# Invariant The **#8 lobbying firm in DC by 2025 revenue ($47.18M)**. Founded in 2007 as Heather Podesta + Partners by [[Heather Podesta]] — then one of Washington's most prominent Democratic fundraisers — and rebranded to the deliberately unpartisan "Invariant" in March 2017, a name change explicitly paired with hiring Republicans as the firm repositioned for the first Trump era. The firm is a case study in how a Dem-aligned shop converts itself into a bipartisan access business when the party in power changes. ## Scale and trajectory 2025 income of $47.18M was up ~11.5% from ~$42.3M in 2024. The growth engine is the firm's **technology and AI practice**: Invariant has been a top beneficiary of the AI lobbying surge (Sludge reports roughly one in four K Street lobbyists now touch AI issues), working the AI-preemption fights alongside a blue-chip corporate book — [[Apple]], Business Roundtable, Charles Schwab, FedEx, McDonald's, Marriott, Toyota, Salesforce, plus defense work including [[Raytheon]]. ## Revolving door Podesta herself is the anchor revolving-door figure (former aide to Reps. Robert Matsui and Earl Pomeroy and Sen. Bill Bradley). The defense practice runs through Paul Arcangeli, Democratic staff director of the House Armed Services Committee for twelve years before joining the firm in 2022. The roster of ~50+ lobbyists is heavily ex-Hill. ## Notable In April 2026, Politico's own disclosure that Invariant is a paying client of the outlet became a minor media-ethics story, with right-leaning outlets using Podesta's Democratic-donor profile to attack Politico's nonpartisan branding. No FARA foreign-principal registration surfaced as of July 2026. ## See also [[Lobbying Hub]] · [[Heather Podesta]] · [[Lobbying]] · [[Revolving Door]] · [[2025 Record Lobbying Year]]