 "Keith Schiller (L) and Jason Miller (R) have been hired by Pakistan and India, respectively.")
India and Pakistan have stepped up diplomatic efforts to influence global policy amid simmering tensions between the two sides post the April 22 Pahalgam attack and Operation Sindoor. New Delhi and Islamabad have recruited key figures with close ties to United States President Donald Trump as lobbyists in Washington, DC.
While India has hired Jason Miller, a longtime advisor of Trump, Pakistan has picked Keith Schiller, a former bodyguard of the US president. The developments come as India and Pakistan engage in global outreach through high-level delegations to keep their stance in front of the world.
Let’s take a closer look.
Who is Jason Miller?
Jason Miller, a senior Donald Trump advisor, will be India’s lobbyist in the US. The political strategist has been associated with Trump for a long time.
He was a major part of Trump’s communications team during the Republican leader’s 2016 presidential campaign. After Trump defeated Democrat Hillary Clinton to become the US president, Miller was appointed as the chief spokesperson for the presidential transition team.
Miller returned as senior advisor during Trump’s 2020 re-election bid against Joe Biden.
In 2021, Miller launched his own social media site called GETTR, a platform similar to Twitter (now X).
The social media site advertised itself on Google and Apple app stores as “a non-bias social network for people all over the world”, as per a Reuters report.
In 2022, Miller announced Trump’s plan to run for the 2024 US presidential race on Stephen Bannon’s radio show.
Commenting on his return for Trump’s 2024 campaign, Miller said, “It was always a matter of when and not if I will return to help re-elect President Trump in 2024, and seeing the current state of the country under Joe Biden, I couldn’t remain sidelined any longer.”
“You can impact the world a lot by launching a social media platform, but nothing compares to getting President Trump back into office,” he was quoted as saying by Politico.
Trump ’s close aide also had a brief stint as a political contributor at CNN.
India hires Jason Miller
Miller will be lobbying on behalf of India in the US capital. As per the US Justice Department filings, cited by Politico, this is the first time in years that Miller has registered to lobby for the Indian government.
Miller’s firm, SHW Partners LLC, will get a monthly retainer of $150,000 (Rs 1.29 crore) for its services.
The longtime Trump aide will offer “strategic counsel, tactical planning” and traditional lobbying services, along with perception management and public relations facilities as required, according to the copy filed with the Justice Department.
Miller’s closeness to Trump could be a boost for India’s diplomacy.
“This is not a new practice. This has been in place for several decades and under successive governments since the 1950s. These firms have been regularly engaged by the Embassy as per the requirements of the situation. All such engagements are available in the public domain,” Randhir Jaiswal, official spokesperson of the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), said at a recent press briefing.
Pakistan enlists Keith Schiller
Trump’s former bodyguard, Keith Schiller, will be Pakistan’s lobbyist in the US.
A former New York Police Department (NYPD) detective, he began working with Trump in the early 2000s, when he served as the head of security at Trump Tower in Manhattan.
Schiller went on to become the Director of Oval Office Operations during Trump’s first presidency.
He co-founded consulting firm Javelin Advisors with George Sorial, the Trump Organization’s former compliance chief, in December 2024.
As per the Politico report, Schiller and Sorial registered to help Pakistan forge “long-term economic partnerships” in the US by strengthening the country’s ties to the US government and private sector.
In 2017, Schiller personally delivered the letter to then-FBI Director James Comey about his termination.
The same year, he also testified before the House Intelligence Committee about Trump’s 2013 Moscow visit. He told the committee that a Russian offered to send women to Trump’s hotel room, an offer Schiller claimed was immediately rejected as a joke, CNN reported.
With inputs from agencies