Saudi Arabia Lobbying in the US: Firms, Spend and Targets
Saudi Arabia was the most active foreign lobby in the United States in 2022 and 2023, reporting at least 14,128 political activities under FARA, according to the Quincy Institute. Quincy, citing OpenSecrets, lists Saudi Arabia with China and Japan among countries that have each spent more than $100 million on FARA registrants. EPR's Foreign Influence PR Study estimates Saudi spending at roughly $220 million since 2016, third behind China and Qatar.
The largest gap in the public record is the Public Investment Fund (PIF). A Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations minority staff report from April 2025 says only one of the PIF's U.S. consultants, Teneo, registered under FARA, and that the fund sued each consultant in a Saudi court after the subcommittee subpoenaed their documents.
How much does Saudi Arabia spend on U.S. lobbying?
Saudi Arabia ranks among the three largest foreign spenders on U.S. lobbying and public relations, though published totals vary by method. OpenSecrets data cited in the Quincy Institute's July 2024 brief groups Saudi Arabia with China and Japan as countries that have each spent more than $100 million on FARA registrants.
EPR's Foreign Influence PR Study estimates roughly $220 million since 2016, behind China at about $460 million and Qatar at about $258 million. An earlier Center for International Policy report, covered by Voice of America in 2018, put Saudi spending at more than $27 million in 2017, with 29 firms and individuals registered and more than 2,500 political contacts.
Quincy's Qatar brief adds context for the same period. In the year before the 2017 blockade of Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates each spent nearly four times what Qatar spent on U.S. lobbying and public relations firms.
At least nine U.S. firms have held visible Saudi engagements since 2018, representing the embassy, the Public Investment Fund, the Human Rights Commission and the Muslim World League. The table lists the terms each source reports. For the agencies that serve the kingdom inside Saudi Arabia, see Leading PR Firms in Saudi Arabia.
Firm
Saudi client
Reported work or terms
Source
Hogan Lovells
Saudi government
More than 1,600 political activities in 2020, more than all other Saudi-registered firms combined
Center for International Policy, via The Nation
Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck
PIF and the Saudi embassy
Lobbied the Senate subcommittee before the LIV and PGA Tour hearing; 107 activities arranging dinners with the ambassador
Quincy Institute
Akin Gump
PIF
Registered PIF agent; a 2018 filing capped fees at $535,000 through May 1 for investment-review outreach
Responsible Statecraft, The Hill
Teneo
PIF
The only PIF consultant the Senate subcommittee examined that registered under FARA
Senate subcommittee minority staff report
USSA International, RF Binder Partners
PIF
Listed among the fund's registered agents in early 2024
Responsible Statecraft
Ballard Partners
Saudi embassy
FARA contract signed March 31, 2025 at $60,000 a month ($720,000 a year) for communications strategy, events and outreach
Sludge, Feb. 5, 2026
Qorvis
Saudi Human Rights Commission
$750,000 short-term contract in 2022, including consultancy on human trafficking
Quincy Institute
LS2group
Saudi embassy
$1.5 million contract from Nov. 1, 2019 to Oct. 31, 2020
Associated Press
BGR Group
Muslim World League
Listed among BGR's 2022 and 2023 clients; BGR also dropped Saudi Arabia in 2018
Quincy Institute, Reuters
What changed in Saudi lobbying after the Khashoggi murder?
Saudi lobbying contracted sharply after the October 2018 killing of Jamal Khashoggi, then rebuilt within about a year. Reuters reported that five U.S. firms, Gibson Dunn, Gladstone Place, the Harbour Group, the Glover Park Group and BGR Group, dropped Saudi Arabia within a single week.
On November 1, 2019, the Saudi embassy hired LS2group for $1.5 million through October 31, 2020. Reuters described it as the kingdom's first formal return to Washington lobbying since the desertion. By 2020, Hogan Lovells alone reported more political activities than all other Saudi-registered firms combined, and by 2022 and 2023 Saudi Arabia led every country in reported FARA activity.
How did Saudi lobbyists handle the LIV Golf and PGA Tour deal?
Lobbyists for the Public Investment Fund called, emailed or met with nearly every member of the Senate subcommittee that investigated the PGA Tour and LIV Golf merger before its hearing, according to the Quincy Institute. The merger was announced in June 2023. The campaign side of the same strategy, including LIV Golf and Newcastle United, is covered in Best Saudi PR Campaigns: Sports, Fashion, and Tourism.
Quincy reports that Brownstein lobbyists sent a "fact/myths document" about the merger to the offices of Senators Josh Hawley and Roger Marshall, and exchanged calls with Hawley's staff to learn what he might ask at the hearing. Two weeks after the hearing, Senator Ron Wyden introduced two bills to revoke the PGA Tour's tax exemption and end a tax break for the PIF. Brownstein then texted Senators Bob Menendez, Ben Cardin, Catherine Cortez Masto and Tom Carper to discuss the bills. Neither bill has passed.
The minority staff report of April 11, 2025 describes a second phase. It says the PIF directed its consultants to refuse the subcommittee's initial voluntary requests, and that after subpoenas, the PIF sued each consultant in a Saudi administrative court, arguing that handing over documents could harm the kingdom's national security. The report says personnel in Saudi Arabia also faced the threat of criminal penalties.
Who does Saudi lobbying target in the United States?
Saudi lobbyists target Congress first, then universities, local media and civil society groups. The Quincy Institute found the Saudi lobby contacted students and professors at U.S. universities on at least 1,500 occasions in 2022 and 2023, and coordinated embassy-official events at Iowa State, Georgia State, Georgia Tech, the University of South Dakota and the University of St. Thomas.
Firms also arranged appearances at civil society groups and local radio stations and helped place op-eds in newspapers and magazines. Brownstein's former members of Congress Mark Begich, Mark Pryor and Ed Royce are among the lobbyists the firm has fielded for Saudi Arabia and other foreign clients, per Quincy. Quincy cites reporting from The Intercept that Royce recited Saudi talking points almost verbatim in a House speech on Yemen before he became a Saudi lobbyist.
The UAE and Saudi Arabia also directed lobbying toward reversing the Biden administration's 2021 delisting of the Houthis as a terrorist organization, according to Quincy.
What does FARA miss about Saudi influence?
FARA captures only the registered slice of Saudi influence, and the gap is widest around the PIF. Responsible Statecraft reported that Boston Consulting Group, McKinsey and M. Klein testified at a Senate hearing that they had not registered under FARA for PIF work, saying outside counsel told them registration was not required. Senator Richard Blumenthal said the inquiry showed FARA needs to be strengthened.
Enforcement has narrowed too. Attorney General Pam Bondi's February 5, 2025 memo to Justice Department staff focused FARA enforcement on conduct resembling more traditional espionage, according to Sludge.
Some Saudi-tied lobbying now sits outside FARA entirely. Sludge reported that the New Era Fund, a Saudi defense and aerospace investment partnership the White House announced in May 2025, hired Ballard Partners in August 2025 under the Lobbying Disclosure Act. The fund paid Ballard $1.2 million, appears to have no SEC filing or public website, and listed no foreign entities as contributors to its lobbying. The commercial side of the Saudi communications machine is mapped in the Saudi Arabia PR market guide and the $64 billion brand study.
How do you track Saudi lobbying filings?
Saudi lobbying shows up in two separate disclosure systems, and a complete check needs both. Each answers a different question.
FARA registration exhibits show the contract: client, fee and scope, such as Ballard's $60,000 monthly embassy contract reported by Sludge.
FARA supplemental statements list political activities and are filed every six months, so the newest activity is not in the data yet.
Lobbying Disclosure Act filings cover Saudi-tied clients that do not register under FARA, such as the New Era Fund.
Figures on this page come from sources published between 2018 and February 2026. The Quincy activity counts cover 2022 and 2023 only. Check the Justice Department's FARA eFile database and the Senate's lobbying disclosure database for newer filings.
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.
How much does Saudi Arabia spend on lobbying in the US?
EPR's Foreign Influence PR Study estimates Saudi Arabia has spent roughly $220 million on FARA-registered U.S. firms since 2016, third behind China and Qatar. The Quincy Institute, citing OpenSecrets, groups Saudi Arabia with China and Japan as countries that have each spent more than $100 million on FARA registrants.
Which country is the most active foreign lobby?
Saudi Arabia reported the most FARA political activities of any country in 2022 and 2023, at least 14,128, according to the Quincy Institute. Ukraine was second with 13,601, and the UAE ranked fourth with 7,704.
Who lobbies for the Saudi Public Investment Fund?
Responsible Statecraft listed five registered PIF agents in early 2024: USSA International, RF Binder Partners, Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck, Akin Gump and Teneo. A Senate subcommittee minority staff report separately said Teneo was the only PIF consultant it examined that registered under FARA.
Did firms leave Saudi Arabia after the Khashoggi murder?
Yes, briefly. Reuters reported that Gibson Dunn, Gladstone Place, the Harbour Group, the Glover Park Group and BGR Group dropped Saudi Arabia within one week of the October 2018 killing. The Saudi embassy hired LS2group for $1.5 million in November 2019 to restart formal lobbying.
Is Saudi lobbying in the United States legal?
Yes, when the lobbyists register under the Foreign Agents Registration Act and disclose their contracts and activities. The open question, raised by a Senate subcommittee and by Responsible Statecraft, is how much Saudi-funded consulting and lobbying work is performed without registering.
Written by
EPR 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.
