The Lobby Shop: Post Liberation Day Blues

On this week’s Lobby Shop, we dug into Trump tariffs and tax-package timing.

In the aftermath of President Trump’s “Liberation Day” tariff announcements, the Lobby Shop team breaks down the philosophy behind President Trump’s new tariffs and the real world ramifications for both domestic and foreign policy. The team also examines reactions from the private sector and Congress, including the potential impact on the timing for the Republicans’ plan to move forward on a tax package. With a multitude of scenarios playing out at once, the Lobby Shop team discusses the one question on many Americans minds: where do we go from here?

Listen to the full episode here.

Continue Reading

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.

Continue Reading

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.

Continue Reading

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.

Continue Reading

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.

Continue Reading