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Paramount Skydance has hired Shuwanza Goff to lead its engagement with Democratic lawmakers as the company tries to move forward with its merger with Warner Bros. Discovery faces deep doubts.
Goff, a former White House employee under President Joe Biden, was appointed the company’s new vice president for US government affairs. Makan Delrahim, Paramount’s chief legal officer, called her “our chief Democratic government affairs officer” and said she was a “highly trusted voice in Washington from both sides of the aisle” in a letter announcing the hiring on Tuesday.
Joffe, who resides in Washington, D.C., will begin her duties on July 6. She will report to Paramount Vice President and Head of US Public Policy and Government Affairs Ted Lehman, himself a former staffer for Republican Senator Thom Tillis.
“I know how rare it is to find someone so deeply respected and so effective on both sides of the aisle,” Lehman said in a statement about her appointment. “Shawanza is exactly that – a trusted and well-known figure in Washington and an exceptional colleague. As we continue to build our government affairs team, we are thrilled to have her join us.”
Goff joins the company as it attempts to close a massive $110 billion merger with another landmark studio, Warner Bros. Discovery, over the next few months. If the transaction does not close by September 30, 2026, a “retail fee” of $0.25 per WBD shareholder per day will be charged until the transaction closes.
Democratic lawmakers, including Senator Elizabeth Warren, Senator Richard Blumenthal and Representative Sam Liccardo, have asked Treasury Secretary Scott Bescent to conduct a review of foreign ownership of the deal due to investment from Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Abu Dhabi participating in the deal.
And as THR Star tech lawyer Robert Van Nest is in talks with Democratic California Attorney General Rob Bonta and other state attorneys general to lead a lawsuit to block the Paramount Skydance-WBD merger, it was reported Tuesday.
During the Biden administration, Goff served as Assistant to the President and Director of the White House Office of Legislative Affairs, where he headed White House policy efforts. Before being in the Biden administration, she spent more than a decade working for House representatives, including as chamberlain for Democratic Majority Leader Steny Hoyer. She most recently served as vice president of government affairs at an unnamed international company, Paramount.
