Green Proposes a Federal Affairs Office To Make Hawaiʻi’s Case In DC

Gov. Josh Green is asking for state money to open a new federal affairs office with staff in Hawaiʻi and Washington, D.C., citing dramatic shifts in federal policy that have already unfolded under President Donald Trump’s administration.

Green seeks a new $1.3 million appropriation over the next two fiscal years to finance the five-person office.

“The federal landscape has changed drastically within the past few months, with more changes likely on the horizon,” the governor’s office said in written testimony on the state budget measure, House Bill 300. “Given the speed with which changes occur and the highly fluid nature of these changes, keeping abreast of federal affairs requires more time and resources than in years prior.”

Three members of the staff would work in Washington and two in Hawaiʻi, according to testimony submitted to the Senate Ways and Means Committee on Tuesday.

The state Department of Transportation already retains a Washington lobbyist under a $14,000-per-month contract to work on transportation, biosecurity and climate change issues, but the new state team would have a more expansive mandate.

“These positions will establish and cultivate strong working relationships with federal agencies in D.C. and regionally, opening up direct lines of communication to advocate for the State’s priorities and needs,” the governor’s office testimony states.

“As the State continues to navigate these uncertain times, these federal affairs positions will provide a crucial lifeline through which to facilitate quick responses to and advocacy around federal funding and resources.”

Andy Winer, a former chief of staff for U.S. Sen. Brian Schatz, said Green’s plan is prompted partly by the upheaval in the early weeks of the Trump administration. But Winer said the governor also talked about opening such an office during his 2022 election campaign.

Green had long conversations with members of the congressional delegation because he believes Hawaiʻi can do a better job of advocating for its needs in Washington, Winer said, “and this is one of the approaches that he’s looked at to address some of those shortcomings.”

Winer is executive vice president of the public affairs and communications firm Strategies 360, a Seattle-based company with Hawaiʻi connections, and works in its Washington, D.C., office. He worked for Schatz during the first two years of Trump’s previous administration and has been a close adviser to Green in recent years.

“We certainly didn’t see eye-to-eye with them on everything, but we were able to forge relationships with that administration,” Winer said. “We did pass legislation, we were able to secure funding for Hawaiʻi, and so I think the idea here is to have a presence that could build bridges not only with Congress but with the Trump administration.”

“Once an election is over and if you’re working for government, one of the things that you need to be able to do is to understand how to make that situation work for the benefit of whoever you’re representing,” Winer said.

He added: “If you are a skilled negotiator, if you’re skilled at doing the advocacy that is meaningful back home, you find ways to work together with people even if you don’t always agree with them.”

Green declined a request for an interview, but his senior advisor Will Kane said in a written statement the administration would look for office space for the D.C. portion of its federal affairs staff in the Hall of the States, where many other states already have Washington-based employees.

“The Federal Affairs team will engage federal agencies at a range of levels to cultivate connections and advocate for Hawaiʻi’s interests,” Kane said in the statement. “The rapid policy changes at the federal government have increased the demand for these positions as they are crucial for interpreting these policy changes and developing state guidance.”

The state already has at least one professional lobbying firm in Washington.

Ed Sniffen, director of the state Department of Transportation, said his department has contracted with the lobbying firm Williams & Jensen since 2021. DOT is represented by Denis Dwyer of that firm, a longtime advocate for Hawaiʻi transportation projects.

Sniffen said Hawaiʻi’s congressional delegation is well connected on the Democratic side, but “we also knew that we needed some kind of in on the Republican side, just to make their job easier.”

He said Dwyer has helped the state to secure hundreds of millions of dollars in discretionary grant funding under the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.

DOT pays $14,000 a month on the Williams & Jensen contract, and Sniffen said the department has made the firm’s services available to other agencies in Hawaiʻi, including the state Department of Land and Natural Resources and the Honolulu Board of Water Supply.

If state lawmakers fund the federal affairs positions that Green is requesting, Winer said the new hires will need a thorough understanding of Hawaiʻi, but don’t need to be professional lobbyists.

“People who work in D.C. in government are all the time working together to get things done, and that’s really what you’re looking for in this role — people who can build bridges, work together with Republicans and Democrats, and find ways to do things that will be helpful for back home,” he said. “That’s the skill set you’re looking for.”

“Having seen what other states are doing, it just seems like best practices at this point,” he said.