Duffy’s son-in-law gets a natural gas boost

POLITICO Influence

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POLITICO Influence

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FIRST IN PI — The developers of a multi-billion-dollar natural gas export facility recently donated $125,000 to a group supporting the congressional run of the son-in-law of Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, who holds major sway over their project, our colleagues Daniel L. and Mike Soraghan report.

— Fairwood Peninsula Energy in May donated $125,000 to Northwoods Future PAC, a super PAC supporting Duffy’s son-in-law Michael Alfonso, according to FEC records. It’s the only federal political donation Fairwood Peninsula Energy has ever reported making.

— Alfonso faces a crowded primary on Tuesday in Duffy’s old congressional district in Wisconsin. PI previously reported that Alfonso raised significant PAC donations from transportation industry PACs even though he had no experience in transportation policy.

— In March 2025, Delfin LNG, which is a wholly owned subsidiary of Fairwood Peninsula Energy, received a license from DOT’s Maritime Administration to develop a deepwater port for exporting natural gas. Delfin thanked Duffy for his “significant work” that he and Energy Secretary Chris Wright did on the project approval, saying Duffy and Wright had the company’s “deep appreciation” for their efforts.

— As secretary of Transportation, Duffy has the power to revoke the license of the uncompleted terminal, which was unsuccessfully challenged in court by three environmental groups.

— The pro-Alfonso super PAC also received $1 million from Duffy’s old campaign account and is supporting Alfonso’s run with ads and mailers. Alfonso campaign manager William Blathras said in a statement that “Michael answers only to the people of Wisconsin’s 7th District.”

— “The desperate attacks against President Trump’s choice to represent WI-7 won’t change the fact that Michael’s allegiance has always been with Wisconsin: where he grew up hunting, fishing, and playing hockey and football, met his wife, worked construction to pay his way through UW–Madison, helped build these communities with his own hands, and is now raising his family,” he said.

— The “massive financial contribution to a Duffy family member” creates conflict-of-interest concerns, said Tyson Slocum, director of the energy program at Public Citizen, which has formally raised concerns about the Delfin project. Duffy should recuse himself from decisions about the project, he added.

— “Delfin’s entire business model relies upon some DOT approvals, because it’s an offshore terminal,” Slocum said.

— Spokespeople for Delfin, Northwoods Future PAC and Fairwood Peninsula Energy CEO Frederick Jones didn’t respond to requests for comment. DOT spokesperson Nate Sizemore noted that the Delfin project goes back to 2017 when Energy Secretary Rick Perry approved its application and that it got numerous extensions from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission between 2020 and 2023.

— “Biden and Buttigieg hated fossil fuels, and they did everything in their power to shut down production and fulfill their radical climate agenda,” he said. “Under President Trump’s direction, the Department of Transportation unleashed America’s energy dominance.” Sizemore also said that the Maritime Administration has approved licenses for other deepwater energy projects such as Texas Gulflink and Northeast Gateway Energy Bridge.

Happy Monday and welcome to PI. Send tips to [email protected], [email protected] and [email protected] or message us on Signal at DanielLippman.28, jwendler.89 and danielbarnes.13. And don’t forget to follow us on X at @dlippman, @jacob_wendler and @dnlbrns.

DEMS PUT AI CEOS ON NOTICE: Democratic lawmakers ramped up their scrutiny of artificial intelligence companies in two new letters today, signaling that the industry is likely to face an unfriendly spotlight if Democrats retake power in this fall’s midterm elections, Jacob reports.

— Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) called on the leaders of three major AI companies to pause development of AI, writing in a letter to Sam Altman of OpenAI, Dario Amodei of Anthropic and Mark Zuckerberg of Meta that the technology has reached a “critical threshold” of risk. It comes after OpenAI and Anthropic announced that their newest models had carried out unauthorized cyberattacks during testing.

— And 19 House Democrats — led by Congressional Progressive Caucus Chair Greg Casar (D-Texas) — wrote to Speaker Mike Johnson urging him to “immediately schedule open hearings” with the CEOs of the country’s largest AI companies. POLITICO previously reported that the White House intervened to try to spare Zuckerberg and Google CEO Sundar Pichai from appearing at a Senate Judiciary hearing about child safety practices.

— A spokesperson for OpenAI declined to comment on the letter, while a spokesperson for Anthropic did not respond to a request for comment. A spokesperson for Meta referred PI to a blog post Zuckerberg published this morning in which he argued that the government should play an active role in regulating the technology while also warning “we should be careful to not slow down American competitiveness.” A spokesperson for the speaker’s office did not respond to a request for comment.

FIRST IN PI — WYDEN’S LATE DISCLOSURE: Sen. Ron Wyden appears to be the latest member of Congress to violate the STOCK Act, per filings reviewed by Jacob. Wyden disclosed a six-figure stock transaction on behalf of his spouse in April 2025 in a periodic transaction report filed this weekend — more than a year after the transaction’s listed date.

— The STOCK Act requires members of Congress to disclose stock trades made by themselves or their spouses within 45 days, but lawmakers routinely miss the deadline without consequence. The transaction appears to have been an automatic exchange of stocks related to the merger between packaging companies Amcor plc and Berry Global.

— Wyden has voiced support for banning members of Congress and their family members from trading stocks, an idea that has picked up newfound momentum on the Hill. The House passed a stock trading ban last month with the support of some Democrats, but the Senate has yet to schedule a vote on its own version of the legislation.

— Wyden spokesperson Hern Stank told PI in a statement that the transaction “was discovered when filing the annual report and not subject to penalty from the ethics committee,” adding that Wyden’s office sought guidance from the panel on the late disclosure. He added that “the senator’s wife is an independent small businesswoman whose finances are separate from her husband.”

CHAVEZ-DEREMER’S NEXT ACT: Former Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer is joining strategic comms and public affairs firm Think Big, the firm announced today. Chavez-DeRemer, who left the administration in April following a series of misconduct allegations, will lead Think Big’s labor and national infrastructure group, the first offering in its new advisory practice.

— The new gig for Chavez-DeRemer comes after she launched a political action committee, the American Workers First PAC, in June. The GOP-aligned hybrid PAC spent more than $28,000 supporting conservative commentator Chris Stigall in his bid to replace retiring Rep. Sam Graves (R-Mo.) and roughly the same amount supporting another GOP candidate in the crowded race, Kansas City council member Nathan Willett. (Stigall won the Republican primary last week.)

— Chavez-DeRemer will focus on the debate around data centers as the companies that run and build the energy-guzzling facilities face a political reckoning and scrutiny from elected officials. Forty-one percent of Americans said they would oppose a data center being built within three miles of where they live in a POLITICO poll conducted in July. The industry’s boom has sparked a surge in advocacy, with more than 200 entities lobbying the federal government on issues related to data centers, according to Q2 LDA filings.

— One Source of Paxton’s Wealth: A Cell Tower at a Hospital He Knew Well, per NYT

— Elon Musk spends big in push to repeal Alaska’s voting system, per the Anchorage Daily News

— New Mexico tests a new way to rein in Meta, per our colleague Hassan Ali Kanu

— FIRST IN PI: Clark Barrineau is joining the Vogel Group as a principal. He was most recently VP for government affairs and public policy for the Medical Society of Virginia.

— Eduardo Negrón has been hired as comms director and spokesperson for former VP Kamala Harris, our colleague Adam Wren scooped in Playbook. He previously worked at Liftoff Campaigns.

— Peter Belk has joined Nixon Peabody as a partner in the firm’s government investigations and white-collar defense practice group. Belk previously served in the Trump administration as acting assistant secretary of defense for readiness and is a National Security Council alum.

— Jess Smith is joining the Center for American Progress as chief of staff and vice president. She most recently worked at the Leadership Conference on Civil & Human Rights and is a Biden White House and HHS alum.

— Democrats for Education Reform is adding Katja Landau as chief of staff and Elizabeth Tullos as comms and external affairs manager. Landau previously worked at Bezos Academy. Tullos previously worked at ExcelinEd.

— Rodney Hildebrand is joining the American Academy of Dermatology Association as associate director of political engagement. He most recently co-led state government affairs work at Covestro.

— Elias Castilla has joined The Moore Agency as a senior account manager, based in Miami. He was previously legislative correspondent for Sen. Bernie Moreno (R-Ohio).

— Michael Adler is joining Akerman as a partner and director of AI governance and data protection. He previously worked at Highspot and is an Amazon alum.

— Victor Shi has joined the Alliance for Local Leaders International as director of comms. He most recently led new media comms for the Committee for the First Amendment and is a Harris campaign and Voters of Tomorrow alum.

— Will Hupman has joined the National Electrical Manufacturers Association as SVP of government affairs. He was most recently VP of downstream policy at the American Petroleum Institute and is an alum of Rep. Morgan Griffith ’s (R-Va.) office.

— Joshua Fox and Alexander Civetta have joined DLA Piper as partners in the firm’s emerging growth and venture capital practice in Boston. They both came from Mintz.

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