POLITICO Influence-Controversial China-linked battery company lobbies up

With Daniel Lippman

CHINA-LINKED EV BATTERY COMPANY LOBBIES UP: Gotion Inc., an EV battery component manufacturer whose plans to open plants in Michigan and Illinois have sparked blowback over ties to China, has enlisted a team of veteran lobbyists to help contain the fallout from that opposition.

— This month, Gotion retained Mercury Public Affairs and the Vogel Group to lobby on issues related to clean energy technology, domestic and EV battery manufacturing, trade, economic development and foreign direct investment, according to recently filed disclosures.

— Former Rep. Toby Moffett and former Treasury sanctions official Peter Kucik will work on the account for Mercury, among others, while Alex Vogel, former John Culberson aide Hayden Jewett and former Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee aide James Lai, among others, will work on the account for Vogel Group.

— Gotion is the U.S. subsidiary of Gotion High-tech Co., an international company founded in China whose 2022 articles of association include language to “carry out Party activities” in accordance with the Chinese Communist Party. The language has been cited by the company’s critics, though leadership at the U.S. subsidiary has insisted that its articles of incorporation do not contain any such requirement.

— The scrutiny exemplifies the tensions between Democrats’ push to quickly build out clean energy manufacturing in the U.S. and increasing skepticism of China and firms tied to it. Earlier this month, GOP Reps. John Moolenaar of Michigan and Darin LaHood of Illinois introduced legislation barring companies affiliated with the Chinese Communist Party, or other “countries of concern,” from receiving clean energy production tax credits under the Inflation Reduction Act — the bill is dubbed the NO GOTION Act.

— Days later, voters in the Michigan township where Gotion plans to open a manufacturing plant recalled five local officials who approved tax breaks for the project. Mercury began working for Gotion a week after that, with Vogel Group coming on last week, according to the filings.

— Vogel Group and Mercury are the first two firms to register their work for Gotion under the LDA, but the Michigan law firm Warner Norcross + Judd registered under FARA (and its more stringent disclosure requirements) in April to represent Gotion in its dealings with various state and local government bodies.

— DOJ filings say Gotion is “wholly owned and controlled” by its parent company, and is neither supervised, owned, directed, controlled, financed nor subsidized by a foreign government or political party or other foreign principal.

Happy Monday and welcome back to PI. What’d we miss? Drop me a line: [email protected]. And be sure to follow me on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter: @caitlinoprysko.

FIRST IN PI — BROWNSTEIN ADDS MAYORKAS AIDE: Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck has hired Alice Lugo, who served until this year as assistant secretary for legislative affairs at DHS. Prior to joining the Biden administration in 2021, Lugo spent seven years working for Sen. Bob Menendez (D-N.J.) as his chief counsel and for former Rep. Luis Gutiérrez.

— At Brownstein, Lugo will be a senior counsel in the firm’s lobbying practice, where she told PI she anticipates working on a range of issues, including domestic national security, cyber infrastructure and security and the judiciary portfolio of issues, including immigration. Lugo expects to register to lobby eventually.

IF YOU MISSED IT OVER THE BREAK: “Few fundraising firms have experienced as dramatic a fall in recent years as Mothership Strategies. Once considered a juggernaut in the Democratic digital space, the firm is no longer in mainstream politics following fierce criticism over its aggressive fundraising tactics and allegations that its huge money hauls were being funneled back to the company itself.”

— But, our Hailey Fuchs and Daniel report, “rather than disappear from the political scene, Mothership has found a lower-profile roster of clients, primarily political action committees not affiliated with politicians.”

— “And campaign finance records, interviews, and communications from the firm show that it’s continuing to collect significant fees while deploying the very same aggressive business practices — such as sending fundraising emails with catastrophic, eyebrow-raising language — that gave it pariah status in the first place.”

— “The group’s second act is raising new alarms among Democrats who fear that those methods draw money away from campaigns and other liberal causes. They also worry its actions hurt the progressive community’s reputation more broadly and threaten to send the entire industry into a race to the bottom.”

SENATORS GO TO BAT FOR FRANCHISES: A bipartisan coalition of more than a dozen senators is coming to the defense of the franchising industry as the sector awaits new regulations from the FTC. In a letter to FTC Chair Lina Khan last week, the lawmakers urged Khan to ensure that any new rules “benefit the franchise business model and support our constituents who utilize the franchise business model to open and grow their businesses.”

— The FTC concluded a public comment period on new franchising regulations over the summer, which the agency told CNBC drew more than 5,500 comments, indicating “broad interest” in the regulations. In their letter to Khan, Sens. Jerry Moran (R-Kan.), Gary Peters (D-Mich.), Roger Marshall (R-Kan.), Angus King (I-Maine), Mike Braun (R-Ind.), Kyrsten Sinema (I-Ariz.) and nine others said that they back “common sense” changes to franchising regulations such as “improved presale disclosures, including greater transparency of franchise terms and conditions,” as well as “greater dialogue with the franchise community.”

— But the franchising industry has sparred with the Biden administration repeatedly over the past few years, adamantly opposing the White House’s Labor Department nominees and more recently mobilizing an aggressive push to overturn a new NLRB rule that could make it easier for franchisors to be held accountable for violations involving franchisees.

ICYMI PART II: “Public trust in some of the world’s most repressive governments is soaring, according to Edelman, the world’s largest public relations firm, whose flagship ‘trust barometer’ has created its reputation as an authority on global trust,” The Guardian’s Adam Lowenstein writes.

— “For years, Edelman has reported that citizens of authoritarian countries, including Saudi Arabia, Singapore, the United Arab Emirates and China, tend to trust their governments more than people living in democracies do.”

— “But Edelman has been less forthcoming about the fact that some of these same authoritarian governments have also been its clients. Edelman’s work for one such client — the government of the UAE — will be front and center when world leaders convene in Dubai later this month for the UN’s Cop28 climate summit.”

— “The Guardian and Aria, a nonprofit research organization, analyzed Edelman trust barometers, as well as Foreign Agent Registration Act (Fara) filings made public by the Department of Justice, dating back to 2001, when Edelman released its first survey of trust. … During that time Edelman and its subsidiaries have been paid millions of dollars by autocratic governments to develop and promote their desired images and narratives.”

— “Polling experts have found that public opinion surveys tend to overstate the favorability of authoritarian regimes because many respondents fear government reprisal. That hasn’t stopped these same governments from exploiting Edelman’s findings to burnish their reputations and legitimize their holds on power.”

— Philip Cronin is now director of government advocacy at Chime. He most recently managed government relations for McDonald’s and is a Harris Jones & Malone alum.

— John Jacobs has joined the Alliance for Automotive Innovation as vice president of industry engagement and partnerships. He most recently served as nonprofit and association industry leader at Hartman Executive Advisors.

— Lauryn Fanguen is now a regional press secretary at the DCCC. She previously was a comms manager at Planned Parenthood.

— Kaivan Shroff is joining Dream for America as press secretary. He is a senior adviser for the Institute for Education and is an Everytown for Gun Safety alum.

— Kate Forscey has joined the Center for AI Policy as director of government affairs. She’s a principal at KRF Strategies LLC.

— Former Rep. Ron Kind (D-Wis.) has joined the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation’s board as co-chair.

None.

Grow the Majority Nominee Fund: CO-08 (PAC)

Grow the Majority Nominee Fund: MI-08 (PAC)

Grow the Majority Nominee Fund: NC-01 (PAC)

Michigan Restaurant and Lodging Assoc PAC (PAC)

True Missouri Values (Super PAC)

Ballard Partners: Igas USa, Inc.

Blank Rome Government Relations: Cheniere Energy, Inc.

Combest, Sell & Associates, LLC: Midwest Dry Bean Coalition

Forbes-Tate: Hopewell Fund

Hannegan Landau Poersch & Rosenbaum Advocacy, LLC: Blackrock, Inc.

Hogan Lovells US LLP: Silver Point Capital

Jewish Women International: Jewish Women International

Jgb & Associates, LLC: Cornerstone Government Affairs Obo Circle Internet Financial, Inc.

Mercury Public Affairs, LLC: Gotion, Inc.

Sims Strategies, LLC: Clear Spring Health Management Services, LLC

Standard Industries: Standard Industries

The Vogel Group: Gotion, Inc.

Tom Albert Consulting, LLC: Surge Energy America

Winning Strategies Washington: Academy Of Doctors Of Audiology

David L. Horne, LLC: San Diego Housing Commission

Environmental Resources Management, Inc.: Bp America Inc.

Environmental Resources Management, Inc.: Environmental Resources Management, Inc.

Forbes-Tate: American Hotel & Lodging Association

Forbes-Tate: Hd Nursing

Loyola Strategies, LLC: Nevada Hydro Company, Inc.

Mlj Strategies: Ankura Consulting Group, LLC On Behalf Of Chimes

Mlj Strategies: Ankura Consulting Group, LLC On Behalf Of Global Connections Employment

Mlj Strategies: Ankura Consulting Group, LLC On Behalf Of Myland Agriculture

Mlj Strategies: Ankura Consulting Group, LLC On Behalf Of On Demand Pharmaceuticals

Mlj Strategies: Ankura Consulting Group, LLC On Behalf Of Servicenow

Mlj Strategies: Ankura Consulting Group, LLC On Behalf Of Target Corp.

William Watson Group LLC: Transocean Offshore

William Watson Group LLC: World Tradex, Inc.