Trump administration official heads to Uber Presented by the Consumer Brands Association

With David Beavers and Daniel Lippman

FIRST IN PI — TRUMP ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL LEAVES FOR UBER: Brian Barnard, who was a senior adviser to Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao, has left the administration to join Uber’s Washington office. He’ll be a senior manager of federal affairs at Uber and plans to register to lobby. Barnard also worked at the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and as a Republican congressional aide. He’ll abide by the administration’s ethics pledge, according to Uber, which bars him from lobbying the Transportation Department as well as senior Trump appointees elsewhere in the administration.

BGR ADDS A DEMOCRAT: BGR Group, the Republican-leaning lobbying firm, has hired Dan Farmer, a Democratic lobbyist with deep experience in the health care space. He’ll join the firm in January as a vice president. He was previously an in-house lobbyist for the Cleveland Clinic and before that worked in the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services and as a Democratic congressional aide.

— While its top brass is Republican, BGR boasts several Democratic lobbyists, including Remy Brim, who leads the firm’s health care practice. In a statement, Bob Wood, the firm’s chief executive, said policy expertise can be more important than connections on today’s K Street. “Clients look to BGR for policy expertise,” he said. “It is no longer enough to just open doors and talk politics. It is what you know that makes the difference in Washington DC, not who you know.”

A message from the Consumer Brands Association: America’s recycling system just got an abysmal review – at a time when we need it most. Only 11% of respondents of our latest poll said the recycling system is doing its best. With more plastic waste in the wake of COVID-19, it’s time to fix this mounting problem.

Good afternoon, and welcome to PI. The season of Christmas parties is upon us. Send me the gossip you pick up and readouts of who you spot around town: [email protected]. Twitter: @theodoricmeyer.

CREDIT SUISSE HIRES A NEW TOP LOBBYIST: Credit Suisse has hired Michael Moran to run its Washington office. He’ll be the bank’s top in-house lobbyist, replacing Maggie Gage, who left earlier this year for MetLife. He was previously the top lobbyist for Zurich.

ANOTHER MEMBER OF MUELLER’S TEAM LANDS AT A LAW FIRM: Michael Dreeben, a former deputy solicitor general who was part of Robert Mueller’s team investigating Russian interference in the 2016 election, is heading to the law firm O’Melveny, where he’ll be a partner. He’ll start in January. He’s the latest member of Mueller’s team to land at a law firm following the end of the special counsel’s investigation earlier this year, although in Dreeben’s case it might come as a surprise to some of his old colleagues. “I’d literally fall down if Michael Dreeben left the department,” a senior Justice Department official told POLITICO in April.

— Mueller himself, along with James Quarles and Aaron Zebley, returned earlier this year to WilmerHale, where he’d been a partner before leaving to helm the investigation. Zainab Ahmad, another Mueller prosecutor, joined Gibson Dunn & Crutcher’s New York office earlier this year. Greg Andres returned to Davis Polk in New York. Jeannie Rhee landed at Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison. Andrew Goldstein went to Cooley. Andrew Weissmann scored a book deal. Aaron Zelinsky and Adam Jed, meanwhile, returned to the DOJ, where they helped secure the conviction of Roger Stone last month. And Brandon Van Grack took over the DOJ’s Foreign Agents Registration Act unit.

OPEN YOUR WALLETS: Jane Fonda will headline a fundraiser for Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) tonight at the Kalorama home of Esther Coopersmith, the former U.S. representative to the United Nations during the Carter administration who hosted President Barack Obama and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi earlier this year, according to an invitation obtained by PI. Rep. Joe Kennedy (D-Mass.) is challenging Markey, who’s up for reelection next year, in the Democratic primary.

— Among the nearly two dozen hosts, according to the invitation: Tipper Gore; Judith Barnett of the Barnett Group; former Sen. Byron Dorgan (D-N.D.), who’s now a lobbyist at Arent Fox; former Rep. Alan Wheat (D-Mo.), who’s now a lobbyist at Polsinelli; Gene Karpinski of the League of Conservation Voters; Jose Ceballos of the National Air Traffic Controllers Association; Jonas Neihardt, the top in-house lobbyist for Hilton; Linda Lipsen of the American Association for Justice; Marianne Smith of Rasky Partners; and Susan Ness, a former Federal Communications Commission commissioner. The price to host: $5,600. You can also attend as a co-host for $2,800, as a friend for $1,000 or as a guest for $500.

CLEGG SAYS FACEBOOK SHOULDN’T LIMIT POLITICAL ADS: “Nick Clegg, Facebook’s chief lobbyist and a former British deputy prime minister, on Monday rejected suggestions that the company should impose limits on political ads, arguing that such measures could hurt the chances of ‘insurgent’ politicians trying to break through,” POLITICO Europe’s Mark Scott reports. “His comments came after Twitter and Google both announced changes to how they handle these partisan ads, amid growing criticism in Europe, the United States and elsewhere that the world’s largest social network is helping to polarize electorates.”

IF YOU MISSED IT MONDAY: Rep. Duncan Hunter (R-Calif.) “is set to plead guilty in federal court on Tuesday after denying for more than a year that he had illegally misused campaign funds,” POLITICO’s Melanie Zanona and John Bresnahan report. “Hunter told TV station KUSI in San Diego, ‘Tomorrow, on Tuesday, I'm going to change my plea to guilty.’ Hunter said he wanted to avoid a trial for his kids. ‘I think it would be really tough for them,’ he said.” Hunter didn't say he would resign but said, “It's been a privilege to serve in Congress. I think we've done a lot of great things for the nation.”

Jobs Report

— Anne Bradbury is taking over as chief executive of the American Exploration & Production Council effective immediately. Bradbury previously was a partner at the Duberstein Group.

— The American Bakers Association has hired Lauren Williams as government relations director. She previously was a professional staff member on the House Education and the Labor Committee. The trade group also named Zack Decker, previously a membership engagement coordinator, as government relations manager.

— The Information Technology Industry Council has hired Jonathan Pawlow as senior director of government affairs. He previously was a deputy chief of staff to House Armed Services Chairman Adam Smith (D-Wash.). He plans to register to lobby.

— Nicolette Davis, an in-house lobbyist for Aflac, is leaving the company at the end of the year to join the U.S. Army. She’ll enroll in Officer Candidate School after completing basic training.

— Loryn Wilson Carter has joined the Raben Group as director of communications and media, per Playbook. She previously was a senior strategist at Meridian Solutions.

A message from the Consumer Brands Association: There has never been a more critical time to reimagine and rebuild America’s recycling system. It’s a massive undertaking that will take years to achieve but leave generations better for it. We have an opportunity to give Americans what they want, and the environment desperately needs — a modern recycling system that will make a positive, lasting impact. To make this opportunity a reality, the imperative — and sometimes the hardest part — is to begin. See how Consumer Brands has gotten started.

New Joint Fundraisers

Go for Broke for Veterans (Reps. Max Rose, Chris Pappas, Elaine Luria, Abigail Spanberger, Joe Cunningham, Jared Golden, Lauren Underwood, Conor Lamb, Anthony Brindisi, Gil Cisneros, Jason Crow, Mikie Sherrill, Colin Allred and Mark Takano; Gina Ortiz Jones for Congress)

Kustoff Victory Fund (Rep. David Kustoff, DAVID PAC Delivering American Values in DC, NRCC)

McGrath Off the Sidelines 2020 (Amy McGrath for Senate, Inc.; Off the Sidelines PAC)

New PACs

Citizens for American Renewal (PAC)

Democratic Socialism for America (PAC)

New Democracy (Super PAC)

New Democracy PAC (PAC)

Voice of Young America (PAC)

New Lobbying Registrations

Blank Rome Government Relations: City and Borough of Sitka

Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP: Warrior Met Coal, Inc.

Co2Efficient LLC: Electricity Reform Project (informal coalition)

DLA Piper LLP (US): SolAero Technologies, Inc.

Dykema Gossett Pllc: Alliance for Vehicle Efficiency

Empire Consulting Group: Crispr Therapeutics Inc.

Fidelis Government Relations: Roche Surety, Inc.

Lewis Bess Williams & Weese P.C.: Hess Corporation

Thorn Run Partners: Environmental Working Group

Transnational Strategy Group LLC: Competere Ltd.

New Lobbying Terminations

Ballard Partners: Campari America LLC

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