Auto Care Association Drops AxAdvocacy LLC in First Quarter LDA Termination Filing

The Auto Care Association, the Bethesda-based trade group representing the $516 billion automotive aftermarket industry, ended its lobbying relationship with AxAdvocacy LLC after just 17 days in the first quarter of 2026. The LDA termination filing, signed January 10 and effective January 27, disclosed $30,000 in fees for the brief engagement — and listed no specific issues, legislation, or individual lobbyists.

The move comes as the Association's top legislative priority, the REPAIR Act, is gaining traction on Capitol Hill — raising questions about why the group would shed outside lobbying firepower at a pivotal moment.

Why It Matters

A Small Slice of a Large Lobbying Operation

The Auto Care Association is not a lightweight on K Street. According to OpenSecrets, the organization spent $990,000 on lobbying in 2025 across multiple firms. AxAdvocacy LLC accounted for roughly $80,000 of that total in 2025 — a modest share of the Association's overall advocacy budget.

Quarterly lobbying disclosure filings from 2025 show the Association's total spending ranged from $290,000 in the first quarter to $400,000 in the third quarter. The $30,000 paid to AxAdvocacy in its final filing represents a fraction of that pace.

What This Means for AxAdvocacy LLC

For AxAdvocacy LLC, the loss is more consequential. The firm's 2026 lobbying disclosure filings paint a picture of a small operation: just three total disclosures in the current filing year. Two are new client registrations — All Points Broadband Partners LLC and the Surety and Fidelity Association of America — both filed at $0, which is standard for initial lobbying registration filings before billable activity begins. The third is the Auto Care Association termination.

That means AxAdvocacy's total disclosed revenue for 2026 stands at $30,000 — all of it from a client that has already walked out the door. The firm also recorded 18 termination filings in the first quarter of 2026 across its broader client base, a notable volume that could indicate wider client attrition.

The Association's Multi-Firm Approach

The Auto Care Association maintains relationships with multiple lobbying firms simultaneously. In 2025, in addition to AxAdvocacy, the group also retained the Nardelli Group ($40,000 in 2025 fees) among other firms and in-house lobbyists. The lobbying disclosure termination of AxAdvocacy does not appear to signal any pullback from federal advocacy — the Association filed 13 lobbying reports in 2025 alone, spanning all four quarters.

No new firm has been publicly identified as a direct replacement for AxAdvocacy on the Auto Care Association account based on available disclosure data.

Broader Context

The REPAIR Act Is Advancing — Slowly

The Association's flagship legislative effort is the REPAIR Act (H.R. 1566), bipartisan legislation that would require automakers to give independent repair shops and vehicle owners the same access to diagnostic data, tools, and software that franchised dealerships receive.

Rep. Neal Dunn (R-FL) reintroduced the bill in February 2025. On February 10, 2026, the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Commerce, Manufacturing, and Trade forwarded H.R. 1566 to the full committee on a voice vote. According to CollisionWeek, this marks the second consecutive Congress in which the bill has cleared subcommittee — though it stalled at later stages previously.

Per Congress.gov, the bill's official status remains "Introduced." It has not yet passed the full committee, the House floor, or the Senate.

The Association Testified Before Congress

The Auto Care Association appeared as a witness in a congressional hearing titled "Examining Legislative Options to Strengthen Motor Vehicle Safety, Ensure Consumer Choice and Affordability…" — a hearing squarely within the Association's policy wheelhouse. Multiple witness statements from the hearing referenced the organization, underscoring its active presence on Capitol Hill even as it reshuffled its outside lobbying roster.

Urgency From the Association Itself

On January 6, 2026, the Association published a public call to action warning that "time is running out" to pass Right to Repair legislation in the current Congress. That statement came just four days before AxAdvocacy's termination filing was signed — suggesting the Association was intensifying, not scaling back, its advocacy efforts during this period.

LDA Filing Details and Lobbying Disclosure Act Compliance

The termination filing itself is notably sparse. No specific issues codes, no legislation, and no individual lobbyists were listed — which is not unusual for a lobbying registration termination but does limit public insight into what work, if any, AxAdvocacy performed during its brief first quarter engagement. The $30,000 disclosed amount indicates some billable activity occurred, but the filing provides no further detail. Whether any LDA filing late issues or lobbying disclosure act compliance questions played a role in the termination is not evident from the available records.

The Political Landscape Favors the Issue

The REPAIR Act enjoys bipartisan support, led by a Republican sponsor in a Republican-controlled Congress. The Auto Care Association's PAC contributed $497,000 to federal candidates in the 2023–2024 cycle, split almost evenly between Democrats (50.3 percent) and Republicans (49.7 percent), according to OpenSecrets. The political environment does not appear hostile to the Association's core priorities.

The Bottom Line

The AxAdvocacy LLC lobbying termination removes a small piece from the Auto Care Association's multi-firm advocacy operation at a moment when the REPAIR Act is making its deepest run through the legislative process in two Congresses. The Association spent nearly $1 million on lobbying in 2025 and continues to testify before congressional committees and push grassroots mobilization.

For AxAdvocacy, the picture is less rosy. With $30,000 in total disclosed 2026 revenue, two new clients that have not yet generated fees, and a high volume of termination filings across its portfolio, the firm faces a lean year. The termination filing did not list any lobbyists who worked the Auto Care account, making it impossible to assess from public disclosures what specific expertise or congressional relationships the firm brought — or what the Association may be looking to replace.

No new firm has been identified in available LDA filings as picking up the specific work AxAdvocacy was performing for the Auto Care Association. Given the Association's history of employing multiple firms simultaneously and its continued aggressive posture on Right to Repair, a replacement hire — or consolidation of duties among existing firms — would not be surprising. But as of the latest available disclosures, that move has not been made public.

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