An influential Florida lobbyist is joining one of Washington’s biggest lobbying firms, a powerful addition as the Sunshine State is poised to play an outsized role in the incoming Trump administration.
BGR Group is bringing in Nick Iarossi as a managing director, The Hill has exclusively learned. Bob Wood, chairman and CEO of BGR Group, called Iarossi “an outstanding political talent who has helped build one of the most successful government affairs firms in Florida history.”
Iarossi, a founding member of the Florida-based lobbying and public affairs firm Capital City Consulting, has worked with the campaign and inaugural committees of some of the state’s biggest political names such as Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) and President-elect Trump.
“I’ve played an active role on the finance side [of the Trump campaign], raising money for Trump 47, raising money for the transition, and I’m going to help raise money for the inaugural now,” said Iarossi, who spoke with The Hill from Milan, where he was accompanying DeSantis on a trade mission.
He co-chaired the national finance committee for DeSantis’s presidential bid and served as the inaugural co-chair and inaugural finance chair for both of his gubernatorial inaugurations.
Iarossi posted a photo on the social platform X from the sidelines of Trump’s Madison Square Garden rally last month, where he said he was with Steve Witkoff, a real estate developer who Trump last week appointed as special envoy to the Middle East.
He was also a member of the national finance committee for Rubio’s 2016 presidential campaign. Last week, Trump picked Rubio to be secretary of State.
Iarossi has close ties to other Florida political leaders who are poised to play a key role in the incoming Trump administration, including former Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.), Trump’s attorney general nominee, and Rep. Mike Waltz (R-Fla.), who Trump tapped to be his national security adviser.
“It’s kind of amazing how outsized Florida is represented in this administration,” said Iarossi, who called the state “the epicenter of the Trump administration.”
He also worked on the inaugural committees for Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.), a key Trump ally in the Senate, during his time as governor of Florida.
“All these members, most of the Florida delegation, came from the state legislature. So I have deep relationships with those folks,” said Iarossi, a former staffer in the Florida Senate and House of Representatives.
Iarossi said that while his work won’t be confined to a specific area or topic, he is particularly excited to work on foreign policy issues.
“I have no illusions that DC is a different world for me, but I think being at BGR gives me the infrastructure and the expertise and kind of the policy experts and government experts around me to be able to utilize the relationships I have and knowledge of issues having a lobbied for 25 years,” he said.
Capital City Consulting and BGR Group are part of the same holding company, Advocus Partners. Iarossi said he would still be an owner and operator of Capital City Consulting, even after formalizing his new role with BGR Group.
“Joining BGR as Washington transitions to the new administration is a natural progression for Nick and further enhances the value proposition Advocus Partners brings to clients’ government and public affairs efforts, both at the state and national levels,” Advocus President and co-owner of Capital City Consulting Ron LaFace said.
