The Saudi Arabia lobby in the United States is a collection of lawyers, public relation firms and professional lobbyists paid directly by the government of Saudi Arabia to lobby the public and government of the United States on behalf of the interests of the government of Saudi Arabia.
Power of the lobby
An article by journalist John R. MacArthur in Harper's Magazine details "The Vast Power of the Saudi Lobby". According to MacArthur, According to Seymour Hersh the power of Prince Bandar and the Saudi lobby was so great that Bandar effectively joined the Bush administration as a virtual member of the cabinet. George Washington University Professor Hossein Askari blames the "power of the Saudi lobby in Washington" for the failure of the American government to defend the democracy protesters in Bahrain in 2011. According to Askari, "our marriage to the Al-Sauds threatens our national security."
In the assessment of The Economist, "No Arab ambassador—perhaps no ambassador—has come close to matching Prince Bandar's influence in the American capital. At the height of his powers he was indispensable to both sides: in Mr Ottaway's words, "at once the king's exclusive messenger and the White House's errand boy". The Prince's "feats" of lobbying legerdemain included securing the purchase of AWACS surveillance aircraft in the teeth of fierce Israeli and congressional opposition, and augmenting his influence with the Reagan administration by quietly supplying $32m to the Contras in Nicaragua and $10m to anti-communist politicians in Italy. Atlantic Council and The Centre for Strategic and International Studies The Atlantic Council received $2 million in 2015 from the United Arab Emirates and benefactors close to Saudi Arabia. The Centre for Strategic and International Studies received $600,000 in 2015 from Riyadh and Abu Dhabi.
Following the money
In the first decade of the 21st century the Saudis paid approximately $100 million to American firms to lobby the American government. Major lobbying firms that work as lobbyists in the pay of the Saudi government include Hill & Knowlton, which has been employed to lobby for Saudi Arabia since 1982. Qorvis Communications has worked for Saudi Arabia since the 9/11 attacks, receiving over $60.3 million over the course of a decade.Hogan Lovells U.S., L.L.P., formerly Hogan & Harston, worked for Saudi Arabia in 2009. The Loeffler Group, LLP, headed by former Congressman Tom Loeffler of Texas, was paid $10.5 million by the Saudi government during the first decade of the century, and gave Sandler Innocenzi, Inc. $8.9 million. Patton Boggs, LLP, earned over $3 million from Saudi Arabia for lobbying in the first decade of the century. The Middle East Policy Council has received large payments from Saudi Arabia to lobby for the Kingdom, including $1 million in 2007. A partial list of firms that have been paid by Saudi Arabia to lobby the American government includes:
