The Anti-Defamation League has signed a deal with Ballard Partners, a lobbying group founded by Brian Ballard, a fundraiser for President-elect Donald Trump who previously employed Pam Bondi, current nominee for attorney general.
In a statement to Jewish Insider, George Selim, the ADL’s executive vice president and chief engagement officer, said the group “is a non-partisan organization that has worked with elected officials across the political spectrum for over 100 years to combat antisemitism and all other forms of hate.”
Sellim stated that the ADL looks forward “to working with the incoming administration and with congressional officials across the political spectrum and at all levels of government to protect Jewish communities from hate and discrimination.”
According to Sellim, the ADL calls for the incoming administration and Congress “to take aggressive measures to combat antisemitism and anti-Zionism on and off campus, to disrupt extremism, and address the global export of hate.”
Politico profiled Ballard in April 2018, describing him as “the most powerful lobbyist in Trump’s Washington.” His previous clients include Turkey and Qatar. He has known Trump since the 1980s, contacting the future president after appreciating the business insights from The Art of the Deal.