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Trump-connected Ballard Partners has agreed to represent Chinese video app TikTok.
President Joe Biden signed a bill into law on April 24 requiring TikTok owner, Bytedance, to divest the video app within a year, or face a ban in the US.
The move follows Congressional concerns over Bytedance’s close ties with the Chinese Communist Party, and the potential of TikTok to hoover up the data of American users.
Donald Trump, who championed TikTok’s split from Bytedance, now opposes the divestiture because he claims it would benefit Facebook, which he calls “the enemy of the people.”
His flip-flop also may have been influenced by news that the investment firm of billionaire Jeff Yass, a Republican mega-donor, owns a 15 percent stake in Bytedance.
Brian Ballard, a top Trump fundraiser in Florida, heads his firm’s TikTok team.
Dan McFaul, aide to Florida Congressmen Joe Scarborough and Matt Gaetz; Michael LaRosa, advisor to Speaker Nancy Pelosi; and Stephen Klopp, deputy assistant sergeant at arms at the Senate, round out the Ballard TikTok squad.
DGA Group represents Acelen Renewables, a Brazilian firm focused on accelerating the global transition to renewable fuels produced from 100 percent sustainable and innovative feedstocks.
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Scott Weaver, who co-founded advocacy and consulting firm HSA Strategies in 2022, comes to Nexstar Media Group as SVP of government relations, effective Sept. 5.
Klein/Johnson Group reps the Alliance to Protect Nantucket Sound, the Hyannis-based non-profit that spearheaded the opposition to the Cape Wind offshore energy project.
The Korea Aerospace Administration, which launched May 30 to oversee space policy and to nurture space-related businesses, has tapped former NASA executive John Lee as its US representative.
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