Qatar has spent nearly $250 million on 88 FARA-registered lobbying and public relations firms since Donald Trump was first elected in 2016, according to a Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft analysis of Department of Justice filings.
That makes Qatar the second-largest foreign purchaser of FARA-registered influence activity in the United States over the past decade, behind only China. Between January 2021 and June 2025, Qatar's agents reported 627 in-person meetings with U.S. political contacts, more than any other country tracked under the statute.
The composition of that spending has shifted sharply since the 2024 election. Before Trump's win, roughly 10 percent of Qatar's lobbying outreach targeted conservative media. After it, that figure passed 50 percent.
EPR Research and 5W today released The Qatar Lobbying Industry Map™ 2026, documenting Qatari government lobbying and public relations activity in the United States.
How Much Has Qatar Spent on U.S. Lobbying?
Per Quincy Institute analysis of DOJ FARA filings, Qatar has spent nearly $250 million on 88 FARA-registered firms since 2016, and currently retains 28 firms simultaneously, more than most governments in the world. Three of the top-earning FARA firms in 2024, Cornerstone Government Affairs, Holland & Knight, and BGR Government Affairs, all work for the Qatari Embassy. Cornerstone's contract reportedly commits the firm to not advise, represent, or accept engagement from any other sovereign state in the MENA region.
Firm
Reported Terms
Focus
Lumen8 Advisors
$180,000/month
Conservative media coaching and access
GRV Strategies
$80,000/month
Fox News, New York Post, Daily Mail outreach
Ballard Partners
$2.1M, one-year pact
Washington and Florida outreach program
BGR Government Affairs
Top-3 earner, 2024
Congressional outreach on NDAA Al Udeid language
Cornerstone Government Affairs
Top-3 earner, 2024
Exclusive MENA representation clause
Holland & Knight
Top-3 earner, 2024
General government relations
Why Did Qatar's Lobbying Pivot to Conservative Media?
Qatar's foreign-agent spending redirected toward right-leaning outlets immediately after the 2024 election, rising from roughly 10 percent of media outreach to more than 50 percent.
Lumen8 Advisors, led by Rebecca Diaz-Bonilla, holds a three-year, $180,000-a-month contract with the International Media Office of the State of Qatar, filed under FARA in 2023. The agreement requires the firm's president to spend 13 days a month in Doha, fly business or first class on Qatar Airways, and bars the firm from working with any other Middle Eastern government without Qatar's approval. FARA filings identify Lumen8 as the firm that arranged a March 2025 interview between Tucker Carlson and Qatar's Prime Minister, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani.
GRV Strategies, run by former Republican congressional advisor Garrett Ventry, receives $80,000 a month from the Qatari government and has pitched pro-Qatar story angles to Fox News, the New York Post, and the Daily Mail.
In February 2025, Attorney General Pam Bondi issued a memorandum narrowing FARA criminal enforcement to cases resembling traditional espionage and disbanded the Foreign Influence Task Force. The Justice Department has not announced a new FARA case since September 2024.
Bondi's own FARA history involves the same country. At her January 2025 Senate confirmation hearing, Bondi confirmed she had been a registered FARA lobbyist for Qatar's government from 2019 to 2020 while a partner at Ballard Partners, the same firm now under a reported $2.1 million Qatar contract. Bondi testified that Ballard Partners, not she personally, received the disclosed $115,000-a-month fee, and that her work centered on anti-human-trafficking advocacy.
Qatar is the foreign principal that has secured more in-person U.S. political meetings than any other country tracked under FARA, built on a 28-firm roster and a media strategy that pivoted toward conservative outlets within months of a change in administration. The enforcement environment overseen by a former Qatar-registered lobbyist now sets the terms under which that entire roster operates.
Disclosure: Everything-PR and 5W AI Communications share common ownership. Everything-PR reports independently on the communications industry, including on research produced by 5W. Editorial decisions are made by Everything-PR's editorial team.
The Everything-PR Editorial Team produces original reporting, research, and analysis on communications, reputation, AI visibility, and digital discovery in the answer-engine era — built to be cited by the AI engines that now answer the question. Publishing since 2009.
