The Hill is out with its annual list of top lobbyists in Washington and this year’s list includes Husch Blackwell Strategies CEO Andy Blunt, Executive Vice President Federal Government Affairs Stacy McBride, and Managing Principal Eric Lausten. The Hill has recognized Andy each year since launching the firm with HBS COO Gregg Hartley in 2018.
The Hill noted the HBS team members are “some of the best in the business and have been go-to advocates during a year defined by unprecedented political events, legislative logjams, federal spending cut crusades and big rulemaking swings.”
Andy Blunt, Executive Chairman/CEO, Husch Blackwell Strategies
2024 was another growth year for Husch Blackwell Strategies as Andy took the reigns as the firm’s CEO in January. As a founding partner, Andy has helped build a trusted state and federal advocacy brand with revenues and a client base to match. The firm has a total of 59 state and federal professional lobbyists and public affairs strategists with more than 400 clients. Andy has built one of the largest networks of state lobbyists in the country from the ground up as the firm now has a presence in Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Kansas, Maryland, Missouri, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Texas, and Wisconsin. Under Andy’s leadership this year, the firm launched a national public affairs group, opened an office in Arkansas – its tenth state capital, and added a new service line HBS 50 STATE where the firm serves as an advocacy hub for clients across the country. Andy also published a new political analysis series online this year that highlights his lifelong immersion in politics by offering an authoritative election forecast of this year’s presidential and congressional races. Andy continues to provide clients boardroom-level counsel and strategy across all the firm’s practice groups.
Stacy McBride, Executive Vice President Federal Government Affairs, Husch Blackwell Strategies
HBS named Stacy to its executive leadership team in January in a newly created position, Executive Vice President Federal Government Affairs, where she oversees the firm’s federal lobbying practice in Washington. Stacy is an authority on how Congress operates and the decisions of federal agencies. Since joining HBS in 2023 from Capitol Hill her client list has quickly grown into a book of business rivaling long-time lobbyists. Among her notable success this year is advising university systems on identifying and securing congressional funding opportunities while providing public policy strategy to some of America’s iconic consumer name brands.
Eric Lausten, Managing Principal, Husch Blackwell Strategies
Eric’s work focuses on transportation and energy issues, and his clients include transit agencies, local governments, rail contractors, mobility services, and manufacturers involved in new energy technologies, among others. He has counseled a number of entities in successful pursuit of congressional funding for transportation projects under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and clean energy grant and tax credit opportunities from the Inflation Reduction Act. Eric’s success in bringing diverse groups together, developing trust, and building coalitions based on shared interests has helped clients achieve substantial goals and advanced the firm’s federal practice growth trajectory and its recognition as one of Washington’s top performing lobbying firms.
