WASHINGTON — Jimmy Sapp, who until September was the Pentagon’s second-ranking legislative affairs official, is now registered to lobby for four Ballard Partners clients, including American Rheinmetall, the U.S. arm of German defense company Rheinmetall, according to Lobbying Disclosure Act filings.
Ballard Partners announced on Sept. 2 that Sapp had joined its Washington office as a partner. The firm said he served as principal deputy assistant secretary of war for legislative affairs from January 2025 to September 2026 and as acting chief of staff to Deputy Secretary of War Steve Feinberg from March to July 2026. “Few people in Washington understand the inner workings of the Pentagon, the legislative process, and the national security priorities of this Administration as well as Jimmy does,” founder Brian Ballard said in the firm’s announcement.
Sapp said in the same release that he looked forward “to bringing that experience to bear for Ballard’s clients as they navigate an increasingly complex national security and defense landscape.” The firm credited him with leading a team that oversaw more than 3,700 congressional engagements, helping win more than 50 Senate confirmations of civilian Pentagon appointees in the administration’s first year and working to secure more than $150 billion for the department in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act.
His official Department of War biography says he also chaired the department’s Executive Resources Board, which oversees Senior Executive Service hiring, and earlier served as deputy assistant secretary for House affairs. Before the Pentagon, he was a senior professional staff member on the House Judiciary Committee and held posts at the Justice Department’s Office of Justice Programs and the White House Office of Presidential Personnel.
Four clients in six weeks
The filings list Sapp on four Ballard clients, all registered or reported since late September:
| Client | Filing | Effective / posted | Issue as described in the filing | Lobbyists listed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| American Rheinmetall (Michigan) | Q3 2026 report | Client since June 18; posted Oct. 15 | “Army armored vehicle production and procurement” | Brian Ballard, Sylvester Lukis, Thomas Boodry, Jimmy Sapp (new) |
| Traf-Kapasite JV (Turkey) | Registration | Effective Sept. 25; posted Oct. 8 | “DOW construction contacts for rebuilding damaged military installations overseas” | Brian Ballard, Jimmy Sapp, Thomas Boodry |
| Alloy Energy LLC (Texas) | Registration; Q3 report | Effective Sept. 29; posted Oct. 9 and Oct. 15 | “Defense related products for mineral reclamation” | Brian Ballard, Jimmy Sapp, Micah Ketchel, Jasmine Zaki |
| American Advanced Materials (New York) | Registration | Effective Oct. 14; posted Nov. 9 | “Guidance and advocacy regarding federal funding” | Brian Ballard, William Russell, Jimmy Sapp, Thomas Boodry |
The largest of the four by disclosed fees is American Rheinmetall, which the filing describes as an “advanced tracked and wheeled vehicle manufacturer.” Ballard reported $150,000 in income from the company for the third quarter. The report lists the Defense Department, the Navy, the House and the Senate as the entities contacted on the issue.
Traf-Kapasite JV is a construction and site-management joint venture based in Turkey. Its registration lists as foreign entities Traf İnşaat Taahhüt A.Ş. and Kapasite Tesis Yönetim Hizmetleri A.Ş., along with their listed owners. American Advanced Materials describes itself in its filing as a critical-minerals company; Alloy Energy as an energy, oil and gas company.
What the filings show, and what they don’t
Each filing lists Sapp’s covered positions, the government jobs that lobbying law requires registrants to disclose, beginning with “PDAS of War, LA, DOD, 25-26” and “Acting CoS to the DSD, DOD, 26.”
The quarterly reports list the agencies and chambers contacted for each issue as a whole. They do not say which of the listed lobbyists made which contacts, and the Rheinmetall report marks Sapp as a lobbyist newly added during the quarter. Federal ethics law, 18 U.S.C. § 207, sets post-employment limits on former executive-branch officials. They include a one-year restriction on certain senior employees contacting their former agency on behalf of others. Whether and how those limits apply depends on an official’s position and pay, and nothing in the filings addresses that question.
Ballard Partners is one of Washington’s highest-grossing lobbying firms. It reported $97.27 million in lobbying income for the first nine months of 2026, more than its $88.06 million for all of 2025, according to the Inquisitor’s October analysis of the firm’s latest amended LDA reports. Those figures are firm revenue, not what any lobbyist is paid.
Sapp is one of several lobbyists with administration or Capitol Hill backgrounds on the firm’s recent registrations; Micah Ketchel and Thomas Boodry, who joined Ballard earlier, also appear on his clients’ filings. Fourth-quarter lobbying reports, which will show fees and contacts for October through December, are due Jan. 20.
Featured photo: Brian Ballard, founder and president of Ballard Partners. (Photo: Ballard Partners)
Leave a Reply