LOBBYISTS, HILL STAFFERS LAUNCH NEW AAPI GROUP: In the wake of several turbulent years for the Asian American Pacific Islander community marked by rising levels of racist attacks and an increased focus on the lack of AAPI representation in positions of power, a pair of lobbyists has launched a new organization aimed at connecting AAPI staff around Washington with the aim of building out a pipeline to help rectify that issue.

— The group unofficially formed during the pandemic, when Neal Patel, a lobbyist at Alpine Group, and a former Trump White House alum, began coordinating Zooms between AAPI staffers on the Hill and around K Street to keep the community connected.

— The Zooms kept growing through word of mouth, said Patel, who eventually realized that the success of the virtual get-togethers owed in part to a larger void in Washington. He and Jed Bhuta of Tower Nineteen officially launched the Asian American Pacific Islander Lobbyists Association earlier this week. The group moved off of the computer screen into real life with a happy hour at the Capitol Hill haunt Hawk ‘N’ Dove last night.