How big business is making its relationship with Republicans great again
Former GOP Rep. Rodney Davis is the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s new top lobbyist. Can he warm his former Republican colleagues’ frosty relationship with the Chamber in time for reconciliation and the Trump presidency?
Donald Trump’s Washington is going to be packed with heavyweights from big business such as Elon Musk, Scott Bessent and Howard Lutnick. They all have the inside track.
Then, there’s the traditional, powerful industries represented by another major heavyweight: the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, which, for much of its 100-plus year history, has been a reliable ally of the Republican Party.
But it’s no secret that in recent years, the Chamber’s partnership with the GOP has come to grief.
Part of it is political. Part of it is policy.
But in its totality, the Chamber is now facing a massive challenge: In January, Trump — a populist president vowing new tariffs and pro-union policies — will be sworn into office riding a mandate for change. Congress, meanwhile, is expected to take up a series of massive bills that will dispose of some of the Chamber’s top issues: taxes, energy permitting and immigration.
Will the Chamber even get a seat at the table? Not unless someone can patch up their recent feud with Republicans. So how do you fix that?
Well, it all begins with a good lobbyist. Someone who can open doors, butter up egos and fill a table at the Capital Grille. And that’s where former Congressman Rodney Davis comes in.
Davis, who served in the House from 2013 to 2023, has been given a big job: get the Chamber’s swagger back. Persuade his old Republican colleagues in Congress to forget — or at least forgive — their recent grudges against the Chamber, and instead recall their shared priorities, of which there are many.
Playbook co-author Rachael Bade spoke with Davis in an interview for the Playbook Deep Dive podcast on Thursday to find out how exactly he’s going to do this. In many ways, he rejected the premise, but shared telling details about how the business community is advancing its priorities in Trump’s new Washington — including what they’d like to see in a reconciliation bill — and what relationships are the most valuable for notching wins in the new Congress and in the White House.
