For the last two years, Brian Ballard's ties to President Trump made his lobbying firm one of the most sought-after in Washington.
asserted
firm → make → Washington
Now those same ties have made it a target in the Republican Party's post-midterm infighting.
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it → make → infighting
Calley Means, a former top aide to Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., alleged in an interview Sunday with CBS News' "Face the Nation" that Ballard Partners "controlled" White House policy.
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Partners → allege → policy
Mr. Trump's former , Susie Wiles, worked at the firm for nearly a decade as a managing partner, leaving in 2019.
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Trump → work → 2019
Means claimed Ballard Partners' rise to become the top-earning lobbying firm "did not happen by accident."
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rise → claim → accident
He accused Wiles and other top advisers to Mr. Trump of catering to industries that funded Republicans ahead of the midterms.
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that → accuse → midterms
Ballard and Wiles both called the claims false.
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Ballard → call → claims
The firm's interactions with Wiles as chief of staff "have been limited and have been the exception, not the rule," Brian Ballard, a longtime Trump fundraiser, said in a rare statement Sunday.
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interactions → limit → statement
Ballard Partners' more than $88 million in lobbying revenue last year was, at the time, the most any firm had reported since the Lobbying Disclosure Act took effect in 1996, even after adjusting for inflation, a CBS News analysis of Senate lobbying disclosures found.
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analysis → report → disclosures
Through the first three quarters of 2026, the firm has already surpassed that, reporting more than $98 million.
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firm → surpass → million
The fortunes of Washington lobbying firms tend to rise and fall with changes in administrations, as companies hire them to try to influence policy.
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companies → tend → policy
But after an election that saw government corruption polling as a top issue for voters, questions about who has profited from political connections are intensifying.
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who → see → connections
Ballard Partners is now among those ensnared in the MAGA feud.
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Partners → ensnare → feud
That tension could deepen ahead of 2028, as Republicans who cheered Mr. Trump's promise to "drain the swamp" speak out about the realities of an entrenched lobbying industry that has continued to thrive in Washington.
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that → deepen → Washington
"The Democrats are going to start investigations as soon as they're sworn in, and White House fighting about who was making money will just elevate the topic," said Marc Short, a former chief of staff to Vice President Mike Pence.
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Short → go → Pence
The White House said in a statement that the Trump administration "has never allowed and will never allow outside groups to influence policy decisions.
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groups → say → decisions
A fight over vapes
Brian Ballard has been one of Mr. Trump's top fundraisers for years, having reeled in $50 million for his campaign in 2024, according to a source familiar with the number who spoke on the condition of anonymity.
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who → reel → anonymity
Since 2008, he has chaired Florida finance committees for previous Republican presidential nominees.
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he → chair → nominees
His firm opened a Washington office in 2017 and once employed both Wiles and Pam Bondi, who went on to serve as Mr. Trump's attorney general.
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who → open → general
When Mr. Trump won a second term, the firm signed up hundreds of clients, though its relationship with the administration has seen ups and downs.
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relationship → win → ups
For a brief period in 2025, Brian Ballard was banned from the West Wing after his firm's lobbying approach for a cryptocurrency client frustrated White House officials, two Trump advisers told CBS News.
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advisers → ban → News
(Ballard apologized in May 2025 and returned to the White House's good graces, Axios reported.)
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Axios → apologize → graces
Among the firm's longest-standing clients is RAI Services Company, a subsidiary of tobacco giant Reynolds American.
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Company → stand → American
It has paid Ballard Partners millions of dollars since 2017, lobbying records show.
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records → pay → 2017
That relationship placed Ballard at the center of Means' allegations about favorable treatment for vaping interests.
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relationship → place → interests
Means resigned in late October, claiming the Make America Healthy Again agenda had stalled in the White House.
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agenda → resign → House
He placed the blame at Wiles' feet, saying she and "her deputies were still relentlessly pushing HHS to find a pathway for fruit-flavored vapes."
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she → place → vapes
In May, the Food and Drug Administration handed the tobacco industry a win with new guidance that could let major tobacco companies sell flavored vapes.
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companies → hand → vapes
The announcement came a week after Brian Ballard and tobacco executives had lunch with Mr. Trump at his golf club in Jupiter, Florida, where the president called Kennedy and other health officials to complain about the FDA, The New York Times reported.
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Times → come → FDA
The FDA decision also came after RAI Services Company had given $5 million to MAGA Inc., the pro-Trump super PAC, on April 30, Federal Election Commission records show.
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records → come → April
(FDA Commissioner Marty Makary resigned days after the guidance came out, .)
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guidance → resign → ?
The White House has suggested the donation had nothing to do with the FDA decision.
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donation → suggest → decision
In his statement Sunday, Ballard said no one at his firm advocated to Wiles or anyone at the White House on authorization for fruit-flavored vapes.
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one → say → vapes
He said his advocacy related to "illegal, unregulated vapes from China," some of which, he said, have been found to be laced with fentanyl.
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he → say → fentanyl
Wiles told CBS News she had nothing to do with the tobacco industry meeting with Mr. Trump at his golf club.
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industry → tell → club
Means also singled out James Blair, the former deputy chief of staff, claiming he was "relentless on helping the fruit-flavored vape industry."
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he → single → industry
Blair, who left the White House in April to oversee the GOP's midterm strategy, has traded barbs with Means on social media, calling the claim that he pushed vapes as a core midterm issue "a complete and total lie.
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he → leave → issue
"
"I didn't promote flavored vaping specifically at all," Blair told CBS News, adding that he was tasked with making sure the FDA ruled on nicotine product applications swiftly – within six months.
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ruled → promote → months
"Calley is intentionally misrepresenting my role and my responsibility because he opposes the issue entirely," Blair added.
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Blair → misrepresent → issue
Blair spoke with Reynolds and other vape companies about the FDA's application process, but not about any specific applications or products, according to two sources familiar with the conversations who spoke on the condition of anonymity.
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who → speak → anonymity
…and 22 more, not listed.
The Aporia
