David Rutherford Show: The Lobbying Firm That Controls Trump's White House
David Rutherford Show: The Lobbying Firm That Controls Trump's White House  
Podcast: The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show
Published On: Wed Apr 01 2026
Description: 💰You've heard "follow the money" your whole life. Today, I'm going to show you exactly where it leads. There's a K Street lobbying firm most people have never heard of — Ballard Partners — that now controls more access to the Trump White House than just about any other outside entity. Before Trump's first election, they had zero federal clients. Today they're billing $88.1 million a year and representing foreign governments from Qatar to Saudi Arabia to Libya. And the firm's former employees? They're the White House Chief of Staff, the Attorney General, and — through connected networks — the Secretary of State. This isn't a partisan attack on Trump. Some of what this administration is doing I think is exactly right. This is a SEAL and a former CIA officer showing you how the game is actually played — so you can stop being a pawn in it. ✅ Sponsors:☕️ Black Rifle Coffee: https://www.blackriflecoffee.com/ 📲 Follow us on social: https://linktr.ee/davidrutherfordshow 🏫 Get coaching by David Rutherford: https://www.froglogicinstitute.com/📕 Get David's novel, The Poet Warrior: https://www.ballastbooks.com/ballast-bookstore/the-poet-warrior📰 Sign up for David's newsletter for free coaching tips, updates, and more: https://davidrutherfordletter.substack.com/🕒 Timestamps:00:00 — The war inside the Republican Party no one is naming 03:11 — What is the "deep state" — and where does it actually live? 11:13 — Ballard Partners: $88.1M, 300 clients, 3 continents 19:39 — The pipeline: Susie Wiles and Pam Bondi came from the same firm  26:25 — Foreign clients: Qatar, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Libya 27:35 — The client roster: Amazon, TikTok, Nippon Steel, UnitedHealth 34:04 — Why David supports some of what Trump is doing — and what worries him 36:21 — Susie Wiles: foreign agent, Netanyahu's campaign, and the DC expansion 43:20 — Pam Bondi: lobbied for Uber and Geo Group before becoming AG 46:40 — The Rubio 2028 setup: donor class picks the next candidate 53:31 — The bipartisan machine: Democrats running the "Republican" firm's DC office 57:21 — What this means for you in 2026 and 2028Follow Clay & Buck on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/clayandbuckSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.