Caught Our Eye items are posted daily. LegiStorm Pro subscribers have access to all posts a few hours before other users, and are also able to search the full Caught Our Eye archive. Log in as a LegiStorm Pro user or learn more about subscribing.
Posted by Keturah Hetrick on May 25, 2023
An ex-staffer to Sen. Tom Carper (D-Del.) has landed in the world of science advocacy.
Anthony Theissen started with the California Life Sciences Association this month as director for federal government relations. The trade group lobbies the federal government on issues ranging from patents to Medicare coverage, among other issues.
Theissen spent seven years on the Hill and was most recently Carper's health-policy adviser. He previously worked for Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.).
Posted by Keturah Hetrick on May 22, 2023
A former Bachelor contestant has accepted a rose from Rep. Cory Mills's (R-Fla.) D.C. office.
Jillian Anderson joined Mills's staff this month as communications director. Anderson is a former Fox News producer who rose to prominence as a contestant on season 19 of the Bachelor reality dating show, as well as season two of its spinoff, Bachelor in Paradise. She replaces former Mills staffer Juan Ayala, who left the congressman's office last month.
Before the Bachelor, Anderson worked for Fox News. Anderson, also a former cheerleader for the Washington Redskins (now Commanders), has since spent her time as a publicist and media booker.
Posted by Keturah Hetrick on May 18, 2023
Former Rep. Cheri Bustos (D-Ill.) has more in common with her son than just DNA: They've also become first-time lobbyists together.
Bustos and son Nick Bustos registered as Mercury Public Affairs lobbyists effective May 1, per a new disclosure. The former congresswoman joined Mercury in January as co-chair of the firm's D.C. office and head of Illinois and Midwestern operations. Nick started with Mercury last month after working in the agriculture-equipment-manufacturing industry and is a vice president in the firm's Illinois office.
The mother-son duo is lobbying on behalf of the Illinois Corn Growers Association, per the filing. The former congresswoman served on the House Agriculture Committee and Appropriations Committee until retiring from Congress at the end of last term. Former members are required to wait one year from the time they leave Congress before lobbying the House or Senate, per ethics rules, but are not prohibited from lobbying the executive branch before the one-year mark.
Posted by Keturah Hetrick on May 17, 2023
The House Small Business Committee's newest hire comes straight from the JPMorgan Chase lobbying team.
Andrew Rothe rejoined congressional Republicans earlier this month as policy director under committee chair Roger Williams (R-Texas). Rothe was a JPMorgan Chase vice president and a core member of the organization's federal lobbying group.
Rothe previously served as Sen. Mike Rounds's (R-S.D.) legislative director. He's also worked for then-Reps. Scott Rigell (R-Va.) and Jeff Fortenberry (R-Neb.) and for the National Restaurant Association.
Posted by Keturah Hetrick on May 15, 2023
Freshman Sen. Eric Schmitt (R-Mo.) has finally added an ex-lobbyist to his staff.
Peter Dudziak joined Schmitt's office from Horizon Government Affairs, where he was a lobbyist and government-affairs manager for the health-care-focused firm. He's now a legislative assistant for Schmitt, who sits on the Senate Armed Services Committee, the Senate Commerce Committe and the Joint Economic Committee.
Dudziak, the first registered federal lobbyist to work for Schmitt's Senate staff, is also a former American Ambulance Association lobbyist. He has also held positions with the House Budget Committee, Rep. Dusty Johnson (R-S.D.) and then-Rep. Erik Paulsen (R-Minn.).
We spend a large part of our days looking at data. Documents often come in by the dozens and hundreds. And while most are boring - how interesting can staring at a phone directory or salary records be, for example? - we find daily reasons for interest, amusement or even concern packed in the documents. So we are launching a new running feature that we call "Caught our Eye."
Longer than tweets but shorter than most blog posts, Caught our Eye items will bring back the interest in reviewing documents and researching people. Some items might bring hard, breaking news. Others will raise eyebrows and lead some into further inquiry. Others might be good for a joke or two around the water cooler. All will enlighten about the people or workings of Capitol Hill.
Caught our Eye items will be published each morning for LegiStorm Pro subscribers. Non-Pro site users will be able to receive the news items a few hours later. In addition to having immediate access to the news, LegiStorm Pro users will have a handy way to search and browse all past items.
