DJI Lobbying After the Pentagon’s Lobbyist Rule: Two Firms Stayed and Spending Rose

A federal judge in San Jose has blocked the Pentagon from enforcing its new lobbyist rule against Alibaba, and the ruling puts a spotlight on DJI lobbying in Washington. Both companies sit on the same Pentagon list of “Chinese military companies.” Alibaba says the rule left it with no lobbyists at all. DJI’s latest disclosure reports show it still has two outside firms working for it, and its own lobbying spend went up, not down, in the first quarter the rule was in force.

None of this changes what you can buy or fly today. It does show how DJI is fighting the US restrictions that do affect buyers, from the FCC Covered List to the next defense bill.

What the judge blocked

The rule is Section 851 of the 2025 defense act, now codified as 10 U.S.C. § 4663. It took effect on 30 June 2026. It does not ban anyone from lobbying for a listed company. Instead, the Pentagon may not sign a contract with any business that uses the same lobbying firm as a company on its Section 1260H list, unless the Secretary of Defense grants a waiver. A law firm’s guide for contractors notes that the definition of lobbying is broad enough to reach background research, not only meetings.

The pressure falls on the lobbying firm. Keeping a listed client can cost it every client that wants defense work. On 26 October, Judge Eumi K. Lee granted Alibaba a preliminary injunction, finding that the company had raised a colorable First Amendment claim and that the government had offered too little evidence to justify the restriction under either strict or intermediate scrutiny, as Courthouse News reported. The order protects Alibaba only. It did not remove Alibaba from the list, and it does nothing for DJI.

Why DJI lobbying looks different

DJI has been on the 1260H list since October 2022, so the rule reached it on day one. Yet the third-quarter reports filed with Congress between 19 and 26 October list two outside firms lobbying for DJI Technology, Inc., the company’s US arm: CLS Strategies, which reported $170,000 in DJI income for July to September, and Liberty Government Affairs, which reported $27,500. Each firm names a single lobbyist, and DJI’s own report names one in-house lobbyist, so three people in total.

The difference with Alibaba is mostly about size. Alibaba told the court it once had more than two dozen lobbyists across several firms, many of which also served defense contractors. DJI’s outside team is small, and DroneXL found that DJI is the only client CLS Strategies lists in its 2026 filings. A firm with no defense contractors on its books has little to lose under Section 4663.

Where the money goes now

DJI’s own quarterly reports tell the clearer story. Its lobbying expenses peaked at $650,000 in the third quarter of 2025 and $640,000 in the fourth, then fell to $200,000 and $140,000 in the first half of 2026. In the third quarter, the first one under the new rule, the figure rose to $240,000, about 71 percent more than the quarter before but still 63 percent below a year earlier.

The issues listed are the ones DJI owners care about. DJI’s report names FCC Covered List issues, drone use in public safety, law enforcement and agriculture, the FY2027 defense authorization bills, and H.R. 9430, the American Drone Manufacturing Dominance Act of 2026. Liberty’s filing covers the defense bill and the FCC’s regulatory authority. Two other firms dropped DJI earlier in the year, Porter Wright Morris & Arthur and MO Strategies, and their termination forms give no reason.

What it means if you fly a DJI drone

For owners, nothing changes this week. The lobbyist rule only governs who the Pentagon contracts with. The rules that decide whether you can buy a new DJI drone are the FCC’s Covered List and its equipment authorizations, which our US drone ban checker and guide to which drones are banned track. Drones you already own keep flying, and the FCC waiver that let DJI ship firmware this month is covered in our October firmware post.

What the DJI lobbying reports do show is where the company is still pushing: the Covered List and the next defense act, the two places where new limits on DJI products would most likely come from.

What to watch next

DJI has not filed its own challenge to Section 4663; a federal docket search by DroneXL on 27 October found none. Its separate fight over the 1260H listing itself is back in district court after its partial appeal win in August. At the FCC, DJI has a 2 November deadline to respond to the Pentagon letters the agency put on file, which we explain in our Section 1709 letters post. The fourth-quarter lobbying reports, due in January, will show whether DJI keeps its two firms through the defense bill’s final vote.