By Caitlin Oprysko

With Daniel Lippman

BUTLER’S CORPORATE WORK: California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s appointment of EMILY’s List President Laphonza Butler to fill the Senate seat left vacant by the death of Dianne Feinstein elevates a seasoned political player and a successful fundraiser to the highly sought-after post, but PI is diving into Butler’s past in the corporate influence world — first as a consultant at the California firm SCRB Strategies, and then with Airbnb’s government affairs team.

— SCRB Strategies (formerly known as SCN Strategies and now known as Bearstar Strategies) is well-known for its roster of political clients: Vice President Kamala Harris or PACs affiliated with her paid the firm more than $1.4 million over the course of Harris’ campaigns for Senate and president, according to campaign finance disclosures. Additional clients have included Newsom himself, former California Gov. Jerry Brown, the DCCC and Harris’ Senate successor Alex Padilla.

— The firm also worked on the first congressional campaign of Rep. Katie Porter (D-Calif.), who would be one of Butler’s rivals should she decide to run for a full term in her new seat.

— But it’s Butler’s corporate consulting work that has drawn attention from government watchdogs. SCRB Strategies was paid $185,000 from 2019 through 2020 for work for Uber, California lobbying records show. At the time, Uber and other gig companies were in the midst of a clash with labor groups and California Democrats over a bill that would have allowed gig workers to be classified as employees with the right to benefits, rather than independent contractors.

— Bloomberg reported in 2019 that Butler, a labor organizer who spent more than a decade as a top leader in the SEIU’s California chapter, had been advising Uber and acting as a liaison in its dealings with unions while the gig worker bill — one of labor’s top priorities — was working its way through the legislature.

— Uber was part of a coalition that later poured more than $200 million into a successful California ballot fight that exempted app-based companies from the contentious labor bill, and the company has since turned its focus to blocking a potential rulemaking from the Biden administration that would similarly force app-based companies to classify their workers as employees.

— Butler’s past work for Uber is prompting concerns from one watchdog group in the present day. “This is a connection that is not just aesthetically unpleasing, it is substantively relevant to how Butler will carry on her role as senator, and Big Tech is one of the few potential bipartisan areas of agreement,” said Jeff Hauser, the head of the Revolving Door Project, pointing to antitrust legislation stymied last Congress in part by Democrats with ties to tech giants.

— “Unfortunately, I think Butler has some of the same flaws that characterize not only Newsom, but Zoe Lofgren and Lou Correa and many other California Democrats, which is that they think the interests of Big Tech are the interests of Californians or Americans more generally,” he told PI. “And I think that her work against the Uber drivers is evidence of that.”

— Butler also parlayed her organizing background into helping Airbnb navigate political dynamics. “In her various roles over the years, Laphonza has successfully managed the politics with electeds in California, with members of Congress and with the Administration,” said Oscar Ramirez a founder at Fulcrum Public Affairs and one of Airbnb’s outside lobbyists. “Knowing how to work with the right people in the right way is part of what she did very well.”

— Butler joined Airbnb as head of public policy for North America after the company’s initial racial discrimination scandal had largely abated, but during her tenure the company sought to address concerns about parties at Airbnb rentals and the company’s effects on housing affordability, the pandemic’s effect on tourism and local governments’ efforts to collect taxes from the business.

— In 2021, Butler praised the Biden administration’s opening offer for what became the bipartisan infrastructure bill and Inflation Reduction Act on Airbnb’s behalf, urging congressional leadership to enact a “robust” package to expand rural broadband access. Airbnb also had to weather calls to drop its sponsorship of the 2022 Olympics in Beijing, and disclosures show the company lobbied on antitrust, small business, and Section 230 while Butler was there.

Happy Monday and welcome to PI. Send tips: [email protected]. And be sure to follow me on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter: @caitlinoprysko.

DOWNLOAD THE POLITICO APP: Stay in the know with the POLITICO mobile app, featuring timely political news, insights and analysis from the best journalists in the business. The sleek and navigable design offers a convenient way to access POLITICO's scoops and groundbreaking reporting. Don’t miss out on the app you can rely on for the news you need. DOWNLOAD FOR iOS – DOWNLOAD FOR ANDROID.

ANOTHER LONGTIME GOP ALLY FINDS ITSELF ON THE OUTS: “America’s most influential doctors’ group once marched in lock-step with Republicans, joining forces to try to keep government out of medicine,” POLITICO’s Daniel Payne writes.

— “But now, as public health gets sucked into the culture wars, the American Medical Association has become a leading voice opposing GOP policies on everything from abortion and transgender care to gun rights and climate change. And Republicans are firing back with charges that the 176-year-old physicians’ organization is practicing ‘wokeism.’”

— “The rift over social issues is threatening to undercut the AMA’s clout on the bread-and-butter health care issues it typically lobbies on — such as how much doctors should get paid by Medicare, which the GOP-led House is planning to debate this fall. And it’s tainting the AMA’s relationship with one group it’s long been able to rely on as a staunch ally: Republican lawmakers who are doctors.”

— “The caucus tried to clear the air with their AMA colleagues at a January meeting in which they discussed the group’s credibility among Republicans, but concerns remain.” Meanwhile, “the AMA says it’s been forced to speak out against attacks on science as the Republican Party moves right,” a complaint that mirrors the Republican Party’s breakup with the business community as well.

SBF STILL DOGS THE CRYPTO LOBBY: “Cryptocurrency firms are at the cusp of a breakthrough vote for their regulatory agenda in Congress. They are wooing members of both parties, preparing an ad blitz to push their proposals and targeting swing state lawmakers for support. But they have one inescapable problem,” our Declan Harty, Eleanor Mueller, Sam Sutton and Jasper Goodman report: Sam Bankman-Fried.

— “Jury selection for the failed mogul’s fraud trial is set to begin Tuesday at a federal court in Manhattan, and the daily headlines about his misdeeds are landing at the worst possible time for the industry’s lobbying contingent — at least what’s left of it after his fall triggered a crypto meltdown.”

— “The House is preparing to vote on landmark bills that would set up regulations blessed by the industry. At the same time, lobbyists are trying to fend off a push by Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and a growing list of crypto skeptics who want to crack down on financial crimes that use digital currency.”

— “How it all shakes out may be impacted by Bankman-Fried's trial, where Washington's former go-to crypto magnate and a major source of campaign cash will fight charges that he orchestrated one of the largest financial frauds in U.S. history at the helm of his FTX exchange.”

CARDOZA LOBBYING FOR WORLD CUP HOST CITIES: Host committees for five of the 11 U.S. cities slated to host matches as part of the 2026 men’s World Cup have tapped former Rep. Dennis Cardoza and his firm Foley & Lardner to lobby for federal funding to assist with their hosting duties.

— The Atlanta Sports Council, the Greater Miami Convention & Visitors Bureau, the Harris County-Houston Sports Authority, ​KC2026 and Sporting Kansas City and the New York/New Jersey 2026 World Cup Host Committee all retained Foley beginning last month, according to disclosures filed over the weekend.

— Cardoza, former Harry Reid aide Jared ​Rifis and former Steve Daines aide Katie Schoettler will work on the accounts to seek unspecified “federal funding opportunities” and boost “awareness for 2026 World Cup hosting needs” on behalf of the cities, the disclosures show.

— Representatives for several of those cities teased their funding needs at a conference this summer, the travel industry site Skift reported, with the head of Dallas’ host committee, the Dallas Sports Commission, noting that federal governments outside of the U.S. typically foot much of the bill for international events.

— Sam Vercellotti has joined TeraWatt Infrastructure as senior policy manager. He was previously a manager in Boundary Stone Partners' transportation practice group.

— Bose Public Affairs has added Jon Mandel as a senior vice president leading a new multistate government relations practice and a local government relations practice focused on the city of D.C. He will also be of counsel to the Bose McKinney & Evans real estate and gaming groups.

— Steve Northrup is joining Global Medical Response as senior vice president of government relations and public policy. He was previously a partner at Rampy Northrup and is a Senate HELP alum.

— Scott Cullinane has been promoted to be director of government affairs at Razom.

— Rachel Homer is now chief of staff for the Office of the General Counsel at the Department of Education. She most recently was counsel at Protect Democracy and is a DOJ alum.

— Frederick Hill is returning to the House Oversight Committee as senior adviser. He previously was managing director at FTI Consulting.

— Daniel Wolf has joined Breakthrough Energy, where he will manage transmission policy. He was previously legislative director at the American Council on Renewable Energy.

— Kelvin Chen is now senior executive vice president and head of policy at the Consumer Bankers Association. He previously led Barclays U.S. Consumer Bank’s regulatory affairs function.

— Juliette Boberg is joining the League of Women Voters as director of corporate and organizational partnerships. She previously was senior director at Impactual.

— Harry Kazianis has rejoined the Center for the National Interest as senior director of national security affairs and executive editor of The National Interest. He previously was a political consultant and president of the Rogue States Project.

Strong Island Fund (Reps. Nick LaLota, Andrew Garbarino, Anthony D'Esposito, Leadership And Loyalty Only to America PAC, Baker PAC, Empire Strike PAC)

TEAM MCCORMICK (Friends of Dave Mccormick, Pennsylvania Honor, Dave Mccormick for US Senate, Republican Federal Committee of Pennsylvania, NRSC)

Blockchain Freedom PAC (Super PAC)
PENNSYLVANIA HONOR (Leadership PAC: Dave McCormick)
VoteDown PAC (Hybrid PAC)

9Th Street Strategies: Bank Policy Institute
Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld: Doma Holdings, Inc.
Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld: Exxon Mobil Corp
Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld: Hesai Group
Arnold & Porter Kaye Scholer LLP: Surgenex
Ascend Consulting: Thistle Farms
Baker Commodities: Baker Commodities
Ballard Partners: Sulzbacher Center
Barnes & Thornburg, LLP: Kenvue Inc.
Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck, LLP: Hesai Group
Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck, LLP: Sumitomo Corporation Of Americas
Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney Pc: Paradigm Senior Services
Capitol South, LLC: Alabama Contract Poultry Growers Association
Capitol South, LLC: Environmental Working Group
Chamber Hill Strategies: Amc Pharma
Chamber Hill Strategies: Coalition For Rural Medicare Equality
Colon Government Affairs, LLC: The Clapham Group
Colon Government Affairs, LLC: The Humane Society Of The United States
Dla Piper LLP (US): Rai Services Company
Dykema Gossett Pllc: Michigan Technological University
East Capitol Advisors LLC: Shadow Nexus
Efrus Federal Advisors LLC: Qusecure
Fgs Global (US) LLC (Fka Fgh Holdings LLC): Forage Technology Corporation
Foley & Lardner LLP: Kc2026
Husch Blackwell Strategies: The University Of Missouri System
King & Spalding LLP: Medicare Access To Skin Substitutes Coalition (Mass Coalition) (Informal)
Liberty Government Affairs: Honduras Prospera Inc.
Mcdermott+Consulting LLC: Castle Biosciences, Inc.
Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP: Multibeam Corporation
Thorsen French Advocacy LLC: Copyright Clearance Center
Uncorked Advocates: American Retirement Association
Windon Global Strategies: The Alliance For International Youth Development

38 North Solutions, LLC: Coalition For Green Capital Action Fund
Arnold & Porter Kaye Scholer LLP: Ferring Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
Auburn Health Strategies, LLC: Neurotech, LLC
Capitol South, LLC: Farm Action Fund
Jd Liss Associates Formerly Known As Jonathan David Liss: 20/20Gene Systems
Jean Marie Consulting, LLC: The Philanthropy Roundtable
Liebman & Associates, Inc.: Beta Technologies, Inc.
Liebman & Associates, Inc.: Lightmanufacturing, Inc.
Monument Advocacy: Chobani, LLC
Mr. Barry Strumpf Consulting: Naima
Rampy Northrup LLC: Johnson & Johnson Services, Inc.
Sustainable Strategies Dc: City Of Lorain, Oh

GROWING IN THE GOLDEN STATE: POLITICO is deepening its roots in the Golden State. Mirroring our incisive coverage in Washington and Brussels, we're dedicated to illuminating California's power hubs with our signature focus on policy, politics, and power. California doesn’t just follow trends—it sets them. Our on-the-ground expansion is all about ensuring you're the first to glimpse the emerging policies and shifting landscapes. Dive in for exclusive scoops, your daily newsletter essentials, and unparalleled reporting on the strategies and players transforming California. DISCOVER MORE.

Follow us

To change your alert settings, please log in at https://www.politico.com/_login?base=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.politico.com/settings

This email was sent to [email protected] by: POLITICO, LLC 1000 Wilson Blvd. Arlington, VA, 22209, USA

Please click here and follow the steps to unsubscribe.