Palantir has hired two lobbyists with deep Democratic Party ties at a moment when the company’s standing with liberals is strained because of its work with President Donald Trump’s administration.
The tech and software company hired Cristina Antelo and Debra Dixon as lobbyists last month, according to a new congressional lobbying disclosure. The hirings come as Palantir finds itself under increased pressure from Democrats because of its work contracts with federal immigration enforcement agencies.
Antelo, who previously worked as a legal fellow at the Senate Democratic Steering and Policy Committee, is the Democratic principal and CEO of Ferox Strategies, a bipartisan lobbying firm. Dixon, also of Ferox, previously worked as senior staff for Xavier Becerra, the former California attorney general and Health and Human Services secretary, during his time as a Democratic congressman.
Both were hired to lobby on issues related to “data analytics and technology,” according to the lobbying disclosure.
Trending
“Ferox is proud to be working with Palantir,” Antelo told NOTUS. “We think that the narrative about Palantir in Washington is not accurate and that folks have been reading a kind of half story in the media and drawing assumptions from that.”
“We want to make sure that we are able to accurately educate and inform and provide more context and information to members of Congress that are charged with oversight, and policy making and make sure that we are a resource to them,” Antelo said. “Farox is a bipartisan firm so our team will support Palatir across the way, but for right now, I think that we definitely want to get out and talk to Democrats and make sure that they have as much information as possible.”
In 2025, federal records compiled by nonpartisan research organization OpenSecrets indicate Antelo worked with more than two-dozen clients, including the National Football League, alcohol conglomerate Diageo, tobacco company British American Tobacco and trade groups such as the Alliance for Automotive Innovation and the National Retail Federation.
Palantir did not immediately return requests for comment.
Palantir is a software company that, in part, analyzes large data sets and presents them in accessible interfaces for companies or federal agencies that gather massive amounts of data. While most of Palantir’s clients are commercial corporations, it has signed federal contracts together worth billions of dollars with Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the Department of Defense.
Since President Donald Trump returned to office in 2025, ICE has reportedly paid Palantir tens of millions of dollars to develop software that allows immigration agents to access granular data about immigrants suspected to be in the U.S. illegally.
Palantir also developed the Maven Smart System, a defense software program that allows the U.S. military to easily access data from surveillance systems and satellite imagery to coordinate strikes and military attacks. The Department of Defense recently connected Anthropic’s artificial intelligence model, Claude, to this system to help orchestrate thousands of airstrikes in Iran in recent days. After the attacks, congressional defense leaders told NOTUS it is not clear yet how the military is using AI on the battlefield.
Palantir has increased its lobbying spending and presence in Washington in recent years. The company has gone from spending roughly $2 million on federal-level lobbying during 2020 to more than $6 million last year. Palantir has also hired over 50 individual lobbyists, according to federal data analyzed by OpenSecrets.
Some Democrats who have personally invested in Palantir stock, such as Reps. Julie Johnson of Texas and Jonathan Jackson of Illinois, have sold their stock in the company after their investments received public attention.
Last month, Rep. Tom Suozzi of New York sold Palantir stock worth from $15,001 to $50,000 after NOTUS reached out to him about his investments in the company.
One Democrat has even experienced blowback for having worked for the company.
New York state Assemblyman Alex Bores, who’s running for Congress in New York’s 12th District, has been targeted with campaign ads citing his previous employment at Palantir. In a post on X, Bores said he quit Palantir over ideological disagreements.
The ads targeting Bores were bought by Leading the Future, a pro-AI super PAC that has received donations from Palantir co-founder Joe Lonsdale.
This story has been updated to change a misheard word in a quote from Cristina Antelo.
Author
