Lobbying revenues soared in Trump's first year, breaking records for top firms

By David Thomas

Jan 21 (Reuters) - President Donald Trump's "big, beautiful" tax-and-spend legislation, a six-week federal government shutdown and executive actions on trade, healthcare and other policies helped make 2025 a record-breaking year for federal lobbying revenue for several top U.S. firms.

It was an especially big year for Florida-founded lobbying firm Ballard Partners. The firm, which previously employed U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi, said on Wednesday that it grew its lobbying revenue by 300% in 2025 to $88.3 million. The previous single-year record for an individual firm was $67.8 million, according to nonprofit research group OpenSecrets.

Ballard's president Brian Ballard, who was a top Florida fundraiser for Trump during the 2016 election, said in a statement they are "doggedly committed to growing a fiercely bipartisan firm that is built to thrive in Washington’s dynamic political environment for decades to come.”

Firms are required to report revenue from federal government lobbying each quarter under the Lobbying Disclosure Act. Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck, BGR Group, Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld, Cornerstone, Holland & Knight and Hogan Lovells also reported their highest-ever revenues for 2025.

Brownstein said it brought in $73.8 million in 2025, followed by BGR Group with $71.4 million.

"When President Trump got elected, Washington truly became the center of the universe again," said Hunter Bates, who co-chairs Akin's lobbying and public policy practice. "Whenever Washington is the center of the universe, people look to firms like ours to help them understand what’s happening." Akin reported $65.3 million in lobbying revenue in 2025.

The so-called "one big, beautiful bill," which made the 2017 tax cuts permanent, delivered new breaks and was projected to add about $3.8 trillion to the federal debt, dominated the first half of the year, lobbyists told Reuters. Six months after its enactment in July, lobbyists said they are still advocating to the administration and Congress on how the law should be implemented.

Artificial intelligence, including how action by the Trump administration and Congress could affect it, is also a big driver of work, said Nadeam Elshami, a policy director at Brownstein.

"AI touches every sector of the economy. It’s practically discussed on every client call, no matter who the client is," Elshami said.

Lobbyists said they expect 2026 to remain busy, pointing to client activity related to the U.S. ouster of long-time Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro and Trump's demands for control of Greenland. Akin on Wednesday held a webinar on Venezuela that had nearly 1,000 RSVPs, Bates said.

Clients want to know the opportunities and risks any time "the situation on the ground starts changing," said Paul Stimers, a partner at Holland & Knight. Holland & Knight said it brought in $54.6 million in lobbying revenue, while Cornerstone and K&L Gates reported $55.6 million and $20.7 million respectively. Hogan Lovells reported $16.1 million in lobbying revenue.

Companies, trade groups and other entities have continuously spent more money on lobbying since 2016, according to OpenSecrets. In 2024, companies spent more than $4.45 billion to lobby Congress and federal agencies.