Christian Garrett on Hill and Valley's bipartisan dinner formula and government 'founder mode' as the missing unlock
May 1, 2025 with Christian Garrett
Key Points
- Garrett argues the missing lever in government tech policy is founder mode: individual program officers who own initiatives end-to-end, like Admiral Rickover, rather than relying on Congressional champions alone.
- Palantir and SpaceX's legal wins against the Army over contracting preference violations nine years ago now frame a turning point in tech-government alignment on rare earth independence, energy, and defense.
- Tech founders gain more leverage in Washington by identifying a single highest-impact issue before taking meetings than by pursuing broad access without a concrete ask.
Summary
Christian Garrett of Hill and Valley joined the Hill and Valley Forum on its fourth year, using the milestone to frame how much the tech-government relationship has shifted. Nine years ago, Palantir sued the Army over commercial preference violations under Title 10 USC 2377. Today, Palantir is one of the Army's closest technology partners. SpaceX filed a similar suit using the same law firm. That legal confrontation, now recast as a turning point, is part of what Garrett argues makes the current moment different.
The forum's theme is re-industrialization, but the conversations span the full supply chain. A panel on rare earth elements featured James Litinsky of MP Materials and Rafe Scoly of Lyra, moderated by Clay Dumas of Lower Carbon Capital, with Congressman Richie Torres participating. A separate manufacturing panel with Friedberg, Shawn Maguire, and Senator Todd Young identified energy and education as the key unlocks. Defense coverage included sessions from Serenic and others on industrial capacity.
On Nvidia, Garrett frames Jensen Huang as both a customer and a driver of re-industrialization. Nvidia has moved beyond GPU design into networking and cooling — full systems — which makes the customer-versus-builder distinction increasingly blurry.
Government founder mode
The most substantive argument Garrett makes is structural. Congress has champions, he says, but what's missing is what Shaan Sangard calls government founder mode — individual operators inside agencies who own programs and see them through. Admiral Rickover is the historical reference point. High-speed rail has no equivalent name attached to it, and that absence illustrates the problem. Congressional support provides cover and policy, but the real unlock is empowering program officers and department heads to act like founders.
Attendees at the forum include Senator Shaheen, Congressman Richie Torres, Congresswoman Gabe Amo, Senator Todd Young, and House Speaker Mike Johnson. Garrett's read is that rare earth independence from China, energy abundance, and a strong military deterrent are genuinely bipartisan — common ground the tech industry can build around.
Lobbying best practices
On government relations, Garrett makes two concrete points. First, tech has no trade association, which he considers an advantage — the obligation falls on founders, operators, and investors to educate policymakers directly, and policymakers are willing to take those meetings. Much of the work at Hill and Valley comes from companies that don't sell to the government at all, showing up purely to ensure their industry receives sound policy and regulation.
Second, focus matters more than access. Companies should identify the single highest-leverage issue — a contracting opportunity, a budget line, a specific regulation — before spending time in Washington. Taking meetings for the sake of meetings dilutes both the message and the relationship.