Ballard Companions, the lobbying agency led by a prime fundraiser for President Donald Trump, has greater than tripled its quarterly lobbying revenues in contrast with the identical time a 12 months in the past, as corporations and organizations have sought assist from a handful of companies near the brand new administration to decipher a second Trump administration marked by upheaval and retribution.
The agency will report $14 million in lobbying revenues for the primary three months of 2025, greater than double the $6.2 million Ballard introduced in final quarter. Ballard reported $4.2 million in lobbying revenues throughout the first quarter of 2024.
Lots of the largest companies on Okay Road have but to report their first quarter revenues forward of Monday’s midnight deadline, however Ballard’s haul will probably place it close to the highest.
The start of any new administration tends to be profitable for the lobbying trade — and enterprise was already booming on Okay Road earlier than Trump swept into workplace once more.
On the finish of final 12 months, Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck topped the income rankings with $16.9 million within the fourth quarter, in keeping with a POLITICO evaluation, whereas the runner-up, Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld, reported $14.6 million that quarter. Brownstein’s income dipped barely within the first quarter of 2025, to $16.8 million.
Longtime Florida lobbyist Brian Ballard arrange a Washington workplace for his agency not lengthy after Trump’s first White Home victory in 2017 and shortly grew to become one of many go-to companies for corporations and commerce associations trying to perceive the unpredictable political novice within the Oval Workplace.
Although Ballard employs numerous Democratic lobbyists, the agency noticed its enterprise fall throughout the Biden administration. Nonetheless, it remained among the many prime 20 companies on Okay Road, in keeping with POLITICO’s evaluation.
Ballard’s rise this 12 months represents a shift that occurs each time energy adjustments fingers in Washington, as company America seems to be for an in with an incoming president or congressional chief. However that dynamic kicked into overdrive forward of Trump’s second presidency. Ballard, together with a handful of different companies with shut ties to the administration, like Miller Methods, Mercury Public Affairs, Michael Finest Methods and Continental Methods, have seen a tsunami of latest enterprise since November. These companies didn’t reply to requests for his or her first quarter numbers.
However Ballard has disclosed greater than 130 new lobbying purchasers simply since Election Day, together with JPMorgan Chase, Chevron, Palantir, Netflix, Ripple Labs and the Enterprise Roundtable. The agency additionally registered to foyer for a number of entities which have been singled out for punishment by the Trump administration, such because the governing physique of Harvard College, the Public Broadcasting Service and the legislation agency Kirkland & Ellis. (Ballard can be registered to foyer for Axel Springer, POLITICO’s guardian firm.)
A number of former lobbyists at Ballard now serve in high-ranking posts in Trump’s second administration, together with Lawyer Basic Pam Bondi and White Home chief of workers Susie Wiles. One other Ballard alum, Trent Morse, works as Trump’s deputy director of personnel. The agency’s Florida roots imply that Ballard additionally has relationships with the Floridians in positions of affect in Trump’s Washington, like Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
CORRECTION: Correction: An earlier model of this story misstated the time interval for which Ballard will report its revenues.
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