Why It Matters

Morgan Stanley is one of the largest financial institutions in the United States, and its congressional lobbying reflects ongoing tensions between major banks and federal regulators over capital requirements, broker-dealer rules, and financial services taxation. In September 2025, Senators Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders directly called out Morgan Stanley and peer institutions, accusing their lobbyists of misleading rhetoric about reduced capital buffer requirements and warning that the banks' lobbying activities "put the entire economy at risk." This communication underscores the regulatory environment in which Morgan Stanley operates and the stakes of its legislative advocacy.

By the Numbers

Morgan Stanley's first-quarter 2026 in-house lobbying disclosure reports $1.23 million in spending. The firm also filed a concurrent report through Crossroads Strategies LLC disclosing $60,000 in activity.

Morgan Stanley's in-house quarterly spending over the past year shows significant variation:

The fourth-quarter 2025 spike (more than double any other quarter in the period) stands out as exceptional. The first-quarter 2026 figure represents a significant drop from that peak but remains elevated relative to the first three quarters of 2025.

The in-house team for the first quarter of 2026 includes Josh Wilsusen, Ann Bailey, P.J. Austin, and Tom McCrocklin Jr., plus one additional unnamed lobbyist. Wilsusen is new to the team; he did not appear in prior Morgan Stanley filings. He previously served as counsel to the House Financial Services Committee during the 109th Congress. McCrocklin served as senior counsel to the same committee during the 107th and 108th Congresses. Austin has worked for members of the Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee across multiple congressional sessions.

Beyond in-house operations, Morgan Stanley's broader lobbying network includes Crossroads Strategies LLC, Capitol Tax Partners LLP, and Forethought Advisors LLC, all of which continued filing for the firm in the first quarter of 2026. Miller Strategies LLC and Davis & Harman LLP (which terminated its engagement in the third quarter 2025) did not file for Morgan Stanley in the first quarter of 2026.

The Agenda

The first-quarter 2026 in-house Morgan Stanley disclosure lists no specific issues lobbied and no legislation. This is a stark departure from every quarterly filing from quarter one 2025 through quarter four 2025, which consistently described four focus areas: financial regulatory restructuring and implementation, broker-dealer issues, China market access, and taxation of financial institutions and products.

The concurrent Crossroads Strategies filing for quarter one 2026 also lists no specific issues - a notable shift from prior quarters, which detailed financial regulatory reform, Dodd-Frank implementation, tax reform, cybersecurity, and trade.

In earlier quarters, Capitol Tax Partners LLP lobbied on general business and international tax provisions, including H.R. 1, the budget reconciliation bill. Forethought Advisors LLC focused on government-sponsored enterprises and tariffs. Miller Strategies LLC reported lobbying on financial regulatory reform and Dodd-Frank implementation in quarter four 2025.

Broader Context

The September 2025 letter from Senators Warren and Sanders provides direct context for Morgan Stanley's regulatory environment. The senators criticized Morgan Stanley and peer institutions for failing to use reduced capital buffer requirements to increase lending or improve customer pricing, and explicitly called out the banks' lobbying efforts as putting "the entire economy at risk." The letter addressed the Trump administration's reduction of capital requirements for major banks.

Capital requirements, broker-dealer regulation, and the tax treatment of financial products are all areas where the current administration and Congress have signaled potential changes. H.R. 1, the budget reconciliation package that several of Morgan Stanley's outside firms lobbied on in prior quarters, was signed into law as P.L. 119-21 during this period.

No congressional hearing statements specifically mentioning Morgan Stanley were identified in the April 2025 through April 2026 window.

The Bottom Line

Morgan Stanley's first-quarter 2026 in-house lobbying disclosure shows $1.23 million in spending - a substantial figure, though below the prior quarter's peak. The absence of any disclosed issue areas in both the in-house and Crossroads filings this quarter prevents definitive conclusions about current priorities. Based on the consistent pattern across 2025, financial regulatory restructuring, broker-dealer rules, China market access, and taxation likely remain areas of focus, but this quarter's disclosure does not confirm that. Morgan Stanley is a longstanding and active participant in federal lobbying, and the addition of a new lobbyist with House Financial Services Committee experience suggests continued focus on financial regulatory matters.