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With Daniel Lippman

PHILLIPS OUT AT AFP: Tim Phillips, the longtime president and public face of the Koch-backed Americans for Prosperity, was forced out of the conservative grassroots lobbying group this week following behavior the group described as “incompatible with our organization.”

— “In recent days we have become aware of behavior by Tim Phillips that is incompatible with our organization’s values,” AFP board Chair Mark Holden said in a statement first provided to The Washington Examiner. “When we learned of this, we immediately put Tim on leave and conducted an internal investigation. One week later, we accepted Tim’s resignation as President of AFP. ”

— Holden added that while “the underlying issues involved are personal in nature, Tim’s actions violate our core principles and make it impossible for him to continue in this role. This has caught us all by surprise. But we believe Tim’s departure is necessary for him, his loved ones, and for AFP.”

— A source familiar with the group said AFP’s internal investigation did not uncover any financial malfeasance by Phillips. According to the source, Phillips’ behavior did not impact anyone else within the organization, to the group’s knowledge, but rather was “a matter of integrity that violated our principles.”

— In a statement provided by the organization, Phillips said that his resignation will allow him “to focus on some challenging personal matters that require my full attention,” calling it difficult to leave the organization he’s helmed since 2006 but conceding that “doing so now is in everyone's best interest.” Emily Seidel, who’s served as the group’s chief executive for the last four years, will take on Phillip’s title and duties immediately, in addition to that of CEO.

— Phillips was a longtime GOP operative before joining AFP, the cornerstone of the conservative political network funded by the billionaire Koch brothers. He served as chief of staff to former Rep. Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.) before co-founding a consulting firm with evangelical GOP operative Ralph Reed. Phillips served as Americans for Prosperity’s public face as the tea party movement gained steam in the 2010s, but financial, strategic and day-to-day operations of the nonprofit have been the responsibility of the CEO or COO for the past decade, according to the source familiar.

— AFP has dropped more than $800,000 on lobbying through the first three quarters of 2021, blowing past its previous record highs in 2019 and then 2020, but the group, which is not required to disclose its donors, has spent even more to mobilize voters against President Joe Biden’s infrastructure bills alone.

— AFP, which skews libertarian, clashed with some of the priorities of President Donald Trump — particularly on the issue of immigration — but under Seidel the group successfully supported all three of Trump’s nominations for the Supreme Court and dropped $20 million to support the 2017 GOP tax bill.

Good afternoon and welcome to PI. What’s popping out there? Let me know: [email protected]. And be sure to follow me on Twitter: @caitlinoprysko.

FOSSIL FUEL LOBBYISTS TARGET LEASING PROGRAM CHANGES: “Senators considering potential changes to the climate provisions of the $1.7 trillion reconciliation package are under growing pressure from oil and gas industry lobbyists to remove ‘harmful’ reforms to the federal leasing program,” POLITICO’s Josh Siegel and Kelsey Tamborrino report. “The bill's proposed fees for methane pollution could also be amended or removed amid continued resistance from some Democratic lawmakers.”

— “A coalition of industry groups, led by the American Petroleum Institute, sent a letter Wednesday to key swing centrist vote Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia, pressing for the removal of various ‘harmful’ provisions aiming to reform the process of oil and gas leasing on public lands. The measures, including raising century-old royalty rates for onshore and offshore leases, are ‘seemingly designed to punitively target certain segments of the energy economy,’ the groups wrote to Manchin, in a letter obtained by POLITICO.”

— “‘Measures such as these could serve to stifle U.S. production and result in further inflationary pressures on those U.S. citizens that can least afford it,’ said the groups, which also include the American Exploration and Production Council, National Ocean Industries Association, Energy Workforce and Technology Council, Independent Petroleum Association of America, and more. The Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, chaired by Manchin, has jurisdiction over the public lands provisions targeted by industry that were included in the House-passed version of the spending bill.”

NEW YORKERS PRESSURE SCHUMER ON PAID LEAVE: A coalition of nearly 800 companies and business, cultural and political leaders in New York pressed Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer to preserve paid-leave provisions in Democrats’ reconciliation package, despite the policy likely getting the boot thanks to Manchin.

— “We thank you for your leadership to fight for working families in New York and across the country; the passage of paid leave this year would cement that legacy,” the groups wrote to Schumer. “Simply put, on your watch, paid leave must not be left on the cutting room floor.”

— The group also published the letter — which was signed by companies like Care.com, Etsy, Eventbrite, Lime and Patagonia; groups like the ACLU, Working Families Party and state NAACP; unions such as the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees; and prominent Jewish organizations — in a full-page ad in The New York Times. Democrats’ push for universal paid leave is on its last stand, however, with Manchin arguing that the party should work to pass a more comprehensive policy alongside Republicans.

CHAMBER NOT HURTING FOR CASH DESPITE GOP CRITICISM: “The largest business lobbying group in the world saw its fundraising surge last year despite criticism from usually sympathetic Republican leaders,” CNBC’s Brian Schwartz reports. “The U.S. Chamber of Commerce raised just over $215 million in 2020, an increase of about $60 million from the previous year, according to a new 990 tax form reviewed by CNBC. The group is officially a 501(c)(6) nonprofit and does not publicly disclose the names of their donors.”

— “Chamber executives also saw a windfall, including then-CEO Tom Donohue, who made over $7 million in 2020, his final year as a head of the group, the document shows. That amount included bonuses and incentives worth just over $5.9 million. Donohue reportedly made over $6 million a year earlier. Suzanne Clark, who became CEO earlier this year, made over $4 million as the group’s president in 2020, including over $3 million in bonuses and incentives.”

— The rush of cash came despite criticism from top Republicans in Congress following the Chamber’s decision to include Democratic incumbents in its slate of endorsements ahead of last year’s election, with tensions flaring again more recently because of the Chamber’s support for the bipartisan infrastructure bill that House Republicans mostly opposed.

SPOTTED at a fundraiser last night hosted by Monument Advocacy’s Stacey Hutchinson and Stewart Verdery for Taylor Keeney, who is running to unseat Rep. Abigail Spanberger (D-Va.), per a PI tipster: Rep. Patrick McHenry (R-N.C.), Matt Bravo of S-3 Group, Larry Seyfried of the American Bankers Association, Dee Buchanan of Ogilvy, Travis Johnson of 1607 Strategies, Emily Weems of Capital One, Brian Worth of Franklin Square Group, Wyatt Stewart of the Independent Insurance Agents and Brokers of America, Mary Randolph Gannon of the Independent Community Bankers of America and Ashley Hoy of Monument.

— Kelly O’Donnell has joined the National Confectioners Association as PAC director. She previously served as PAC director for organizations including the National Association of Realtors, and the Farm Credit Council.

— Ret. Col. Daniel Greenwood has joined BGR Group’s defense and commerce practices as senior vice president. He was most recently the Indo-Pacific strategy and posture director in the Marine Corps’ headquarters, and has previously been detailed to the White House and National Security Council's legislative affairs offices.

— Bryan Humphreys will be CEO of the National Pork Producers Council. He previously was senior vice president at the National Pork Board.

— Diana Birkett Rakow has been promoted to be senior vice president for public affairs and sustainability at Alaska Airlines. She most recently was vice president for public affairs and sustainability at the airline.

— Lesa-Kaye Holtham is joining Winning Strategies Washington as a principal and deputy director of grants. She was most recently senior associate director of institutional partnerships at the Catholic University of America.

— Carter Christensen is joining Bully Pulpit Interactive as an associate director. He was previously with Edelman in its D.C. office.

— Annie Weinberg has joined Summer Lee’s Pennsylvania congressional campaign as campaign manager. She most recently was principal at AMW Strategies.

— Former Defense Secretary Leon Panetta is joining the advisory board at the Center for Tech Diplomacy at Purdue.

— Banner Public Affairs has added Mark Stultz as vice president of public relations. He was most recently managing partner at EVC Insights.

None.

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