(José Niño, Headline USA) As tariffs and rhetoric between Washington and New Delhi escalate, former Trump adviser Jason Miller has emerged as India’s most expensive U.S. lobbyist with a contract that experts are calling unprecedented.
According to independent journalist Lee Fang, Miller signed a one-year lobbying contract with the Indian Embassy in April 2025 worth roughly $1.8 million, making it one of the priciest foreign lobbying arrangements in recent history.
Former Trump advisor Jason Miller signed a contract with the Indian Embassy in April of this year for $150k per month to help influence the Trump admin, Congress, and public perception re policy towards India. Part of the work entails social media posts. pic.twitter.com/qfQNoo5U12
— Lee Fang (@lhfang) September 5, 2025
The contract required Miller’s firm, SHW Partners LLC, to provide “strategic counsel, tactical planning, and government relations assistance on legislative, public policy and regulatory matters before the U.S. government.” It also called for “perception management and public relations support” on behalf of the Indian government in addition to advocating for India’s interests with members of Congress, policy research groups, universities, and other key audiences.
This arrangement emerged as U.S.-India relations encountered extraordinary strain. The Trump administration levied a 25 percent tariff on Indian goods and, as tensions over India’s continued purchase of Russian oil escalated, threatened another 25 percent penalty, which could double the tariffs to 50 percent. Trump administration trade adviser Peter Navarro called India a “laundromat” for the Kremlin in light of India’s ongoing economic partnership with Russia, despite U.S. sanctions and global condemnation following the invasion of Ukraine.
India’s move to retain Miller, who previously served as chief spokesman for Trump’s 2016 campaign, senior advisor in both 2020 and 2024, and leads the social media platform Gettr, signaled a bid to capitalize on his connections.
“Probably the single most expensive personnel hiring and contractual decision by the government of India,” argued political analyst Prashant Jha in The Hindustan Times. Miller posted a photograph with Trump after a White House meeting at the height of tariff tensions, writing, “Fantastic week in Washington with so many friends being in town, topped off of course by having the opportunity to stop in and see our President in-action!”
The effort comes as India’s rival, Pakistan, also engages Trump-connected lobbyists. On the same day India inked its deal with Miller, Pakistan retained Javelin Advisors, the firm of former Trump bodyguard Keith Schiller and ex-Trump Organization compliance chief Georges Sorel.
In recent coverage, Headline USA detailed how pro-Trump influencers have disseminated nearly identical posts supporting India in an attempt to mend ties with the United States as tariff disputes continue.
José Niño is the deputy editor of Headline USA. Follow him at x.com/JoseAlNino
