Balgarianovinite.com
Uber heavily increased its political spending in 2025 as it ramped up lobbying on President Donald Trump’s “No Tax on Tips” proposal, pushing for its drivers and other independent contractors to qualify for the tax break.
In addition to seven-figure donations to Trump’s inaugural committee, the company increased its lobbying spending by 25% and brought in a firm with close ties to the White House.
Uber boosted its federal lobbying spending from $2.7 million in 2024 to $3.4 million in 2025, driven largely by increased lobbying around tax issues as well as continued advocacy on transportation, labor and workplace issues. The company mentioned “No Tax on Tips” six times in its 2025 lobbying disclosure filings, up from one mention in 2024, signaling the proposal had become a growing priority for Uber.
Though Uber did not specify in its lobbying disclosures whether it supported or opposed the legislation, the company publicly pushed for the provision to include independent contractors such as its drivers. When “No Tax on Tips” was first introduced in Congress, the proposal applied only to employees who receive W-2 forms, such as restaurant workers.
In a May 2025 blog post published after Trump signed the legislation into law, Uber touted its efforts to ensure independent contractors were included in the measure, writing that “Uber led the fight with your members of Congress to make sure independent contractors were included in the bill. We’ve met with lawmakers, shared your stories, and partnered with others in the industry to make the case. And it paid off.”
Uber lobbied on both the House and Senate versions of the proposal – which when combined tied as the company’s third-most-lobbied legislation of 2025. Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act, the broader tax package that included the “No Tax on Tips” provision, was cited seven times across Uber’s lobbying disclosures and ranked as its second-most-lobbied measure that year.
DoorDash followed a similar lobbying pattern, increasing its lobbying spending from $1.6 million in 2024 to $2.4 million in 2025 while mentioning “No Tax on Tips” across nine lobbying disclosure filings. In an April 2025 statement, the company urged “Dashers” to contact members of Congress and advocate for independent contractors to be included in the legislation.
As Uber expanded its lobbying around “No Tax on Tips,” it also increased spending on Miller Strategies, a lobbying firm founded by Trump ally Jeff Miller, who served as finance chair for the president’s 2025 inaugural committee. Uber hired the firm for the first time in 2024, paying it $110,000. In 2025, Miller Strategies became Uber’s highest-paid lobbying firm, receiving $600,000 – nearly double the amount paid to the company’s second-highest-compensated firm.
Uber increased its spending on Miller Strategies as companies across Washington increasingly sought firms with direct ties to the administration. Ballard Partners, founded by Trump ally Brian Ballard, gained more than 100 clients after Trump returned to office and brought in a record $88.1 million in 2025, making it the year’s highest-earning lobbying firm. White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles and former Attorney General Pam Bondi previously worked as lobbyists at the firm. Other firms closely aligned with the administration also saw rapid growth in 2025, including Checkmate Government Relations, which reported $22.2 million in revenue during its first full year in business, and BGR Group, which raked in $71.5 million in 2025.
“They obviously see that there’s a benefit to hiring people that are close to the president,” said James Thurber, a professor of government and founder of the Center for Congressional and Presidential Studies at American University. “It’s really a way to open up doors to get close to the president and people around the president.”
Richard Hall, a professor of political science and public policy at the University of Michigan, said lobbying has historically been less transactional than many people assume, with companies and their lobbyists typically supporting politicians who already align with their interests rather than directly buying policy outcomes. But Hall said some lobbyists he has spoken with in recent years believe the nature of lobbying has changed under the Trump administration.
“I have talked to enough lobbyists who say loyalty isn’t just based on common interest – it’s based on your ability to demonstrate that you’re going to do something for the Trump administration,” Hall said. “And often that takes the form of doing something you otherwise might not do, like contributing a lot of money to the inaugural committee.”
Uber and DoorDash ramp up Trump donations
As Uber and DoorDash expanded their lobbying around “No Tax on Tips,” both companies also increased their direct financial support for Trump.
Uber and its CEO Dara Khosrowshahi each donated $1 million to Trump’s inaugural committee in 2025. Though Uber also donated $1 million to President Joe Biden’s inaugural committee in 2021, Khosrowshahi did not make an individual contribution. The $1 million donation to Trump marked by far the largest inaugural contribution of Khosrowshahi’s career. From 1989 to 2024, he donated a combined $498,627 to inaugural committees — including $264,605 to Democrats and $175,000 to Republicans.
Though Khosrowshahi has donated to both Democratic and Republican candidates and causes, the $1 million inaugural donation marked a notable shift. He donated $2,700 to Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign in 2016 but did not donate to Trump’s election committees during either the 2016 or 2024 elections.
DoorDash and its executives followed a similar pattern. During the 2020 election cycle, CEO Tony Xu, along with co-founders Stanley Tang and Andy Fang, each donated $2,800 to Joe Biden’s presidential campaign. DoorDash later contributed $250,000 to Biden’s inaugural committee. Despite those earlier contributions, the company then donated $100,000 to Trump’s inaugural committee in 2025, according to OpenSecrets data.
While it is normal for companies to ramp up lobbying and other political spending when a new president takes power, Beth Leech, a professor and chair of the department of political science at Rutgers University, said the size of the million-dollar contributions makes her “very uncomfortable” and raises deeper concerns about how political influence is gained under this administration.
“In this administration, it seems like the only way you can have any influence is to be friends with the president, and so you have to give him a big gift,” Leech said. “That’s cronyism.”
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