Congressional lobbying spending hits high, remains on pace for another record year

Federal lobbying spending totaled nearly $4.1 billion through the first nine months of the year, according to an OpenSecrets analysis of federal lobbying disclosures, keeping 2026 on pace to extend a record-setting streak that has seen an annual spending increase every year since 2016. The third-quarter total was up 2.1% — or, about $26.8 million — from the same period in 2025, but represents a 1.8% drop when adjusted for inflation.

Trade associations and the pharmaceutical and manufacturing industries continued to lead the record total of 18,165 organizations that have spent on federal lobbying during the first nine months of the year. The National Association of Realtors — which increased its quarterly lobbying spending by nearly 150% from the same period in 2025 — and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce continued to top the list of individual spenders.

Top firms

Several of the quarter’s leading lobbying firms share a prominent common denominator: strong ties to President Donald Trump’s administration.

Ballard Partners posted a record $34.9 million in third-quarter lobbying revenue — up 5.8% ($1.9 million) from the previous quarter and 39.7% from the same period in 2025.

Ballard reported an unprecedented $98.1 million in lobbying revenue through three quarters. Not only is it the highest total ever recorded by any firm through nine months, but it also surpasses the previous record for a full year — a mark Ballard set in 2025 with $88.1 million — in just nine months.

The firm opened its first Washington office in 2017. Founder Brian Ballard chaired the Trump Victory PAC in 2016 and 2017. Its roster of past employees include former White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles, who was replaced days after the midterm elections, and former Attorney General Pam Bondi.

Ballard has reported 399 clients through the first nine months of 2026, and the top six account for 8.96% of its reported compensation. Its top client remained the Puerto Rican bank Bancrédito International Bank & Trust, which paid Ballard $1.9 million. That bank is in liquidation after founder Julio Herrera Veluntini was implicated in a corruption and campaign finance case. Veluntini was pardoned in January 2026 for bribery-related charges after donating $3.5 million to Trump’s super PAC.

Other top clients include Neoprime Capital Partners ($1.6 million), Neobreeze Ltd ($1.5 million) and Tiger Biosciences ($1.4 million).

BGR Group reported $22.5 million in lobbying revenue during the quarter, up 3.3% from the second quarter and 17.4% from the third quarter in 2025. It is led by former Trump campaign adviser David Urban and previously employed Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy. BGR Group has raked in $65.2 million across the first three quarters of 2026, and its 388 clients mark a 19.8% increase from 2025.

Miller Strategies reported $18.9 million in quarterly revenue — up $1.7 million (9.8%) from the second quarter — and has pulled in $51.3 million through nine months of 2026. Founder Jeff Miller, a prominent Republican fundraiser appointed by Trump to chair the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Council, was the finance chair for the 2025 presidential inaugural committee. The firm’s record total of 196 clients in 2026 is up 13.3% from last year.

Top spenders

The National Association of Realtors topped all clients by spending $27.4 million in the third quarter, an 87% increase from the second quarter of 2026 and a 149.7% jump from the same period in 2025. The group has spent $57.6 million through nine months of the year, outspending the U.S. Chamber of Commerce by $3 million. The Chamber, the second-leading spender for the year, is the only other organization to top $10 million during the quarter.

The Chamber’s $16.9 million third-quarter outlay marked a 2.8% dip from the second quarter, when it spent $17.4 million, but represented a nearly 20% increase over the $14.1 million it reported in the third quarter in 2025. The business association’s year-to-date spending stands at $54.6 million.

The Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, the trade group representing branded drugmakers, spent $7.1 million during the quarter. While that marked a 4.3% drop and its second consecutive quarterly decline of 2026, PhRMA remains the third-leading spender overall this year at $26.9 million.

College football is back. So is the fight over who controls its billions.

Meanwhile, Koch Inc. posted one of the quarter’s most notable surges, spending $6.9 million on federal lobbying — a 141% increase over its second-quarter output ($2.8 million). It shattered its previous quarterly record of $4.6 million set in the first quarter of 2019 by 48%. The company’s filings reference more than a dozen bills and resolutions, including those addressing excise taxes on major oil and gas companies and Environmental Protection Agency regulations along with legislation related to farming and infrastructure.

Top sectors

Lobbying spending across six  sectors increased compared to the third quarter of 2025, with the largest jumps coming in the construction sector (9.9%), the finance, insurance and real estate sector (9.7%) and the lawyers and lobbyists sector (8.1%). A steady increase also was observed in the communications and electronics sector, which poured in $172 million during the third quarter of 2026 compared to $168 million in the same time period in 2025.

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The sharpest decreases came from the ideological and single-issue sectors, which dropped by 10.5% compared with the same period in 2025, and agribusiness, which fell by 6.8%. Spenders classified as “other” fell by 10.3%.

Top issues and bills

Continuing a trend from the first two quarters of 2026, federal spending was the most heavily lobbied issue area, followed by defense, health, taxation and trade. A total of 4,107 clients reported lobbying on budget and appropriations during the third quarter of 2026, while 2,121 lobbied on health issues, 2,227 on defense and 1,692 on tax issues. Lobbying disclosure reports do not break down expenditures by bill or issue, so client counts remain one of the only ways to measure intensity.

The five bills most heavily lobbied in the second quarter were also lobbied most frequently during the third, though in most cases, there were fewer clients lobbying them:

• The One Big Beautiful Bill remained the most-lobbied piece of legislation, but its number of clients dropped from 767 to 667. Though the bill passed last year, companies and organizations continue to lobby federal agencies over its implementation.

• The Farm, Food, and National Security Act of 2026, which would reauthorize federal farm policy and nutrition assistance, continued to hold the second spot with 260 clients, down from 287.

• Lobbying on the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act dropped to 155 clients from 201. The broad bipartisan package aims to expand housing supply by allowing more Community Development Block Grant funding to be used for housing construction, easing regulatory barriers and restricting institutional acquisitions of single-family homes.

• The SPEED Act, which would accelerate environmental reviews and fast-track energy and infrastructure projects, ranked fourth with 148 clients, down from 162.

• Lobbying on the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act, the top legislative priority for the cryptocurrency industry, rose to 138 clients, up from 128 in the second quarter. Despite the lobbying push, the bill failed in a Senate procedural vote in September and is now viewed as unlikely to pass.

The African Growth and Opportunity Act Extension Act ranked next in number of clients, overtaking two major bills – the Consolidated Appropriations Act (which funded much of the federal government for fiscal 2026) and the National Defense Authorization Act. The AGOA Extension Act, passed by both chambers in September, renewed an agreement that provides eligible African countries with duty-free access to the U.S. market.

Rounding out the top 10 most-lobbied bills were the Improving Seniors’ Timely Access to Care Act of 2025 – a bill to amend authorization processes under Medicare Advantage – and the Fix Our Forests Act. That legislation has divided environmental advocacy groups, driving lobbying on the bill as it approaches a final vote.