Some industries are still struggling with getting people back to work, but one industry that is dodging that bullet is lobbying.
Especially on K Street in Washington D.C., where several of the top lobbying firms have already racked in record breaking revenues in the 2nd quarter of 2021.
Just a coincidence?
Investigative reporters Peter Schweizer and Eric Eggers dive into the lobbying surge on the latest episode of the Drilldown. The two noted that who is in office matters and Biden’s presidency is a great “hunting ground” for lobbyists.
So how much did some of these top K street lobbying firms make?
The firm Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck brought in “nearly $14.1 million from April through June.” The previous year during the same period, they only made $12.9 million.
Akin Gump saw a ten percent increase from the 2nd quarter of 2020 to the 2nd quarter of 2021, bringing in $13.7 million. Just like Akin Gump, BGR Group also saw an increase from the 2nd period of 2020 to 2021. The 8 percent increase brought in $8.6 million for BGR Group.
Cornerstone Government Affairs saw a jump from $6.9 million in the same period in 2020 to $8.6 million this year. Holland & Knight also saw a more than $1 million dollar increase from the same period from last year. Only bringing in $7.2 million in 2020, the same period in 2021 they brought in nearly $8.5 million.
Many more firms with ties to the Biden administration are seeing such growth. Marc Lampkin, chair of Brownstein’s government relations department, sums up this lobbying boom: “There’s so many moving targets, plates spinning in the air at the same time, that you want to be able to go to firms where you can quickly get connectivity to the White House, agencies and Congress”
That leaves Schweizer and Eggers posing this question: With Washington once again catering to the influence industry, who’s looking out for the interests of everyday Americans?
