Brennan Bilberry is a partner at law firm Fairmark Partners. He was a spokesman for the campaign of former governor of Virginia Terry McAuliffe (D).

As of 2024, Bilberry is the registered legal agent of Our American Future Foundation (OAFF), a 501(c)(3) left-of-center advocacy group that was incorporated in October 2022.

Background

Brennan Bilberry attended Philips Exeter Academy for his high school diploma and Harvard University for his A.B. in government. After graduating from college, he worked at the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) from 2008 to 2010 in communications and research roles. He then became the deputy executive director at left-of-center political action committee (PAC) Priorities USA from 2011 to 2012. ¹

After Priorities, he worked as the communications director for Virginia gubernatorial campaign of Terry McAuliffe (D). McAuliffe won the election, serving as governor from 2014 to 2018. ^{2 3 4}

From 2014 to 2017, Bilberry worked as the vice president and head of public affairs for the Messina Group, the consulting firm founded by Democratic political strategist Jim Messina, who has been described as the mastermind behind Obama’s reelection campaign in 2012. Then-Google executive chair Eric Schmidt said it was “the best-run campaign ever.” ^{5 6} At Messina Group, Bilberry oversaw initiatives on environmental policy and advised on political campaigns internationally. ⁷

Activities

In 2018, Brennan Bilberry became the principal of Elk Hills Research, an opposition research firm in Washington, D.C., that produces adversarial investigations on corporations and purports to pursue goals of social and economic justice. ^{8 9}

As of February 2024, Bilberry was working as a partner at law firm Fairmark Partners, a position he started in 2020. Fairmark is a law firm specializing in appellate, antitrust, and civil rights litigation based in Washington, D.C. It takes on suits by individuals or watchdog groups filed against corporations on grounds of malfeasance, monopoly, and exploitation of labor. ¹⁰

Bilberry is the registered legal agent of Our American Future Foundation, a 501(c)(3) left-of-center advocacy group that was incorporated in October 2022. OAFF was reportedly incorporated by Ezra Reese, the political law chair for Elias Law Group, the law firm founded by Democratic attorney and campaign litigator Marc Elias. ¹¹

In July 2023, Bilberry appeared on the Relentless Health Value podcast to talk about the lack of antitrust cases against hospitals in America. He claimed that hospitals lack transparency, have outsized political power through the connection to powerful donors, and that the Federal Trade Commission is not fully equipped to pursue litigation against tax-exempt organizations. Bilberry advocated for laws regarding hospitals and other tax-exempt groups to catch up with reality. ¹²

As of February 2024, Bilberry was an active user on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter. Bilberry’s bio at the time read, “Antitrust, Anticorruption, Workers Rights @ Fairmark Partners. MT/SD native + public lands fan.” His posts and reposts mainly deal with politics, criticizing major businesses like Johnson & Johnson and praising the Biden administration’s economic policies. ¹³ He reposted the Service Employees International Union (SEIU), which wrote: “It’s time for a fair tax system that ensures everyone pays their fair share!” ¹⁴

1. “Brennan Bilberry.” LinkedIn. Accessed February 11, 2024. https://www.linkedin.com/in/bilberrybrennan/.
2. ^[1] Kaminsky, Gabe. “Failed Democratic candidates pocket ‘fellowship’ cash from opaque progressive group to run in 2024.” Washington Examiner, January 24, 2024. https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/campaigns/2812270/opaque-progressive-group-fellowship-pay-failed-candidates/.
3. “Brennan Bilberry.” Fairmark Law. Accessed February 11, 2024. https://fairmarklaw.com/brennan-bilberry.
4. “Brennan Bilberry.” LinkedIn. Accessed February 11, 2024. https://www.linkedin.com/in/bilberrybrennan/.
5. “Jim Messina.” The Messina Group. Accessed February 11, 2024. https://themessinagroup.com/team-member/jim-messina/.
6. “Brennan Bilberry.” LinkedIn. Accessed February 11, 2024. https://www.linkedin.com/in/bilberrybrennan/.
7. “Brennan Bilberry.” Fairmark Law. Accessed February 11, 2024. https://fairmarklaw.com/brennan-bilberry.
8. “Brennan Bilberry.” LinkedIn. Accessed February 11, 2024. https://www.linkedin.com/in/bilberrybrennan/.
9. “Work.” Elk Hills Research. Accessed February 11, 2024. https://www.elkhillsresearch.com/home/#work.
10. “Fairmark Partners, LLP.” Fairmark Law. Accessed February 11, 2024. https://fairmarklaw.com/home/#recentwork.
11. ^[1] Kaminsky, Gabe. “Failed Democratic candidates pocket ‘fellowship’ cash from opaque progressive group to run in 2024.” Washington Examiner, January 24, 2024. Accessed February 11, 2024. https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/campaigns/2812270/opaque-progressive-group-fellowship-pay-failed-candidates/.
12. ^[1] “How Come There Aren’t More Hospital Antitrust Cases? With Brennan Bilberry.” Relentless Health Value, July 6, 2023. Accessed February 11, 2024. https://relentlesshealthvalue.com/episode/how-come-there-arent-more-hospital-antitrust-cases-with-brennan-bilberry-summer-shorts-1.
13. “Brennan Bilberry.” X. Accessed February 11, 2024. https://twitter.com/brbilberry?lang=en.
14. ^[1] “SEIU.” X. Accessed February 11, 2024. https://twitter.com/S EIU/status/1745899397244690472.