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Reggie Babin, who was chief counsel to now Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, and Hunter Bates, ex-chief of staff to Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, are working to pave the way for Nippon Steel’s $14.9B takeover of United States Steel Corp.
Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld’s Babin and Bates are supported by Brian Pomper, who was lead trade counsel at the Senate Finance Committee.
Pennsylvania’s Senators Bob Casey and John Fetterman oppose the deal. Casey said the country's marquee steel company should remain under American ownership. The deal would be “bad for Pennsylvania and for Pennsylvania workers."
Fetterman, who lives across the street from USS’ Edgar Thompson plant in Braddock, called the takeover “outrageous” and a wrong move for workers and Pennsylvania.
Nippon claims the deal will strengthen the companies’ ability to meet the demand for high-growth steel in the US and globally. It promises to respect all collective bargaining agreements and maintain the USS name and HQ in Pittsburgh.
Teneo handles the US team for Nippon. The PR team includes Robert Mead, Americas chairman, and senior managing directors Monika Driscoll and Tucker Elcock.
Anthropic, the artificial intelligence company banned by Defense Secretary Hegseth, has hired Ballard Partners for DC representation.
The Qatar Foundation for Education, Science and Community Development enrolls Venable for government relations services.
Coinbase has hired Checkmate Government Relations, which has close ties to the Trump administration, to handle matters related to digital assets as the Senate works on the Clarity Act.
Peter Thiel-backed Palantir Technologies has added Democratic firm Ferox Strategies to its DC lobbying line-up to handle data analytics and technology issues.
Former congressmen Joe Crowley (D-NY) and Jeff Denham (R-CA) have signed on to handle the “new” TikTok on issues related to internet technology and learning-enabled platforms.
