The links between Trump’s adviser’s visit and the $1 million lobbying contract for U.S. gas imports

At the same time, records filed with the U.S. Department of Justice show two lobbying contracts worth more than $1 million signed by the Romanian private-business coalition RASAI, based in Sântana de Mureș. The coalition’s declared objective is exactly the same: promoting in Washington the pipeline project through which the United States intends to export LNG to Eastern Europe.

Romania would contribute, through Transgaz, to the construction of the infrastructure on Romanian territory, while the Romanian state would purchase liquefied gas through its companies, particularly Romgaz.

Jason Miller belongs to the same MAGA circle as Matt Schlapp, president of the American Conservative Union. Schlapp is linked to a $75,000-per-month lobbying contract signed by Putala Strategies with the Romanian business coalition RASAI. Neither Jason Miller nor CIS Gaz SRL—the leading company within RASAI—responded to NewsCenter.ro’s questions regarding a possible connection between Miller’s visit to Romania and the pipeline project.

On May 18, 2026, Jason Miller appeared on Antena 3, in Mihai Gâdea’s television studio, relaxed and complimentary toward Romania and President Nicușor Dan.

“I really like his sharp mind and his approach,”

Miller said, referring to a meeting he had with the Romanian president in February.

The 50-year-old adviser, whose political résumé includes serving as spokesman for Trump’s 2016 campaign, senior adviser in the 2020 campaign, and chief strategist in the 2024 campaign, had already been in Bucharest for two days. According to information obtained by NewsCenter.ro, he had not come as a tourist or merely as an admirer of Romanian democracy, but with a concrete energy lobbying agenda.

Lobbying for the Vertical Corridor initiative

The projects Miller promoted to Romanian officials were twofold.

The first was the pipeline through which the United States seeks to export LNG from Greece to Romania, Hungary, and Austria via the infrastructure known as the Vertical Corridor Initiative.

The second was the small modular reactor (SMR) nuclear power plant planned for Doicești, Dâmbovița County, a $5–6 billion project in which the American company NuScale Power serves as the technology partner of Nuclearelectrica. NewsCenter.ro has previously reported on the geopolitical interests surrounding this project.

Jason Miller has so far declined to answer NewsCenter.ro’s questions regarding the purpose of his visit to Romania. He was asked whether his trip to Bucharest was related to promoting the Vertical Corridor gas project and which officials or company representatives he met regarding the initiative.

His interest in the Vertical Corridor project was nevertheless evident during his interview with Mihai Gâdea. Asked how Romania could better align its objectives with Donald Trump’s priorities, Miller responded:

“You need to present an agreement, a structure, and a strategy that are very important right now, in the context of the Black Sea, the presence of Russia and Ukraine, reconstruction efforts, the vertical corridor, gas extracted from offshore deposits, the coastline where resorts can be built, agricultural land, and the mountains. All of this needs to be shown to the United States.”

The pipeline project is promoted through lobbying contracts signed by RASAI

Miller’s visit is not an isolated episode. It overlaps with a lobbying network that has been methodically built since the end of last year and is documented in public records filed with the U.S. Department of Justice.

Under U.S. law, political consultants who represent foreign interests must register under the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) and disclose their contracts.

In December 2025, two major American firms simultaneously registered in the FARA database, declaring that they represented the same foreign principal: the Romanian-American Strategic Advancement Initiative (RASAI), headquartered in Sântana de Mureș, Romania.

The coalition includes:

• CIS Gaz SA (Sântana de Mureș)
• IRIGC Impex SRL (Bucharest)
• MVN Structural Consulting SRL (Bucharest)

The first contract, filed on December 12, 2025, was signed by Putala Strategies LLC, a Washington-based lobbying firm.

The agreement, effective November 22, 2025, provides a fee of $75,000 per month covering the period from November 2025 through April 2026, totaling $375,000 over five months. The account is managed by Christopher Putala, a former staff member of the Senate Judiciary Committee when it was chaired by Joe Biden. The external consultant assigned to the account is Matt Schlapp.

Putala Strategies receives a total of $150,000 per month:

• $75,000 from CIS Gaz;
• $50,000 from IRIGC Impex;
• $25,000 from MVN Structural Consulting.

The second contract, filed on December 24, 2025, was signed by Eversheds Sutherland (US) LLP, one of the world’s leading law firms, with offices in Washington, Atlanta, and Houston.

Eversheds Sutherland is allocated up to $50,000 from a broader $600,000 fund provided by the three Romanian companies. The remainder of the funds are directed toward Putala Strategies.

In total, the contracts registered under FARA by Putala Strategies LLC and Eversheds Sutherland (US) LLP amount to approximately $1 million for the period between November 2025 and April 2026.

Miller’s connection to the Romanian-funded lobbying effort

Jason Miller himself operates as a lobbyist through SHW Partners LLC. He has not registered any lobbying contract involving a Romanian entity and has not declared that he represents Romanian projects.

Yet he arrived in Bucharest and publicly promoted the same projects that RASAI is promoting in Washington through Putala Strategies and Eversheds Sutherland.

The connection between Miller and the lobbying activities funded by RASAI lies within the broader MAGA (Make America Great Again) network.

Matt Schlapp, who works on the RASAI account at Putala Strategies, serves as president of the American Conservative Union and previously worked as political director in the George W. Bush White House. According to a short-form disclosure personally signed by Schlapp on December 9, 2025, and filed with the Department of Justice, he receives $100,000 per month. Alongside him works communications consultant Allison Putala, who receives $2,500 per month.

Schlapp’s name appears prominently in the lobbying contracts. He is also a long-time ally of Miller within MAGA circles. Both participated in CPAC Brazil in 2021, where Miller was briefly detained at the airport while leaving the country. Both operate in the same international conservative networks, promoting Trump’s agenda among foreign partners.

In 2025, Schlapp was invited to a conference organized by the nationalist party AUR, where party leader George Simion described him as “a true friend.”

NewsCenter.ro notes that Miller did not answer any of the questions sent regarding the purpose of his visit to Romania.

The sworn declaration submitted by Putala Strategies is explicit:

“The registrant will advise and represent the Romanian-American Strategic Advancement Initiative in its efforts to strengthen economic, security, and diplomatic relations between the United States and Romania, with an immediate focus on building support for the Vertical Corridor Initiative in Central and Eastern Europe.”

The three low-profile companies behind RASAI

According to Christopher Putala’s sworn declaration filed under FARA registration 7677, RASAI is:

“a coalition of three private Romanian energy companies.”

The three Romanian companies behind the lobbying effort are:

• CIS Gaz SA;
• IRIGC Impex SRL;
• MVN Structural Consulting SRL.

CIS Gaz SA, founded in 1991 in Sântana de Mureș, specializes in gas-network and infrastructure construction. The company is 80% owned by CIS Capital Holding SRL and 20% by Horațiu-Sebastian Călugăr. In 2024, CIS Gaz reported revenues of nearly 400 million lei and a net profit of 48.5 million lei.

MVN Structural Consulting SRL, established in Bucharest in 2008, focuses on business consulting, management services, market research, and surveys. The company is wholly owned by Viorel Nicolescu and reported revenue of nearly 2 million lei and profit of 1.24 million lei in 2024.

IRIGC Impex SRL, founded in 1992, specializes in utility and gas-infrastructure construction projects. Controlled by Traian Popa, the company reported revenue of 119 million lei and profit of 16.2 million lei in 2024.

President Nicușor Dan also supports the Vertical Corridor

Romania has embraced the Vertical Corridor agenda at the highest political level.

Speaking on April 29 in Dubrovnik, Croatia, following the Three Seas Initiative Business Forum, President Nicușor Dan stated:

“It is in all of our interests to disconnect from Russian gas supplies, and it is in the American interest to enter the European market with LNG. (…) We want an American presence in Romania, and we want this economic configuration to be beneficial for Romania.”

He added:

“It is in the American interest to enter the European market with LNG. We want an American presence in Romania, and we want this economic configuration to be favorable to Romania.”

The Vertical Corridor is essentially a regional system of pipelines and interconnections linking LNG terminals in Greece—particularly Alexandroupolis—to Bulgaria, Romania, Hungary, Slovakia, Moldova, and Ukraine. Its strategic purpose is to reduce Central and Eastern Europe’s dependence on Russian gas and replace it with LNG imported from the United States, Qatar, and other suppliers.

Romania occupies a key position in the corridor, with Transgaz participating through the expansion of domestic infrastructure and transportation capacity toward Hungary and Moldova. Investments worth hundreds of millions of euros are required to modernize and expand segments of Romania’s National Gas Transmission System.

On November 7, gas transmission operators DESFA (Greece), Bulgartransgaz (Bulgaria), Transgaz (Romania), Vestmoldtransgaz (Moldova), and Gas TSO of Ukraine, together with ICGB AD, the operator of the Greece-Bulgaria Interconnector, signed a joint letter to national energy regulators requesting approval for two new cross-border products known as Route 2 and Route 3. This initiative represents another important step toward strengthening Europe’s energy independence and interconnectivity along the Vertical Gas Corridor.

Regional estimates suggest that the Vertical Corridor could initially transport between 10 and 20 billion cubic meters of gas annually to Central and Eastern Europe, a significant share of which would come from American LNG regasified in Greece.

HotNews.ro also reported that Energy Minister Bogdan Ivan recommended that Romgaz purchase 1.5 billion cubic meters of gas from the United States, although the transaction was ultimately arranged through Nova Gas. Romgaz eventually declined to make the purchase.