Uptick in lobbying spending for merging companies facing antitrust scrutiny

With such marriages often comes an uptick in lobbying efforts, as the companies leave as little to chance as possible.

Source: Uptick in lobbying spending for merging companies facing antitrust scrutiny

Quite a few corporations floated multi-billion dollar mergers in 2016, including ag leaders Monsanto and Bayer, telecom titans AT&T and Time Warner and fantasy sports giants FanDuel and Draft Kings.

And with such marriages — which undergo scrutiny by antitrust officials and often Congress, a routine part of any merger process — often comes an uptick in lobbying efforts, as the companies leave as little to chance as possible in getting their version of the story out.

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DeploraBalls, inaugural parties you won’t want to miss

“All politics is local,” – Tip O’Neill. On the eve of Donald Trump’s Presidency, this phrase seems to apply to inaugural party planning as well.

Source: DeploraBalls, inaugural parties you won’t want to miss

President Trump’s inaugural festivities included a host of official and unofficial celebrations — just about all of which had corporate sponsors. Read our roundup of the partying opportunities, including the very unofficial DeploraBall, here.

But Washington is often awhirl with political gatherings with food, drink, schmoozing and a price of admission; they’re called fundraisers.

Help us keep track of these by uploading invitations you receive to PoliticalPartyTime.org.

We will not show your identifying info when we post them. Thanks! … read more…

Lobbyists and donors get behind Democratic, GOP retreat

Republican and Democratic lawmakers are uniting for retreats this weekend. One highlight of the GOP retreat? Peyton Manning

Source: Lobbyists and donors get behind Democratic, GOP retreat

Peyton Manning made his political debut Thursday at the GOP retreat, which was intended to solidify the Republican party’s game plan and unite the moving pieces of the GOP-controlled White House, Senate and House.

Across the aisle, Senate Dems held a secretive retreat in Shepherdstown, West Virginia. Several sessions were devoted to discussions on how to talk to people who voted for Trump; others focused on battling Trump on his Supreme Court pick and strategies for the midterm elections…. read more.