Lobbying World: Toomey to Coinbase, Schrader to K Street

Former Sen. Pat Toomey (R-Pa.) and former Reps. Sean Patrick Maloney (D-N.Y.) and Tim Ryan (D-Ohio) will join a newly formed advisory council for crypto giant Coinbase. The company said the council will help Coinbase “strengthen relationships with strategic stakeholders around the world.”

Toomey, who was a senior member of the Senate Banking Committee before retiring in January, was one of the staunchest crypto backers in the Senate. Maloney, the former chairman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, was recently nominated to be an ambassador for the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. 

The council’s formation comes as Coinbase faces legal threats from the Securities and Exchange Commission over potential violations of securities laws. The company is also bringing on John Anzalone, a pollster for President Biden’s 2020 campaign. 

Former Rep. Kurt Schrader (D-Ore.) joined Williams & Jensen as a principal. Schrader, a member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, lost his 2022 primary to a progressive challenger after he sought to derail Democrats’ effort to cap drug prices.

Williams & Jensen represents several clients in the pharmaceutical industry that fought the Democrats’ drug pricing bill, including Pfizer and the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America.

The National Association of Wholesaler-Distributors named Brian Wild as its chief government relations officer. Wild served as a senior adviser to Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) and most recently was a policy director at Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck. He will replace longtime top lobbyist Jade West, who is retiring.

Caitlin Boon joined food giant Mars as U.S. public affairs director for health and nutrition. Boon comes from the Food and Drug Administration, where she served as associate commissioner for food policy and response.

AstraZeneca is leaving the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America. It’s the latest drug company to leave the industry’s top lobbying group after the passage of drug pricing reforms in the Inflation Reduction Act, following AbbVie. 

David Park joined the Credit Union National Association as senior director of advocacy and counsel. Park comes from Navy Federal Credit Union, where he was the senior policy and compliance officer.