Turkey hires Trump-linked lobbying firm in $2.4M push to regain F-35 access

(Horizon Media / WASHINGTON) — Turkey’s Ministry of National Defence has signed a one-year, $2.4 million contract with a prominent Washington lobbying firm closely connected to US President Donald Trump, as Ankara intensifies efforts to return to the F-35 fighter jet programme.

According to US Department of Justice filings cited by Middle East Eye, Ballard Partners signed the agreement with the Turkish defence ministry on August 8 and will receive $200,000 per month. The firm will provide government relations, strategic consulting and advocacy services before the US federal government, while also briefing Ankara on developments in Congress and broader US policy.

The agreement comes as Turkey continues its campaign to reverse its 2019 removal from the F-35 programme following Ankara’s acquisition of Russia’s S-400 air-defence system.

Washington imposed sanctions on Turkey over the purchase, while Turkish participation in the F-35 programme was suspended despite Ankara having already invested in the project. Six F-35 aircraft manufactured for Turkey have remained in the United States for years, and Ankara continues to seek their delivery.

Recent reports have suggested that Turkey is considering disposing of the S-400 system as part of an effort to remove one of the principal obstacles to renewed F-35 access. One possibility reportedly under consideration is the sale of the Russian-made system to a third country, potentially the United Arab Emirates.

The new lobbying campaign places several figures with significant political connections in Washington at Turkey’s disposal.

Ballard Partners is led by Brian Ballard, a major Republican fundraiser from Florida who worked on Trump’s presidential campaign and has long maintained ties to the president’s political network.

The team assigned to represent Turkey includes former Democratic congressman Robert Wexler, who has for years been among Ankara’s more prominent supporters in Washington. Wexler co-founded the Congressional Caucus on US-Turkey Relations and Turkish Americans in 2001 and currently serves as president of the S. Daniel Abraham Center for Middle East Peace.

Also working on the Turkish account is Thomas Boodry, a former special assistant to Trump who served as senior director for legislative affairs at the National Security Council until April 2025. Boodry left the administration during a wider shake-up involving then-national security adviser Mike Waltz. His presence on the Ballard team gives Ankara another direct connection to officials familiar with the Trump White House. Senior Ballard Partners official Syl Lukis is also listed among those working on the Turkish contract.

The firm itself has particularly deep ties to Trump’s political orbit. Former Ballard Partners figures have included White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles and Pam Bondi, who has also held senior positions in Trump’s political and legal circles. Ballard Partners has emerged as one of Washington’s most lucrative lobbying operations, reportedly generating more than $30 million in federal lobbying revenue during the first quarter of 2026.

Turkey has previously employed the firm. During Trump’s first term in 2017, Ankara signed a $1.5 million contract with Ballard Partners, shortly after the company established its Washington office. That lobbying effort reportedly centred in part on the US case involving Turkish state-owned Halkbank and allegations that the bank participated in a scheme to evade American sanctions on Iran.

The latest agreement is notable because the Turkish Ministry of National Defence itself is the principal client, placing defence policy and the unresolved F-35 dispute at the centre of Ankara’s renewed Washington campaign. Turkey has repeatedly sought a pathway back into the advanced fighter programme, but any agreement would have to overcome continuing concerns in Washington over the S-400 system and broader congressional opposition to unrestricted defence cooperation with Ankara.

The Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA) has been a leading voice in Washington opposing any effort to restore Turkey’s access to the F-35 programme, warning that rewarding Ankara with advanced US weaponry would further destabilize the region and embolden a government that has repeatedly backed Azerbaijan’s aggression against Armenia and Artsakh. The ANCA has supported bipartisan congressional initiatives aimed at preventing Turkey’s reintegration into the programme and has stressed that Ankara’s continued possession of the Russian S-400 system remains incompatible with the transfer of F-35 aircraft under US law.

The organization has also made clear that Turkey’s military and political support for Azerbaijan, including during the wars against Artsakh and Armenia, should itself disqualify Ankara from receiving some of the most advanced weapons in the US arsenal. ANCA Executive Director Aram Hamparian has repeatedly warned against strengthening Turkey militarily while Ankara continues to threaten Armenia and support Baku’s coercive policies, and the organization has campaigned against F-35 transfers to Turkey since at least 2018 alongside Hellenic American advocacy groups.

By hiring a lobbying firm staffed with figures who possess direct links to Trump, Congress and the broader Washington establishment, Ankara is making a substantial new investment in its effort to change that political equation.