News: Will Dunham, a former top aide to former Speaker Kevin McCarthy, is the next president and CEO of the American Investment Council, the lobby for private equity firms.
Dunham is taking over for Drew Maloney, president and CEO of the Edison Electric Institute starting July 1.
Dunham was policy director to McCarthy, helping the California Republican notch several key bipartisan agreements. He is currently AIC’s executive vice president of government affairs.
AIC is a bit of a powerhouse lobby in Washington. Its board includes Wayne Berman of Blackstone, a longtime GOP powerbroker; Barrett Karr of Silver Lake, who served as McCarthy’s chief of staff; David Krone of Apollo, who was chief of staff to the late Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid; and Ken Mehlman of KKR, the former RNC chair and White House director of political affairs under George W. Bush.
Watchtower Party. Speaker Mike Johnson, House Majority Whip Tom Emmer and Senate Majority Whip John Barrasso all showed up to a summer reception at Ned’s Club for Watchtower Strategy, the public affairs firm run by McCarthy, Jeff Miller, Arthur Schwartz, Cliff Sims, Dan Conston and Brian Walsh.
Also in attendance: House Ways and Means Committee Chair Jason Smith (R-Mo.), House Judiciary Chair Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), House Financial Services Committee Chair French Hill (R-Ark.), Sens. Katie Britt (R-Ala.), Bill Hagerty (R-Tenn.), Dave McCormick (R-Pa.), Markwayne Mullin (R-Okla.), Tim Scott (R-S.C.), Rick Scott (R-Fla.) and Todd Young (R-Ind.).
Trump officials who attended included: Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, CIA Director John Ratcliffe, FBI Director Kash Patel, Education Secretary Linda McMahon, USTR Jamieson Greer, Army Secretary Daniel Driscoll, CMS Administrator Mehmet Oz, IRS Commissioner Billy Long and Taylor Budowich and Nick Luna of the White House.
Ad news: Unrig Our Economy is again going after Rep. Don Bacon (R-Neb.) on Medicaid.
A new ad, backed by a $500,000 buy, features a woman who runs a nonprofit organization in Omaha to help families in poverty.
“Don Bacon voted for the biggest cut to Medicaid in history to pay for tax breaks for billionaires,” the constituent says. “While families like the ones I work with cannot even afford the health care that they need.”
