Squire Patton Boggs’ lobbying revenue rises 31% as recent Trump administration officials join its roster

By Beatrix Holloway

WASHINGTON — Squire Patton Boggs, the law firm whose lobbying roster includes former Reps. Bill Shuster, R-Pa., and Jack Kingston, R-Ga., reported $22.3 million in federal lobbying revenue in the first nine months of 2026, up about 31% from $17.1 million in the same period of 2025, according to its Lobbying Disclosure Act filings. That is within $1 million of the firm’s full-year 2025 total of $23.1 million.

The firm reported lobbying for 210 clients through September. Forty-seven of them were new this year, accounting for about $7.1 million in fees. Quarterly revenue rose from $6.9 million in the first quarter to $7.6 million in the second and $7.9 million in the third. The figures are firm revenue, the fees clients reported paying for lobbying, and do not show what any individual at the firm earns.

Part of the growth has come with new hires from the Trump administration. Adam Suess, who was senior counselor to the secretary of the interior and acting assistant secretary for land and minerals management, joined the firm as a principal in February, according to a firm announcement. Trevor Kellogg, chief of staff of the Commerce Department’s International Trade Administration, joined in July, according to another.

From Interior to energy clients

Suess is listed on 15 clients this year, beginning with the second quarter, on engagements worth about $3.0 million in fees. The largest is Polar LNG, which paid $760,000 on “LNG permitting, exports and project development,” with contacts listed at the Energy, State and Treasury departments, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and the Executive Office of the President. E&E News reported in July that Suess was lobbying for Polar LNG, the American Petroleum Institute, Pilot and Enercon Services.

He is also listed on the account of the Pebble Partnership, the developer of the proposed Pebble copper and gold mine in Alaska, which paid $420,000 on “administration consideration and approvals related to the Pebble Mine,” with contacts at the Army Corps of Engineers, the Environmental Protection Agency, the Justice Department and the White House. Shuster is also on that account. Suess is listed as well for KKR on “tax policy, critical minerals, and matters related to energy,” for the Simplot Company on mining and agriculture, and for W&T Offshore on offshore oil and gas development; those three engagements list contacts at the Interior Department.

Kellogg’s filings list his ITA post through July 2026. He is listed on 10 clients in the third quarter, worth about $1.9 million, including the defense company Paradigm Operations on the Golden Dome missile defense bill, Allison Transmission, the Global Electronics Association and Bunge North America. Several of those engagements list contacts at the Commerce Department and the U.S. Trade Representative. Lobbying reports list agencies contacted on each engagement but do not say which lobbyist made which contact. Federal law restricts some former senior officials from contacting their former agencies for a year after leaving government.

The firm’s largest clients

The largest client this year is Bae, Kim & Lee, the South Korean law firm, acting for KCIH and YPC, which paid $1.14 million on “foreign investment in a Tennessee critical minerals smelter.” SK Americas paid $530,000 on chemicals, pharmaceuticals, batteries and semiconductors, and JBS USA paid $420,000. The prediction market Kalshi, a new client, paid $360,000 on “event contracts regulation and prediction markets.”

The government of the U.S. Virgin Islands paid $330,000 through September, down from $860,000 in 2025, on matters including the redevelopment of the Caneel Bay resort on St. John and the St. Croix refinery. Kingston’s 17 clients include Newsmax, Coca-Cola, Leidos and, starting in the third quarter, the TikTok USDS Joint Venture.

The Inquisitor has reported on former members of Congress who lobby at the largest firms.

Request for comment

The Washington Inquisitor asked Squire Patton Boggs about its growth and how it applies post-employment restrictions to recently hired officials, and asked Trevor Kellogg, the Pebble Partnership and KKR for comment. It also asked Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility, which monitors the Interior Department, for comment. This story will be updated with any responses.