Salesforce Amends First Quarter Lobbying Disclosure, Spending $1.22M

Salesforce.com Inc. filed an amendment to its First Quarter 2026 lobbying disclosure on April 30, reporting $1.22 million in in-house lobbying expenditures. The filing lists no specific issues or legislation, making it one of several administrative amendments the company filed in late April alongside substantive reports covering the same period.

Why It Matters

Salesforce has maintained a consistent lobbying presence on a core set of issues: AI regulation, digital trade and export controls, and high-skilled immigration. The company's in-house lobbying operation reflects its interest in shaping federal policy on these fronts, particularly as Congress debates standards for artificial intelligence and as the company deepens its exposure to federal government contracts.

By the Numbers

This is one of two first quarter 2026 disclosures filed by Salesforce. The companion report, Salesforce.com Inc. - 2026 Q1 2 (2097841), was filed April 23 and reported $1.05 million. The trigger filing is an amendment, signed April 30, reporting $1.22 million.

Salesforce conducts all of its lobbying in-house. Three lobbyists are listed on this disclosure:

  • Lauren Watt, who has appeared on six Salesforce filings since mid-2024, totaling $5.65 million in disclosed activity
  • Hugh Gamble III, a veteran of the operation who has appeared on 18 filings totaling $17.55 million, and who previously served as Legislative Director for Sen. Saxby Chambliss and as counsel for Sens. Thad Cochran and Trent Lott
  • Charles McCray III, also on 18 filings totaling $17.55 million, with prior experience as a press assistant for Rep. David Reichert

Across the 12-month period ending April 30, 2026, Salesforce filed 14 disclosures totaling $14.41 million in reported lobbying expenditures.

The Agenda

This specific amendment lists no issues lobbied and cites no legislation. The substantive lobbying agenda is reflected in other concurrent filings. The companion First Quarter 2026 report lists three issue areas: U.S. AI issues including risk evaluation, accountability, and workforce development; digital trade and export controls; and high-skilled immigration reform.

Those same themes have appeared consistently across prior quarters. The Fourth Quarter 2025 report listed identical issue areas. The Third Quarter 2025 report added engagement on the Fix Our Forests Act and the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2026. The Second Quarter 2025 report included the Remote Access Security Act and H.R. 1, the reconciliation package, specifically on tax issues and R&D expensing.

Broader Context

The White House released a National Policy Framework for Artificial Intelligence in March 2026, signaling potential legislative movement on federal AI standards. Congress has been active on the issue, with bills covering algorithmic accountability, state preemption, and AI safety under consideration. For companies like Salesforce, a uniform federal framework could reduce compliance complexity across state lines, where dozens of AI and data privacy bills have been introduced in 2026 alone.

Salesforce's federal footprint has grown alongside its lobbying activity. In January 2026, the U.S. Army awarded Salesforce a $5.6 billion contract for data analytics, cloud, and agentic AI capabilities. A strategic partnership with the General Services Administration, announced in May 2025, extended Slack Enterprise Grid and Slack AI access to federal agencies.

On Capitol Hill, Salesforce was listed as an endorser of the Employer-Directed Skills Act, bipartisan legislation introduced in February 2026 that would streamline business access to workforce training programs under the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act. The company also appeared among supporters of the Fix Our Forests Act, which passed committee in October 2025.

Separately, a March 2026 Senate press release from Sens. Martin Heinrich and Ben Ray Luján noted that the Minority Business Development Agency had allowed its contract with Salesforce to expire, with a sworn declaration from an MBDA employee stating the lapse made it "particularly difficult" to monitor grants.

Bottom Line

The amendment itself carries no new substantive disclosures. But taken alongside Salesforce's other concurrent filings and its broader legislative engagement, it reflects a government relations operation that has been consistent in its focus areas and growing in scale. First quarter 2026 spending, across both in-house filings, totals $2.27 million, with AI policy, trade, and immigration remaining the throughlines.

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