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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.
https://www.thecrimson.com/article/2025/1/15/harvard-hires-ballard-partners-lobbying-firm/
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.
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