Why Corporate Comms and Government Affairs Need to Work Together

In my first month in Washington, D.C. almost 20 years ago, crisis communicators were helping auto and bank executives navigate a Congress incensed by years of mismanagement. 

No wonder. The industries were seeking almost $1 trillion in bailout money.

Today, every communications expert has to become proficient in crisis. A single disgruntled employee’s viral video can result in a National Labor Relations Board investigation. President Donald Trump’s Truth Social posts can result in a stock market devaluation for any given target of his wrath.

And those are just the issues that go viral. 2024 saw a record high of more than 100,000 regulations instituted. That can be a crisis for investor trust, shareholder value and, along with tariffs, a simmering nightmare for executives. 

“Corporate communications and government affairs are navigating the same challenge from different perspectives,” Jessica Bayer, DHR Global’s managing partner of corporate affairs and communications, told me. “That’s not because they want to be political. It’s because they are trying to mitigate risks.”

“I used to recruit government affairs and communications executives separately. Many of my clients today are making explicit asks for [government affairs] folks who understand third-party validators and communications folks who see the lay of the political landscape. Neither function lives in a bubble anymore.”

I spent my first three months in Washington researching the bank and auto bailouts. I was about to become a congressional staffer when the Affordable Care Act was passed, and I was a journalist during Trump’s first run for the White House. Today, I run a public relations and public affairs firm as tariffs realign the global economy.

That experience has shown me that if communications professionals want to maximize our impact, we have to learn the business of government. 

Expect the Unexpected

Mergers and acquisitions are a standard part of the business world. But Netflix’s attempt to acquire HBO and other assets from Warner Bros. resulted in U.S. and global regulatory scrutiny, as well as bipartisan concerns from President Donald Trump and Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.).

These leading partisans usually can’t agree on the time of day. You’d think it would take a pandemic or the invasion of a country for them to try to see eye to eye.

But all it took was one entertainment company buying another. It’s something that corporate comms reasonably may not have expected, but government affairs could have. 

“Corporate America has been slow to adjust to how much the political and policy landscape has changed, and we’ve seen plenty of self-inflicted crises as a result,” said Touchdown Strategies founder and President James Davis. “When corporate communications and government affairs work together early, companies are far better equipped to anticipate issues and avoid problems instead of reacting once the damage is done.”

Find Your Most Trusted Voices

In 2020, the firing of a single worker led to all sorts of unwanted legal and political attention for Amazon. The company may have had the world’s best lawyers, but over the next few years, union workers secured favorable press coverage while Amazon was bombarded with negative headlines. That’s because while trust in corporations is in decline, authoritative, third-party voices that resonate with people’s emotions will always have credibility. 

This principle has guided one of my company’s most valuable public affairs services: finding everyday people whose names and experiences carry credibility with regional and industry audiences. These folks act as op-ed authors, interview voices and social media influencers in a way that people with big titles cannot.

When the Food and Drug Administration delayed approvals of rare disease drugs last summer, for example, we wrote and placed op-eds from former Trump and Bush administration officials. They helped change course at the FDA. But the voice who made the biggest impact – and was published by two of the most influential political media outlets in the country – was the pediatrician whose daughter suffers from a rare disease. Her personal story ended up being far more compelling than any government title.

“Effective messaging, polling, research and case studies are great for affirming your credibility and helping those who are unconvinced of your position to at least see where you’re coming from,” said Billy Atwell, chief communications and marketing officer for the America First Policy Institute, a conservative D.C.-based think tank. “But what makes a position morally or emotionally compelling, is to show the impact on individuals. To go from credible to compelling requires a narrative based in truth and connected to your core position.”

Your Secrets Can – and Will – Go Public 

A couple of months ago, most people outside of South Korea didn’t know that e-commerce company Coupang existed. A November 2025 leak of nearly 34 million people’s information resulted in $1.18 billion in compensation to users and an apology from interim CEO Harold Rogers. On the political side, there were hearings by the South Korean National Assembly and scrutiny of over $10 million dollars in U.S. lobbying efforts. 

Business leaks are everywhere in a digital world. But until recently, it was mostly national security-related events that led to government involvement. 

Today, almost any issue can land a company in hot water with the government, especially if you’re in technology. That’s why crisis prep and C-Suite trust in comms is more important than ever. OpenAI COO Brad Lightcap, for example, didn’t wait for an artificial intelligence competitiveness hearing in May 2025; Fox Business reported that he was making the rounds in late April “with members of Congress and administration officials…ahead of the hearing.” (And you can bet that it was government affairs that set up the meetings while corporate communications shared the news with Fox Business.)

Matt McQueen, the CCO of national security and tech contractor Peraton, said that privacy shouldn’t be assumed when the government wants access to information.

“In highly regulated industries, especially those in government contracting, we see communications making their way to congressional staff more frequently than most people would expect,” he told me. “This is particularly true when there is increased oversight of the matter at hand or higher levels of political scrutiny.” 

“In the case of congressional oversight, subpoenas can put routine emails, talking points in draft form, strategy documents, etc. at risk of public exposure. What may have begun as a private clarification call or internal chat thread can quickly become part of the Congressional Record if a customer raises concerns with their Oversight Committee staff.”

Silence Can Be Golden 

If there’s one thing corporate comms has learned over the last few years, it’s that public anger burns bright, but quickly blows out. Take American Eagle, which faced a storm of criticism over its controversial “Sydney Sweeney has great jeans” ad. The company and its star stuck to a strict policy of silence, which allowed the controversy to die out while revenue soared. 

Costco offers a view from the other side of the debate. While many large U.S. corporations quietly retreated from diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives as political pressure mounted, Costco chose not to follow the herd. 

When conservative activists and commentators began targeting companies that maintained DEI programs, Costco publicly reaffirmed its commitment to these policies. The company did not launch a glossy rebrand, issue a blizzard of talking points or attempt to reposition itself as a holy warrior in the culture war. Instead, it made a decision, explained it clearly and returned to running the business.

This does not mean silence is always the correct response when a commercial issue becomes political or regulatory. You never want to let members of Congress be the only voices surrounding scrutiny of your company. But the ferocity of political, regulatory and online backlash is often matched only by the speed with which the wider public moves on. 

Build trust reservoirs on core values

The partnership between corporate communications and government affairs isn’t about politics. It’s about recognizing the risks inherent in being a brand in an era when government and business are heavily intertwined.

That’s why it’s important to build a trust reservoir with all stakeholders – from customers and employees to regulators and lawmakers – long before you need it. It’s not reliant on following the politics of the day; as we saw with DEI, yesterday’s values can become tomorrow’s liabilities. Instead, it’s built on providing great value like good products, excellent service, strong culture and ongoing communication that reinforces who you are long before anything goes wrong.  

After all, a single Trump Truth Social post can crush sales and unleash coordinated social media attacks. And a single employee’s viral video can result in crushing fines and brand-damaging hearings.

The simple fact is that communications are no longer solely about brand, because a careless internal email can be disclosed under subpoena. Government affairs doesn’t just happen in a smoky room where money exchanges hands.

The lesson is not to become partisan or paranoid. It is to become disciplined. In an era of expanding regulation, relentless oversight and instant backlash, trust, preparation and restraint are operational necessities.

Dustin Siggins is a veteran communications consultant and the founder of Proven Media Solutions.