Author: Rachael Bade & Caitlin Oprysko, POLITICO
Translation by: Tim, PANews
PANews Editor's Note: On March 2, news broke that Trump announced on his "Truth Social" platform that he instructed the presidential task force to advance a cryptocurrency strategic reserve including XRP, SOL, and ADA. While the crypto community was excited, they were also puzzled: Why were BTC, ETH, and other valuable coins not included in the strategic reserve? It wasn't until the next day, March 3, that Trump stated the crypto reserve also included BTC and ETH. The crypto community is still baffled by this "mix-up," and on May 8, the prominent political media outlet POLITICO provided an answer, revealing the insider story behind this crypto reserve post, involving Trump's inner circle and several high-ranking White House officials.
On a Sunday morning in early March, Trump posted a promotional message about the "cryptocurrency strategic reserve" on Truth Social. A few hours later, he realized he seemed to have been played.
That weekend at Mar-a-Lago, an employee from the lobbying firm run by Brian Ballard attended a fundraising event at the estate. She repeatedly approached the president to lobby him, promoting her desire to advance the gaming industry, even handing him a draft tweet template she had prepared.
It was only after Trump posted that message on social media that he realized the cryptocurrency project mentioned in it, Ripple Labs, was actually a client of Ballard's. According to two anonymous insiders, Trump was furious, exclaiming that he had been used.
He expressed to White House staff that "Ballard should not be involved in any matters going forward." Insiders revealed that the president specifically mentioned a ban on Ballard during the conversation.
Since then, Ballard has become an unwelcome figure in the White House.
Since Trump's return to Washington, Ballard has established himself as a top lobbyist in the political arena. Reports about his firm are frequently mentioned, noting that he has employed White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles and Attorney General Pam Bondi. Reports also emphasize his decades-long friendship with Trump; Ballard has intermittently represented the Trump Organization for years and has been a major fundraiser for Trump's presidential campaigns.
As a lobbyist who can "speak" to Trump, Brian Ballard's firm has astonishingly acquired 130 new clients since the November election, including business giants like Chevron, JPMorgan, Palantir, Netflix, Bayer, United Airlines, and T-Mobile. In April of this year, POLITICO's parent company, Axel Springer, also hired Ballard's firm to communicate and lobby with the Trump administration.
Ballard's firm earned $14 million in the first three months of 2025, more than three times its lobbying revenue from the same period last year.
However, there is a significant gap between Ballard's reputation and the current perception of him in the White House.
A photo of Trump taken on Inauguration Day hangs on the wall of Brian Ballard's newly established office in Washington, D.C. The photo was taken by POLITICO photographer M. Scott Mahaskey on March 13, 2018, in his office.
According to three insiders, following the cryptocurrency post incident, Ballard has at least been temporarily excluded from the White House's inner circle, and White House staff have been instructed not to meet with him. However, five individuals close to Trump indicated that the dissatisfaction with Ballard extends beyond this. Some White House officials believe he is profiting from Trump's name, excessively promoting his connections with the president and Wiles, while in reality, those connections are not as close as he claims.
Another ally close to Trump stated, "A common practice that annoys Trump is making him feel like you're capitalizing on his reputation." This ally also pointed out that Ballard always exaggerates his status and role.
Trump understands that lobbyists are in it for the money; he knows this well. But the problem is, Ballard is openly boasting and self-promoting?
The White House declined to comment.
In a statement, Ballard said he and his firm "are accustomed to false accusations from anonymous sources due to the success of the company." He told POLITICO that he has never solicited clients by boasting about his relationships with White House personnel and denied claims that he has been marginalized.
There are signs that he has not completely severed ties with the White House: POLITICO reviewed invitations to Trump fundraising events sent to Ballard since the March incident, as well as a record of arranged calls with senior officials in the Trump administration. Additionally, clients represented by Ballard still have opportunities to meet with high-level government officials; for instance, earlier this week, the president met with executives from the National Football League, which is a client of Ballard.
"Despite the attempts of these anonymous sources, Ballard Partners will continue to deliver exceptional results and efficient representation for our clients, which has been our commitment for twenty-five years," he stated.
Regarding the Truth Social incident, a colleague of Ballard's said they never attempted to mislead the president on the matter of the letter.
However, this situation seems to have caused some business troubles for Ballard. According to two insiders, some of Ballard's clients have reached out to other Trump allies, trying to arrange meetings with the president or his inner circle.
Others closer to the inner circle have been more blunt.
"Ballard presents himself as a universal lobbyist who can easily access the Trump administration, but that is simply not the case," one of the four insiders pointed out.
New Business Surge
Since Trump won the election in November, Ballard's firm has seen a surge in new business, especially as Trump has launched a full-scale offensive against his identified political enemies using the overwhelming influence of the presidency.
Ballard's clients have achieved some results during Trump's administration. Last fall, TikTok hired the firm, benefiting from Trump's temporary commitment not to enforce a ban, and is still operating in the U.S. BMW, another client of Ballard's, will benefit along with the entire auto industry, as Trump announced a delay in certain tariffs last week.
One of the firm's first clients in Washington was Reynolds American, a giant in the U.S. tobacco industry, which produces the best-selling menthol cigarettes in the U.S. and bet everything on Trump during last year's presidential election. This bet paid off just days after Trump took office—he withdrew the proposal to ban menthol cigarettes.
The U.S. cryptocurrency company Ripple Labs was mentioned in Trump's cryptocurrency-related announcement, and its issued XRP token is also related. Notably, the highest financial regulatory agency during the Trump administration has now withdrawn its appeal in a landmark enforcement case against the company. (PANews Note: On May 9, news broke that Ripple and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) reached a settlement agreement to dismiss the case for $5,000.)
Ballard has also been a "fundraising ace" for the president. As a powerful fundraiser, he has served as the finance chair for every Republican presidential candidate in Florida since John McCain's campaign in 2008. He has raised tens of millions of dollars for Trump's presidential campaign and the political action committees he supports, and he served as the finance vice chair for Trump's 2016 inauguration committee.
Shortly after Trump was sworn in in 2017, Ballard opened his firm in Washington, D.C. At that time, business leaders and world leaders were eager to understand this political newcomer in the White House. In his first year in Washington, he quickly accumulated many well-known clients, and Ballard Partners became one of the highest-grossing lobbying firms on K Street (the hub of lobbying firms in Washington).
The firm's lobbying revenue declined after Trump left office, but despite having many lobbyists with Democratic backgrounds, Ballard's lobbying group has remained competitive against other established lobbying firms in Washington.
Ballard Partners' office in Washington is the firm's first branch outside of Florida. Today, the company has established offices in nearly a dozen cities across three continents. Last year, Ballard launched a series of strategic partnerships with various government affairs firms globally, with partners spanning Canada, Japan, South Korea, Latin America, the UK, and Italy.
Ballard's Complicated Past with White House Chief of Staff Wiles
In some ways, Ballard's reputation as a top lobbyist for the Trump administration has always been at odds with his past entanglements with the president's chief of staff. Many insiders in the Trump administration who admire Wiles believe that while Florida Governor Ron DeSantis was trying to destroy Wiles' career, Ballard pushed her out of his firm.
Wiles worked at Ballard Partners for many years in Florida before leaving in 2019 due to health issues. At the time, reports indicated that Governor DeSantis spread the word that he had instructed Ballard to fire her. However, both Ballard and Wiles stated that her departure had nothing to do with DeSantis.
Some believe their relationship has since been repaired. According to two close associates, when Ballard gradually integrated into the team for the 2024 campaign, Wiles showed a positive attitude and was unwilling to hold a grudge. More importantly, the funds he injected into Trump's campaign coffers were especially welcomed.
"Susie puts the campaign first," one of Trump's confidants said.
White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles appeared in the White House Rose Garden before the "Make America Rich Again" event on April 2, 2025. —Francis Chung, POLITICO
Despite this, many core members of Trump's inner circle, while loyal to the chief of staff, remain skeptical of him.
"People won't forget the past grievances," a Trump ally said.
In a statement, Ballard said, "Susie Wiles has been, is, and will be my close friend even after we leave the political arena; any contrary claims are false."
Ballard's client list has also raised some concerns within the White House. He recently signed partnership agreements with Harvard University and PBS, both of which had previously faced public criticism from the president.
However, the "Truth Social" incident was a turning point. That weekend, Ballard's employee repeatedly urged Trump to issue that statement.
"Previously, he (Trump) had been dodging her (Ballard's employee), and then she kept pressing, so he just handed it off to an assistant to deal with," one person familiar with the situation described the events.
According to three insiders, just minutes after the president's announcement, White House cryptocurrency affairs director David Sacks angrily called Wiles to complain. At that time, the White House was preparing to host a cryptocurrency summit in Washington the following week, and the president's specific praise for certain companies while overlooking others seemed quite inappropriate.
Wiles was not accompanying the president that morning, and David Sacks began making calls to find out what was going on. Soon, White House officials realized that one of the clients mentioned in the Truth Social post was indeed Ballard's, and that tweet didn't even mention Trump's own nascent cryptocurrency company.
Trump then added the names of other cryptocurrency companies in a second "Truth Social" post, continuing to follow up on the matter. But it was too late, and Trump was furious about it.
Trump's aides were also very angry, accusing Ballard of sending his own employees to have Trump promote products for his clients. One of the president's senior aides even called Ballard to angrily reprimand him.
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