Miller, Jeff op
==
NO MERRI
not to be confused with Rep. Jeff Miller (R-Fla.)
gowdy passantino
jbs meat brazil
bundler BALLROOM
THIEL PALANTIR? AI A 16 ALTMAN TIM COOK APPLE NUKE
KOCH SEAN NOBLE
ELLISON LUTNICK
TRUMP PASSANTINO
SINGER VULTURE
BIOTECH
CALIF FOREVER
JBS MEAT
NEXSTAR
DENIAL PROP 32 COAL VALERO SOUTHERN CO
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Consultants: Top multi-client lobbying firms that are allied with Trump will be players in the AI policy influence space as well. Miller Strategies, for instance, is headed by GOP mega-lobbyist and Trump fundraiser Jeff Miller.Its clients include OpenAI and Oracle.
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OMG REV DR LOBBY
FT
:{:{Palantir’s ‘revolving door’ with government spurs huge growth Peter Thiel-chaired group has Washington and Westminster network that helped secure around $3bn in official contracts (L-R) Palantir chief executive Alex Karp, Palantir chair Peter Thiel, US President Donald Trump and US vice-president JD Vance © FT montage/Bloomberg/Getty Images for The Cambridge Union Palantir’s ‘revolving door’ with government spurs huge growth on x (opens in a new window) Palantir’s ‘revolving door’ with government spurs huge growth on facebook (opens in a new window) Palantir’s ‘revolving door’ with government spurs huge growth on linkedin (opens in a new window) Save current progress 0%}:
Tabby Kinder in San Francisco and Cynthia O’Murchu in London PublishedFEB 7 2025
Palantir is profiting from a “revolving door” of executives and officials passing between the $264bn data intelligence company and high level positions in Washington and Westminster, creating an influence network who have guided its extraordinary growth. }:
The US group, whose billionaire chair Peter Thiel has been a key backer of Donald Trump, has enjoyed an astonishing stock price rally on the back of strong rise of sales from government contracts and deals with the world’s largest corporations. Detailed findings by the Tech Transparency Project (TTP), which analysed transparency disclosures and dozens of job moves, as well as US and UK public records obtained by the Financial Times, show how Palantir has hired extensively from government agencies critical to its sales. The analysis reveals the US group’s sprawling influence network which includes: deep ties with largest client, the Department of Defense; a six-fold increase in lobbying spending in the US in the past decade; and creating a non-profit foundation to fund academic research and shape policy discussions. Palantir has won more than $2.7bn in US contracts since 2009, including over $1.3bn in Pentagon contracts, according to federal records. In the UK, Palantir has been awarded more than £376mn in contracts, according to Tussell, a data provider.
Palantir declined to comment. The company’s executives “have their fingerprints all over the Trump transition and administration”, said Bill Hartung, senior research fellow at the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft. “Silicon Valley used to say ‘we don’t have to lobby because we have a superior product’, but now it is all in on politics.” Palantir argues its data analysis products are in demand from clients including BP and Hertz due to their market-leading ability to analyse complex sets of information. Its technology is credited with helping kill al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, distributing Covid-19 vaccines and convicting financier Bernard Madoff. Palantir chief Alex Karp — an outspoken Democratic donor who backed Trump’s opponent Kamala Harris — said it would gain further windfalls from the new president’s expected focus on budget efficiency as well as higher spending on national security.
:{:{Its shares rose 340 per cent over the course of 2024, when it was the top performer in the S&P 500. Palantir’s top executives, Thiel and Karp, have earned over $1bn in share sales since Trump’s November election victory. “This is a revolution. Some people will get their heads cut off,” said Karp announcing stellar quarterly earnings on Monday that sent it stock to new highs. “We’re expecting to see really unexpected things and to win.”}:
The revolving door
While Elon Musk has emerged as Trump’s biggest Silicon Valley booster, Thiel was the tech sector’s champion of the president during his first campaign in 2016. The investor also played a crucial role in the ascendancy of JD Vance, launching the new vice-president’s venture capital career before becoming the largest donor to his campaign for US senate in 2022. }:
Thiel threw a celebration party for Trump’s inauguration at his DC home last month, attended by Vance as well as Silicon Valley leaders like Meta’s Mark Zuckerberg and OpenAI’s Sam Altman. After the US election in November, Trump began tapping Palantir executives for key government roles. Jacob Helberg, senior adviser to Karp, was nominated as under secretary of state for economic growth, energy and the environment, which would make him the top economic policy and trade official at the State Department. Meanwhile, Gregory Barbaccia, who worked at Palantir for a decade until 2020, was named federal chief information officer at the executive office of the President, overseeing the country’s $70bn IT budget. Palantir has also assembled former lawmakers and government officials from both Republican and Democrat backgrounds. In August, it recruited Mike Gallagher, an ex-Republican congressman who led the House Select Committee on China, to help identify contract opportunities.
He resigned from the House in April 2024 and under federal policy is banned from lobbying Congress for one year. In 2023, Palantir hired Geof Kahn, a former CIA veteran who worked on Trump’s 2016 transition team, and Jamie Fly, former foreign and national security adviser to Florida senator Marco Rubio, Trump’s secretary of state. Since 2019, it has hired former senior defence and legal officials, such as Trump administration appointees Matthew Turpin and Alexander Alden, Obama-era staffer Wendy Anderson and ex-Biden assistant Funmi Olorunnipa Badejo. At least six individuals have moved between Palantir and the Pentagon’s Chief Digital and Artificial Intelligence Office (CDAO), an office that oversees the defence department’s adoption of data, analytics and AI, according to the TTP. Meanwhile, Joe Lonsdale, a venture capitalist and Palantir co-founder, has played a central role in setting up and staffing Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency, a new advisory group seeking to cut swaths of the federal budget. A close ally of the Tesla chief, Lonsdale also helped establish and finance the pro-Trump America PAC, which became the vehicle through which Musk donated over $239mn to Trump’s campaign.
These sorts of moves allow companies like Palantir to gain “credibility on Capitol Hill,” said Jeff Hauser, executive director of the Revolving Door Project, and help them “exert both direct and indirect influence on contracting and appropriations”. Hauser added: “Palantir is doing it because it has been proven over decades that the revolving door can help companies win more contracts.” Ramping up lobbying In October, Palantir hired the firm of one of Washington’s most prominent corporate lobbyists, Miller Strategies, to lobby on defence policy and appropriations, according to federal disclosures. The firm’s head, Jeff Miller, had established himself as the go-to lobbyist for influencing the Trump administration during the president’s first term in office. His other tech clients include SpaceX, Amazon and Apple.
:{:{Recommended News in-depth}:
Palantir Technologies Inc
Palantir becomes a ‘Trump trade’ as investors bet on higher defence spending
:{:{ Overall, Palantir ramped up spending on lobbying last year to $5.8mn, up from around $1mn in 2015, according to federal disclosures. However, that compares to $12.3mn by Google, and $12.4mn and $8.8mn by traditional defence companies Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman respectively. Palantir has also backed the creation of a lobby trade group, the New American Industrial Alliance, which is advised by former Trump administration officials and aims to overhaul the Pentagon’s work with defence contractors.}:
It is also backed by Lonsdale’s 8VC venture firm. In 2023, it launched the Palantir Foundation for Defense Policy and International Affairs, which gained non-profit tax exempt status. The group said it is a “non-partisan organisation dedicated to advancing national security”, and was set up to influence policy discussions by funding academic research and hosting conferences. It publishes a journal called The Republic, with its first issue featuring an essay titled, ‘Don’t let copyright kill American AI’. Palantir has used a similar playbook in the UK. Its British business is overseen by Louis Mosley, a former activist in the Conservative party, while head of UK corporate affairs Ben Mascall was previously an adviser at the Ministry of Defence and the head of strategic communications at Downing Street. }:}:
:{:{Ahead of winning a contract worth up to £330mn with the NHS in November 2023 to help manage patient data, Palantir recruited two senior NHS officials specialising in AI and data, a move which raised concerns about the company’s growing ties to the health service. Palantir has also hired civil servants from departments including the UK’s Ministry of Defence and the Home Office, and forged other links with British government officials. It has used former high-level civil servants, such as former MI6 chief Sir John Sawers, to broker introductions to the UK government. }:
:{:{Recommended Aerospace & Defence}:
Palantir’s relentless rise
The company has been a client of Global Counsel, the lobbying firm founded by Labour peer Peter Mandelson — the incoming British ambassador to the US. Lobbying expenditure data is not publicly available in the UK. Palantir attended at least 13 ministerial-level meetings between 2022 and 2023, but also extended hospitality such as drinks and dinners to senior officials such as Caroline Bellamy, the chief data officer at the Ministry of Defence where Palantir has a $75mn contract. }:}:
In January 2024, Thiel personally met Lord Dominic Johnson, then investment minister, to “develop a relationship”, according to documents released to the FT under transparency laws. Johnson planned to address concerns about the lack of access to the European marketplace by Palantir’s defence arm and pitch the UK as a “world-leading destination and incubator for venture philanthropy”, the documents show. According to heavily redacted meeting notes provided to the FT, Thiel expressed pessimism about the UK economy citing high taxes, low growth and “the fact that growth is driven by real estate rather than innovation like tech”.
---
:{:{Apple: Trump announced 100% tariffs on semiconductors (including cellphones and parts) but also said that Apple would not have to pay the tariff due to forthcoming U.S. investments. Appearing at the White House, Apple CEO Tim Cook presented Trump with a gift of 24-karat gold and glass engraved with his name. Miller Strategies, led by MAGA lobbyist and fundraiser Jeff Miller, helped Apple and other companies make donations to the ballroom, the Free Press reported.}:
In its SEC filings, Apple states its business is affected by the following policy issues, among others: Antitrust; privacy, data security and data localization; consumer protection; e-commerce rules; product liability standards; rules around artificial intelligence; labor and employment laws; trade policy and export controls, climate change policy and taxation. Lobbying priorities: Artificial intelligence; taxation; patent, trademark and copyright policy; consumer privacy; anti-counterfeit policy; tariffs and non-tariff trade barriers; and children's online privacy.}:
...
:{:{Comcast: The cable giant Comcast, which has millions of dollars worth of government contracts, may soon be seeking approval from Trump’s regulatory apparatus for its bid for Warner Bros. Discovery Inc. The Free Press reported that Comcast was among several companies advised by Miller Strategies, the firm of the MAGA lobbyist and fundraiser Jeff Miller. Comcast’s ballroom donation was criticized by TV hosts Rachel Maddow and Lawrence O’Donnell, who work for MSNBC, a network Comcast has spun off into a new company.}:
In its SEC filings, Comcast states its business is affected by the following policy issues, among others: communications law and policy issues, including privacy protections and net neutrality; artificial intelligence policy; labor law; and taxation. Lobbying priorities: Privacy and data security; rural broadband; BEAD Implementation; media reform; elements of the Communications Act; media diversity; defense spending; AI; tax issues; advertising rules; permitting standards; and the FAA's drone rule.}:
...
:{Palantir Technologies: The Peter Thiel-founded data analytics company is a major federal contractor whose role has grown dramatically under the second Trump administration. In its SEC filings, Palantir states its business is affected by the following policy issues, among others: Privacy and data laws; :{AI regulations,}: taxation
Lobbying priorities: Defense spending bill, including Army intelligence and readiness programs, battlefield domain awareness, space, and Air Force data analytics. Miller Strategies, led by MAGA lobbyist and fundraiser Jeff Miller, helped Palantir and other companies make donations to the ballroom, the Free Press reported.}:
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AI Overview GGL 6 26
Lobbyist Jeff Miller, head of Miller Strategies, and Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman Brendan Carr crossed paths prominently in regulatory battles surrounding media consolidation and sports broadcasting rights. [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]
Major FCC Media Consolidation
Jeff Miller was hired as a lobbyist by Nexstar Media Group to help push their $6.2 billion acquisition of Tegna. The deal, which effectively consolidated local news and allowed one broadcasting entity to bypass the traditional 39% national audience cap, was approved by the FCC under Chairman Brendan Carr. This decision sparked heavy pushback, including an antitrust lawsuit from state Attorneys General seeking to block the merger. [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6]
NFL Streaming Disputes
Lobbyist Jeff Miller also transitioned to serve as an NFL Executive Vice President. In this capacity, Miller, along with other NFL lawyers, engaged in formal meetings with senior FCC staff to defend the league's media distribution strategy. Chairman Brendan Carr publicly scrutinized the NFL, warning that pushing too many exclusive games behind paid streaming paywalls could place the league's special antitrust exemptions (established by the 1961 Sports Broadcasting Act) at risk. [1, 2, 3, 5]
For a closer look at the Department of Justice and FCC scrutiny facing the NFL regarding its exclusive streaming rights and antitrust exemptions:
[
1:56](https://www.facebook.com/JeffJacksonNC/posts/good-news-we-won-an-emergency-motion-to-freeze-the-biggest-tv-merger-in-history-/1529349385227314/)
[Good news: We won an emergency motion to freeze the ...
Jeff Jackson
Facebook · Jun 19, 2026](https://www.facebook.com/JeffJacksonNC/posts/good-news-we-won-an-emergency-motion-to-freeze-the-biggest-tv-merger-in-history-/1529349385227314/)
...April 21 letter to the FCC. In an April 17 meeting, NFL General Counsel Ted Ullyot, Executive Vice President for Media Distribution Hans Schroeder, and Executive Vice President for Communications Jeff Miller met with Greg Watson, chief of staff to FCC Chairman Brendan Carr, along with senior FCC advisers. The discussion centered on Carr’s concerns about whether the NFL still needs the antitrust exemption granted under the Sports Broadcasting Act of 1961, which allows the league’s 32 teams to negotiate television deals collectively. (More after paywall)...
politico
Gowdy joins Miller Strategies
:{By CAITLIN OPRYSKO and DANIEL BARNES 01/06/2026 :
With Daniel Lippman, Jasper Goodman, Sam Sutton
MILLER STAFFS UP: Former Rep. Trey Gowdy (R-S.C.) is joining Miller Strategies, the lobbying shop led by top GOP fundraiser Jeff Miller, as of counsel. The former federal prosecutor served four terms in the House, including as chair of the House Oversight Committee and Benghazi Committee, before retiring in 2019.
— Shortly after leaving office, Gowdy rejoined his former law firm, Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough, as a partner in the white collar defense and government investigations practice. He was briefly tapped to be a member of President Donald Trump’s defense team during his first impeachment, and lobbied the president for a pardon of an entertainment executive over a round of golf last year.
— More recently, Gowdy has been the host of “Sunday Night in America with Trey Gowdy” on Fox News and is one of several political power players who works for the law firm Oberheiden P.C. It’s unclear whether he will register to lobby at Miller Strategies.
— Miller Strategies has also added another Trump White House alum to its roster. Natalie McIntyre, who most recently worked in the White House’s legislative affairs office, has joined the firm as a principal. McIntyre served in Trump’s first term as well, along with her new Miller colleagues George Caram, Ashley Gunn, Jonny Hiler, Stefan Passantino and Luke Wallwork.
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| Yocha Dehe Wintun Nation | $450,000 | - | Casinos/Gambling |
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| Zipline International | $220,000 | - | Air Transport |
| Zoom Video Communications | $650,000 | - | Internet |
yt 1 26 astro? dark $?
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397,988 views Jan 26, 2026
When OpenAI sent someone to Tyler Johnston's house, they wanted every text and email he had on the company.Tyler runs an AI watchdog, and he's just one of the people getting subpoenaed.This is just the beginning of the AI industry's aggressive new political strategy. ----- More Perfect Union is an Emmy-winning, nonprofit newsroom whose mission is to build power for working people.
...(Host) Tyler Johnston runs a small AI watchdog.
0:12
Last summer, he was out when he received an unusual text from his roommate.
0:17
(Tyler) “There's someone at the door with documents for you.”
0:19
(Karen) It was a man with subpoenas from OpenAI, the maker of ChatGPT.
0:23
(Tyler) They were asking for every former employee that we had spoken to and what we said to them,
0:27
every congressional office that we spoke to, every potential investor that we spoke to.
0:32
(Karen) Tyler is just one of many advocates suddenly being targeted.
0:36
As public demands to regulate the AI industry have escalated —
0:39
(Reporter) AI could put millions of Americans out of work.
0:41
(Reporter) — Concerns around safety for kids.
0:44
(Reporter) Customers could see their bills increased by 20 bucks each month.
0:47
(Reporter) AI clips of fake reports even reaching the Oval Office.
0:51
(Karen) its biggest players are going to political war.
0:54
(Alex Bores) They started texting my constituents.
0:57
(Rebecca) Google was involved, Meta was involved, OpenAI was involved.
1:00
The AI industry broadly is ready to play hardball.
1:03
(Karen) So I started investigating their tactics.
1:06
I found an aggressive playbook trying to silence critics, kill
1:10
legislation, and remake government in their interest.
1:14
I wanted to know: what are AI companies so afraid of?
1:18
They can't have any flies in the ointment, which also means no regulation and no guardrails.
1:22
(Karen) And what does it mean for the rest of us if they get what they want?
1:30
When OpenAI subpoenaed Tyler,
1:32
it tucked in an expansive demand that hinted at its real agenda.
1:37
(Tyler) They wanted every single document and text message and email
1:41
that we had that in any way related to OpenAI's restructuring.
1:45
(Karen) Founded as a nonprofit by Elon Musk and Sam Altman,
1:48
OpenAI had for years been raising billions of dollars
1:52
from investors through an internal for-profit arm.
1:55
Then, the nonprofit board attempted to fire Sam Altman,
1:58
and investors panicked that they could lose all their money.
2:02
(Catherine Bracy) In the wake of that, Sam Altman made some promises to his investors
2:05
that they would remove the power and control of the nonprofit from the for-profit entity.
2:11
(Karen) But many advocates, including Tyler and Catherine, stood in the way.
2:16
(Tyler) We released an open letter.
2:17
This was an open letter that was asking seven relatively simple questions, not opposing the restructuring
2:22
in any way, but asking for more transparency about what their plans were.
2:26
(Karen) But failure to restructure could force OpenAI
2:28
to give up $20 billion from its investors.
2:32
The company turned its influence operations into high gear
2:36
under the leadership of a man named Chris Lehane.
2:39
Whoever ends up winning on that ends up building the AI rails
2:43
for the world. Like, that is a bit of a zero sum game.
2:48
(Karen) Lehane began his career in Washington, earning the nickname
2:51
‘Master of Disaster’ in part for helping the Clintons navigate the Monica Lewinsky scandal.
2:57
He then pivoted to Silicon Valley, working at Airbnb and with the crypto industry.
3:02
(Tyler) I think that OpenAI brought him on because they knew that they needed someone
3:06
who was willing to be as fierce as possible.
3:09
(Karen) Lehane stacked his team with former staffers and confidants of Gavin
3:13
Newsom, Bill de Blasio and Kamala Harris.
3:16
OpenAI hired a lobbying firm run by Republican operative
3:19
Jeff Miller, who has deep ties to President Trump.
3:22
It launched new philanthropic efforts, underscored its economic importance to California
3:28
and threatened to leave the state if the restructuring was blocked.
3:32
With Elon Musk also suing OpenAI for abandoning its mission,
3:35
the company began to accuse its critics of being his puppets.
3:39
They were essentially implying
3:43
that we were a front for their competitors.
3:47
(Karen) The aggressive tactics paid off.
3:49
The subpoenas
3:50
also revealed that this is just the beginning.
3:54
I would have been happy to swear to the court that we are not funded by Elon Musk.
Here’s what that means: We report on the real struggles and challenges of the working class from a working-class perspective. We attempt to connect those problems to potential solutions. We report on the abuses and wrongdoing of corporate power. And we seek to hold accountable the ultra-rich who have too much power over America’s political and economic systems. To support our independent journalism, subscribe, donate, and follow our other pages through the links below:
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---
verge
openAI’s co-founder and longtime president, Greg Brockman, didn’t just make a run-of-the-mill donation to the main pro-Trump super PAC — together, he and his wife Anna’s September 2025 donations equaled the largest of them all, totaling $25 million to “MAGA Inc.,” per a recent filing. The Brockmans’ donations made up nearly one-fourth of the six-month fundraising cycle.
It’s the latest in a string of examples of tech executives cozying up to President Trump’s administration, happening as the administration pushes to aggressively back the AI industry and defang state-level regulations that companies like OpenAI have largely opposed. OpenAI did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Brockman’s multimillion-dollar donation isn’t the only example of him spending big, under his own name, on lobbying efforts that have their sights set on dismantling potential AI industry regulation. The pro-AI super PAC “Leading the Future,” of which Brockman is a significant backer, has bought ads targeting New York State Assemblymember Alex Bores — a cosponsor of New York’s RAISE Act, which was watered down at the last minute after coordinated lobbying efforts.
Though news of the Brockmans’ donations first broke earlier this month, it’s seen a resurgence in online discussion after the recent death of Alex Pretti in Minneapolis, where federal officers have fatally shot two people during an anti-immigrant crackdown. Tech workers from across the industry, including multiple employees at OpenAI, have signed a letter calling for their CEOs to cancel all contracts with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and publicly condemn the department’s actions. “When Trump threatened to send the national guard to San Francisco in October, tech industry leaders called the White House,” the petition’s website states. “It worked: Trump backed down. Today we’re calling on our CEOs to pick up the phone again.”
However, since Trump’s inauguration, tech leader after tech leader has donated to his inauguration fund, flocked to Mar-a-Lago to meet with him, or attended White House dinners by his side. In return, they’ve gotten an administration eager to roll back consumer protections and tech regulation. Trump’s AI Action Plan resurrected a failed Republican attempt to bar states from passing AI regulations, to tech leaders’ delight. The new provision states that “AI is far too important to smother in bureaucracy at this early stage” and that the government “should not allow AI-related Federal funding to be directed toward states with burdensome AI regulations that waste these funds,” though it should also “not interfere with states’ rights to pass prudent laws that are not unduly restrictive to innovation.” Targets of the moratorium include SB 53, the landmark AI transparency bill California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed in September despite many tech companies lobbying against it, including OpenAI.
In 2019, Brockman co-wrote a blog post about how hard it is to “change powerful systems … once they’ve been deployed,” and that it’s “important to address AGI’s safety and policy risks before it is created.” Six years later, his posts have shifted in tone, highlighting the importance of “approach[ing] emerging technology with a growth-focused mindset.” In a New Year’s Eve post on X, Brockman wrote that “this year, my wife Anna and I started getting involved politically, including through political contributions, reflecting support for policies that advance American innovation and constructive dialogue between government and the technology sector.” He added that “it’s been great to see the president’s and his administration’s willingness to engage directly with the AI community.”
---
1 26 GGL
[### Lobbying Firm Profile: Miller Strategies
OpenSecrets
https://www.opensecrets.org › firms › summary](https://www.opensecrets.org/federal-lobbying/firms/summary?cycle=2025&id=D000073422)
Miller Strategies is a lobbying firm that was hired by 153 clients in 2025, for a total amount of $35,790,000. Annual Lobbying by Miller Strategies.Read more
[### AI Lobbying Soars in Washington, Among Big Firms and ...
Bloomberg Government News
https://news.bgov.com › bloomberg-government-news](https://news.bgov.com/bloomberg-government-news/ai-lobbying-soars-in-washington-among-big-firms-and-upstarts)
Dec 29, 2025 — Registered lobbying firms raked in more than $90 million in the first three quarters of 2025 from AI-related issues, and the lobbyists ...
[### Gemini hires Miller Strategies for crypto regulation lobbying
Legis1
https://legis1.com › Legis1 Newsroom](https://legis1.com/crypto-regulation-lobbying-gemini/)
Oct 13, 2025 — Miller Strategies portfolio: Over $65 million in total fees since 2017, representing 100+ clients including Apple Inc. and Charles Schwab ...Read more
[### Gowdy joins Miller Strategies
Politico
https://www.politico.com › newsletters › 2026/01/06](https://www.politico.com/newsletters/politico-influence/2026/01/06/gowdy-joins-miller-strategies-00713355)
Jan 6, 2026 — Former Rep. Trey Gowdy is joining Miller Strategies, the lobbying shop led by top GOP fundraiser Jeff Miller, as of counsel.
[### 2025-Top-Performing-Lobbying-Firms-Report.pdf
bbhub.io
https://assets.bbhub.io › bna › sites › 2025/04](https://assets.bbhub.io/bna/sites/20/2025/04/2025-Top-Performing-Lobbying-Firms-Report.pdf)
Invariant's biggest clients last year included Apple. Inc.; Palantir Technologies, a software firm focused on big data analytics and artificial intelligence; ...Read more
38 pages
[### Miller Strategies Signs $1.5M UAE Pact - Fri., Dec. 12, 2025
O'Dwyer's PR
https://www.odwyerpr.com › story › public › miller-str...](https://www.odwyerpr.com/story/public/24023/2025-12-12/miller-strategies-signs-15m-uae-pact.html)
Dec 12, 2025 — Miller Strategies, the well-connected Republican firm, has inked a $1.5M one-year consulting and contract from Emirates Global Aluminum.
Missing: CRYPTO | Show results with: CRYPTO
[### Banquet of Greed: Trump Ballroom Donors ...
Public Citizen
https://www.citizen.org › wp-content › uploads](https://www.citizen.org/wp-content/uploads/Banquet-of-Greed-Final.pdf)
Nov 3, 2025 — Miller Strategies, led by. MAGA lobbyist and fundraiser Jeff Miller, helped Apple and other companies make donations to the ballroom, the Free ...Read more
19 pages
[### Lobbying Firm Profile: Miller Strategies
OpenSecrets
https://www.opensecrets.org › firms › summary](https://www.opensecrets.org/federal-lobbying/firms/summary?cycle=2022&id=D000073422)
Miller Strategies is a lobbying firm that was hired by 49 clients in 2022, for a total amount of $8,660,000. Annual Lobbying by Miller Strategies.Read more
[### MAGA Lobbyists' Advice to Clients: Help Pay for Trump's ...
The Free Press
https://www.thefp.com › maga-lobbyists-advice-to-clien...](https://www.thefp.com/p/maga-lobbyists-advice-to-clients-ballroom)
Oct 24, 2025 — Miller Strategies works on behalf of ballroom donors Apple, Comcast, Micron, Palantir Technologies, and Tether America, disclosures show.Read more
[
E&E News by POLITICO
Perry aide opens lobby firm, signs energy clients
A former close aide to Energy Secretary Rick Perry has set up shop on K Street. Jeff Miller, who managed Perry's 2016 presidential campaign,...
.
Mar 21, 2017](https://www.eenews.net/articles/perry-aide-opens-lobby-firm-signs-energy-clients/)
[
ThinkProgress
Trump dines with energy lobbyist whose client seeks power bailout
A GOP lobbyist and strategist, who managed Rick Perry's 2016 presidential bid, reportedly dined with President Trump Wednesday night.
.
Apr 5, 2018](https://archive.thinkprogress.org/former-perry-adviser-miller-lobbies-for-firstenergy-9d2c235a7cf5/)
trump dines with energy lobbyist whose client seeks power bailout
Energy companies lined up for Jeff Miller's services after Rick Perry, his former boss, was named Energy secretary.
Mark HandApr 5, 2018,
Energy Secretary Rick Perry's former campaign manager Jeff Miller is now a lobbyist for FirstEnergy Solutions, which is seeking an emergency bailout from the Department of Energy. CREDIT: Robert Daemmrich Photography Inc/Corbis via Getty Images
A GOP lobbyist and strategist, who managed Rick Perry’s 2016 presidential bid, reportedly dined with President Trump Wednesday night. The dinner comes at the same time as an affiliate of one of the lobbyist’s clients, FirstEnergy Service Co., is seeking emergency intervention by the administration to save its coal and nuclear power plants.
Jeff Miller, president of lobbying firm Miller Strategies LLC, attended a dinner in Washington, D.C. organized by America First Action, a pro-President Trump super PAC. Over the past year, Miller has lobbied for numerous energy companies, including FirstEnergy Service Co., a subsidiary of Akron, Ohio-based FirstEnergy Corp.
FirstEnergy Solutions, an affiliate of Miller’s client, FirstEnergy Service Co., filed for bankruptcy protection on April 1. FirstEnergy Service Co., which was not part of the bankruptcy filing, provides legal, financial, and other corporate support services for its parent company FirstEnergy Corp.
Two days prior to the bankruptcy filing, FirstEnergy Solutions sent a letter to Miller’s former boss, and now head of the Department of Energy (DOE), Rick Perry, urging him to issue a power emergency in the eastern U.S. so that the company could make money off its coal and nuclear plants.
The letter followed a failed effort by Perry in 2017 to get the independent Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to subsidize coal and nuclear plants that had 90 days of fuel on site. The commission rejected the request in January. FERC’s new chairman, Kevin McIntyre, who voted against the bailout proposal, had FirstEnergy as a client at his law firm of Jones Day, where he was a partner, the Washington Post reported Tuesday.
Perry has not hinted at how he will rule on the company’s request, although having his former campaign manager in his ear as a well-paid lobbyist can’t hurt FirstEnergy Solutions’ chances.
Miller has been credited with Perry’s political reinvention — the square glasses and helping him remember all the agencies he’ll cut. Perry now heads one of those agencies, and FirstEnergy Solutions is hoping the former governor of Texas will use his power to help the company return to its profitable days.
### FirstEnergy’s request for emergency bailout from Rick Perry generates widespread backlash
Many industry observers appeared bewildered by FirstEnergy Solutions’ emergency request. The top trade group for the oil and gas industry, for example, was highly critical of FirstEnergy’s request. The American Petroleum Institute called on FirstEnergy “to stop misleading the public on the future of its power plants in Ohio and Pennsylvania.”
FirstEnergy hired Miller in August 2017 and paid him a total of $220,000 for the rest of the year to work on “issues associated with organized electricity markets.” Miller remained a FirstEnergy lobbyist when Perry proposed the bailout of coal and nuclear plants in September 2017 and continues working on behalf of FirstEnergy today.
Scott Amey, an attorney with Project on Government Oversight, told ThinkProgress in an interview last year that Miller’s past work for Perry helped him quickly build up a large client base. “If he has a personal relationship with the secretary of energy that’s going to be a selling point for him,” Amey said.
Jeff Miller, former campaign manager for former Rick Perry's 2016 presidential bid, listens to Perry address the National Press Club Luncheon July 2, 2015 in Washington, D.C. CREDIT: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
Miller had not responded to ThinkProgress’ request for comment on his lobbying on behalf of FirstEnergy.
Southern Co., the primary sponsor of a troubled nuclear power plant project in Georgia, also hired Miller to lobby on its behalf. The company paid Miller $200,000 in 2017 for his services, presumably for his access to Perry and other members of the Trump administration, according to lobbying records. Southern Co. is relying on $3.7 billion in DOE-backed loans to build a nuclear power plant in Georgia.
Miller’s other clients last year included the Nuclear Energy Institute, the nation’s top nuclear power lobbying group; Occidental Petroleum Corp.; Dow Chemical Co.; and Valero Energy Corp.
Over a nearly two-year period, Miller served as campaign manager for Perry’s 2016 run for the Republican nomination for president. In January 2016, Perry, doing poorly in the polls, ended his campaign and endorsed Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) for the nomination.
Miller also helped guide Perry through the Senate confirmation process to become Energy secretary, according to an E&E News report.
FirstEnergy was formed in 1997 through the merger of Ohio Edison Co. and Centerior Energy Corp. Over the next 15 years, it sought to shrink its regulated business, where public utility commissions approved reliable returns, with the goal of producing even bigger profits in its unregulated unit.
At the time, FirstEnergy was seeking to follow the lead of Enron, which was taking many risky steps to extract big financial returns from newly competitive electricity markets. Enron crashed and burned in 2001 when it filed for bankruptcy as a result of its poor strategic decisions and financial shenanigans.
FirstEnergy has also made many strategic mistakes over the years, including transferring its power plants from its regulated utility subsidiaries — where it could get stable returns on its investments — into an unregulated subsidiary, FirstEnergy Solutions. In 2011, FirstEnergy also acquired Allegheny Energy, a merger that turned out to be disaster because Allegheny Energy owned several uneconomic coal plants.
By betting on coal and failing to diversify, FirstEnergy Solutions was forced to file for bankruptcy protection last weekend.
In a recent op-ed, Dick Munson, director of Midwest clean energy for the Environmental Defense Fund, wrote, “FirstEnergy long has been trying to make up for its bad business decisions, and the utility giant now wants taxpayers or ratepayers to cover its mistakes with giant subsidies.”
#Climate, #FirstEnergy, #Jeff Miller, #Lobbying, #Politics, #Rick Perry
[
Center for American Progress
Rick Perry’s Dirty Industry Donors and What They Could Mean for the Department of Energy
Former Gov. Rick Perry has cultivated close ties with industry donors that raise concern about his ability to perform the duties of energy secretary without...
.
Jan 19, 2017](https://www.americanprogress.org/article/rick-perrys-dirty-industry-donors-and-what-they-could-mean-for-the-department-of-energy/)
[
NBC News](https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna44442051)
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https://www.americanoversight.org/investigation/rick-perrys-energy-industry-connections-in-the-u-s-and-abroad
Before being selected to head the Department of Energy in President Donald Trump’s administration, former Texas Gov. Rick Perry ran for the 2016 Republican presidential nomination, where he benefited from millions of dollars in campaign spending by the energy industry. One donor was Dallas billionaire Kelcy Warren, the CEO of Energy Transfer Partners,who gave a pro-Perry PAC $6 million.
Another longtime Perry backer was Michael Bleyzer, whom :{Perry recommended:(style="box-sizing:inherit;transition-duration:0.2s;transition-property:background-color, border-color, box-shadow, color, opacity, text-shadow, transform;transition-timing-function:linear"):}: in May 2019 for the board of Ukraine’s state-owned natural gas company, Naftogaz. A little more than a month later, :{Ukraine awarded an oil and gas exploration deal:(style="box-sizing:inherit;transition-duration:0.2s;transition-property:background-color, border-color, box-shadow, color, opacity, text-shadow, transform;transition-timing-function:linear"):}: to Bleyzer and his partner.
The energy industry connections went further than that, though. Prior to his confirmation, Perry also resigned from the boards of Sunoco Logistics Partners and Energy Transfer Partners, both developers of the Dakota Access Pipeline. One of Perry’s former top advisers, Jeff Miller, raised money for President Donald Trump’s reelection campaign and ran a lobbying shop that counted Energy Transfer Partners among its clients.
As secretary, Perry attended energy and commerce events in Kentucky with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, a vocal opponent of stronger energy regulations. And Perry’s energy connections weren’t just professional — his son, Griffin Perry, helps lead oil and gas investment firm Grey Rock Energy Partners, a company that former Sec. Perry was an investor in before joining the administration.
Perry’s business and industry ties weren’t limited to energy, either. In 2016, Perry joined the board of Celltex Therapeutics, a stem cell company through which he had previously undergone “experimental back surgery.” The company was founded by David G. Eller, a Perry donor, and had moved its operations to Mexico in 2013. But a 2017 Texas law could open the door for the company to again provide treatment in the U.S. After resigning from the Celltex board and recusing himself from matters related to the company, Perry’s wife joined the board.
In November 2019, Perry resigned to be replaced by his deputy, Dan Brouillette, who had been involved in many of the administration’s more controversial energy policies. But even with Perry out, American Oversight continued to investigate the role special or private interests may have played in the administration’s energy policy.
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https://www.opensecrets.org/federal-lobbying/lobbyists/summary?id=Y0000052783L
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A dozen House Democrats, including the House Majority Leader
FirstEnergy’s PAC has given a combined $63,000 to 12 individual House Democrats this election cycle.
The top Democratic recipient of FirstEnergy PAC money in the House (who’s not from Ohio) is New Jersey Rep. Donald Norcross. The Sierra Club has called Norcross “a leader on climate change.”
The second ranking Democrat in the House, Maryland Rep. Steny Hoyer, is also a top Democratic recipient of FirstEnergy PAC money. Hoyer’s campaign fund received $5,000 from the utility, and his leadership PAC received another $5,000.
Click HERE to see the entire chart, get a shareable and embeddable version, and/or explore the data behind it.
Prosecutors, judges, and police
FirstEnergy’s federal PAC has given a combined $10,490 to state and local law enforcement officials during the 2020 campaign cycle.
The top recipient from this group was West Virginia’s top legal officer, Attorney General Patrick Morrisey.The pro-coal Republican notoriously led the multi-state and industry lawsuit against the Obama administration’s Clean Power Plan, and successfully halted the first significant climate regulation in America. Morrisey currently has more than six times the cash on hand as his Democratic challenger.
Other top recipients of FirstEnergy in the law enforcement category include Kandy Fatheree, a Democrat running for sheriff in Summit County, Ohio, and Tim Armstead, the Chief Justice of West Virginia’s Supreme Court of Appeals.
Click HERE to see the entire chart, get a shareable and embeddable version, and/or explore the data behind it.
Bonus recipient: A former top Trump advisor
This isn’t about FirstEnergy’s PAC, but it’s notable because it shines a light on what FirstEnergy is trying to do when it contributes to federal officials.
Since President Trump was inaugurated, FirstEnergy has spent more than $8 million lobbying the federal government on energy, climate and environment policy—and has hired at least one lobbyist close to Trump to do it.
Approximately $1.3 million of FirstEnergy’s lobbying budget since 2017 has gone to Jeff Miller, the former vice chair of President Trump’s inaugural committee and one of Trump’s “top fundraisers.”
FirstEnergy currently pays Miller about $440,000 per year to lobby Congress, the president, and the vice president on “issues related to grid resilience” and “organized electricity markets.”
Other FirstEnergy lobbying priorities include the Trump administration’s repeal of Obama-era climate regulations; two bills to ease pollution control requirements for power plants and industrial facilities, and a bill to allow more toxic emissions from power plants that burn coal waste byproducts.
kim b propub:
Noble’s prime position in the Koch network took a hit at the end of the 2012 campaign, when he and the Center circumvented California election laws in an attempt to influence two state ballot measures.
Noble first met California political strategist Tony Russo in Las Vegas in October 2011, according to a recorded interview Russo later gave to California investigators. Russo wanted Koch money for an effort to fight unions. Noble agreed to help, paying hundreds of thousands of dollars to run focus groups, develop ads and reach out to voters, Russo said.
Russo hoped the Koch network would do even more. Russo later said he and Noble spoke more than 18 times in the run-up to the election, meeting once in Washington.
Meanwhile, Russo and Jeff Miller, another California consultant, raised $29 million from about 150 confidential donors to fight a proposition to raise taxes and to support another one limiting unions’ political power. They transferred the money to a Virginia-based trade association that had agreed to spend it on ads related to the initiatives. But as Election Day drew closer, the association, Americans for Job Security, balked at buying ads, worried that under California law, it would be required to disclose who had donated the funds for them.
Russo said he approached Noble and offered to transfer money from the Virginia group to the Center. In return, he asked Noble to tap separate resources to help in California. Noble thought he had groups that could help, Russo recalled.
“He said, you know, get me your money,” Russo said in his interview.
Americans for Job Security transferred about $4 million to the Center on Sept. 10. On Sept. 13, American Future Fund gave about $4 million to a California affiliate, the California Future Fund for Free Markets, which was spending money on the anti-union proposition....