Turkey's Defense Ministry signed a $2.4 million lobbying contract with Ballard Partners, a Washington firm with deep tie...

Turkey's Defense Ministry signed a $2.4 million lobbying contract with Ballard Partners, a Washington firm with deep ties to Donald Trump, in a direct push to get back into the F-35 fighter jet program. The one-year deal, signed on August 8, was revealed through U.S. Department of Justice filings reviewed by Middle East Eye. Ballard Partners will collect $200,000 per month to provide government relations services, strategic advisory, and to keep Ankara informed on Congressional developments. Turkey was kicked out of the F-35 program in 2019 after buying Russia's S-400 air defense system, a move that triggered sanctions under U.S. law. Since then, six F-35s that were actually manufactured for Turkey have been sitting in storage in the United States. Ankara wants those jets and is now paying to make that happen. The firm's Trump connections run deep. Ballard Partners was founded by Brian Ballard, a prominent Florida Republican fundraiser who worked on Trump's campaign. White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles and former Attorney General Pam Bondi both worked with the firm at various points. The team assigned to Turkey's account is notable. It includes former Democratic Florida Congressman Robert Wexler, who co-founded the U.S.-Turkey Parliamentary Friendship Group in 2001, and Thomas Boodry, who served as a special assistant to Trump and senior director of legislative affairs at the National Security Council until April 2025. Boodry was fired during the same purge that removed former National Security Advisor Mike Waltz. This deal mirrors a previous arrangement. During Trump's first term, Turkey hired Ballard Partners for a $1.5 million contract, work that reportedly focused on the Halkbank sanctions case. The Justice Department, under Trump, dropped those charges earlier in 2026. Ballard Partners pulled in over $30 million in federal lobbying revenue in just the first quarter of 2026 alone. #Turkey #F35 #NATO