Politics

Dem-leaning WestExec Advisors lost big-name clients since the election

Published

2 years ago

March 18, 2025

WestExec Advisors has long operated as an exclusive Washington consulting firm known for its meteoric rise and lineup of heavy-hitter Democrats and former national security officials.

But its business is something of a black box. Because it technically doesn’t directly advocate on behalf of clients — i.e., lobby — WestExec doesn’t have to disclose who is paying them and for what.

Blue Light News, however, has gotten a peek at some clients that previously worked with WestExec in recent years before departing. They include software giant Palantir Technologies, Japanese investment company SoftBank Group, semiconductor manufacturer GlobalFoundries and South Korean conglomerate Samsung, according to six people directly familiar with the matter.

Each company had worked with WestExec for at least a few years, according to the people, who were granted anonymity to discuss sensitive information. All of the clients have ended their contracts since November.

Several of the companies that previously worked with WestExec have signed on with lobbying firms touting their supposed access to President Donald Trump — a reflection of anxiety within Washington’s power landscape over how to navigate an administration not particularly amenable to the ordinary ways of D.C.’s influence business.

While WestExec emphasizes that it is nonpartisan, its founders all worked in the Obama administration. Michèle Flournoy, Sergio Aguirre and Nitin Chadda are all co-founders who remain with the firm as managing partners. Former CIA director John Brennan is a principal and former Obama senior State department official Richard Stengel and former Bill Clinton Middle East envoy Amb. Dennis Ross are also senior advisers.

Biden also plucked several WestExec bigwigs — including co-founder Antony Blinken, Avril Haines and Jen Psaki — for posts in his administration. Those moves drew scrutiny at the time over potential conflicts of interest involving its unrevealed clients. POLITICO noted in 2020 that many of the administration picks were not bound by the Biden transition’s restrictions on hiring people who had lobbied in the past year.

Some of the clients that recently left WestExec said that they were specifically seeking connections with firms that have a more direct line to the Trump administration. One said it had a desire to “put our resources elsewhere.” Palantir and SoftBank have in recent months signed contracts with Miller Strategies, the lobbying firm headed up by top Trump fundraiser Jeff Miller. Samsung, meanwhile, is “actively seeking experts with strong ties to Trump,” according to the Korea Herald.

A WestExec spokesperson, who asked not to be named, said that because it’s not a lobbying shop, its business isn’t at the whim of which party controls Washington. The spokesperson said that WestExec provides analysis and strategic advice for companies trying to navigate a complicated geopolitical and policy landscape.

“WestExec remains one of the world’s leading strategic advisory firms — growing every year since our founding [in 2017] regardless of who occupies the White House. We are not a lobbying firm. Our dozens of principals and senior advisors — largely comprised of former senior government officials from both parties as well as military and industry leaders — provide insightful analysis and strategic counsel for companies trying to navigate a dynamic geopolitical, regulatory and policy landscape,” the spokesperson said in a statement.

“Of course, our substantial client roster evolves as corporate challenges are solved and needs change, but we had a record year in 2024 and are on pace for similar growth in 2025, having signed several new clients since the new year. That’s because good business advice isn’t partisan.”

A person familiar with the firm said Samsung and GlobalFoundries had a change in priorities that led those clients to leave, and that Palantir’s departure was a mutual decision. A person familiar with SoftBank’s decision said the company changed consultants to align with the new administration.

While WestExec officials insist their business doesn’t depend on Democrats being in power, they have been fielding calls from Republican-linked lobbying firms inquiring about forging a partnership, according to the person familiar with the firm.

A spokesperson for Palantir declined to comment, and spokespeople for GlobalFoundries, Samsung and SoftBank didn’t respond to requests for comment.

It isn’t a shock that companies would part ways with a traditionally Democratic-leaning firm in favor of doing business with Republican-aligned outfits. A handful of lobbying firms linked to former President Joe Biden have lost significant business since the election, as POLITICO Influence has previously reported. But the confidentiality surrounding the clients of WestExec and other strategic advisory firms makes the revelation of departed clients notable.

Politics

Byron Donalds says he is not a ‘yes man’ to Trump

Published

11 hours ago

October 9, 2026

Blue Light Newsroom

Byron Donalds says he is not a ‘yes man’ to Trump

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Politics

Justice Democrats announce new executive director

Published

1 day ago

October 8, 2026

Blue Light Newsroom

The progressive political action committee Justice Democrats has appointed Rev. Hodari Williams as its new executive director. The change sets the organization up to hone a civil rights message ahead of the 2028 election cycle, Williams told Blue Light News.

His appointment, shared first with Blue Light News, comes at a time when self-proclaimed progressives (and socialists) are flooding the scene. The PAC has had its most successful election cycle ever, helping seven candidates — including Donavan McKinney in Michigan, Melat Kiros in Colorado and Darializa Avila Chevalier in New York — defeat incumbents in the primaries. While those candidates are heavily favored to win on Election Day, the fates of three other Justice Democrats candidates, including Tennessee’s state Rep. Justin Pearson, remain less certain going into November.

At one point, the group tried to get Williams to run for office. Though he declined, Williams said now is the right time to force change.

“America and its present-day politicians, from my experience, have a high blood pressure of promises and anemia of political courage,” Williams said in an interview, using a common Kenyan political expression. “Right now, JD is producing candidates who have the political courage to deal with the crises that are existing in marginalized and disenfranchised communities, and I want to be a part of that.”

Rev. Hodari Williams is the new executive director of the progressive PAC Justice Democrats.

Williams, 46, was born and raised in Lakewood, New Jersey. His parents were activists and community organizers who raised him on the legacy of the Civil Rights Movement. After graduating from Francis Marion University in Florence, South Carolina, with his bachelor’s degree, he joined the NAACP as a field organizer for voter rights and empowerment while pursuing his Master’s of Divinity at the Interdenominational Theological Center. In his time with the NAACP, Williams traveled across the Black Belt, where he said he witnessed poverty and inequity up close.

“Civil rights traditionally has been something that people have tried to separate from progressivism … but these movements are inseparable,” said Williams. “What I witnessed in the South as a worker in voter rights and voter empowerment and education, and as a regional representative for the NAACP, was that the conditions that created inequity still existed and needed to be confronted and challenged.”

His work took him to Kenya, where he served as a program coordinator with the Presbyterian Church USA. In Nairobi, he supported the Green Belt Movement’s work against deforestation and its mission to highlight environmental justice as a tool for economic empowerment and self-determination.

Now, as some Black and brown voters express concerns of being tokenized by traditional Democratic candidates, Williams plans to bring his experience working in racial justice circles to his new role.

“I have worked in communities that have borne the brunt of failed promises from the current Democratic leadership,” Williams said. “I have opened the doors of my congregations to politicians and have experienced the absence of those politicians after the elections.”

He continued: “Black communities have become destinations for environmental hazards and data centers. Unemployment has risen. Black federal employees have been targeted. The list goes on. I’ve pastored these people. I’ve prayed with them. I’ve listened to them as they’ve shed tears. Now I’ve decided I want to move from triage work to really transformational work.”

Some of that work will require challenging other Black leaders.

“Unfortunately, many of our Black politicians have become victims of corporate capture, and their voices have been taken by entities like AIPAC,” said Williams, referring to the American Israel Public Affairs Committee. “They have not really been able to stand for the issues that are affecting the communities that that many of us are fighting for, and JD candidates are free from that, and they’re free to take bold and significant action to move forward legislation.”

But with the 2026 election cycle nearly over, the PAC is already brainstorming how to establish a strong progressive coalition for the 2028 presidential election. That will mean convincing the mainstream Democratic party that Justice Democrats have built a lasting coalition of the party’s base, said Williams.

“We hope that the Democratic Party would see that we’re developing a blueprint to show them how the base is being energized around the issues that are kitchen table issues that people want us to deal with,” said Williams.

“It’s not enough for us just to have a call to defeat a fascist president. We don’t want a fascist president. We want him out, but we also want a vision of what America could look like when affordability, healthcare, civil rights, housing, and livable wages — all of those things are at the top of the political agenda,” he added.

Williams succeeds current executive director and co-founder Alexandra Rojas, who will become president of Justice Democrats’ board and will support Williams as a senior adviser.

Politics

Iowa’s Ashley Hinson slams the savings habits of millennials

Published

2 days ago

October 8, 2026

Blue Light Newsroom

Iowa Rep. Ashley Hinson took a swipe at the savings habits of millennials as she fielded a question Wednesday about Social Security during a Senate campaign debate.

Hinson, the Republican candidate facing off against Democrat state Rep. Josh Turek, was asked about ensuring the solvency of Social Security when she raised the broader prospect of savings by millennials, the demographic consisting of people born from 1981-1996.

She said the country needed to have a “serious conversation” about “how young people are saving money,” as part of the discussion about the future of Social Security.

“We also need to be talking about millennials saving money,” she later added. “Millennials are the worst group of savers in the country right now and have the least amount of savings. So those are ways where I think we can help have a bigger conversation around saving in general, planning for retirement, and making sure we’re all able to experience a robust retirement.”

Hinson faces a tough race in Iowa against Turek amid a difficult political environment for Republicans. Voters are overwhelmingly pessimistic about the state of the economy and their own personal finances, and they support Social Security while being concerned about the program’s future.

Hinson said she would not support cutting benefits and suggested creating a bipartisan commission to present suggestions to Congress to save the program. When pushed on her statement that “all options should be on the table,” she turned her attention to young people.

“I think my dad and I had this discussion when I was in sixth grade, looking at a ledger book and trying to figure out, hey, how are we going to make sure you’re set up for your life?” she said. “So we need to be having a conversation simultaneously to all solutions on the table, to make sure that it can stay solvent, while we’re also talking about, how do we get more young people to save?”

Hinson’s campaign did not immediately respond to a request for clarification.

Turek, when asked about Social Security, said he supports removing the payroll tax cap.

“The best way we can keep this solvent is by taking off the cap,” Turek said. “Let’s make sure that billionaires and large corporations are paying their fair share. That will move the needle in a very serious way to keep Social Security solvent.”

Hinson disagreed. “The only thing I’m hearing from him is that the only solution to everything is to raise taxes,” she said.