Jeff Miller’s firm, Miller Strategies, posted a nearly 40% boost in lobbying revenue in 2023, the year his close friend Kevin McCarthy became speaker of the House.
The all-Republican shop reported working for
Over the course of 2023, though, McCarthy went through an abrupt transition from being a central figure on every public policy decision to a demoted ex-speaker and then former member of Congress— forcing everyone who lobbies on Capitol Hill to re-evaluate their connections and avenues of influence.
Miller said his firm persevered because it offered more than just an entrée to McCarthy. “I truly believe sound strategy paired with good information should always win and nobody can outwork us,” he said in an email.
Indeed, some of the clients that Miller signed when his firm was freshly opened in 2017 — Altria Client Services,
Among the firm’s lobbyists are Jessica Mandel, formerly head of legislative affairs for
“There’s a lot of lobbyists connected to one or two or three people,” said Republican lobbyist Sam Geduldig, co-CEO of the CGCN Group. “Then there are elite lobbyists, and he is absolutely one of them.” Geduldig and Miller are both registered to lobby for the Electronic Payments Coalition, which opposes a
“The half-life of the average member of Congress is surprisingly short,” said Ivan Adler, who runs a lobbyist recruiting firm. “Lobbyists on the other hand tend to be able to adapt better to changes in party majorities and leadership.”
FULL COVERAGE of the annual BGOV Lobbying Report
Miller has adapted before.
He ran the 2016 presidential campaign of former Texas Gov. Rick Perry (R), and opened his federal lobbying firm as Donald Trump came to town and made Perry his energy secretary. The firm’s peak year was 2020, with reported lobbying revenue of $13.2 million in the final year of the Trump administration.
That total dipped early in the Biden administration, then rebounded with the ascent of McCarthy, a Miller friend dating back to when the future lobbyist was an intern for the Kern County Republican Party and McCarthy worked for the local congressman, then-Rep. Bill Thomas (R-Calif.).
Both before and since the short McCarthy speakership, Miller has been an active political fundraiser. He staged an event late last year for Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) and his joint fundraising committee, the Johnson Leadership Fund.
Miller was a headline host, pledging to haul in at least $1 million with “special guests” including Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.), Whip Tom Emmer (R-Minn.), Conference Chairwoman Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.) and more than 25 other House Republicans, according to an invitation.
Miller also disclosed campaign donations totaling $280,000 last year.
More recently, he hosted a fundraiser with more than 140 GOP lawmakers on behalf of another joint fundraising committee, Trump Make America Great Again. The featured draw was Donald Trump Jr.
Top firms are filled with people whose one-time bosses are no longer in the picture, said Sarah Bryner, research director of OpenSecrets.org. Lobbying contracts are “much more complicated than just ‘I’m hiring this firm because I want to have a conversation with Kevin McCarthy,’” she said.
See also:
To contact the reporter on this story:
To contact the editors responsible for this story: