Bottom Line: NFL and MLB sign Phronesis DC

The ​National Football League and ​Major League Baseball both drafted Phronesis DC to lobby on issues related to tax policy as Republicans prepare to pass a follow-up to the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. Brendan Dunn, former policy adviser and counsel to then-Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), will work on the accounts.

​Elliott Investment Management, the investment firm founded by Republican mega-donor Paul Singer, also hired Phronesis DC to lobby on tax policy. In addition to Dunn, the lobbyists on the account are Brett Quick, former staff director of the Senate Banking Subcommittee on National Security, International Trade and Finance, and Riley Stamper, a former legislative staff assistant to Sen. Bill Hagerty (R-Tenn.).

​Marriott International hired Miller & Chevalier Chartered to lobby on issues related to tax accounting for loyalty programs. Marc Gerson, former majority tax counsel for the House Ways and Means Committee, will work on the account.

The Walt Disney Co. hired Ballard Partners to lobby on issues related to the media industry. One of the lobbyists on the account is Patrick Kilcur, who joined the firm in December from the Motion Picture Association, which includes Walt Disney Studios among its member companies.

Ballard Partners also registered to lobby on interagency coordination for the ​Los Angeles Organizing Committee for the Olympic and Paralympic Games 2028. Daniel McFaul, who was previously chief of staff to former Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.), will work on the account.

The medical device company ​Boston Scientific Corp. hired Alston & Bird to lobby on health care reimbursement, tax and trade issues. One of the lobbyists on the account is Jane Lucas, who was previously a White House special assistant for President Trump during his first term and spent a decade working with Senate Republican Leader John Thune (R-S.D.).

Another Trump White House alum, Benjamin Howard, is part of The Duberstein Group team hired by the Metropolitan Opera Association. The firm will provide advocacy, funding and policy support for the Met Opera’s arts and cultural initiatives, according to the registration.