Bloomberg found that Huawei's last two registered lobbyists in the United States, Jeff Hogg and Donald Morrissey, have resigned in recent months. The recent departures of the two lobbyists follow an exodus of employees from Huawei's U.S. operations, marking the quiet end of years of costly efforts by the company to maintain its presence in the North American market.
Huawei rose to the top by supplying small mobile communications companies across the United States, although major carriers shunned it and growing tensions between Washington and Beijing eventually all but halted its growth.
More than a decade ago, officials in Washington began warning that Huawei had the ability to embed spying capabilities in its equipment, which is found in thousands of base stations and other network equipment in the United States. Huawei has pushed back against those claims, saying its products pose no threat, but U.S. regulators have banned the company from selling products in the U.S. through 2022 and are trying to block its access to cutting-edge technology.
At its peak, Huawei had nine lobbying firms and a small army of public relations representatives. Huawei executives are known to regularly schedule briefings with congressional offices and major news organizations. The company has spent more than $13 million on lobbying over the past decade, according to federal filings.
In one quarter of 2019, Huawei's federal lobbying spending totaled $1.8 million, a sixfold increase from the previous year. Documents show that Huawei’s lobbying expenditures in the United States in 2021 were US$3.6 million. According to information disclosed to the U.S. Senate, some of it was used for lavish parties hosted by high-profile hired personnel, including veteran Democratic lobbyist Tony Podesta, who made $1 million from Huawei that year. Podesta said in a document that his work for Huawei ended on December 30, 2022.
With the ban in place and U.S. business shrinking across the board, Huawei has little reason to continue burning money on lobbying in Washington. Chris Pereira, a former Huawei public relations executive and founder of consulting firm iMpact, said: "The U.S. market is unlikely to bring a breakthrough for Huawei in the short term."
Morris, who has lobbied for Huawei and Futurewei, confirmed on LinkedIn that he had left Huawei in December. He said he is now senior director of government affairs at battery technology company Gotion. According to Hogg's profile on LinkedIn, he has served as Huawei's director of government relations since 2020 and left Huawei in November. He did not respond to a request for comment.
Huawei also lost outsourced lobbying firms. Imperium Global Advisors and LeMunyon Group terminated contracts with Huawei's U.S. research arm Futurewei in November 2023, according to documents filed with the Senate. Global law firm SquirePattonBoggs has not reported lobbying activities to Congress on behalf of Futurewei since early 2023. According to documents submitted to the Senate, former U.S. Rep. Lee Terry, a Nebraska Republican, terminated his lobbying contract with Huawei at the end of 2022.
By October last year, the only company registered to work for Huawei was Sidley Austin, which did not respond to a request for comment.
Huawei itself also submitted a notice to terminate its lobbying activities in Congress. Trey Smith, executive vice president of real estate services firm CBRE, which is leasing the Plano, Texas, building, said in an email that the company has also ceased office operations in the building.
In response to the Huawei ban, the Chinese government accused the United States of abusing state power to hinder the development of Chinese companies. In recent months, Huawei has responded de facto by producing a new phone with advanced technology that the United States has been trying to prevent China from using. The company said revenue surged 9% in 2023, driven in part by the launch of new phones.