In Amazon’s shopping cart: DC influence

Amazon rarely shies away from a fight, whether it’s battling publishers to conquer the e-book market or warding off investors who want the company to deliver bigger profits. But Amazon increasingly is shipping those hardball tactics to Washington, where it is fighting agencies and wooing regulators more than ever before.

The company has boosted its political machine, hiring a crop of new lobbyists and writing bigger checks to members of Congress. It recently retained a powerhouse firm in Washington (DC) to lobby the Federal Aviation Administration on delivery drones and has flexed its muscle to win a key government technology contract. CEO Jeff Bezos, meanwhile, raised his Beltway profile through his personal purchase of The Washington Post in 2013.