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In a close presidential election in which the most important demographic is the so-called ‘double haters’ that don’t like either major party candidate, the outcome could ultimately ride not on who is at the top of the ballot but rather who is down below.”
— Howard Schweitzer, CEO, Cozen O’Connor Public Strategies
Howard Schweitzer is a nationally recognized lawyer and lobbyist. He is the CEO of Cozen O’Connor Public Strategies and a member of Cozen O’Connor’s board of directors.
Howard is rare among senior political advisers for having served in high-level executive branch positions in both Democratic and Republican administrations, including under presidents Clinton, Bush, and Obama. Howard’s bipartisan bonafides and deep knowledge of the political process and players allow him to provide even-handed, pragmatic advice that helps clients achieve their goals.
The headlines may focus on partisan division and political intransigence, but the hard work of policymaking, legislating, and regulatory enforcement continues behind the scenes. Howard counsels clients on critical regulatory and policy issues, provides strategic political advice, directs multi-jurisdictional lobbying campaigns, and coordinates advocacy efforts at every level of government.
Howard joined Cozen O’Connor Public Strategies in January 2010 and has since spearhead the firm’s expansion. Under his leadership, Public Strategies has grown from three regional offices to nine nationwide, established significant operations in the three largest cities in the U.S. and Washington, D.C., and assembled what may be the most diverse lobbying team in the country.
Prior to entering private practice, Howard held several prominent roles in the executive branch. In 2008, he was appointed Chief Operating Officer of the $700 billion Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP), the initiative tasked with stabilizing the country’s financial system in the wake of the global financial crisis. Howard was a key point person on the federal government’s response throughout the Great Recession and a recipient of the Treasury Department’s Distinguished Service Award.
Before moving to Treasury, Howard served at the Export-Import Bank of the United States (Ex-Im Bank) as a trusted adviser to five successive chief executives. He first joined the Ex-Im Bank as a staff attorney during the Clinton administration and worked his way up the ranks, eventually becoming the senior vice president, general counsel, corporate secretary, & chief ethics officer, appointed by President George W. Bush. At Ex-Im, Howard helped negotiate the bank’s most complex international financial transactions, manage its $60 billion credit portfolio, and led the senate confirmation process for dozens of presidential nominees.
Howard is a regular contributor to political media outlets. He has been published in Fortune, Forbes, The Daily Caller, and The Washington Post, and has appeared as a guest on CNN and POTUS Politics. He co-hosts Cozen O'Connor Public Strategies’ podcast, Beltway Briefing, which covers political and policy developments in Washington.
In his pro bono practice, Howard regularly represents a leading mental health nonprofit and serves on the Children’s National Medical Center Corporate Advisory Council.
He earned his law degree from George Washington University Law School and his Bachelor of Arts in history, with distinction, from the University of Michigan.
Publications
April 16, 2024
In a close presidential election in which the most important demographic is the so-called ‘double haters’ that don’t like either major party candidate, the outcome could ultimately ride not on who is at the top of the ballot but rather who is down below.”
— Howard Schweitzer, CEO, Cozen O’Connor Public Strategies
April 09, 2024
"The ideological evolution of what – and who – is considered Republican or Democratic is changing the nature of both legislating and campaigning.”
— Howard Schweitzer, CEO, Cozen O’Connor Public Strategies
March 26, 2024
“While a second Trump administration’s guiding policy would remain ‘America First,’ its guiding HR policy will be ‘Loyalty First,’ meaning some of the guardrails that were present in the first term will be noticeably absent this time around.”
— Howard Schweitzer, CEO, Cozen O’Connor Public Strategies
March 19, 2024
“Despite the decline of bipartisan achievements in an increasingly polarized Washington, DC, the structure of the federal political system nevertheless forces compromise.”
— Howard Schweitzer, CEO, Cozen O’Connor Public Strategies
March 12, 2024
“Spring has come early to Washington, DC this year. And along with it, so has the general election.”
— Howard Schweitzer, CEO, Cozen O’Connor Public Strategies
March 05, 2024
“Politicians of all stripes seem to be embracing populism. Democrats tend to focus on the dangers of big business while Republicans are more concerned about big government. But the line between the two is blurring.”
— Howard Schweitzer, CEO, Cozen O’Connor Public Strategies
February 27, 2024
“As we barrel towards an election in which voters across the spectrum are displeased at a historically high level with both presumptive candidates, the outcome looks likely to be determined by a particular demographic: the so-called ‘double haters.’”
— Howard Schweitzer, CEO, Cozen O’Connor Public Strategies
February 20, 2024
“In the topsy-turvy world of today’s Washington, the Senate is starting to resemble the House as GOP in-fighting is threatening the upper chamber’s traditional knack for bipartisanship, while the House is starting to resemble the Senate as House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) finds himself needing bipartisanship to advance meaningful legislation.”
— Howard Schweitzer, CEO, Cozen O’Connor Public Strategies
February 13, 2024
“Despite improving economic data, President Biden could emulate Rodney Dangerfield by saying, ‘I get no respect.’ The real question though is whether he needs voters’ respect on the economy to win as long as there isn’t a recession.”
— Howard Schweitzer, CEO, Cozen O’Connor Public Strategies
February 06, 2024
“Given that both President Biden and former President Trump would be lame ducks and the oldest occupant of the Oval Office in history by the end of it, their running mates may draw more attention than normal.”
— Howard Schweitzer, CEO, Cozen O’Connor Public Strategies
January 30, 2024
“While former President Trump continues to harp about building a wall on the southern border, his path to victory in November likely depends on his ability to once again break through the ‘blue wall’ in the north.”
— Howard Schweitzer, CEO, Cozen O’Connor Public Strategies
January 23, 2024
“As the risk of a recession in 2024 has been fading, myriad geopolitical risks have risen to the forefront of concerns among the business community. Some of these risks are of a home-grown variety – most notably, the potential return of Donald Trump’s ‘America First’ foreign policy.”
— Howard Schweitzer, CEO, Cozen O’Connor Public Strategies
January 16, 2024
“After all the drama among House Republicans in 2023, Speaker Mike Johnson is staking his caucus’ majority on his ability to prove that they can govern. The good news for him is that he has a low bar to clear.”
— Howard Schweitzer, CEO, Cozen O’Connor Public Strategies
January 09, 2024
"There is a shared concern among Americans of different political stripes that the future of democracy is on the line in this November’s election. The problem is that they disagree on who poses the bigger threat.”
— Howard Schweitzer, CEO, Cozen O’Connor Public Strategies
December 12, 2023
“While criminal trials and culture war issues increasingly dominate our political discourse, the economy will likely remain the dominant factor in the 2024 presidential election.”
— Howard Schweitzer, CEO, Cozen O’Connor Public Strategies
December 05, 2023
“Major partisan legislation often is vilified by the opposition. In practice, however, the inconvenient truth is that partisan laws can yield bipartisan benefits.”
— Howard Schweitzer, CEO, Cozen O’Connor Public Strategies
November 28, 2023
“2024 is shaping up to be a ‘don’t vote for the other guy’ election.”
— Howard Schweitzer, CEO, Cozen O’Connor Public Strategies
November 14, 2023
For former President Trump’s MAGA allies the ‘personnel is policy’ axiom has become the centerpiece of preparation for a potential second term.”
— Howard Schweitzer, CEO, Cozen O’Connor Public Strategies
November 07, 2023
“As William Shakespeare famously penned, ‘Misery acquaints a man with strange bedfellows.’ House Speaker Mike Johnson might soon learn there is nothing as miserable as being House speaker as he finds himself with an array of aspiring political bedfellows.”
— Howard Schweitzer, CEO, Cozen O’Connor Public Strategies
October 31, 2023
“While Donald Trump likes to say that he created the ‘Make America Great Again’ movement, both the expression and the political ideology existed before him and will remain after him.”
— Howard Schweitzer, CEO, Cozen O’Connor Public Strategies
October 24, 2023
“Regardless of whoever ultimately becomes the next House speaker, the fractured House GOP conference has effectively given President Biden the opportunity to govern with limited oversight.”
— Howard Schweitzer, CEO, Cozen O’Connor Public Strategies
October 17, 2023
”Violations of institutional norms weakens democracy and exposes its vulnerability.”
— Howard Schweitzer, CEO, Cozen O’Connor Public Strategies
October 10, 2023
“Nobody in Washington, DC has a monopoly on being in disarray or political miscalculation.”
— Howard Schweitzer, CEO, Cozen O’Connor Public Strategies
October 03, 2023
“The first week of the 118th Congress starkly demonstrated that Democrats do not have a monopoly on disarray. But just like in nature, politics abhors a vacuum, and the key as always to navigating Congress is appealing to enough interests among the differing factions.”
— Howard Schweitzer, CEO, Cozen O’Connor Public Strategies
September 26, 2023
“A Biden v. Trump redux is like a car crash happening in slow-motion. Nobody wants it to happen, but at the same time, nobody knows how to stop it – and nobody can look away no matter how much they want to.”
— Howard Schweitzer, CEO, Cozen O’Connor Public Strategies
September 19, 2023
“While President Biden likes to say that he’s fighting for the soul of the nation, former President Trump is fighting for the soul of the GOP and is seeking to remake it in his own populist image.”
— Howard Schweitzer, CEO, Cozen O’Connor Public Strategies
September 12, 2023
“Although it’s still only 2023, everything that happens in Washington this fall has to be looked at through the lens of the 2024 elections.”
— Howard Schweitzer, CEO, Cozen O’Connor Public Strategies
July 25, 2023
“What do you get when you cross 2020 déjà vu and 2016 amnesia? The 2024 elections.”
— Howard Schweitzer, CEO, Cozen O’Connor Public Strategies
July 18, 2023
“Congressional dysfunction has evolved from being a bug of the legislative process to becoming a feature of it. This is on full display as the FY24 spending and defense authorization measures now are winding their way through both chambers.”
— Howard Schweitzer, CEO, Cozen O’Connor Public Strategies
July 11, 2023
“Congress is back for three weeks before recessing through Labor Day. These three weeks will set the stage for not only what legislation lawmakers hope to get done by year end but also the agenda each party plans to run on next year.”
— Howard Schweitzer, CEO, Cozen O’Connor Public Strategies
June 27, 2023
“Although voters do not give President Biden high marks for his handling of the economy, he is not only leaning into his economic policy, he’s putting his name on it and making it a centerpiece of his re-election.”
— Howard Schweitzer, CEO, Cozen O’Connor Public Strategies
June 20, 2023
“Former President Trump remains dominant within the GOP despite his indictments. But his impact on down-ballot elections and the governing agenda remains as tenuous as ever.” — Howard Schweitzer, CEO, Cozen O’Connor Public Strategies
— Howard Schweitzer, CEO, Cozen O’Connor Public Strategies
June 13, 2023
“Big business used to be a key driver of the Republican platform, while blue collar workers were the domain of the Democrats. But as both the GOP and Democrats now vie to be the party of the working class, often in the form of culture war battles, corporate America is finding itself caught in the crossfire.”
— Howard Schweitzer, CEO, Cozen O’Connor Public Strategies
June 06, 2023
“The resolution of the debt ceiling standoff leaves both President Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy with newly gained political capital as a result of their bipartisanship. But it also re-emboldened opposition from their respective political flanks.”
— Howard Schweitzer, CEO, Cozen O’Connor Public Strategies
May 30, 2023
“The debt ceiling battle has evolved into DC’s version of a Shakespearean play – it is a tale of sound and fury, signifying very little in the end.”
— Howard Schweitzer, CEO, Cozen O’Connor Public Strategies
May 23, 2023
“The battle over the debt ceiling is not really about controlling the country’s fiscal trajectory; it’s about controlling the political narrative.”
— Howard Schweitzer, CEO, Cozen O’Connor Public Strategies
May 16, 2023
“In Washington, less public squawking is usually a good sign that there is serious talking taking place.” — Howard Schweitzer, CEO, Cozen O’Connor Public Strategies
May 09, 2023
“President Biden gets mixed marks for his handling of the economy. But luckily for Biden, GOP presidential candidates aren’t focused on the economy.”
— Howard Schweitzer, CEO, Cozen O’Connor Public Strategies
May 02, 2023
“Joe Biden’s best presidential campaign argument has always been not about who he is, but who he isn’t. Donald Trump’s, ironically, has been the opposite.”
— Howard Schweitzer, CEO, Cozen O’Connor Public Strategies
April 18, 2023
“The outcome of the 2024 elections could be influenced by how effectively the Biden administration implements the hundreds of billions in tax credits Democrats passed last year. And the winners of those elections, in turn, will decide what happens to the Trump tax cuts that expire in 2025.”
— Howard Schweitzer, CEO, Cozen O’Connor Public Strategies
April 18, 2023
“House Speaker Kevin McCarthy’s (R-CA) first challenge in resolving the debt limit impasse is to unify the disparate members of his conference. To do so, he is making them ‘an offer they can’t refuse.’” — Howard Schweitzer, CEO, Cozen O’Connor Public Strategies
April 04, 2023
"Donald Trump has once again entered uncharted political territory and is taking the rest of the GOP — and the country — with him.”
— Howard Schweitzer, CEO, Cozen O’Connor Public Strategies
March 28, 2023
“Winston Churchill is credited with saying, ’Never let a good crisis go to waste.’ But the reality is that when it comes to politics, it’s actually quite difficult to capitalize on a crisis.”
— Howard Schweitzer, CEO, Cozen O’Connor Public Strategies
March 21, 2023
“President Biden is moving to the middle as he readies his re-election campaign. What will likely be more relevant for his prospects of a second term though is not whether he is more moderate than his eventual GOP challenger but whether he is more palatable.”
— Howard Schweitzer, CEO, Cozen O’Connor Public Strategies
March 14, 2023
“Stopping a banking crisis is hard. Stopping a banking crisis AND avoiding a political backlash is really hard.” — Howard Schweitzer, CEO, Cozen O’Connor Public Strategies
March 07, 2023
“There are many things Republicans don’t agree on, from entitlement reform to aid to Ukraine to who should be the party’s next standard-bearer. But they are virtually unanimous in their view that the politics of ‘woke capitalism’ are the new cornerstone of the GOP.”
— Howard Schweitzer, CEO, Cozen O’Connor Public Strategies
February 28, 2023
President Biden will need to crowd in massive sums of private capital to covert his ambitious legislative agenda from the last two years into reality.”
— Howard Schweitzer, CEO, Cozen O’Connor Public Strategies
February 21, 2023
“Republicans and Democrats alike are not just dealing with narrow majorities in Congress, but they’re also wrestling with fractious elements within their parties. This leaves their leaders (and would-be leaders) seeking to thread the needle both in terms of politics and policy.”
— Howard Schweitzer, CEO, Cozen O’Connor Public Strategies
February 15, 2023
“Divided government in Washington is a function of overwhelmingly unified government in the 50 states. This single party rule in the states is accelerating policy change and deepening the differences between red and blue areas of the country.”
— Howard Schweitzer, CEO, Cozen O’Connor Public Strategies
February 07, 2023
“Tonight’s State of the Union address is less about the usual laundry list of policy priorities and more about President Biden building the political narrative for his all but certain re-election campaign.” — Howard Schweitzer, CEO, Cozen O’Connor Public Strategies
January 31, 2023
“While much of the focus on how effective Washington can be under divided government has been on newly installed Speaker Kevin McCarthy and his relationship with his fellow Republicans, perhaps a more important dynamic that has been largely overlooked is the relationship between McCarthy and his Senate counterpart, Mitch McConnell.”
— Howard Schweitzer, CEO, Cozen O’Connor Public Strategies
January 24, 2023
“When listening to the histrionics surrounding the latest debt limit showdown, it’s important to take a deep breath and remember that as with most things in DC, process tends to trump substance.”
— Howard Schweitzer, CEO, Cozen O’Connor Public Strategies
January 17, 2023
“President Biden’s best case for re-election is that he’s not Donald Trump. Perhaps his biggest risk for re-election is that Trump’s relevance appears to be waning even if MAGA ideology and MAGA voters aren’t.”
January 10, 2023
Kevin McCarthy finally clinched the Speaker’s gavel and swore in members of the 118th Congress, which ushers in a new period of Congressional investigations.
January 10, 2023
“The first week of the 118th Congress starkly demonstrated that Democrats do not have a monopoly on disarray. But just like in nature, politics abhors a vacuum, and the key as always to navigating Congress is appealing to enough interests among the differing factions.”
— Howard Schweitzer, CEO, Cozen O’Connor Public Strategies
December 13, 2022
“Populism isn’t abating, but moderation is back in vogue.” — Howard Schweitzer, CEO, Cozen O’Connor Public Strategies
December 06, 2022
“A lot of things will change with the return of a divided Congress next year, and corporations will be in the center of the bullseye for both the left and the right.”
— Howard Schweitzer, CEO, Cozen O’Connor Public Strategies
November 22, 2022
“The election may be in the rearview mirror, but the economy and industry have to navigate the shifting politics that now lie ahead.”
— Howard Schweitzer, CEO, Cozen O’Connor Public Strategies
November 15, 2022
“While neither Joe Biden nor Donald Trump were officially on the ballot last week, Bidenism and Trumpism were.”
— Howard Schweitzer, CEO, Cozen O’Connor Public Strategies
November 08, 2022
“It has become increasingly difficult to separate the signal from the noise on Election Night. But knowing what to watch for tonight will provide insight into how the next two years will unfold.” — Howard Schweitzer, CEO, Cozen O’Connor Public Strategies
November 01, 2022
“Midterm elections are traditionally a referendum on the party in power and this year is no different, giving the GOP the better macro narrative. But in an age of hyper-polarization when the country is so closely divided, poor candidate quality in races on the margin could make the difference.”
— Howard Schweitzer, CEO, Cozen O’Connor Public Strategies
October 25, 2022
“Two of the few things both Democrats and Republicans agree on today in Washington are supporting domestic manufacturing and being tough on China. When you put these two together, the result is the rebirth of US industrial policy.”
— Howard Schweitzer, CEO, Cozen O’Connor Public Strategies
October 11, 2022
“The increasing politicization of America’s traditionally independent institutions is at the root of concerns over the perceived rising risk to American democracy itself.” — Howard Schweitzer, CEO, Cozen O’Connor Public Strategies
October 04, 2022
“While bipartisan legislative victories are still possible under a divided government, the Biden administration will likely need to shift its focus to its executive powers to continue to pursue its partisan agenda in the wake of the midterms.” — Howard Schweitzer, CEO, Cozen O’Connor Public Strategies
September 27, 2022
“Crises like climate change and the pandemic are shifting the battle lines in partisan politics while also putting pressure on CEOs to fill the void left by politicians to solve societal problems.” — Howard Schweitzer, CEO, Cozen O’Connor Public Strategies
September 20, 2022
“Inflation appears to be both an intractable economic and political problem right now, likely weighing heavily on Democrats’ prospects in this fall’s midterm elections. But how inflation looks in 2024, not 2022, matters far more in terms of the success of Joe Biden’s presidency.” — Howard Schweitzer, CEO, Cozen O’Connor Public Strategies
September 13, 2022
“Republican animus towards Joe Biden is visceral, but not personal. Biden is a proxy, rather than a direct source, of GOP anger.” — Howard Schweitzer, CEO, Cozen O’Connor Public Strategies
July 26, 2022
“Although America is highly polarized, it is also relatively evenly divided. So while there is unlikely to be any dominating national issue that swings the midterm elections, a single marginal issue could still ultimately determine control of Congress.” — Howard Schweitzer, CEO, Cozen O’Connor Public Strategies
July 19, 2022
“Joe Biden and Donald Trump are the most likely presidential nominees for 2024 despite being the most unpopular presidential candidates ever.” — Howard Schweitzer, CEO, Cozen O’Connor Public Strategies
July 12, 2022
“Otto von Bismarck famously said, ‘Politics is the art of the possible.’ However, as November’s midterm elections draw closer, the realm of the possible is quickly narrowing.” — Howard Schweitzer, CEO, Cozen O’Connor Public Strategies
June 28, 2022
“Ever Since Donald Trump left the White House, the top political question has been ‘Will Trump run again?’ In the wake of the January 6th congressional hearings though, another question is increasingly on Republicans’ minds: ‘Is it politically possible to embrace Trumpism while simultaneously rejecting Trump?’” — Howard Schweitzer, CEO, Cozen O’Connor Public Strategies
June 22, 2022
“The midterm elections are a natural point for the Biden administration to pivot in terms of both personnel and policy. The White House itself will tack to the center in preparation for the president’s re-election campaign, but Biden’s regulators will continue to pursue an aggressive progressive agenda.” — Howard Schweitzer, CEO, Cozen O’Connor Public Strategies
June 14, 2022
“Democrats are fretting the midterm elections and Republicans are licking their chops. But for anyone already anticipating total gridlock inside the Beltway, it would be wise to remember that Democrats still have unified control of government for the time being and will still control the White House at least through 2024.” — Howard Schweitzer, CEO, Cozen O’Connor Public Strategies
June 07, 2022
“As Republicans and Democrats once again try to find common ground on gun reforms, albeit with modest expectations, they continue to wrestle with the root causes of America’s undeniable status as a global outlier on gun deaths and mass shootings.” — Howard Schweitzer, CEO, Cozen O’Connor Public Strategies
May 24, 2022
“Despite the headwinds Democrats face going into November, Republicans are doing their best to save Democrats from themselves by putting forward extreme candidates whose principal qualification for office seems to be whether they support former President Trump’s false claim of victory in 2020.” — Howard Schweitzer, CEO, Cozen O’Connor Public Strategies
May 17, 2022
“Inflation appears to be both an intractable economic and political problem right now, likely weighing heavily on Democrats’ prospects in this fall’s midterm elections. But how inflation looks in 2024, not 2022, matters far more in terms of the success of Joe Biden’s presidency.” — Howard Schweitzer, CEO, Cozen O’Connor Public Strategies
May 10, 2022
“Controversy — and efforts to politically capitalize on it — remains one of the only constants in Washington.” — Howard Schweitzer, CEO, Cozen O’Connor Public Strategies
May 03, 2022
“Joe Biden and Donald Trump are shadow boxing in the 2022 midterm elections even though neither of them are formally on the ballot. And contrary to conventional wisdom, they are likely to face a real re-match in 2024.” — Howard Schweitzer, CEO, Cozen O’Connor Public Strategies
February 21, 2021
Howard Schweitzer, Mark Alderman, Patrick Martin, and Stuart Shorenstein discuss the impact of the current scandals and whether they seem to indicate the return to old-school, rough-and-tumble, hardball-style politics.
March 28, 2020
Members of Cozen O'Connor's Coronavirus Task Force provide analysis of the CARES Act and how it will impact small businesses, distressed industries, employers and employees, taxes, and the health care, real estates, and energy industries.