobbyists riding high in the Trump era | TheHill

posted onOctober 21, 2017
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Article snippet: The first year of the Trump presidency has been a boon for lobbyists, with many of the top shops in Washington seeing a handsome boost in revenue. While the Trump administration has been making its mark in the regulatory space, Republican lawmakers have been working to carry out the party’s agenda on healthcare, tax and trade, among other things. Lobbyists say the frenzy of activity shows no signs of slowing down. “With tax reform in high gear, a continued focus on areas such as health care and trade, and federal budget negotiations, I would expect this level of activity to continue through the remainder of the year and into 2018,” said Hunter Bates, a former chief of staff to Senate Majority Leader MORE (R-Ky.) and partner at Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld. Akin Gump earned $9.6 million in lobbying fees from July through September, working for clients such as the American Bankers Association, Altria, Chevron and AT&T. In all of 2017 so far, Akin Gump has taken in nearly $29 million for its advocacy work. Among the largest jumps in lobbying revenues for the third quarter of the year came from Crossroads Strategies, whose advocacy totals increased by 50 percent. The firm took in $8.75 million for its lobbying work from January through September, compared to $5.86 million the same time last year. While the firm shed 11 clients this year, it has signed 36, including Liberty Mutual Group and Dropbox. Larger lobby firms like BGR Group, Covington & Burling ... Link to the full article to read more

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