Turkey has signed a $2.4 million, one year lobbying contract with Ballard Partners as Ankara intensifies efforts to regain access to the US F-35 fighter jet program.
The agreement, signed on August 8 and worth $200,000 per month, was disclosed in filings with the US Department of Justice, according to Middle East Eye.
Ballard Partners is headed by Brian Ballard, a prominent Florida Republican donor who has worked closely with Donald Trump and supported his presidential campaigns. The firm also has strong connections to the Trump administration. Former White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles and former US Attorney General Pam Bondi are among its former staff members, according to Bloomberg.
Turkey’s Ministry of National Defense is the client under the new contract. Ankara was removed from the F-35 program in 2019 after purchasing Russia’s S-400 air defense system, which Washington said was incompatible with the security requirements of the US led fighter program.
Since then, Turkey has repeatedly sought to resolve the dispute and return to the F-35 program.
Among the lobbyists assigned to Turkey’s account is Thomas Boudreaux, a former Trump administration official who served as a special assistant to the president and senior director for legislative affairs at the National Security Council until April 2025.
Boudreaux left the administration during a major shake-up that followed the departure of then National Security Advisor Mike Waltz. His removal was reportedly linked to pressure from far right activist Laura Loomer, who had raised concerns with Trump about officials she claimed were insufficiently loyal to him.
The Ballard team also includes former Democratic Florida Congressman Robert Wexler, a longtime supporter of closer US Turkey relations. Wexler helped establish the Congressional Caucus on US Turkey Relations in 2001 and currently serves as president of the S. Daniel Abraham Center for Middle East Peace in Washington.
The latest agreement is not Turkey’s first engagement with Ballard Partners. During Trump’s first presidency in 2017, Ankara reportedly hired the firm under a $1.5 million contract. That lobbying effort was linked to efforts surrounding federal charges against Turkey’s state owned Halkbank.
The Trump administration’s Justice Department dropped the Halkbank charges earlier this year.
Turkey’s latest lobbying campaign highlights Ankara’s continued effort to overcome the F-35 dispute and rebuild its defense relationship with Washington, despite the unresolved controversy surrounding its acquisition of Russia’s S-400 system.
