by Freeman and Nick Cleveland-Stout
This brief explores Qatar’s evolution into one of the more influential foreign lobbies in the United States. Qatar’s story demonstrates how money begets influence in the United States.
Since Donald Trump was first elected president in 2016, Qatar has spent nearly $250 million on 88 FARA–registered lobbying and public relations firms. From January 2021 to June 2025, Qatar’s agents reported 627 in-person meetings with political contacts in the United States — more FARA–registered meetings than any other country in the world. The current Trump administration has deep ties to Qatar. Three cabinet-level members in the administration — Attorney General Pam Bondi, FBI Director Kash Patel, and EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin — have all previously held consultancy or lobbying positions on Qatar’s behalf.
Qatar substantially increased its political influence efforts beginning in 2017, when it was blockaded and reportedly threatened with invasion by Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. In response, Qatar began vigorous efforts to counteract anti–Qatar lobbying in the U.S. conducted by Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and pro–Israel groups.
More recently, Qatar has used its lobbying influence to bolster its legitimacy and reputation as a global conflict mediator and reassert its importance to U.S. strategic interests and its defense posture in the Middle East. In the aftermath of the Hamas attack against Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, Qatar worked to combat claims of terrorist sympathies by successfully positioning itself as a mediator for ceasefire and hostage exchange negotiations between Israel and Hamas. The Qatar lobby has also helped to preserve the country’s standing as a critical U.S. ally in the Middle East, heading off a congressional push to move Al Udeid Air Base out of Qatar, preserving Qatar’s designation as a major non–NATO ally, and strengthening defensive ties via lucrative arms sales.
Beyond the defense realm, Qatar is heavily invested in the U.S. In the past five years, Qatar has given upward of $9.1 million to think tanks. Since 2001, it has provided $6.25 billion to American colleges and universities. However, contrary to insinuations from some, its university-related funding and influence have primarily focused on educational efforts within Qatar, where the majority of students enrolled are Qatari.
Qatar has also invested more broadly in the U.S. economy. This past May, Qatar pledged to invest $500 billion in the U.S. economy over the next decade, demonstrating its intention to retain its U.S. economic influence for the foreseeable future.
Introduction
Whether you call it the “palace in the sky,” a “$400 million gift,” or “Bribe Force One,” the jet the Qatari government gifted to Donald Trump in May 2025, to be used as Air Force One, became an international scandal with few peers.
The plane, which might be the most valuable gift any foreign government has ever given to the U.S., quickly drew the ire of Trump’s critics and supporters alike. Democrats on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee released a statement saying that accepting the jet “creates a clear conflict of interest, raises serious national security questions, invites foreign influence, and undermines public trust in our government.” Several Republican lawmakers, including Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky and Senate Majority Leader John Thune of South Dakota, also voiced discomfort over the gift.
Qatar was quick to get into damage control mode, insisting on a Memorandum of Understanding stating that the plane was worth $200 million (far less than the reported figure) and that the transfer was a government-to-government transaction, according to an official familiar with the matter.
While the plane garnered front-page headlines, Qatar has more quietly been establishing itself as a dealmaker in some of the thorniest U.S. foreign policy issues of our time. The tiny nation, with a native population less than that of Washington, D.C., has arguably become one of the best mediators of international crises, including efforts to peacefully resolve conflicts in Afghanistan, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Darfur, Lebanon, and Yemen. As of July 2025, Qatar was running 10 active mediations.
Alongside Egypt, Qatar has acted as a crucial mediator in securing the release of hostages and pursuing a lasting ceasefire in Gaza.
It is abundantly clear that the Qatari government has become an extraordinary power broker in Washington. And, unlike its Middle East neighbors Egypt, Israel, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates, or UAE, who have all been caught red-handed orchestrating elaborate illicit influence operations in America, much of Qatar’s influence has been earned through perfectly legal means.
The Qatar lobby in America
The work of Qatar’s 74 registered foreign agents largely prioritizes countering anti–Qatar campaigns — most notably, charges of funding terrorists — and touting Qatar’s pivotal role in the Gaza hostage and ceasefire negotiations. But it has also evolved beyond countering narratives into promoting the U.S.–Qatar economic relationship and other foreign policy interests, in particular the defense relationship and the importance of U.S. forces at Al Udeid Air Base.
The Qatar lobby by the numbers
Currently, Qatar is represented by 28 firms registered under FARA, including some of the largest lobbying firms in the U.S. In fact, three of the top-earning firms in 2024 — Cornerstone Government Affairs, Holland & Knight, and BGR Government Affairs — all work for the Qatari Embassy. As part of their contract, Cornerstone even agreed to “not advise, represent, or accept engagement from any sovereign state in the MENA region, other than the State of Qatar.”
With this firepower on its payroll, it is perhaps unsurprising that Qatar’s lobbying operation has reported securing more in-person meetings with political contacts than any other country in the world. Based on an analysis of political activities under FARA from 2021 to June 2025 — the most recent data available — Qatar secured 627 in-person meetings, the vast majority of which were with policymakers or high-level congressional staff.
From blockade to ally: How Qatar won arms and ally status
As mentioned in the introduction of this brief, the 2017 blockade and threat of invasion from Saudi Arabia and the UAE spawned a surge in lobbying spending by the Qatari government, with a considerable portion of it devoted to deepening and emphasizing Qatar’s military ties with the U.S. Qatar is home to the largest U.S. military base in the Middle East, Al Udeid Air Base, which hosts nearly 11,000 U.S. service members.
In 2017, Saudi Arabia and the UAE were pressuring the U.S. to move the Al Udeid base away from Qatar. The Foundation for Defense of Democracies, a D.C. advocacy organization that does not disclose its funding sources, hosted a high-profile conference ginning up support for moving the air base. The Emirati ambassador to the U.S., Yousef al-Otaiba, invited allies in Congress to take up the issue: “Maybe someone in Congress should have a hearing and just say, you know, ‘Should we consider moving it?’”
At one point, Trump himself appeared to consider the idea, telling the Christian Broadcasting Network that “If we ever have to leave [Al Udeid], we would have 10 countries willing to build us another one, believe me, and they will pay for it.” Qatar’s lobbyists fought back against the campaign by distributing embassy talking points to congressional contacts asserting that “Qatar is America’s strongest ally in fighting ISIS.” Al Udeid, the embassy said, was “the tip of the spear in the fight against” the terrorist organization, flying 300 sorties per day.
By January 2024, Qatar had seemingly fended off these attacks, inking a deal with the U.S. to extend the U.S.’ military presence in the country for another 10 years. However, when the Senate Armed Services Committee’s draft of the annual defense bill came out a few months later, in July, it became clear that some members of Congress still wanted to upend U.S.–Qatar cooperation at the base. Section 1287 of the draft bill would have required the secretary of defense “to submit a report and provide a briefing to the congressional defense committees on the operational value of Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar, taking into consideration the relationship of the Government of Qatar with Hamas and other terrorist organizations.”
Qatar’s lobbyists jumped into action. Moran Global Strategies had a series of phone calls with House Armed Services Committee Chair Adam Smith, a Washington Democrat, about the “necessity of Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar,” and conversations with then–Rep. Adam Schiff, Democrat of California; Democratic Reps. Bill Keating of Massachusetts and Chris Pappas of New Hampshire; and Democratic Sen. Mark Warner of Virginia, among others.
Venable, meanwhile, texted the chief of staff of Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Roger Wicker, a Mississippi Democrat, throughout the week to discuss the National Defense Authorization Act, or NDAA. BGR Government Affairs called the Senate Armed Services Committee to discuss “Qatar language in the SASC approved FY25 NDAA.” Among other talking points, Qatar’s lobbyists pointed out that “Unlike most U.S. bases abroad, Qatar provides full funding and gives the United States great freedom in its operations there.”
Ultimately, Qatar’s lobbyists won the day and the section was scrubbed from the final version of the defense bill. Qatar’s lobbyists have also lobbied in favor of arms sales and to defend their designation as a major non–NATO ally, while firms representing Qatar worked to stop legislation threatening these priorities.
Think tanks and higher education
Qatar is the third-largest donor to think tanks in the U.S., giving upward of $9.1 million over the past five years. Qatar has also given more money, by far, to American higher education than any other country in the world.
According to the Department of Education’s Foreign Gift and Contract data, Qatar has given $6.25 billion to American colleges and universities since 2001. Nearly all — 97 percent — of that money has gone to six universities, with the lion’s share of this funding going to support branch campuses in Qatar’s Education City.
This funding has drawn the ire of lawmakers who allege that Qatar is funding pro–Palestine protests at U.S. universities. Crucially, approximately 90 percent of Qatar’s higher education funding remains in Qatar, and more than 75 percent of the students at these universities are Qatari citizens or the family members of expats living in Qatar.
Qatari business investments beget political influence in the U.S.
Qatar’s economic investments in the U.S., including stakes in Kushner Companies, Newsmax, Elon Musk’s ventures, and real estate, have bolstered its political influence. Its sovereign wealth fund, the QIA, pledged $500 billion for U.S. investments over the next decade, further entrenching Qatar’s power in Washington.
Conclusion
As documented in this brief, Qatar’s influence in the U.S. has propelled it from a vilified pariah to a powerhouse in U.S. foreign policy circles. Through lobbying, educational funding, economic investments, and mediation efforts, Qatar has strengthened ties with the U.S., secured defense agreements, and shaped political outcomes, while maintaining legal compliance. The country’s ability to steer policy demonstrates the profound impact of money and strategic engagement on U.S. foreign policy.
Source: Quincy Institute – Soft Power, Hard Influence: How Qatar Became a Giant in Washington