JUNE 19, 2025

Facing another crisis, Boeing can tap into years of political largesse

Aircraft and aerospace giant Boeing faces yet another potential corporate crisis after one of its 787 Dreamliner widebody jets, operated by Air India, plunged into a neighborhood and killed all but one passenger aboard.

While a nascent investigation hasn’t yet revealed the crash’s cause, the disaster is likely to prompt new questions from American lawmakers and regulators who’ve pilloried Boeing officials for years about their safety culture. The crashes of two Boeing 737 Max aircraft and other non-fatal incidents led to massive upheaval within the company and ongoing legal fights with the federal government. Even before this most recent crash, members of Congress have demanded the company step up its safety efforts.

But, as Dave Levinthal reports, the company has been preparing for political confrontation with a multilayered approach that involves wooing lawmakers and lobbying regulators.

Follow the money

Boeing was one of numerous corporations, groups and individuals who made seven-figure donations to President Donald Trump’s 2025 inauguration festivities. That contribution entitled Boeing executives to first-tier perks and access, including prime tickets to presidential balls and exclusive meet-and-greets with Trump and other incoming administration officials.
Every year from 2008 to 2024, Boeing spent at least $11.9 million on federal lobbying, making it one of the strongest lobbying forces among all corporations, unions, trade associations and special interest groups, according to federal records analyzed by OpenSecrets.
During the first three months of 2025, Boeing spent $2.6 million on a team of 60 federal-level lobbyists. They include more than two dozen who are employed by Boeing directly. So far this year, Boeing has also contracted with nine outside lobbying firms, including Crossroads Strategies, the Lugar Group, Squire Patton Boggs and the S-3 Group.
Among the contract Boeing lobbyists are a number of “revolvers” — people who worked in the federal government before moving to K Street. They include four former members of Congress: Sens. Trent Lott (R-Miss.) and John Breaux (D-La.), and Reps. Jack Kingston (R-Ga.) and Bill Shuster (R-Pa.).
Boeing has also maintained one of the nation’s most active corporate political action committees over the past two decades, spreading seven-figure totals among hundreds of federal candidates and other political committees each election cycle.
Boeing’s PAC is bipartisan in its giving (but has tilted right in recent years). For example, senior Democratic Reps. Katherine Clark of Massachusetts and James Clyburn of South Carolina each received $10,000 contributions, the legal maximum last election cycle, as did Republican Speaker Mike Johnson and (La.) Rep. Tom Emmer (R) of Minnesota.
It also gives generously to national party committees such as the National Republican Senatorial Committee and Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, leadership PACs, and other party organs such as the Republican Governors Association, Democratic Governors Association, Republican Party of California, Democratic Party of Virginia and Congressional Black Caucus PAC.

The oil and gas industry spent $38 million on lobbying the federal government during the first quarter of 2025, a step back from the $44 million spent in the same period of 2024, as executives and lobbyists dealt with a change in energy policies, reports Natalie Jonas.

Last year, the oil and gas industry spent over $153 million on lobbying the federal government, its biggest total during the Biden administration, when the White House was pushing for alternative energy solutions even as U.S. oil production hit a record high.

With Republicans now in full control of the federal government, the oil and gas industry could be positioned for another boom. President Donald Trump’s push for homegrown energy has invigorated investment into national energy and exploration of vulnerable lands across the country. As a result, the oil and gas industry has spent millions in lobbying to promote fossil fuel exploration, pro-extraction policies and reduced regulation. And there are signs of a potential energy downturn that could spur increased lobbying.

ConocoPhillips spent the most on lobbying of any company in the industry, directing over $3.2 million toward influence activities in the first three months of 2025, followed by Koch Inc., which spent $2.8 million in the quarter before announcing in April it was leaving the global oil trade to focus on less volatile markets.

What else we're reading

Colorado pauses campaign finance database after Minnesota shootings (Axios)

Bernie Sanders, seven other senators urge Democrats to break with billionaire donors (The Washington Post)

Cuomo Exploits Loophole to Raise Big Money From Restricted Donors (Sludge)

15 years after Citizens United, big money dominates politics in Pa. and beyond (New Jersey Monitor)

OpenSecrets in the News

See our media citations from outlets around the nation this week:

NY candidates broke spending records in first year of state-funded matching program (Albany Times Union)

New York already had some of the most expensive state legislative races in the country, according to data collected by OpenSecrets, a national nonprofit that tracks money in politics.

How Home Depot Got Caught in Trump's Immigration Crackdown (Newsweek)

The company also stresses that it does not endorse presidential candidates. But its political action committee has made substantial donations to Republican causes. In the 2024 election cycle, the Home Depot PAC contributed $1 million to the School Freedom Fund and $220,151 to the National Republican Congressional Committee. Another $143,569 was directed to Trump's campaign, according to OpenSecrets, though $210,900 was directed to the Kamala Harris campaign.

EPA drops case against prison company that has donated heavily to Trump (The Guardian)

Geo and its affiliated Pacs donated heavily to Trump Pacs and Republican congressional campaigns, federal election records compiled by the OpenSecrets nonprofit shows. That included a $1m to Trump’s Make America Great Again Pac, and over $1.2m to the Congressional Leadership Fund and Senate Leadership Fund. Geo also contributed $500,000 to Trump’s inauguration. Geo was the first company to max out political donations to Trump’s campaign.

Silicon Valley wants to ban Chinese drones while ‘covering’ San Francisco in their own (The San Francisco Standard)

Meanwhile, U.S. drone companies and DJI have been battling it out in Washington. Last year, Skydio spent $680,000 on lobbying efforts, Teal Drones spent $80,000, and Brinc Drones spent $240,000, according to Open Secrets.

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