LegiStorm

Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.), reportedly shortlisted as a pick for secretary of defense, has added a prominent national-security expert — and Trump critic — to his D.C. staff this month.

John Noonan, who, according to The Hill, signed an open letter opposing Trump's presidential campaign earlier this year, is a former U.S. Air Force nuclear-missile officer. He worked as a foreign policy adviser for Jeb Bush's presidential campaign this year and as defense policy adviser for Mitt Romney's bid in 2012, and spent several years as deputy communications director to the House Armed Services Committee.

Noonan drew attention last summer, when he published a series of 20 tweets criticizing Trump's nuclear plan.

Rep. Dutch Ruppersberger's (D-Md.) district director is diving into a new job as vice president of government affairs at the National Aquarium in Baltimore, Md.

Jennifer Driban joined Ruppersberger in 2009 after working as a legislative aide in the Maryland General Assembly.

The National Aquarium currently outsources its federal lobbying work, which this year includes seafood sustainability and ocean exploration issues, to lobbying firm McAllister & Quinn.

Caesars Entertainment Corp. is placing its bets on Brenda Lawrence's (D-Mich.) press secretary.

LeMia Jenkins joined the casino behemoth as a government relations and corporation communications specialist this month. She came to Lawrence's office as press secretary earlier this year before taking a leave of absence to join Sen. Hillary Clinton's (D-N.Y.) presidential campaign.

Caesars Entertainment, which owns more than 50 hotels and casinos, has not disclosed any federal lobbying since 2012, when it cut ties with lobbying firm Capitol Counsel. The company brought in $4.5 billion in net revenues last year, according to a company press release.

Jenkins, who holds a master of public health degree from George Washington University, has also worked in the offices of Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.), Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee (D-Texas) and Rep. Marcia Fudge (D-Ohio). In 2015, Jenkins was named to The Hill's 50 Most Beautiful People list.

Republicans in Congress have remained largely silent on President-elect Donald Trump's early proposed appointees who aren't coming from the Hill, according to a LegiStorm analysis of Member press releases and tweets.

Though most Democratic members of Congress have spoken out against Steve Bannon, Republicans have shied away from the debate, with two notable exceptions: Mark Meadows (R-N.C.) and Billy Long (R-Mo.) both tweeted their support of the future chief White House strategist and senior counselor.

And while 21 Democrats have spoken out against retired Army Lt. General Michael Flynn so far, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) and Rep. Devin Nunes (R-Calif.) have been the only Republican members to voice support for Trump's proposed national security adviser via press release, with no support coming via Twitter.

But conservatives in Congress didn't stay quiet on two of their own, Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.), Trump's proposed attorney general, and Mike Pompeo (R-Kan.), up for the position of CIA director.

Eighteen senators and eight Republican congressmen published press releases in favor of Sessions' appointment, while seven Republicans expressed support for Pompeo. Only Justin Amash (R-Mich.) and Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) took to Twitter to express dissenting opinions, with Amash voicing "[deep concern]" about Sessions' appointment and Paul questioning Pompeo's stance on torture and mass surveillance.

Amid a contentious legal battle with Disney and other studios over the right to modify copyrighted material, the company behind a streaming service that filters nudity, violence and offensive language out of movies and television shows has begun lobbying the federal government.

Utah-based VidAngel, which raised $10 million in an initial public offering earlier this fall, predicts the lawsuit will reach the Supreme Court. 

In the meantime, the company has hired Bill Dolbow from the firm DGSR LLC to lobby on copyright reform issues. Dolbow served as a senior adviser to House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.) from 2011 to 2013.