India renews contract with lobbying firm of Trump's close aide

Washington: India has extended its lobbying contract with a firm headed by President Donald Trump's former top campaign spokesman and longtime communications adviser Jason Miller, according to filings made public under the Foreign Agents Registration Act.

The contract between the Indian Embassy here and Miller's SHW Partners LLC was signed on April 24 this year and runs through April 23, 2027. It involves a monthly fee of USD 150,000, which amounts to an yearly outgo of USD 1.8 million.

Miller's firm was hired by the Indian Embassy last year days after the Pahalgam terror attack on April 22.


SHW provides strategic counsel, tactical planning, and government relations assistance on policy matters before the US government, the US congress, state governments, academic institutions, think tanks, and any other relevant stakeholders as required.

A review of the outreach activities filed by SHW shows at least a dozen phone calls between Miller and the Trump Administration officials US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer, Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent, Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick and Susie Wiles, Trump's Chief of Staff from January 25 to February 2 this year.

India and the US announced the framework for an interim bilateral trade agreement on February 2, after a phone call between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Donald Trump.

The disclosures related to outreach on behalf of India for the six-month period between November 2025 and April this year shows regular phone calls to Greer and Bessent - officials involved with the trade negotiations and the treasury department that handled the sanctions waiver on purchase of crude from Russia.

In March and April, Miller also spoke with Francis Brooke, the Acting Assistant Secretary of International Affairs in the Treasury Department five times and met with US Ambassador to India Sergio Gor, thrice between November and December 2025.

Before the 2024 election, Miller worked as an adviser on Trump's unsuccessful 2020 presidential re-election bid and was a chief spokesman on Trump's 2016 campaign. Earlier, he worked for Senator Ted Cruz's presidential campaign.

Lobbying is legal in the US and all agents have to be registered under Foreign Agents Registration Act and file disclosures as required by law.