Washington Examiner Quotes Hunter Bates on 2017 Increase in Lobbying Activity

Hunter Bates, co-head of the public law and policy practice at Akin Gump, has been quoted by the Washington Examiner in the article “Lobbying money spikes under President Trump,” which reports on an increase in lobbying spending in 2017.

Bates said businesses are more enthusiastic about the political process because Republican control of two branches of government represents an opportunity to push a business-friendly agenda.

“The biggest change we’ve seen since the November election is not that the business community is engaging, it’s that the business community is moving from defense to offense,” he said. “For the past eight years, most businesses woke up every day and tried to figure out how they could mitigate the negative things the government was pushing out. With the election of President Trump, and with Republicans controlling the House and Senate, the business community has moved to offense, where they can look to try to put points on the board to grow the economy.”

Bates, a former Chief of Staff to Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell, added that the slow pace of legislation so far is due to the slim Republican majority in the Senate, but that businesses recognize they have a real chance to advance their issues. He said, “The fact that there is such an opportunity to get things moving is a reason why companies can’t afford to not be on the playing field.”