Businesses that have worked with the Trump administration could soon be caught between Congress and the White House. Democrats preparing for a possible House majority have discussed investigating companies and organizations with ties to the administration. Even a legally awarded contract, permit, or grant could draw lawmakers’ attention.
The pressure could come from both directions. The Trump administration will continue to control federal contracts, permits, and grants. A company leader who tries to cooperate with a Democratic committee chair might then face a public rebuke from the president—or a legal fight to keep a government deal.
For a major contractor, losing one agency’s business would hurt. For a small firm that relies on a single federal customer, it could be devastating.
Executives who think their organizations may come under scrutiny should use the weeks before the new Congress meets on January 3 to get ready. This probably isn’t the time to coast through the holidays. Review finances, assess legal risks, protect the company’s reputation, and stay in touch with the people who rely on you.
There are four useful places to start.
1. Prepare for criticism
Part of leading a company is anticipating trouble. That includes having insurance, cash reserves, and backup plans for essential operations. It also means bringing legal, government affairs, and communications teams together before a lawmaker’s criticism turns the company into a national story.
Start with a few questions:
- What can we say publicly, and what should be left to our lawyers?
- Who is likely to lead the committees overseeing our industry, and have they already taken an interest in us? Revisit the assessment each week until January 3, then check it daily.
- Which groups need to hear from us most, and what’s the best way to reach them?
- Who can speak credibly about our record? Company leaders and lobbyists matter, but so do employees, customers, and community members who know the organization well.
Practice answering. An off-the-cuff social media post or a careless branding decision shouldn’t become the most memorable evidence against you.
2. Protect your finances
A strong balance sheet can give an organization room to handle a canceled contract, a consumer boycott, or a long dispute with a regulator. It won’t solve everything, of course, but it can make a serious setback survivable.
Booz Allen Hamilton is one example. In January, the Treasury Department ended all 31 of its contracts with the consulting firm, citing a former employee’s theft and disclosure of confidential taxpayer information. The IRS said the breach affected about 406,000 taxpayers, including Donald Trump. Booz Allen’s stock fell sharply after the announcement.
For a large contractor, losing business from one department is painful. For a smaller company with just one major federal client, it may be fatal.
Now is a good time to broaden revenue sources, especially by focusing on work tied to ongoing public needs rather than political favor. Governments still move troops, review medicines, and consider mergers when party control changes. Nonprofits, meanwhile, can reduce their reliance on any one grant by building support from individual donors, foundations, and earned income.
3. Choose your words carefully
Much about the next Congress may remain uncertain for the coming months. It’s better to acknowledge that than to act as if everything is settled. In interviews, podcasts, and social media posts, stick to what you know. Before agreeing to an interview, take time to understand the journalist’s subject and approach.
Keep communicating with the people who depend on your organization: customers, employees, investors, donors, and partners. Use channels you already have. If you do speak to the press, trade publications and regional outlets may be more useful for reaching those audiences than a national political debate.
Trade journalists tend to want informed, practical answers. Stakeholders want to know what you provide, how you treat them, and whether you have a plan. It’s worth focusing on those questions rather than offering opinions on issues outside your expertise.
4. If you’re called to testify, be ready
Congressional hearings often serve the lawmakers as much as they serve the public. Members want memorable moments for voters and donors, and they may press a witness hard to get one.
In 2023, the presidents of Harvard and the University of Pennsylvania gave cautious, lawyerly answers when questioned about calls for the genocide of Jews on their campuses. Their responses were widely seen as evasive, and that became the focus of the hearing. The lesson is not that legal advice should be ignored. It’s that the most technically careful answer can also carry serious political costs.
Know the facts thoroughly and practice under pressure. Prepare your opening statement, anticipate hostile follow-up questions, and think about your demeanor—including what happens after you leave the hearing room. You’ll be stepping onto someone else’s turf.
Plain speaking can sometimes work better. At a 2008 hearing about aid for Detroit’s automakers, lawmakers asked whether executives would accept a salary of one dollar a year. Ford chief Alan Mulally said he thought he was fine with his existing salary. The company’s communications team initially worried about the remark, but later saw that the public responded well to his directness. Mulally eventually agreed to take a dollar if Ford received federal aid.
This, too, shall pass
Control of Washington has shifted before. There’s no need to panic, though companies that were close to one administration have sometimes faced scrutiny from the next. The political climate may ease after the midterms, but another presidential campaign will be underway before long.
You can’t control whether Congress takes an interest in your organization. You can make sure your records are in order, your finances can absorb a setback, and the people who count on you still have reason to trust you.
There’s an old saying about outrunning a bear: you don’t have to be the fastest person in the group. You just need to be better prepared than the witness sitting beside you.
