Former Speaker Kevin McCarthy is launching a new public affairs firm with five close political allies, an entity that is sure to become an instant player in corporate circles.
McCarthy, Jeff Miller, Dan Conston, Arthur Schwartz, Cliff Sims and Brian O. Walsh are launching Watchtower Strategy. McCarthy will chair the firm and Conston, the longtime former president of the Congressional Leadership Fund, will be the CEO.
Miller is the founder of Miller Strategies and arguably the GOP’s top fundraiser. Schwartz, a close ally of Vice President JD Vance and political adviser to Donald Trump Jr., just finished running the confirmation process for Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. Sims worked in the first Trump administration as deputy director of national intelligence and helped run John Ratcliffe’s confirmation as CIA director. And Walsh is a GOP ad maker who ran America First and CLF.
Watchtower Strategy aims to specialize in strategy, which includes C-suite consulting and corporate political positioning, crisis communications and advocacy campaigns.
As evidenced by last week, corporations could have a rough go of it during President Donald Trump’s tenure in the White House. And public affairs firms will be in high demand.
Watchtower has experience on Capitol Hill (McCarthy and Conston), the administration (Sims), media (Schwartz) and campaigns (Walsh).
McCarthy also serves on several corporate boards: C3 AI and Anivive Lifesciences.
The firm won’t be engaged in any lobbying.
