LegiStorm

House Energy and Commerce Committee Democrats have added a familiar Hill hand from a biosecurity nonprofit.

Sabah Ghulamali joined the committee as a professional staff member this month after most recently serving as director of government affairs at Blueprint Biosecurity, which works to strengthen pandemic preparedness and response.

Ghulamali previously served as a senior policy adviser and acting counselor at the Department of Health and Human Services, with her policy work covering public health, global health and biomedical research. Before that, she advised the Senate HELP Committee on public health, preparedness and biomedical research.

Tribal lobbying activity continues to grow amid the observance of Indigenous Peoples' Day.

Lobbying on Native American affairs, which commonly covers issues such as tribal sovereignty, federal appropriations and land rights, reached its highest estimated spending levels on record during the first half of 2026, with spending approaching $9.8 million in the first quarter and $9 million in the second. Average quarterly spending during the first half of the year was up nearly 10% from the same period in 2025, when it stood at roughly $8.5 million, and nearly 45% from the beginning of the decade, when it stood at roughly $6.5 million. LegiStorm estimates spending per issue by dividing a lobbying contract's total income or expenses among the issues it covers, based on the number of lobbyists assigned to each issue.

So far this year, 317 unique clients have lobbied on Native American affairs, including nearly 200 federally recognized tribal governments. The Cherokee Nation reported the highest spending on external lobbying contracts among tribal governments so far this year, at $600,000. The Gila River Indian Community and the Poarch Band of Creek Indians followed, with roughly $531,000 and $360,000, respectively. Checkmate Government Relations LLC reported the highest revenue among lobbying firms working on Native American affairs, at roughly $1.2 million, while Hobbs, Straus, Dean & Walker LLP, a law firm specializing in tribal rights, was the most active, reporting 27 engagements in the first quarter and 29 in the second.

Lobbying efforts covered a wide range of policy areas affecting tribal governments. Federal funding was a major focus, with roughly 48% of Native American affairs filings so far this year referencing related matters in some capacity, while nearly a quarter also listed budget or appropriations as a lobbying issue. Other efforts centered on specific legislation, including the Tribal Labor Sovereignty Act, the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act and the Parity for Tribal Law Enforcement Act.

Congressional staffers working for lawmakers on their way out of office are among the best paid on Capitol Hill.

The 85 departing members with enough payroll data to calculate a median staff salary have an average office median of $79,715, compared with LegiStorm's congressional median of $75,510. The group includes members who are retiring, were defeated or gave up their seats to run for Senate or another office. Although departing members account for just 16% of the 533 offices with salary data, they make up six of the 10 highest-paying offices, 12 of the top 25 and 19 of the top 50. Rep. Wesley Hunt (R-Texas), who gave up his House seat for an unsuccessful Senate bid, ranks first with a median staff salary of $128,790.

The higher salaries are concentrated among the 43 members who are retiring rather than those leaving Congress because they lost an election or ran for another office. The median among retiring members' offices is $79,915, about 6% higher than the $75,160 median among non-departing offices. Retirees make up just 8% of offices with salary data but account for seven of the top 25 highest-paying offices and 13 of the top 50. Rep. Dan Newhouse (R-Wash.) has the highest-paying office among retirees, ranking fifth overall with a median staff salary of $103,095. Nearly half of retiring members rank in the top quarter of all congressional offices by median staff salary, while only 14% rank in the bottom quarter.

Retiring members also tend to have more high-paying positions on their staffs. In the average retiring office, 31% of positions are in the top quarter for pay, compared with 24% in the average non-departing office. Just 21% of positions in retiring offices are in the bottom quarter for pay, compared with 29% in non-departing offices.

A defense policy aide to Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) has left Capitol Hill for an explosives manufacturer.

Brett Bauman joined Critical Materials Group in September as government relations manager. The Texas-based company manufactures and imports explosive materials and modernizes production facilities to support domestic explosives production and allied defense readiness.

Bauman most recently served as a legislative assistant in Cornyn's personal office, covering foreign relations, defense and veterans affairs. His work also included the Senate Caucus on International Narcotics Control. He joined Cornyn's staff in December 2024 after working for then-Rep. Mike Gallagher (R-Wis.) and the office of Wisconsin's 8th Congressional District.

Lawmakers are talking midterms at a pace far exceeding recent midterm election cycles.

Just weeks ahead of Election Day, members of Congress appear to be ramping up their midterm-related messaging, with more than 400 press releases mentioning the upcoming elections so far this year. Through the same point in 2022, lawmakers had issued roughly 200, compared to just over 250 in 2018 and fewer than 100 in 2014. September has been the busiest month yet, accounting for nearly 90 of the year's releases so far.

The partisan divide in messaging has also widened compared to recent midterm cycles. Democratic members have accounted for about 350 midterm-related releases this year compared to fewer than 60 from Republicans, a sharp departure from 2022, when the parties were nearly even at roughly 100 releases each. Democrats also led in 2018, issuing almost three quarters of releases, while Republicans accounted for roughly two thirds in 2014.

Election policy itself has become a frequently cited issue within midterm-related releases from members of both parties this year. Nearly a fifth of such releases issued by Democratic members of Congress have mentioned restrictions on mail-in voting, heavily clustering around early to mid-September amid a Supreme Court fight over Postal Service rules governing mail ballots. Republicans, on the other hand, have invoked election policy messaging in a similar proportion of their midterm-related releases, largely in calls to pass the SAVE America Act and strengthen voter ID requirements.

Among the releases identified by LegiStorm, more than 130 individual members have mentioned the midterms, though certain lawmakers stand out for their volume. Sen. Alex Padilla (D-Calif.), ranking member of the Senate Rules and Administration Committee, leads all lawmakers by a wide margin with 51, followed by Rep. Suzan DelBene (D-Wash.) with 17 and Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-Ill.) and Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) with 13 each. Among House party leaders, activity has been relatively even: House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) has issued 18 releases, while House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) has issued 15.