Feb 10, 2020

Saudi Arabia has turned to a pair of former Democratic aides to help repair relations with Capitol Hill.

The Saudi Embassy in Washington hired the Washington-based Williams Group for help “providing advice on how best to establish relationships with members of Congress and staff.” Registered to lobby on the account are firm founder Michael Williams, a special assistant for legislative affairs under President Bill Clinton, and Jennifer Stewart, a former aide to Reps. Eddie Bernice Johnson, D-Texas, and Gregory Meeks, D-N.Y., who has touted her ties to the Congressional Black Caucus.

The one-year contract, which was effective Oct. 1, 2019, but only disclosed last week, calls for the Williams Group to be paid $30,000 per month. This is the 10th lobbying firm registered to work for the Saudi Embassy and the Foreign Ministry in Riyadh. (Check out the complete list here.)

Williams told Al-Monitor that he will only provide advice to the embassy and will not lobby.

The contract comes as Saudi Arabia continues to suffer blowback on Capitol Hill for its bombing campaign in Yemen and the murder of dissident Jamal Khashoggi, particularly from Democrats. Riyadh spends tens of millions of dollars per year on about 100 foreign agents, including a roster of Republican bigwigs but not a single former Democratic lawmaker.