Trump 2.0 Shakes Up K Street Power Balance

President Donald Trump has upended business as usual in Washington, and the lobbying industry is no exception.

The District’s reigning lobbying firm from 2024, Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck, was dethroned in 2025 by Ballard Partners, the firm run by Trump ally Brian Ballard that counts White House chief of staff Susie Wiles and Attorney General Pam Bondi among its alumni.

Ballard Partners made more than $87.6 million in 2025, according to a NOTUS analysis of federal lobbying disclosures — a more than 350% increase from the $19.3 million in federal lobbying revenue it earned in 2024.

No lobbying firm has ever cracked $80 million in federal revenue in one year until Ballard Partners did last year.

“We are exceptionally honored to be in the company of the many respected firms we have long admired. Our success is due to the tireless work of our partners and staff who go above and beyond every day to deliver results for our outstanding clients,” Brian Ballard, president of Ballard Partners, said in a statement to NOTUS.

Some on K Street are skeptical that a Trump-tied firm can sustain its momentum if Republicans lose control of the House or Senate later this year, and certainly, if they lose the White House in 2028.

But Ballard said the firm is “doggedly committed to growing a fiercely bipartisan firm that is built to thrive in Washington’s dynamic political environment for decades to come.”

Bipartisan firms have been able to absorb much of the shock of the transition from the Biden administration to Trump’s second term.

Several lobbying firms that thrived in 2025 are Republican-only, though.

CGCN, a Republican firm filled with former Trump administration alumni, nearly doubled its federal lobbying revenue from $9.7 million in 2024 to more than $18.9 million in 2025.

“We scaled CGCN during the Biden years by bringing in experienced Republican and Trump-era alumni — not for political reasons, but because of talent,” Sam Geduldig, managing partner at CGCN, told NOTUS.

“In a two-party system, power always shifts, and bringing in the best Republican talent has been our model for 20 years. We pair senior lobbyists and communicators so policy strategy and messaging are built together, and that approach continues to work,” Geduldig added.

CGCN has made a point of not taking on clients that are at odds with the Trump administration.

Clients in the crosshairs of the administration — from higher education in danger of losing funding to automakers staring down steep tariffs — have often turned to Ballard Partners and other Trump-connected firms such as Miller Strategies.

Miller Strategies, founded by Trump campaign bundler Jeff Miller, also saw a massive surge in revenue. The firm reported receiving more than $51.6 million last year, a 307% increase from $12.7 million in 2024.

And Checkmate Government Relations, founded by Ches McDowell, a close friend of Donald Trump Jr., raked in more than $21.9 million in federal lobbying revenue last year.

The firm signed its first client right after Trump was elected — CFG Financial Services hired Checkmate Government Relations three days after the election to lobby “to pass a program which ties in immigration investments and disaster relief funds” — and reported just $70,000 in federal lobbying revenue last year.

McDowell reportedly played a key role in securing the pardon of Binance founder Changpeng Zhao, who pleaded guilty in 2023 to violating federal anti-money-laundering laws.

A flourishing pardon economy has cropped up during Trump’s second term, with Trump associates including adviser Roger Stone and the president’s former bodyguard Keith Schiller registering to lobby for clients looking for clemency.

Neither Miller Strategies nor Checkmate Government Relations responded to requests for comment.

Continental Strategy, founded by Carlos Trujillo, who Trump appointed in 2017 as the U.S. permanent representative to the Organization of American States, saw revenue increase more than 1,400% from $1.8 million in 2024 to $27.4 million in 2025.

Then-Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump embraces then-Florida state Rep. Carlos Trujillo at a roundtable event on Sept. 27, 2016, in Miami. John Locher/AP

In a statement to NOTUS, Trujillo praised the president for creating “the most pro-growth, pro-American policy environment in a generation” and said “companies that want to invest in this country, create jobs, and build things are finally being met with a government that’s working with them, not against them.”

“The positive disruption President Trump brought to Washington is permanent, and the future of the Republican public policy in Washington, D.C. will be built on the foundation of success created by President Trump,” Trujillo continued.

Whether the power structures of K Street are permanently scrambled remains to be seen.

Some say lobbying has entered a new era, one more focused on populist politics and personality and the messages that will resonate with leaders like Trump, whose “America First” slogan is a kind of North Star for those looking to persuade him.

“What you’re seeing is the rise of elected officials that are impervious to traditional influence and lobbying,” one Republican lobbyist granted anonymity to speak candidly to maintain client relationships told NOTUS. “You have to be aligned on policy and understand their policy motivations.”

That doesn’t mean established firms haven’t been successful since Trump took office. But they have had to adapt.

While it’s no longer at the very top of the lobbying revenue table, Brownstein has continued to grow in a divided Washington. The firm’s federal lobbying revenue grew 9% from $67.8 million in 2024 to $73.6 million in 2025.

Lobbying giant BGR Group also had its best year yet, disclosing more than $71.5 million in revenue last year, a 59% increase from $45.1 million in 2024.

The firm has hired a number of lobbyists close to the Trump administration including campaign alum Nick Iarossi and prominent Capitol Hill Republicans such as Patrick McHenry, a former chair of the House Financial Services Committee.

Lobbying giant Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld also saw a 15% jump in revenue from $56.6 million in 2024 to $65.4 million in 2025.

Hunter Bates, Akin’s co-head of the lobbying and public-policy practice, called it “a standout year.”

“As clients turned to us in record numbers to navigate complex policy challenges across trade, tax, health care, and AI. We’re carrying that momentum into 2026 and continue to see exceptional demand for our team of high‑profile advisors, especially as tariff policies evolve,” Bates said in a statement.

S-3 Group, which merged this year with the tax-focused West Front Strategies, saw revenue surge 61% from $15 million in 2024 to $24.4 million in 2025.

Matt Bravo, a recently appointed managing partner, praised the firm’s “dynamic, battle-tested team that quickly adapted and expanded our capabilities to help our clients win amid this unprecedented new pace in Washington.”

While the flood of money into Washington raised — or at least steadied — most firms’ bottom lines, some took a hit. FTI Government Affairs, the lobbying arm of the consulting giant FTI Consulting, saw an 81% drop in federal lobbying revenue from $6.8 million in 2024 to $1.3 million in 2025.

FTI Government Affairs did not respond to a request for comment.