A US lobbying firm previously headed by an aide to President Donald Trump has disclosed in official filings that it arranged phone calls between senior White House officials and the Indian government in May and June this year to discuss India-US relations.The period coincided with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s visit to India in May, which was seen as an effort to ease strains in bilateral ties over trade issues, tariffs and New Delhi’s continued purchase of Russian crude oil.The lobbying firm, SHW Partners LLC, which was run by Jason Miller, now an aide to Trump, made the disclosures in filings under the US Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA), detailing the nature of its work for India.The Indian Embassy in Washington hired SHW Partners in April 2025. The contract was terminated in the last week of June this year after Miller joined the Trump administration as a “special government employee”.Under FARA, agents representing foreign principals are required to disclose their relationship with clients, activities undertaken on their behalf and financial compensation received. Such disclosures are mandated under US law. The Indian Embassy in Washington has engaged lobbying firms in the US since 1948.According to the filings, posted online, the firm arranged calls between senior US officials and Indian counterparts in May, ahead of Rubio’s visit. Among those who participated were US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Deputy NSA Michael Needham and Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence Gene Lange.The filings further disclose that in June, after Rubio’s visit, US officials called up senior functionaries in India. Those involved included US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer, Assistant to the President for Policy Walker Barrett and White House Communications Director Steven Cheung.The contract with SHW Partners carried a monthly retainer of $150,000. According to the FARA documents, the firm’s mandate included strategic counsel, tactical planning and government-relations assistance on policy matters before the US administration, Congress, state governments, academic institutions, think tanks and other stakeholders.Following Trump’s return to office in January 2025, the Indian Embassy hired two lobbying firms. The other was Mercury Public Affairs, retained at a monthly fee of $75,000.Mercury’s filings state that the firm “disseminated” a post on X by Trump where he congratulated Prime Minister Narendra Modi in June on becoming India’s longest-serving Prime Minister.The MEA, in a fact-check on a social media post, said, “The filing done by Mercury Public Affairs LLC clearly mentions that they only disseminated the post on X.”