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Learning how to lobby Trump

Learning how to lobby Trump

‘Era of disruption' requires new tactics; subcabinet posts still need filling

Industry associations remain optimistic that the Trump administration and GOP-led Congress will deliver on promises to overhaul health care, taxes and regulation, but some still are feeling their way in a new lobbying environment that poses challenges to members.

"This is advocacy in an era of disruption, and we're learning as we go," said David French, senior vice president for government relations at the $58 million-revenue National Retail Federation. "The old playbook may not always apply."

On one hand, the administration's overall approach is supremely business friendly, and lobbyists say it actively solicits input from industry on economic policy. President Donald Trump also seems to respond well to in-person entreaties—especially from business titans—and is reachable through targeted TV and online ads.

On the other hand, hundreds of key sub-cabinet appointments requiring Senate approval have yet to be made, leaving associations frustrated and scrambling to find out who to talk to. Major groups also have strategies in place to respond to potentially negative tweets from the president.

Further, Trump and congressional Republicans have key differences that go beyond the failure to agree on health care overhaul. Trump's insistence on money for his promised border wall caused concerns about a potential government shutdown. (Update: On April 28, the House and Senate passed a stopgap funding bill). Nor do the White House and Congress see eye to eye on a proposed border adjustment tax favored by House leaders.

But business lobbies that accused President Barack Obama of damping economic activity say they welcome the change in tone under Trump and are focused on positive potential outcomes. Several prominent association lobbyists were notably unwilling to sound critical of the president or to comment on reports of which advisers are gaining the upper hand.

"The fact that we're having a meaningful conversation about comprehensive long-term tax reform with the goal of driving economic growth and job creation, instead of beginning the conversation with the goal of raising revenue and increasing taxes by $1.2 trillion is a huge shift," said Aric Newhouse, senior vice president of policy and government relations at the $63 million-revenue National Association of Manufacturers.

Subpar subcabinet staffing
Still, the staffing shortfall is complicating advocacy for groups with a heavy regulatory agenda, and causing some to reach out directly to the White House.

"The biggest issue right now is the lack of appointees in the agencies as well as in the White House. We don't even know where to go," said Susan Asmus, senior vice president of regulatory affairs at the $96 million-revenue National Association of Home Builders.

"With all the uncertainty within the Trump White House just in terms of how he's going to address anything or who he's going to hand something off to … we're making lots of crazy phone calls trying to get just the right person," she said.

"We send a lot of stuff directly to the White House, which is not normal protocol, and just saying, ‘Can you help us get around things?' We've been able to get to the agencies that way," Asmus said. "On some other issues we're just in a holding pattern."

NAHB sued the Obama administration EPA on clean water rules, and would like to settle the litigation on favorable terms under Trump—but the lack of top staffing at the agency creates uncertainty, she said.

The $5-million revenue Hearth, Patio & Barbecue Association also has pending environmental litigation it would like to settle, said Manager of Government Affairs Rachel Feinstein.

"The delay in approving and putting in place those picks is starting to seriously impact regulatory reform efforts," she said.

"Without those decision-makers in place, the EPA and other agencies and even Congress are put in a difficult position because there's some confusion on how to best achieve the president's overall policy goals," Feinstein said.

Not all potential GOP policies would be favorable to all businesses, and NRF's French said his association is fighting one of the biggest battles in Washington right now as it tries to forestall a border adjustment tax, seen by some, particularly House Speaker Paul Ryan and Ways and Means Chair Kevin Brady of Texas, as a way to help lower overall corporate tax rates.

NRF has taken its battle to the airwaves with parody TV ads mocking the BAT—and has targeted the ads at the president on shows like "Fox & Friends," which Trump is known to watch, and in locations he frequents, including New York City, Washington, D.C., and Palm Beach, Fla. (home of Mar-a-Lago). Trump in the past has called BAT a "bad deal," but it is central to the House GOP tax overhaul plan.

‘Breath of fresh air'
But French said his interactions with the administration have been overwhelmingly positive, calling it a "breath of fresh air."

It's a sentiment expressed by many business groups, including the $95 million-revenue National Restaurant Association, the $79 million-revenue American Beverage Association and NAM.

Trump changed his negative tune on the Export-Import Bank after a meeting with the former CEO of Boeing, a large NAM member. Erin Streeter, senior vice president of communications at NAM, declined to comment on whether the group had helped arrange the meeting. But she and Newhouse said the administration welcomed business input.

"The president has made very clear that he wants to spend time with the manufacturing community," Newhouse said, adding that NAM members have met with Trump twice since he's been in office.

Trump cabinet appointments also have been welcomed by business groups—with ABA praising Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price.

Kevin Keane, EVP of government and public affairs at ABA, said the Trump administration is a "more receptive audience" than its predecessor. ABA members are "American companies who make American beverages in America with American workers in America's hometowns," Keane said, unsubtly summarizing the group's appeal to the administration.

He called Price "an outstanding leader"—and expressed hope that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (part of HHS) will stop providing funds to states and localities that use the money to run ads that he said single out sugary drinks as the villain in efforts against obesity.

"We want to make sure there's fairness in how money gets allocated and that we don't have money going to places with a biased mode of attack on one product. CDC would send out money to states and cities and then they would run these very inaccurate and distorted ad campaigns just attacking our beverages," he said.

Tweeter-in-chief
NAM and the NRA, among many others, are targeting Trump with Twitter and online ads—Streeter says NAM's advocacy strategy is "digital first," and has been for about a year.

"On inauguration day, we created #yourehired and we had a video aimed at the president (featuring a facility Trump had visited on the campaign trail) and the administration saw it," Streeter said.

"(Social media) is a tool that we're using very proactively and very strategically with very specific messages aimed at this White House," she said.

NRA even is using "geofencing"—by which ads can be directed to smartphone users in specific geographic areas.

"We've taken some very targeted approaches to getting our messages out around the White House or Capitol Hill or to various audiences," said Cicely Simpson, EVP of government affairs and policy at NRA.

The group is expanding its social media efforts, and new Senior Vice President of Communications Steve Danon, who joined the group in September, was chosen in part for his background in that area.

Of course, social media is a two-edged sword. The president's use of Twitter is as unpredictable as it is avid, and he has in the past singled out individual companies for criticism (even manufacturers).

NAM, NRF and NRA all said they had strategies in place to respond to unwelcome tweets.

"It's a conversation we have had with our member companies," Simpson said. "It's not only a concern, it's an opportunity, so as we enhance our digital advocacy, as we advance our social media listening tools on behalf of our members, certainly that's top of mind for them and that's a member service we provide—if that ever happens to one of our companies, we are going to support them."