Three top aides to Vice President J.D. Vance have camped out in high-priced and well-connected lobbying shops over the past two months, building out their Washington apparatus of policy and fundraising connections that could help boost a potential 2028 campaign.
Sean Cooksey, former chief legal and policy adviser to the Vice President, has left for BGR Group. Jim Durrett, former deputy chief of staff for operations, went to Inverness. Former Special Adviser on the Middle East Wessam Hassanein went to Continental Strategy. Cooksey worked for Vance from the beginning of his second term. Durrett and Hasnain joined his office last May.
The move broadened Vance’s connections in the world of lobbying and fundraising that are typically required for the presidency. Should he decide to run for president in 2028, the network of former Vance associates who still feel loyal to the vice president could provide fundraising expertise and policy assistance that could be leveraged by working with clients and expanding relationships with the private sector.
“The vice president’s external network is small, but he is experienced and extremely loyal,” said a person close to Vance’s team, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive topics. “Whatever he does, you can expect Vance alumni to jump into action to support him.”
Vance is a relative newcomer to Washington, arriving a little more than three years ago as a freshman senator from Ohio and with little political network. Strong presidential candidates typically have people from their DC internal government staff, home-state connections, and DC political networks.
“Your D.C. political network is the movers and shakers, people who can introduce you to super PACs, people who can get you in front of financiers and business giants,” said GOP lobbyist Stewart Verdry, founder and partner of Monument Advocacy. “The vice president has already made that jump. He doesn’t need anything like that, but the fact that some of his aides are going into private sector positions just moves him from one circle to another on the chart.”
The vice president’s office declined to comment.
When former President Joe Biden contested elections in 2020, he had a huge network of lobbyists","Add":{"Target": :"New","Property":(),"url": :"https://www.politico.com/news/2022/01/21/its-a-gold-rush-for-lobbying-firms-with-biden-ties-527635","_Identification": :"0000019d-892d-d648-a3bf-cfaf78b6000c","_Type": :"33ac701a-72c1-316a-a3a5-13918cf384df"},"_Identification": :"0000019d-892d-d648-a3bf-cfaf78b6000d","_Type": :"02ec1f82-5e56-3b8c-af6e-6fc7c8772266"}”>A vast network of lobbyistsWho worked for him during his long political career, from the Senate to the Vice President’s office. By contrast, when Kamala Harris — another former vice president with a relatively short Washington career — became the Democratic nominee in 2024, lobbyists rushed to","Add":{"Target": :"New","Property":(),"url": :"https://www.politico.com/news/2024/09/19/kamala-harris-lobbyist-influence-00179956","_Identification": :"0000019d-892d-d648-a3bf-cfaf78b60010","_Type": :"33ac701a-72c1-316a-a3a5-13918cf384df"},"_Identification": :"0000019d-892d-d648-a3bf-cfaf78b60011","_Type": :"02ec1f82-5e56-3b8c-af6e-6fc7c8772266"}”>lobbyists rushed to To know his world.
Biden “can tap into and benefit from a network of staffers moving from his Senate staff, committee staff, his campaign and consulting teams, or to the private sector through the revolving door from his VP office. There are multiple layers of lobbyists, consultants, think tankers, lawyers, CEOs, ambassadors, and even elected officials made up of former aides who he can, for the most part, rely on for support, expertise, and financial assistance,” said former Biden special Michael LaRosa. Said. aide, who left the White House shortly before the 2022 midterms.
Vance has not announced what he will do next but President Donald Trump is term limited and has called Vance “fantastic.”
Of course, there are financial incentives for K Street to leave government work.
“It makes sense to use some of the time between now and then to earn some money and try to help him from a different seat, knowing that if he wins you may be called upon to go back to a lower government salary,” Verdi said.
As speculation about 2028 swirls around the vice president, the recent move to the city is a way to get closer to some of the people in his orbit.
A person close to Vance’s team said, “Unlike Kamala Harris’s team, Vance’s staffers leaving office have only positive things to say. They are staying close to the White House and want the administration to succeed.”
The departure of Harris’s aides made headlines","Add":{"Target": :"New","Property":(),"url": :"https://www.politico.com/news/2021/12/04/kamala-harris-staff-523732","_Identification": :"0000019d-892d-d648-a3bf-cfaf78b70000","_Type": :"33ac701a-72c1-316a-a3a5-13918cf384df"},"_Identification": :"0000019d-892d-d648-a3bf-cfaf78b70001","_Type": :"02ec1f82-5e56-3b8c-af6e-6fc7c8772266"}”>departure made headlines The first year of the Biden administration and insiders described the office environment at that time as tense","Add":{"Target": :"New","Property":(),"url": :"https://www.politico.com/news/2021/06/30/kamala-harris-office-dissent-497290","_Identification": :"0000019d-892d-d648-a3bf-cfaf78b70002","_Type": :"33ac701a-72c1-316a-a3a5-13918cf384df"},"_Identification": :"0000019d-892d-d648-a3bf-cfaf78b70003","_Type": :"02ec1f82-5e56-3b8c-af6e-6fc7c8772266"}”>stressful office environment Caught in chaotic moments.
“Vice President Vance has been in politics for many years, but is very new to Washington and has a very young staff. His connective tissue and relationships are still being nurtured and cultivated,” said LaRosa, a partner at Ballard Partners, a bipartisan but Trump-linked lobbying firm. “The plane is still being created in flight, which is no different from the path created by its boss when it first ran.”
Trump’s role as a Washington outsider in 2016 and his pledge at the time to “drain the swamp” led to a race to make connections on K Street after becoming the GOP nominee. But, his second administration has seen the so-called revolving door set in motion, with senior aides leading government affairs programs.","Add":{"Target": :"New","Property":(),"url": :"https://www.politico.com/news/2025/08/20/trump-staffers-cash-in-on-their-brief-stints-in-the-white-house-00517204","_Identification": :"0000019d-892d-d648-a3bf-cfaf78b70004","_Type": :"33ac701a-72c1-316a-a3a5-13918cf384df"},"_Identification": :"0000019d-892d-d648-a3bf-cfaf78b70005","_Type": :"02ec1f82-5e56-3b8c-af6e-6fc7c8772266"}”>going towards government affairs.
Vance has a similar outsider background, including fund-raising, influencers and strategists beyond the confines of Washington. His inner circle during the 2024 race","Add":{"Target": :"New","Property":(),"url": :"https://www.politico.com/interactives/2024/jd-vance-inner-circle-guide/","_Identification": :"0000019d-892d-d648-a3bf-cfaf78b70006","_Type": :"33ac701a-72c1-316a-a3a5-13918cf384df"},"_Identification": :"0000019d-892d-d648-a3bf-cfaf78b70007","_Type": :"02ec1f82-5e56-3b8c-af6e-6fc7c8772266"}”>Inner circle during the 2024 race This includes Ohio strategist Jay Chabria and venture capitalist Peter Thiel, as well as strategists and pollsters considered part of Trump’s inner circle.
GOP lobbyist Bruce Mehlman, a partner at Mehlman Consulting, argued that a network beyond DC is necessary for a potential campaign.
Mehlman said, “In an era of populist politics where trust in Washington is historically low, running an inside-the-Beltway campaign run by well-known swamp reformers is counterproductive and brand destructive.”
