A powerful Democratic Party consulting firm has registered as a foreign agent to represent Israel’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, according to documents filed with the U.S. Department of Justice earlier this month.
SKDK, known for its extensive connections to Democratic leaders, began work in late February to shape U.S. policy and public perception on behalf of Israel, per its FARA registration. The firm’s efforts center on media relations, though the financial terms have not yet been spelled out in a finalized contract.
A subsidiary of Mark Penn’s Stagwell Group, SKDK boasts a leadership team with deep Democratic ties. Co-founder Anita Dunn, a former senior advisor to President Joe Biden until July 2024, became an advisor for Future Forward, a major Democratic nonprofit, and its super PAC, which spent heavily to back Kamala Harris in 2024. Several SKDK figures have direct links to Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.). Justin Goodman, an executive vice president at SKDK since 2022, served nearly a decade as Schumer’s communications director, earning the senator’s praise as “one of my most trusted staffers” in a 2022 speech. Mike Morey, another ex-Schumer communications aide, is a partner with the firm, while Josh Isay, SKDK’s former CEO, was Schumer’s chief of staff in the 1990s.
Other Democratic connections include Hilary Rosen, a SKDK partner who campaigned as a surrogate for both Obama and Biden, and CEO Doug Thornell, a former Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee consultant and Democratic National Committee senior advisor. These ties give SKDK powerful relationships and insider knowledge that they can leverage to advance Israel’s agenda.
