Why It Matters

Verizon Communications Inc. has terminated its lobbying contract with Cassidy & Associates Inc., effective Aug. 31, according to a disclosure filing submitted this month. The telecommunications company paid the firm $40,000 for the partial third quarter through the termination date, ending a relationship that had generated consistent lobbying income for Cassidy & Associates.

Verizon had been a steady client for Cassidy & Associates. The firm reported $50,000 per quarter throughout 2023 and 2024, amounting to $200,000 annually. Federal lobbying records also show Cassidy reporting $50,000 in income from Verizon in the fourth quarter of 2025. The termination ends a longstanding lobbying relationship. Verizon was among the major corporate clients Cassidy & Associates added as the firm expanded beyond its traditional appropriations practice in the early 2000s.

The Team Behind the Work

Cassidy & Associates deployed four lobbyists on Verizon's account. Russ Thomasson, an executive vice president at Cassidy & Associates Inc., has prior congressional experience with Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX). Sarah Young, a senior vice president, has experience with the House Appropriations Committee spanning six Congresses. Kevin Binger, also a senior vice president, has prior experience with the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee. Vern Simmons, a senior vice president, rounded out the team.

Cassidy & Associates' disclosed work for Verizon covered five principal issue areas, including telecommunications, defense, budget and appropriations, government issues and transportation.

What Verizon Was Lobbying On

Verizon's lobbying through Cassidy & Associates focused heavily on federal telecommunications contracting. The firm disclosed work involving telecommunications contracting across the federal government, network and telecommunications contracting in the defense sector, funding for telecommunications and network programs, and Federal Aviation Administration network and telecommunications contracting.

Verizon has historically opposed federal net neutrality mandates, but the filings reviewed for the Cassidy & Associates engagement do not establish that the firm lobbied on net neutrality for Verizon. That distinction is important because the termination filing concerns Cassidy's work for the company rather than Verizon's broader federal lobbying agenda.

Broader Congressional Context

The account's emphasis on federal contracting, appropriations and telecommunications funding placed Cassidy & Associates' work at the intersection of Verizon's commercial interests and federal spending decisions.

The presence of Sarah Young, who has House Appropriations Committee experience, also gave the account a lobbyist with experience relevant to federal funding issues. However, the disclosure records alone do not establish that Verizon retained Young specifically because of her appropriations background, so I would avoid the original language saying her retention "indicates" Verizon's strategic motivation.

The Bottom Line

The Aug. 31 termination ends Cassidy & Associates' federal lobbying work for Verizon after a longstanding relationship. Cassidy & Associates remains an active lobbying firm with clients across technology, energy, defense, health care and other sectors. Federal disclosure records show the firm continuing to report numerous clients this year.

For Verizon, the termination represents the end of one outside lobbying relationship rather than an end to the company's broader federal advocacy. The most defensible conclusion from the disclosure is narrower. Cassidy & Associates will no longer represent Verizon after Aug. 31, concluding a longstanding engagement centered in recent years on federal telecommunications contracting, defense, appropriations and related government issues.

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