Lobbying Spending Splurge Rockets Trump-Linked Firm to the Top

Ballard Partners, leaning on its ties to the Trump administration, is the new leader on K Street with tens of millions of dollars in lobbying revenue and a diverse list of clients ranging from Netflix Inc. to Harvard.

The firm hauled in more than $88 million in 2025, a more than 350% jump from the previous year, recent federal lobbying reports show, ousting longtime influence players even as those firms disclosed a rise in their own revenue.

It’s a reflection of how much President Donald Trump’s second term has disrupted the influence sector, a trend lobbyists say they expect to continue ahead of this year’s midterm elections, and recent actions by the administration in domestic and international matters. Many corporations and business groups have focused their lobbying on the administration as Trump has tested the boundaries of executive power.

Brian Ballard, the founder of Ballard Partners, said his aim is to keep building a firm that will last beyond the Trump administration. “We remain doggedly committed to growing a fiercely bipartisan firm that is built to thrive in Washington’s dynamic political environment for decades to come,” he said in a statement.

Much of K Street disclosed an uptick in business last year, as corporations and other groups sought guidance in navigating Trump 2.0 and legislative priorities such as the mega tax-and-spending measure.

The US Chamber of Commerce and Meta Platforms Inc. were among the top 10 biggest spenders last year.

Trade and tariffs, a top issue this year, dominated the policy suite for a number of firms.

Brian Pomper, who co-leads the lobbying and public policy practice at the firm Akin, has long focused on international trade matters, a booming area in 2025 as companies sought advice on Trump tariffs that continue to rattle corporate players.

Akin’s lobbying revenue was up 15%, making 2025 a record year for the firm.

For heads of Washington offices, trade catapulted to the top of the agenda, Pomper said: “All of a sudden, trade became a C-suite issue where the CEO was calling them.”

The focus on international matters, from Venezuela to Greenland, remains in the spotlight for 2026.

Lobbyists continue to work Capitol Hill, along with the executive branch, on hot-button policies regarding artificial intelligence, cryptocurrency, appropriations, and defense.

AI sparked a K Street spree, the disclosures show, with OpenAI’s spending on federal lobbying up nearly 70% to nearly $3 million in 2025 and Anthropic up more than 330% to $3.1 million.

Nadeam Elshami, who co-chairs the government relations department at Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck, where recent clients include Paramount Skydance Corp. and DraftKings Inc., said it’s not just technology clients driving AI lobbying.

“AI has entered into every sector of the economy,” said Elshami, a former House Democratic leadership aide. “I see that as a growing line of business.”

Brownstein, which had been the top-grossing lobbying firm in 2024, dropped to No. 2 with total revenue of $73.9 million.

BGR, another long-time and bipartisan firm with close ties to the Trump administration and lawmakers on Capitol Hill, also shot up in 2025 to become the No. 3 firm on K Street with $71.5 million.

Trump Ties Fuel Business

Most longtime firms’ double-digit growth was short of what some of the Trump-tied shops posted.

One such firm, Checkmate Government Relations, reported a dramatic debut into Washington in 2025, its first year with an office in the nation’s capital.

The firm, run by Ches McDowell, a friend of Donald Trump Jr., posted about $21.4 million in federal lobbying fees last year, according to filings under the Lobbying Disclosure Act.

Karishma Shah Page, a partner at K&L Gates, where federal lobbying revenue was up more than 20% with $20.7 million in 2025, said the year felt like “a tidal wave.”

That isn’t stopping anytime soon, she said.

“In the last few weeks, we’re talking about geopolitics, energy, financial services, health care, appropriations,” she said. Plus, “a very significant affordability agenda, which is a bipartisan set of priorities.”

The partisan politics of the midterms may not be the only force this year.

With the elections ahead, lawmakers have “a desire to work on issues impacting people back home,” Page said.