Harvard Hires Trump-Linked Lobbying Firm Ahead of Inauguration

Harvard hired Ballard Partners, a lobbying firm with ties to several of President-elect Donald Trump’s top advisers, last week as it prepares for additional political challenges under a more aggressive White House, according to federal lobbying disclosures.

The move — which comes just days before Trump’s inauguration — marks the most overt effort yet by Harvard President Alan M. Garber ’76 to prepare for the incoming Trump administration, which has threatened the University with a larger endowment tax and cuts to federal funding.

Per the disclosures, Harvard tapped Ballard Partners to lobby for measures “supporting education and educational research.”

The firm’s lobbying efforts for Harvard will be led by its founder and long-time Trump ally Brian D. Ballard, according to the filing. Ballard served as the Florida finance chairman for Trump’s 2016 campaign and later served as vice chairman of his presidential inaugural committee. Ballard was also appointed to the presidential transition finance committee. The firm itself began its operations in D.C. after Trump’s inauguration in 2017.

Ballard’s personal involvement with the lobbying effort as the firm’s president and founder is uncommon for clients, according to Jeff M.A. Hauser ’95, the founder of the Revolving Door Project, a government watchdog group.

“Most Ballard disclosures do not include Ballard himself,” Hauser said. “You’re paying a premium when you’re getting him.”

Ballard Partners’ lobbying team will also include Michael LaRosa, First Lady Jill Biden’s former press secretary, and Daniel McFaul, who served on Trump’s 2016 presidential transition team. McFaul has also served as chief of staff to former U.S. Reps. Jeff Miller (R.-Fla.) and Matt Gaetz (R.-Fla.).

Trump’s chief of staff Susie Wiles served as a partner at Ballard for eight years before departing in 2019 because of a health issue, though she continued engaging clients through the firm through 2022. Trump’s pick for attorney general, Pamela J. Bondi, joined Ballard as a partner in 2019. The firm has already come under scrutiny for its ties with Bondi, which watchdog groups say could give the firm’s clients particular influence after Trump and Bondi take office.

Harvard spokesperson Jason A. Newton wrote in a statement that Harvard “works with a wide range of partners, including peer institutions, associations, other advocacy groups, and consultants.”

“The University remains active in Washington and in support of higher education and research,” Newton wrote.

Ballard Partners is only the second external lobbying firm that University officials have hired since 2009.

Harvard’s other external lobbying partner — O’Neill, Athy, and Casey — and its internal lobbying group have historically focused on issues relating to immigration, funding for scientific research, and health insurance. O’Neill, Athy, and Casey has also lobbied on legislative proposals involving endowment taxes since 2021.

According to O’Neill, Athy, and Casey’s 2023 and 2024 lobbying reports for Harvard, the firm “monitored activity related to and response to” the December 2023 congressional committee hearing that led to former Harvard President Claudine Gay’s resignation.

After a nine-year low in federal lobbying expenditures in 2024, the University’s new contract with Ballard Partners will substantially increase its investment in lobbying.

Ballard will likely be tasked with dissuading legislators from pursuing punitive measures against Harvard for its response to protests and campus antisemitism.

Following Harvard’s controversial response to Hamas’ October 7 attack, House Republicans have repeatedly threatened to revoke its federal funding and accreditation — a push that gained renewed momentum with Trump’s victory in November.

In a closed-door meeting with faculty in April, Garber said that an endowment tax was “an issue that keeps me up at night.” And in December, Garber suggested that Harvard’s communications strategy should be reevaluated in light of the election and congressional investigation.

Craig Holman, a vocal Trump critic and government affairs lobbyist at Public Citizen — a progressive nonprofit advocacy group — said Harvard’s decision to hire Ballard Partners is a sign the University is “afraid of retribution coming from the Trump administration.”

“Harvard realizes that Ballard Partners has a strong, strong connection with the Trump administration, so they’re hiring Ballard Partners out of fear,” Holman said. “That’s the sorry state of money in politics today.”

Newton declined to comment on how Ballard Partners would lobby on Harvard’s behalf.

James A. Thurber, a professor of public administration at American University, said that it was “wise for Harvard” to align itself with Ballard Partners instead of other lobbying firms in Washington.

Thurber said that while Ballard Partners’ lobbyists will probably not sway Harvard’s staunchest opponents in Congress, they could help the University convince members on the fence about punishing Harvard financially.

“They will help with what’s coming down the pipeline,” Thurber said. “Change is in the wind.”

—Staff writer Dhruv T. Patel can be reached at dhruv.patel@thecrimson.com. Follow him on X @dhruvtkpatel.

—Staff writer Grace E. Yoon can be reached at grace.yoon@thecrimson.com. Follow her on X @graceunkyoon.