With help from Daniel Lippman

WHAT MONAHAN’S TELLING THE HILL: PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan defended the decision to join forces with the Saudi-backed rival league LIV Golf in a letter to Congress, saying inaction from lawmakers left him little other choice, Hailey Fuchs and I report.

— “During this intense battle, we met with several Members of Congress and policy experts to discuss the PIF’s attempt to take over the game of golf in the United States, and suggested ways that Congress could support us in these efforts,” Monahan told senators in a letter obtained by POLITICO, referring to the Saudi sovereign wealth fund, the Public Investment Fund.

— “While we are grateful for the written declarations of support we received from certain members, we were largely left on our own to fend off the attacks, ostensibly due to the United States’ complex geopolitical alliance with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. This left the very real prospect of another decade of expensive and distracting litigation and the PGA TOUR’s long-term existence under threat.”

— The letter, dated June 9, was a volley of sorts in an increasingly pique war of words between the PGA and a group of lawmakers on the Hill, who have criticized the tour and Monahan specifically for going back on his criticism of the Saudis.

— Monahan attempted to tamp down that bipartisan fury by framing the deal as a necessary business decision while downplaying Saudi financiers’ involvement with day-to-day management of the new entity and conceding his role in advancing allegations of Saudi “sportswashing.”

— “Let me be clear that despite numerous reports, this arrangement is not a merger between the PGA TOUR, LIV Golf, and the PIF,” Monahan wrote. The PGA Tour, he said, “will at all times hold the majority of the Board seats and be in control of this new entity, regardless of the size of PIF’s investment.”

— Though Yasir bin Othman Al-Rumayyan, PIF’s governor, will serve as the chair of the new entity, Monahan maintained that PIF “will be a minority investor in the new commercial entity, while the PGA TOUR will be the majority equity investor.” He compared the arrangement to that of other American companies in which PIF has invested.

— Still, the letter appears not to have assuaged all concerns about the forthcoming union, with Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), the chair of a Homeland Security investigative subcommittee, announcing a new inquiry into the deal on Monday — to say nothing of the antitrust scrutiny the deal is sure to face from the Biden administration.

— “We are confident that once Congress learns more about how the PGA TOUR will control this new venture, they will understand the opportunities this will create for our players, our communities and our sport, all while protecting an American golf institution,” the PGA Tour said in a statement to POLITICO.

Happy Tuesday and welcome to PI. Send lobbying tips: [email protected]. And be sure to follow me on Twitter: @caitlinoprysko.

KOCHS TAKE ON TRUMP: “The political network financed largely by billionaire Charles Koch is launching a wave of digital ads targeting former President Donald Trump,” CNBC’s Brian Schwartz reports, with the network arguing that a Trump victory in the Republican presidential primary would hand the White House back to President Joe Biden.

— One of the spots from the Americans for Prosperity Action super PAC “has a voiceover saying, ‘The only way Biden wins is if we nominate Trump again.’ Another ad, called ‘No Thanks,’ says, ‘Trump can’t win’ and ‘we need new leadership.’”

— Americans for Prosperity Action dropped nearly $70 million in last year’s midterms, and has already clocked more than $300,000 in independent expenditures opposing Trump and Biden. The new ad blitz will target “voters in the key early primary and caucus states Iowa, South Carolina, New Hampshire and Nevada” and comes as the group said earlier this year it would oppose Trump in the GOP primary.

— Bloom is also adding Brian Vanderbloemen to lead its federal lobbying efforts as vice president of government affairs and policy, working to shape implementation of the energy provisions in the infrastructure bill and Inflation Reduction Act. He most recently helped lead federal government affairs for the SAS Institute, and before that consulted for utilities like Duke Energy, Dominion and Southern Company.

FLYING IN: The Veteran Mental Health Leadership Coalition began a three-day fly-in today to take its case for easing regulations on psychedelic drugs directly to lawmakers. As PI wrote last month, the coalition is one of several groups advocating for more research into the therapeutic use of drugs like psilocybin, the hallucinogen found in magic mushrooms, that has landed some powerful allies on K Street in recent years.

— The coalition is looking to rally support for bipartisan legislation from Cory Booker (D-N.J.) and Rand Paul (R-Ky.) in the Senate and Nancy Mace (R-S.C.) and Madeleine Dean (D-Pa.) that would make it easier for the DEA to reschedule classes of substances designated as a breakthrough therapy like psychedelics to remove a key barrier for researchers and patients alike. As part of the fly-in, the coalition is also hosting a briefing with the co-chairs of the Congressional Neuroscience Caucus, Reps. Earl Blumenauer (D-Ore.) and Morgan Luttrell (R-Texas).

— The Insured Retirement Institute will kick off its fly-in tomorrow. The industry group’s board of directors, which includes senior executives from life insurers, broker-dealer firms and asset management companies, will discuss IRI’s 28-point retirement security blueprint with nearly 20 offices, including those of Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, Sens. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Bill Cassidy (R-La.) and Kyrsten Sinema (I-Ariz.) as well as House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and Reps. Virginia Foxx (R-N.C.) and Frank Lucas (R-Okla.).

GOODLATTE SIGNS CHAMBER LEGAL REFORM ARM: The U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s Institute for Legal Reform, which lobbies for various kinds of tort reforms, has hired a top former GOP lawmaker to help its agenda on the Hill. Bob Goodlatte, a former chair of the House Judiciary Committee before deciding not to run for reelection in 2018, began working for the Institute for Legal Reform in April, according to a newly filed disclosure. Matthew Barblan, a former lobbyist for the Association of American Publishers, will work on the account as well.

— Much of the institute’s advocacy as of late has revolved around instituting caps on how much attorneys can charge for Camp Lejeune health-related lawsuits. The ILR has also long pushed for disclosure requirements surrounding third-party litigation funding — which involves financing lawsuits, typically in exchange for a cut of any settlements or judgements — and lobbied aggressively for liability protections for businesses at the height of Covid.

FIRST IN PI — HYDROGEN COMPANY’S D.C. FOOTPRINT BLOOMS: Bloom Energy, a California-based manufacturer of hydrogen fuel cells, is beefing up its presence in the nation’s capital and global lobbying footprint. James Roth is joining Bloom as its senior vice president of global government affairs and policy to lead the company’s advocacy efforts in D.C. and overseas, where Bloom is looking to expand to new markets. He was most recently with Conservation International and before that led federal affairs for Starbucks and worked for former Sen. Evan Bayh.

META IN THE MIDDLE: “The top Republican on the Senate Commerce Committee denounced Meta for allegedly using its recommendation systems to promote the distribution and sale of child sexual abuse material in pedophile networks on Instagram,” our Rebecca Kern reports.

— “Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) wrote to Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg saying he’s investigating the Wall Street Journal’s report last week that Instagram allegedly helped to connect groups of pedophile networks, according to a copy of a letter sent Monday that was obtained by POLITICO.”

— “The letter comes as Congress and state legislatures advance a growing number of bills to set stronger guardrails for kids and teens’ safety and mental health on social media platforms. The White House is also urging Congress and the platforms to protect kids online as rates of depression among young adults doubled from 2011 to 2021.”

— “The latest Meta scandal and Cruz’s letter puts the onus on Senate Commerce Chair Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.) to consider children’s online safety and privacy bills that advanced in a bipartisan fashion out of her panel last year but have not seen action this Congress.”

— Separately, an aide for Cruz, who is already probing social media giants over their algorithms and alleged censorship, told POLITICO that the senator wants to haul Meta before the committee to testify on the WSJ report.

SPOTTED at Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck for a book party on Monday for former Interior Secretary David Bernhardt’s new book “You Report To Me,” per a tipster: Norm Brownstein, Jon Hrobsky, Luke Johnson, Jason Buckner, Kate Gonzales, Bella Wolitz and William McGrath of Brownstein, Sen. Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.), Cole Rojewski of RBW Group, William Bourdeau of Harris Farms, Cameron Bishop of J.R. Simplot Company, Lesley Schaaff of Hess, Holly Hopkins of the American Petroleum Institute, Mike Olsen of Aker Solutions, Taylor Playforth of Rep. Garret Graves’ (R-La.) office, Blake Schindler of Sen. Bill Cassidy’s (R-La.) office, Micah Chambers of Cramer’s office, John Tanner and Tripp Parks of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee and Rebecca Konolige and Rob MacGregor of the House Natural Resources Committee.

— Prashant Yerramalli has joined the online brokerage Public as its vice president of operations and regulatory affairs. He was most recently chief of staff to SEC Chair Gary Gensler.

— Evan Knisely has joined the board of directors of SIGA Technologies. He’s the founder of Tides Group.

— The National Automatic Merchandising Association has added Matt Bisenius as vice president of external affairs. He was most recently director of government affairs with the American Cleaning Institute.

— Aaron Guiterman will be executive vice president and market leader for Washington, D.C., at BCW. He previously was chair for energy and industrials policy at Edelman Global Advisory.

— Joe Radosevich is now vice president of campaigns and outreach at Center for American Progress Action Fund. He was previously chief of staff to then-Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro and is an Amy Klobuchar alum.

— The Edison Electric Institute elected Pedro Pizarro, president and CEO of Edison International, as chair of the board, succeeding Ameren’s Warner Baxter. Maria Pope, president and CEO of Portland General Electric, was elected vice chair. Pizarro and Pope were both previously vice chairs.

— Elastic is joining BSA | The Software Alliance as a global member, and chief legal officer Carolyn Herzog is joining the association’s board of directors. TriNet executive vice president of business affairs, chief legal officer and secretary Samantha Wellington is also joining the board.

— Eva Kemp is now vice president of campaigns at American Bridge 21st Century. She previously was senior vice president of paid media at Precision Strategies, and is a Biden White House alum.

— Alex Ortiz is now a senior vice president at Capitol Hill Consulting Group. He most recently was chief of staff for Rep. Mary Peltola (D-Alaska).

— Touchdown Strategies has added Dan Ronayne as senior vice president and Monica Klopp as operations manager. Ronayne previously was president of Asta Strategies and is a Senate Republican Conference and a Bush campaign alum. Klopp previously was a marketing and comms manager for Georgia-Pacific.

— Talia La Schiazza is now policy communications manager at Intel Corporation. She previously was account supervisor of corporate affairs at BCW Global.

End Citizens United - Priority 2024 (Reps. Pat Ryan, Yadira Caraveo, Marie Gluesenkamp Perez, Chris Deluzio, Eric Sorensen, Greg Landsman, End Citizens United)

CA Progressive PAC (Super PAC)
Chris Hanson to Save America 2024 (Super PAC)
Minority Majority Makers (Super PAC)

Avise Solutions: Team Hallahan On Behalf Of National Resources Defense Council Action Fund, Inc
Berquam Ventures, LLC: Team Hallahan On Behalf Of National Resources Defense Council Action Fund, Inc
Casey Trupin: North Forty Group LLC
Cornerstone Government Affairs, Inc.: Baker Hughes Company
Empire Consulting Group: Constellation Brands, Inc.
Goodlatte Group, LLC F.K.A. Robert Goodlatte: U. S. Chamber Of Commerce Institute For Legal Reform
Mclarty Inbound LLC: Vng Limited
Mr. Landon Fulmer: Sunland Park Racetrack & Casino
Pioneer Public Affairs: The Pew Charitable Trusts
Team Hallahan LLC: National Resources Defense Council Action Fund, Inc
Tiber Creek Group: Recora

None.