Bloomberg Tax: Energy Tax Credit Defenders Talk Up Jobs While Avoiding ‘Solar’

Erin Schilling and Chris Cioffi quoted me in Bloomberg Tax on how defenders of the Inflation Reduction Act’s energy credits are making a jobs argument while avoiding the word “solar.”

Lobbyists are doing a full-court press to save those investments and jobs. If industries and companies don’t have a champion willing to speak up for their preferred tax credit as the Republican’s forthcoming tax and spending bill gets drafted, they risk being at the mercy of the process, Bracewell’s Liam Donovan told Bloomberg Law.
“With these slim margins [in Congress], one determined member makes all the difference, and leadership will be trying to navigate the path of least resistance,” said Donovan.

Read the full piece here.

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Control: Reconciliation Heats up and Democrats Melt Down, Feat. Liam Donovan

I joined Brendan Buck and Annalyse Keller on Control to talk about budget reconciliation and the CR vote.

The House and Senate return following the passage of a CR, and the next thing on the table is a return to budget reconciliation negotiations. Brendan Buck and Annalyse Keller are joined by Liam Donovan, senior political strategist at Bracewell, to talk about where discussions stand, what obstacles remain, and how long this thing may take. Plus what happened with the Democrats on the CR vote, the firestorm its created, and how they try to move forward.

Listen to the full episode here.

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The Lobby Shop: Riding the Tariff Rollercoaster

On this week’s Lobby Shop, we dug into Trump tariffs and trade policy.

The Lobby Shop team is back and talking tariffs! Caitlin Sickles, Josh Zive, Paul Nathanson, Liam Donovan, and Dylan Pasiuk break down the latest developments in the ongoing tariff rollercoaster—separating the tariffs that have actually been imposed from those still being threatened, along with the retaliation from U.S. trading partners. They explore President Trump’s rationale for using tariffs and threats of tariffs, highlighting key differences between those imposed during his first term versus his second. The team also examines the impact of these trade policies on various sectors, including potential conflicts between the Administration’s tariff strategy and its energy agenda, as well as the challenges companies face with sudden cost increases disrupting their supply chains.

Listen to the full episode here.

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The New Republic: The Two Warring Legacies of Mitch McConnell

I spoke to Grace Segers for The New Republic on McConnell’s legacy and Trump.

“This is not the conference that he took over, but it’s the one he built,” said Republican strategist Liam Donovan.
There was a brief period of time in which McConnell’s methodical, ruthless political style imbued him with a sort of “folk heroism” among Republicans, said Donovan. McConnell’s willingness to block Obama’s agenda—as well as his Supreme Court nominee—and his efforts in pushing through Trump’s judicial nominees cemented his reputation as a political fighter. McConnell also helped push through the massive tax cuts that became one of Trump’s major legislative achievements in 2017.
“I think [Trump’s] greatest successes ironically occurred when he and McConnell were working together in a sort of transactional way, both on the political side and on the legislative side,” said Donovan.

Read the full piece here.

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NPR: Reconciliation is the key to unlocking Trump’s agenda. Here’s how it works

I spoke to NPR’s Barbara Sprunt for an explainer on how reconciliation works and why it is the key to Trump’s agenda.

“It’s nice to have the Senate majority, and you get pretty titles and gavels, and you can nominally control the floor, but as Schoolhouse Rock! would tell us, unless you have 60 votes for most things, you can’t move forward,” said Liam Donovan, a political strategist.
“It’s become the preferred tool over the past 25 years in this modern, partisan political era,” said Donovan.
“The amendments that happen in the final legislative package are really important — you’re playing with live ammunition when you’re on that final stage of reconciliation,” said Donovan.

Listen to the full interview here.

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