In the News
Trump DOE Vet Heads Downtown
The outsider Democrat making the case for 2028
Former New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu joins On The Road with Jonathan Martin at Mosca’s Restaurant for a conversation on Trump, Democrats’ future, 2028 speculation and what he says it will take to rebuild trust in American institutions.
FIRST IN PI — TRUMP DOE OFFICIAL HEADS DOWNTOWN: A veteran of both Trump Energy Departments has left the administration to join S2R, the public affairs firm founded last year by a trio of former NRSC strategists.
— Shawn Affolter has joined the firm as a senior vice president where he will register to lobby, initially on behalf of the firm’s energy-sector clients. Until last month, Affolter was the principal deputy assistant secretary for congressional and intergovernmental affairs at DOE, where he helped manage the department’s interactions with Congress as well as state, local and tribal partners. During his first tour of duty at DOE, Affolter served for more than two years as the deputy assistant secretary for Senate affairs. Previous to that, Affolter worked for Sen. John Hoeven (R-N.D.), who sits on the Senate Energy Committee.
— Affolter’s departure comes at a critical time in the energy sector, which has endeavored to find sufficient methods of energy generation to power data centers central to President Donald Trump’s vision of American AI dominance.
“Demonstrating American energy affordability, reliability, and security will continue to be the lens in which policymakers and the public measure results,” Affolter wrote in an email to PI regarding the administration’s approach to energy policy. “The confluence of re-industrialization, AI data centers, advanced manufacturing, upgrading aging infrastructure, and geopolitics make this a defining time. These are big, weighty topics, but there remains a through line back to the kitchen table affordability concerns of everyday Americans.”
— War in Iran has contributed to rising oil prices, which has become a major concern at the White House, our colleague Ben Lefebvre reported today. Affolter expects to see a heightened focus going forward on how energy policy relates to national security, particularly when it comes to supply chain security, he said.
— “Identifying ongoing vulnerabilities, closing those gaps, accelerating investments, and scaling up our domestic capabilities in partnership with our allies will continue to be the name of the game,” he wrote.
— Affolter is just the latest addition to S2R, which opened its doors in Alexandria last year. Founders Jason Thielman, Tim Edson and Brock Lowrance started the firm after helping to make the Senate red in the 2024 elections.
A message from Booz Allen:
AI-powered cyber threats can create chaos in seconds. To close this speed gap, Booz Allen built Vellox—an AI-native cyber product suite. Trained on adversary tradecraft by elite cyber operators, Vellox identifies threats early, enabling security teams to move quickly from early warning signs to decisive action and stop attacks before they spread. See how we’re fighting AI with AI.
NEW HEADACHE FOR TIKTOK: Two Alphabet and Meta shareholders filed a lawsuit today asking a federal court to declare that TikTok USDS Joint Venture, the new majority-U.S. owned version of TikTok that retains some ownership by Chinese-owned ByteDance, does not comply with the requirements of the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act (aka the TikTok ban law) and that Attorney General Pam Bondi violated the law by failing to investigate the sale.
— The lawsuit, filed on the shareholders’ behalf by the Public Integrity Project, also accuses the president of violating the law by issuing executive orders extending the original January 2025 deadline for a sale of the app’s U.S. operations by more than a year. The president ultimately approved a sale to a coalition that included companies like Oracle, MGX, Susquehanna International Group and General Atlantic — companies that “directly or through their leaders, contributed millions to the President’s political projects or invested billions in his personal businesses,” the complaint states.
— “In turn, President Trump’s approval of the TikTok sale has enriched these companies and executives. These firms bought TikTok for just $14 billion. ByteDance itself is worth $300 billion, and analysts valued the sale of TikTok’s U.S. operations at $40-$50 billion,” the complaint alleges.
— The Public Integrity Project, which describes itself in a press release as “a new law firm founded to combat public corruption,” is led by former Justice Department prosecutor Brendan Ballou. The Justice Department declined to comment. TikTok USDS did not respond to a request for comment.
H&K GOES GEOPOLITICAL: Holland & Knight has announced the launch of a market and geopolitical advisory initiative focused on guiding clients through geopolitical uncertainty, making it the latest firm seeking to capitalize on the volatile start to 2026.
— The new initiative seeks to combine the firm’s legal, advisory and government affairs offerings and will span all Holland & Knight offices and practice groups.
— “Anchored in Latin America — where the firm has decades of experience and is well-positioned to assist clients in Cuba, Venezuela, Guyana, Suriname and the Greater Caribbean— the platform is built to scale across the Western Hemisphere, Europe, Asia, the Middle East and other key markets,” the firm said in a press release.
CAN IT: Members of the Can Manufacturers Institute were in Washington today to advocate for targeted tariff relief on tinplate steel, the type of steel that’s used in the production of most canned food items.
— CMI members visited the Hill and met with Trump administration officials to advocate for relief from the 50 percent steel tariff imposed by the administration last year. That policy was implemented under a different tariff authority than the one recently struck down by the Supreme Court and remains in effect.
CONTINENTAL MEETS MESSI: International soccer star Lionel Messi and Inter Miami visited the White House today to celebrate their 2025 MLS Cup win in an event that brought out multiple Cabinet secretaries including, in Trump’s words, “proud Miami sports fan” Marco Rubio. Also joining the festivities was Continental Strategy President Carlos Trujillo, who counts Inter Miami as a client and helped facilitate the visit, per a tipster.
TELL US HOW YOU REALLY FEEL: Former Trump campaign co-manager Chris LaCivita isn’t being shy about his feelings regarding yesterday’s news that Democrat-run Precision Strategies had acquired Firehouse Strategies, the shop founded by veterans of Marco Rubio’s 2016 campaign.
— “Bi-partisan my ass,” LaCivita wrote in a Wednesday night X post regarding the news. “Only in Washington could a firm run by Biden/Harris Democrats and self loathing Trump Hating Republicans be celebrated - hire these guys and you’ll get what you pay for !”
ICYMI: Anti-dark money crusader Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) on Wednesday reintroduced the DISCLOSE Act, a bill aimed at boosting transparency in political spending and prohibiting techniques currently used to hide the identities of major donors.
— Whitehouse has introduced a version of the bill multiple times. This latest version has been updated for modern times and includes new language that, among other changes, would require disclosure of political spending on social media influencers.
A message from Booz Allen:
Cyber threats move fast and create chaos in seconds. Organizations need to regain control. Vellox—an AI-native cyber product suite from Booz Allen—enables security teams to identify threats early and stop attacks before they spread. By moving from early warning signs to decisive action in seconds, Vellox defends critical systems and gives teams greater control when it matters most. See how we’re fighting AI with AI.
Jobs report
— Alex Bond has joined Baker Botts as special counsel. He most recently served as executive director of legal and clean energy policy at the Edison Electric Institute.
— Cynthia Cortina has joined Tower Strategy as a partner. She most recently served as deputy assistant secretary for public engagement at the Energy Department and previously worked on the 2024 Trump campaign.
— Samantha Carl-Yoder, co-chair of Brownstein’s international and critical minerals practices, has been appointed to the board of directors of Ivanhoe Atlantic.
— Allie Raffa has joined Seven Letter as a senior director. She most recently served as the founder and principal of Atlas Media Group and previously worked as a correspondent for NBC News.
— The American Medical Manufacturers Association announced Tom Allen, president of Altor Safety, as the group’s new president. He is joined on the newly elected board of directors by Donny Chan of Maxter Healthcare Inc., Doug Wynalda of Wynalda Packaging, Alan Rust of SafeSource Direct, Michelle Feinberg of the New York Embroidery Studio and Dan Adams of American Armor.
Former New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu joins On The Road with Jonathan Martin at Mosca’s Restaurant for a conversation on Trump, Democrats’ future, 2028 speculation and what he says it will take to rebuild trust in American institutions.
FIRST IN PI — TRUMP DOE OFFICIAL HEADS DOWNTOWN: A veteran of both Trump Energy Departments has left the administration to join S2R, the public affairs firm founded last year by a trio of former NRSC strategists.
— Shawn Affolter has joined the firm as a senior vice president where he will register to lobby, initially on behalf of the firm’s energy-sector clients. Until last month, Affolter was the principal deputy assistant secretary for congressional and intergovernmental affairs at DOE, where he helped manage the department’s interactions with Congress as well as state, local and tribal partners. During his first tour of duty at DOE, Affolter served for more than two years as the deputy assistant secretary for Senate affairs. Previous to that, Affolter worked for Sen. John Hoeven (R-N.D.), who sits on the Senate Energy Committee.
— Affolter’s departure comes at a critical time in the energy sector, which has endeavored to find sufficient methods of energy generation to power data centers central to President Donald Trump’s vision of American AI dominance.
“Demonstrating American energy affordability, reliability, and security will continue to be the lens in which policymakers and the public measure results,” Affolter wrote in an email to PI regarding the administration’s approach to energy policy. “The confluence of re-industrialization, AI data centers, advanced manufacturing, upgrading aging infrastructure, and geopolitics make this a defining time. These are big, weighty topics, but there remains a through line back to the kitchen table affordability concerns of everyday Americans.”
— War in Iran has contributed to rising oil prices, which has become a major concern at the White House, our colleague Ben Lefebvre reported today. Affolter expects to see a heightened focus going forward on how energy policy relates to national security, particularly when it comes to supply chain security, he said.
— “Identifying ongoing vulnerabilities, closing those gaps, accelerating investments, and scaling up our domestic capabilities in partnership with our allies will continue to be the name of the game,” he wrote.
— Affolter is just the latest addition to S2R, which opened its doors in Alexandria last year. Founders Jason Thielman, Tim Edson and Brock Lowrance started the firm after helping to make the Senate red in the 2024 elections.
A message from Booz Allen:
AI-powered cyber threats can create chaos in seconds. To close this speed gap, Booz Allen built Vellox—an AI-native cyber product suite. Trained on adversary tradecraft by elite cyber operators, Vellox identifies threats early, enabling security teams to move quickly from early warning signs to decisive action and stop attacks before they spread. See how we’re fighting AI with AI.
NEW HEADACHE FOR TIKTOK: Two Alphabet and Meta shareholders filed a lawsuit today asking a federal court to declare that TikTok USDS Joint Venture, the new majority-U.S. owned version of TikTok that retains some ownership by Chinese-owned ByteDance, does not comply with the requirements of the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act (aka the TikTok ban law) and that Attorney General Pam Bondi violated the law by failing to investigate the sale.
— The lawsuit, filed on the shareholders’ behalf by the Public Integrity Project, also accuses the president of violating the law by issuing executive orders extending the original January 2025 deadline for a sale of the app’s U.S. operations by more than a year. The president ultimately approved a sale to a coalition that included companies like Oracle, MGX, Susquehanna International Group and General Atlantic — companies that “directly or through their leaders, contributed millions to the President’s political projects or invested billions in his personal businesses,” the complaint states.
— “In turn, President Trump’s approval of the TikTok sale has enriched these companies and executives. These firms bought TikTok for just $14 billion. ByteDance itself is worth $300 billion, and analysts valued the sale of TikTok’s U.S. operations at $40-$50 billion,” the complaint alleges.
— The Public Integrity Project, which describes itself in a press release as “a new law firm founded to combat public corruption,” is led by former Justice Department prosecutor Brendan Ballou. The Justice Department declined to comment. TikTok USDS did not respond to a request for comment.
H&K GOES GEOPOLITICAL: Holland & Knight has announced the launch of a market and geopolitical advisory initiative focused on guiding clients through geopolitical uncertainty, making it the latest firm seeking to capitalize on the volatile start to 2026.
— The new initiative seeks to combine the firm’s legal, advisory and government affairs offerings and will span all Holland & Knight offices and practice groups.
— “Anchored in Latin America — where the firm has decades of experience and is well-positioned to assist clients in Cuba, Venezuela, Guyana, Suriname and the Greater Caribbean— the platform is built to scale across the Western Hemisphere, Europe, Asia, the Middle East and other key markets,” the firm said in a press release.
CAN IT: Members of the Can Manufacturers Institute were in Washington today to advocate for targeted tariff relief on tinplate steel, the type of steel that’s used in the production of most canned food items.
— CMI members visited the Hill and met with Trump administration officials to advocate for relief from the 50 percent steel tariff imposed by the administration last year. That policy was implemented under a different tariff authority than the one recently struck down by the Supreme Court and remains in effect.
CONTINENTAL MEETS MESSI: International soccer star Lionel Messi and Inter Miami visited the White House today to celebrate their 2025 MLS Cup win in an event that brought out multiple Cabinet secretaries including, in Trump’s words, “proud Miami sports fan” Marco Rubio. Also joining the festivities was Continental Strategy President Carlos Trujillo, who counts Inter Miami as a client and helped facilitate the visit, per a tipster.
TELL US HOW YOU REALLY FEEL: Former Trump campaign co-manager Chris LaCivita isn’t being shy about his feelings regarding yesterday’s news that Democrat-run Precision Strategies had acquired Firehouse Strategies, the shop founded by veterans of Marco Rubio’s 2016 campaign.
— “Bi-partisan my ass,” LaCivita wrote in a Wednesday night X post regarding the news. “Only in Washington could a firm run by Biden/Harris Democrats and self loathing Trump Hating Republicans be celebrated - hire these guys and you’ll get what you pay for !”
ICYMI: Anti-dark money crusader Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) on Wednesday reintroduced the DISCLOSE Act, a bill aimed at boosting transparency in political spending and prohibiting techniques currently used to hide the identities of major donors.
— Whitehouse has introduced a version of the bill multiple times. This latest version has been updated for modern times and includes new language that, among other changes, would require disclosure of political spending on social media influencers.
A message from Booz Allen:
Cyber threats move fast and create chaos in seconds. Organizations need to regain control. Vellox—an AI-native cyber product suite from Booz Allen—enables security teams to identify threats early and stop attacks before they spread. By moving from early warning signs to decisive action in seconds, Vellox defends critical systems and gives teams greater control when it matters most. See how we’re fighting AI with AI.
Jobs report
— Alex Bond has joined Baker Botts as special counsel. He most recently served as executive director of legal and clean energy policy at the Edison Electric Institute.
— Cynthia Cortina has joined Tower Strategy as a partner. She most recently served as deputy assistant secretary for public engagement at the Energy Department and previously worked on the 2024 Trump campaign.
— Samantha Carl-Yoder, co-chair of Brownstein’s international and critical minerals practices, has been appointed to the board of directors of Ivanhoe Atlantic.
— Allie Raffa has joined Seven Letter as a senior director. She most recently served as the founder and principal of Atlas Media Group and previously worked as a correspondent for NBC News.
— The American Medical Manufacturers Association announced Tom Allen, president of Altor Safety, as the group’s new president. He is joined on the newly elected board of directors by Donny Chan of Maxter Healthcare Inc., Doug Wynalda of Wynalda Packaging, Alan Rust of SafeSource Direct, Michelle Feinberg of the New York Embroidery Studio and Dan Adams of American Armor.