With help from Daniel Lippman
CRYPTO DENTENTE: Cryptocurrency companies and big banks may finally be approaching a compromise on stablecoin yield payments that could clear the way for a crypto regulation bill currently stalled in the Senate.
— The crypto industry and banks have fought for months on the issue of stablecoin yields, a practice where crypto exchanges pay stablecoin holders interest via rewards programs. Banks strongly oppose the practice, which competes with traditional interest-paying accounts, and have previously called for Congress to close a loophole in the GENIUS Act that makes such payments possible.
— The back and forth has stalled progress on what would be a landmark crypto regulation bill, the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act, currently before the Senate Banking Committee. Brian Armstrong, CEO of crypto exchange Coinbase and one of the industry’s biggest proponents for stablecoin interest payments, publicly denounced a draft version of the bill last month. Now, he’s changing his tune.
— “There’s now a path forward where we can get a win-win-win outcome here,” Armstrong told CNBC yesterday. “Win for the crypto industry, a win for the banks and a win for the American consumer to get President Trump’s crypto agenda through to the finish line so we can make America the crypto capital of the world.”
— “There’s a small list of remaining open items and I think that if a compromise can be found this will get to the president’s desk for a signature in a few months,” he added. In the same interview, Banking Committee member Sen. Bernie Moreno (R-Ohio) predicted passage “hopefully by April.”
— The apparent progress comes a week after a White House meeting between the two sides. During that meeting, banks proposed an outright ban on stablecoin yield payments. That’s a suggestion the crypto industry is unlikely to acquiesce to, and based on Amrstrong’s latest optimism, may no longer be on the table.
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STRONG START: While it’s still early in 2026, the record-setting lobbying spending of 2025 doesn’t appear to be dying down, Will Moschella, the co-chair of Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck’s lobbying practice told PI.
— “Oftentimes in an election year you might see the market soften a little bit and we haven’t seen that,” he said in an interview regarding the firm’s newest batch of clients. “We’ve seen steady growth and so I think there’s continued interest in Washington and in the energetic executive branch.”
— Brownstein has signed 12 new clients since the start of the year, representing a variety of industries with business in Washington. New signings include: Boston Metal, Dignity Gold, Salamander Solutions, Tampa Jewish Community Centers & Federation, Alpine Bank, Young Americans Education Foundation, Albacore, Quantum Computing, Eastern Air, Liberty Media and Felix Gold Alaska Treasure Creek.
— Notable on the list of new clients is Aery Aviation, a Virginia based aviation company that operates a fleet of small aircrafts for military, government and private clients. Brownstein is Aery’s first lobbying hire and it comes two weeks after the Federal Aviation Administration proposed a $15.7 million civil penalty against the company for allegedly failing to obtain FAA waivers to fly specially equipped planes near a commercial airport.
— Aery disputed the FAA’s claims in a statement earlier this month, saying the company will “vigorously defend our longtime record of exceeding safety standards.”
— Brownstein’s Geoffrey Burr, who served as Elaine Chao’s chief of staff at the Transportation Department during the first Trump administration, will handle the account.
HEALTH CARE LOBBY BOOM: The health care industry is not letting up on its lobbying spending. Lobbyists registered more than two dozen health care clients since last Friday, our colleague Amanda Chu reports for POLITICO Pulse.
— “Leading the pack is Monument Advocacy, which registered to lobby on behalf of nine companies Friday, including pharmaceutical distribution giants Cencora and McKesson. Boutique health care lobbying shops are behind many new registrations: Jeffrey J. Kimbell & Associates, for example, registered to lobby for three companies, including medical device makers Coloplast and Rayner. And Hittle Strategies registered two new companies,” she writes.
FOREIGN LOBBYING BONANZA: It’s never been a better time to be a foreign agent, according to a new analysis by The Free Press’ Gabe Kaminsky and Frannie Block.
— More than 380 new individuals and firms have registered with the Justice Department to lobby for foreign interests since Donald Trump was reelected in November 2024, they report. “That total is higher than it was for the comparable period under any of the last seven presidents.”
— The last time total new FARA registrations were higher during a president’s first full year in office, according to their analysis? Bill Clinton’s first term in 1993.
ACROSS THE POND: British lobbying firm Global Counsel is on the verge of going under as clients flee the firm following the recent exposure of co-founder Peter Mandelson’s friendship with deceased sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, our colleagues Mari Eccles and Tom Bristow report.
— Previous clients of the firm include JP Morgan, OpenAI, Shein and TikTok. Mandelson, who served as British ambassador to the United States until he was fired last September, has said he “deeply regrets” his relationship with Epstein.
SPOTTED at the groundbreaking for the first National Security Industrial Hub backed by a $75 million award from the Defense Department: Sens. Jim Banks (R-Ind.) and Todd Young (R-Ind.); Rep. Mark Messmer (R-Ind.); Indiana Secretary of Commerce David Adams; American Center for Manufacturing & Innovation CEO and founder John Burer; Prometheus Energetics COO Dan Merenda; Kratos Defense CEO Eric DeMarco; Rafael USA CEO Michael Lurie; and Raytheon’s Richard McKnight.
— John Keast, a former top aide to Sen. Roger Wicker (R-Miss.) and founder of Keast Strategic Solutions, has joined BGR as a senior adviser. He is a national security veteran who recently returned to K Street after serving as Republican staff director for the Senate Armed Services Committee.
— Kathy Grannis Allen has joined the DC Chamber of Commerce as director of marketing, events and communications. She most recently served as managing media specialist at Ketchum.
— Ben Rodriguez has joined Gozzo Strategy & Campaigns as a consultant. He most recently served as chief of staff for Rep. Adam Gray (D-Calif.).
— David Bell has been named as president of the American Truck Dealers. He previously served as director of the office of governmental affairs, policy and strategic planning within the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
— Austen Jensen will join Best Buy next month as vice president of federal affairs. He joins from the Retail Industry Leaders Association, where he led government affairs.
— Rachel Leake has joined Invariant as the firm’s first ever art director. She most recently served as creative director at PureRED. (POLITICO is a client of Invariant.)
— Barnes & Thornburg has boosted its government services and finance department by hiring 35 lawyers from Ballard Spahr’s public finance and infrastructure practices. Joining as partners in the firm’s Washington office are: Jeffrey Ballard, Garland Gantt, Charles Henck, Stephanie Kim, Daniel Nunez, Andrew Spicknall, Charles Treece and John Wheatley.
— Tifany Pedersen is joining the American Bankers Association as head of marketing. She most recently served as head of global brand marketing for Alexa & Amazon Devices at Amazon.
Friends of Surface Transportation (Reps. Tom Emmer, Sam Graves, Pete Stauber, Electing Majority Making Effective Republicans PAC, Show-Me Political Action Committee, Let’s All Keep Electing Republicans PAC)
Nominal, Inc. And Its U.S. Subsidiary: Nominal, Inc. And Its U.S. Subsidiary
The Louis D. Brandeis Center For Human Rights Under Law: The Louis D. Brandeis Center For Human Rights Under Law
Winslow & Co Public Affairs LLC: Thorn Run Partners On Behalf Of American Lithium Energy