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Türkiye's Ministry of National Defence has signed a year-long, $2.4 million contract with Ballard Partners, a Washington lobbying firm with deep ties to US President Donald Trump, according to US Justice Department filings reviewed by Middle East Eye.
The agreement, signed on 8 August, will pay the firm $200,000 a month to provide government relations, strategic consulting and advocacy services to the Turkish government before the federal government, and to keep Ankara informed of developments in Congress and US policy, according to the filings cited by Middle East Eye.
Ballard Partners is led by Brian Ballard, a prominent Florida Republican fundraiser who also worked on Trump's presidential campaign. This is not the firm's first engagement with Ankara. In 2017, during Trump's first term, Türkiye hired the firm under a $1.5 million contract, one of Ballard Partners' first major deals after it opened its Washington office.
That earlier work reportedly centered on the sanctions-evasion case against Turkish state lender Halkbank, charges the Trump administration's Justice Department dropped earlier this year.
The new contract marks a shift from the previous arrangement in that Türkiye's defence ministry is now the principal client, rather than the government more broadly.
Ankara is seeking to rejoin the F-35 fighter jet programme, from which it was removed in 2019 after purchasing the Russian-made S-400 air defence system.
Middle East Eye reported last month that Türkiye was considering selling the S-400 system to a third country, potentially the United Arab Emirates, in an effort to persuade Washington to lift sanctions. Ankara also hopes to secure delivery of six F-35 jets that were built for Türkiye but have sat in US storage for years.
The Justice Department filings show the Ballard Partners team assigned to the Turkish account includes former Democratic congressman Robert Wexler of Florida, who co-founded the Congressional Caucus on US-Turkey Relations and Turkish Americans in 2001. Wexler is also president of the S Daniel Abraham Center for Middle East Peace in Washington and is known for his ties to pro-Israel circles.
Another member of the team is Thomas Boodry, who served as a special assistant to Trump and senior director for legislative affairs at the National Security Council until April 2025.
Boodry was dismissed amid the removal of former national security adviser Mike Waltz. Reports at the time said Trump fired Boodry and five other officials shortly after meeting far-right activist Laura Loomer, who had presented opposition research alleging several staff members were disloyal to the president.
The team also includes Syl Lukis, a senior partner at Ballard Partners and one of Ballard's closest associates.
Bloomberg has reported that Ballard Partners' alumni include White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles and former Attorney General Pam Bondi. The firm generated more than $30 million in federal lobbying revenue in the first quarter of 2026, more than any other firm on Washington's K Street, according to that reporting.
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