High-profile Democratic lobbyist Tony Podesta, whose firm collapsed under scrutiny during the Mueller investigation, has been hired by Huawei amid China’s bid to change the Biden administration’s stance toward the Chinese telecommunications giant.

Huawei, previously deemed a national security threat, has ramped up its influence efforts in the United States this year, with Senate lobbying disclosures showing it spent $180,000 on lobbying in the first quarter of 2021 and $1.06 million in lobbying in the second quarter ending in June.