On this episode of The Lobby Shop, co-host Paul Nathanson moderates a conversation with co-hosts Liam Donovan and Dylan Pasiuk. They discuss initial reactions to President Biden's final State of the Union prior to the November Presidential election, Biden's decision to open the speech with foreign policy, and how President Biden used this opportunity to both energize Democratic voters and spar with Republicans in the House Chamber. The group then turns to policy implications in the speech for the business community.
On this episode of The Lobby Shop, co-host Caitlin Sickles moderates a quick conversation with co-hosts Liam Donovan and Josh Zive. The trio tackle the important policy issues from appropriations to national security currently tied up in the legislative morass. But when compromise is a political killer, how do Members find common ground? Then, the group turns their attention to South Carolina where Nikki Haley hopes for a strong performance against Former President Trump and possibly looks to a post-Trump future.
We welcome an old friend and a new co-host to the podcast this week! Former Bracewell colleague John Lee, now Chief of Staff to Rep. Nikki Budzinski (D-IL), joins the team to discuss his path from Bracewell/PRG to leading a Congressional staff, what it’s like to be lobbied now that he sits on the other side of the table (including the dos and don’ts), and his advice to young professionals moving from the private sector to Capitol Hill. John also provides an insider’s view of recent dramatic votes in the House. The episode also marks the debut of a new Lobby Shop co-host, PRG Principal Dylan Pasiuk. Welcome Dylan!
The group is seeing double this week when another tax policy expert joins the studio to talk about the tax bill that’s on everyone’s mind in Washington. Omar Nashashibi, lobbyist and founding partner of The Franklin Partnership, joins The Lobby Shop’s Liam Donovan to swap insights and analysis of the bicameral tax framework and share speculation about what comes next. This episode is also a worlds collide moment for TLS hosts Caitlin Sickles and Paul Nathanson who also co-host a biweekly podcast, Talking with One Voice (supported by the National Tooling and Machining Association and the Precision Metalforming Association) with Omar and his colleague John Guzik. Caitlin, Paul, and Josh ask Omar questions about the tax framework’s implications for manufacturers and talk about advocating for small business in a crowded Washington policy landscape.
On the first episode of 2024, hosts Liam Donovan, Caitlin Sickles, and Paul Nathanson welcome back President & Executive Director of bipartisan political organization FWD.US, Todd Schulte, five years since his first appearance on the show. They discuss the border crisis, the status of ongoing Congressional negotiations, and the complicated political dynamics at play. They also touch on the impact of worker shortages on the business community, and how immigration policy stands to factor into the upcoming presidential election. Make sure to tune in to this first episode of 2024!
With the calendar year coming to an end, Paul Nathanson and Liam Donovan get together to discuss the state of play of Congress and the legislative challenges that will be dealt with before the year ends and which will be left to deal with in the new year. They start with the never-ending appropriations negotiations, the role of the Speaker in these talks, and whether or not he is making an impact. They then question if any bills are going to make it through to a vote before the holiday recess and if the lack of a hard December deadline has anything to do with the tense gridlock. Finally, with the Iowa Caucus less than a month away, they chat about the upcoming presidential election and prepare for the chokehold it is going to have on most of the political focus for 2024.
RCP's Sean Trende is back to discuss his latest piece, a reminder that the former President is better positioned to win not just this cycle, but ever. The gang breaks down what it means to say "Trump can win," and why it draws such a heated response.
Josh, Paul, and Liam break down Tuesday's election results with Split Ticket partner Lakshya Jain. They gang discuss the process that yielded that site's deadeye accuracy, Lakshya's takeaways from the off-year campaign, and what these results can tell us about the 2024 election.
Josh, Paul, Caitlin, and Liam sit down with Mike Warren, Senior Editor of The Dispatch, to discuss Speaker Mike Johnson’s first two weeks, the return of Steve Bannon as a MAGA svengali, and the struggles of GOP primary challengers to break through against former President Trump.
Liam and Josh are once again joined by PRG Senior Counsel and Capitol Hill expert Joe Brazauskas to close out the democracy-induced chaos that was the process of electing a new Speaker of the House. They chat about how we came to the Johnson conclusion and what this new leader of the House should be looking out for in the short and long term.
Paul and Liam are joined by PRG Senior Counsel and Capitol Hill veteran Joe Brazauskas to discuss the ongoing dysfunction in the House as Republicans seek a path forward to elect a Speaker.
We tracked Liam down between media interviews to get his take on the historic vote last night that ousted Speaker McCarthy. Liam, Josh, and Paul discuss the tensions within the GOP and with Democrats leading up to the vote, who has put their hat in the ring to be the next Speaker, and what this all means for issues such as funding for Ukraine.
Josh Zive and Caitlin Sickles sit down with Lobby Shop co-host, Republican strategist, and political insider Liam Donovan to talk about how Congress narrowly avoided a shutdown disaster … for now. Liam previews what will happen next as Speaker McCarthy faces challenges to his leadership from his own party. And the group considers how the whole cycle is set to repeat when government funding is slated to run out again … in just 45 days.
With vacations coming to an end and kids going back to school, Paul Nathanson, Joe Brazauskas, and Liam Donovan take a look at what's on the House and Senate to do list when Congress returns from its summer recess. Issue one will be trying to avoid a government shut down, and the team discusses the ongoing appropriations battles and House Freedom Caucus demands. Tune in to also hear some initial thoughts on the state of the 2024 race for the GOP presidential nomination.
It's our most popular episode of the year- catching up with our PRG Summer interns! Paul, Caitlin, and Josh, chat with our five amazing interns Anum, Emma, Margaret, Maxim, and Rio about their experiences in the PRG offices this summer. Great insights and tips about how to maximize Washington, DC internships and we also learn what the group really talked about in the internal intern chat 😮. Tune in now!
The Lobby Shop team is joined by guest David Lynch, Global Economics Correspondent for the Washington Post, who is just back from China where he covered US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellin’s meetings with China’s new economic leaders. The team first discusses with David his reporting on new indicators about the state of the global economy and then turn to Yellin’s meetings in Beijing and if the visit met even the modest goals set by the Biden Administration. The conversation then turns to the view from Capitol Hill on US-China relations and the state of President Biden’s efforts to secure supply chains and boost domestic manufacturing. Plus, the team couldn’t let David get away without his take on baseball’s new pitch clock.
Paul and Caitlin are joined by friend of the podcast and third time guest, Alexander Kravtsov, a strategic communications consultant and founder of the public affairs firm Nexus Eurasia. Alexander, a Russian native now residing in Europe and the United States, gives his perspective on the 24-hour coup led by Yevgeny Prigozhin, and his private military company, the Wagner Group. The team discusses Prigozhin’s past, the reasons he rebelled and why it was resolved quickly, and the implications for Russia… and Ukraine.
Josh, Caitlin, Paul, and Liam discuss the latest on the high stakes negotiations on raising the debt ceiling. We then replay our earlier conversation with Rep. McCarthy's new Chief of Staff, Machalagh Carr.
The Lobby Shop team is joined by special guest Machalagh Carr, General Counsel to Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy. Bracewell guest host Joseph Brazauskas joins as we discuss with Machalagh the Speaker's views of, and priorities for, congressional oversight and changes on how investigations are conducted under the new House leadership, the role and purpose of new House committees and other topics (including Joe's collection of Wendell Wilkie pins!).
The Lobby Shop team is joined by friend the pod Haley Byrd Wilt from The Dispatch who helps break down what to expect from the newly organized 118th Congress. The gang discusses Haley’s reporting on the powerful Rules Committee, the new Select Committee on China Competition, and Liam and Haley’s conversation with the New York Times’ Ross Douthat on the simmering debt limit fight.
We welcome back to the podcast Myron Wasylyk, a Ukraine-based energy advisor and communication expert who we last interviewed just before the Russian invasion of Ukraine. On the first day of the war, Myron, a Ukrainian-American who has lived in Kyiv for three decades, evacuated his family to Western Ukraine. Myron and his family recently moved back to Kyiv. We spoke to him about what it’s like living in a city under attack by drones and missiles, the resilience of the Ukrainian people, Ukraine perception of the Beltway debates on continued US military aid, the energy supply situation in Ukraine and the prospects for an end of the war in the coming year.
Josh and Liam break down the ongoing stalemate over the election of the next Speaker of the House, and the delayed start to the 118th Congress.
Now that the mid-terms are officially over with the Georgia run-off, The Lobby Shop team gathers to get inside Liam Donovan’s brain. We discuss with the Professor of Punditry why there was no red wave, the implications of a GOP-controlled House and the Dems controlling the Senate, the impact of a certain former President, and how the results impact the current lame duck session of Congress and the Biden agenda.
A special Election Day edition of The Lobby Shop! Host Liam Donovan brings you one final PRG Pulse Check for the midterms, as he breaks down the state of play as Americans head to the polls. Liam explores the GOP leaning House, the Senate teetering on a knife's edge, and the bellwethers to watch in what is sure to be a drawn out aftermath. Finally, make sure to tune into PRG's post-election webinar tomorrow at 1130am ET to see what it all means for the policy landscape.
In the latest edition of PRG’s Pulse coverage of the midterm battlegrounds, former Toomey for Senate campaign manager Peter Towey of GOP consulting firm Targeted Victory joins The Lobby Shop team for a Pulse Check on a state both parties have homed in on as the tipping point of the Senate majority. Towey breaks down the state of the race, explains the late resurgence of Dr. Oz, and tracks Pennsylvania's shift from Blue Wall stalwart to pure bellwether. The gang talks debate expectations, ticket splitting, and pinning down undecided voters with a seasoned pro who has run and won federal races throughout PA for more than a decade.