Former White House Deputy Chief of Staff Karl Rove at OZY Fusion Fest 2016 in New York City. | Brad Barket/Getty Images for Ozy Fusion Fest technology Karl Rove jumps into wireless battle that is dividing Trump world

Karl Rove isn't a registered lobbyist, but he's actively working Capitol Hill on one side of the 5G wireless fight that has split President Donald Trump's advisers.

The veteran Republican operative has been contacting congressional offices to warn against bipartisan efforts to ban government control of the super-fast wireless technology. That includes reaching out to multiple staffers in the office of Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas), one of several lawmakers sponsoring the legislation, Cornyn told POLITICO on Thursday.


A Cornyn aide contacted POLITICO on Friday to say that Rove reached out directly to Cornyn himself on the 5G legislation, rather than going through the senator's staff.

Rove has also sat in on meetings with House and Senate Armed Services committee offices organized by a lobbyist for Rivada Networks, a politically connected company that wants the government to manage the sharing of 5G airwaves with wireless providers, company spokesperson Brian Carney said Thursday.

POLITICO reported earlier this month that the former aide to George W. Bush is one of several high-profile supporters of Rivada's plan. That puts him on the same side of the 5G debate as Trump campaign manager Brad Parscale, who favors a robust federal role in 5G development, but at odds with White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow.

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Rove, who does not appear in public disclosures as a registered lobbyist, is not lobbying on the company’s behalf, Carney said.

"Karl is not our lobbyist," Carney said. "We have a lobbyist who arranges meetings. At some of the meetings, Karl has been present, but it falls to the lobbyist to do the lobbying."

Rivada, which is backed by tech investor and Trump ally Peter Thiel, counts Rove as an investor and adviser. Rivada's model would have the administration take wireless spectrum from the Defense Department and use a third-party operator — ideally Rivada — to make those airwaves available to providers who need it on a rolling wholesale basis, much like in the electricity market.

Rove, who did not provide a comment for this story, has been helping Rivada cultivate an informal network of advocates to push its 5G concept. The company’s board also includes former Govs. Jeb Bush of Florida and Martin O’Malley of Maryland.

The fight is erupting as the U.S. races China and other countries to be first to deploy 5G wireless networks, which are seen as critical to future economic development — and even a key, along with technologies like artificial intelligence and quantum computing, to future global dominance.

The telecom industry and many Trump administration officials and lawmakers believe private companies like AT&T and Verizon should manage the buildout of 5G — and say the Rivada plan smacks of "nationalization." But the concept has found supporters in influential parts of Trump world, including Parscale, who has said a wholesale network could drive down wireless costs and better serve rural areas. Trump adviser Newt Gingrich has also been a booster.

Kevin Werbach, who advised former President Barack Obama on telecommunications policy, has also lauded the wholesale 5G idea, suggesting in a recent op-ed that progressives should rally behind such a disruptive model.

But two bipartisan bills introduced in recent days — one led by Cornyn and another from Sens. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) and Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.) — aim to thwart any moves to give government a larger role in overseeing 5G networks. Cornyn said he'd like to attach his bill to an annual defense measure, the National Defense Authorization Act.

Such legislation would be a major blow to Rivada.

Cornyn said he's happy to hear from Rove given the complexity of the issue.

"We’ve invited him to come in and have him tell us their story," Cornyn said. "We’re still listening and learning."

But Carney said Rove does not plan to attend Rivada's upcoming meeting with Cornyn.

Carney said his company's lobbying efforts have been led by Carrie Mullins of the Bachner Group. But Mullins said in an interview that her work doesn't rise to the threshold of lobbying, and instead described it as consulting.

Rivada's targets include the Senate and House Armed Services committees, where lawmakers are gearing up for the NDAA process. Carney said Rivada's goal is to dispel the notion that it's pushing for a nationalized 5G — and explain how the company simply wants to see government airwaves be put into the private sector for shared use.

"We just want to make sure that Cornyn and his people understand what we actually support, and make sure they’ve heard both sides of the story," he said.

The Trump administration has flirted with a government-heavy approach as the pressure builds to mount a national 5G strategy. At the beginning of 2018, a leaked memo from the National Security Council envisioned the Trump administration building a nationwide 5G network just as the U.S. government did with the national highway system in the 1950s.

The White House never ruled out the nationalization idea but at the same time sought to reassure the powerful wireless sector. Last fall, Kudlow said the administration is “officially behind this free-enterprise, free-market approach.”