Some of America’s biggest corporate names – from Exxon to Facebook – have said they are suspending their political donations after the deadly Capitol riot. Some of the companies said they would suspend donations specifically for 147 Republicans who opposed the counting of the Electoral College to certify the victory of President-elect Joe Biden.
The corporate race for exits began when Marriott and Blue Cross Blue Shield over the weekend said they would suspend donations to Republicans who opposed the Electoral College count following the deadly attack on Capitol Hill by supporters of President Donald Trump. The companies said the Republicans’ vote against certification sought to undermine a legitimate election. Citigroup weighed in on Sunday with a similar public statement.
By Monday morning, the number of large companies preventing political donations had become a flood. Among them are American Express, Airbnb, AT&T, Comcast, Dow, Exxon, Google, Facebook, Ford Motors, Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan Chase, Mastercard and Microsoft. In some cases, the companies said their decision would be temporary, like Facebook saying it will take a break at least in the first quarter, according to Axios.
These decisions follow condemnations by many companies and industry groups after the January 6 riot in Washington, DC, which left six people dead and resulted in the arrest of dozens of those involved in the attack. A trade group, the National Association of Manufacturers in Washington, DC, called for the removal of Trump from the Oval Office.
But the freeze on political donations reflects the increased consequences for Trump and his allies stemming from the Capitol protest. On Sunday, America’s PGA moved to distance the organization of Mr. Trump when he voted on Sunday to remove the PGA Championship event from his golf club in New Jersey next year.
The 147 federal lawmakers who voted against certification are eight senators, including Ted Cruz from Texas and Josh Hawley from Missouri, and 139 members of the House.
“We take into account the destructive events on Capitol Hill to undermine a legitimate and fair election and will discontinue political donations from our Political Action Committee to those who voted against certification of the election,” a Marriott spokesman said in a statement to CBS MoneyWatch .
Blue Cross Blue Shield said in a statement that it will “suspend contributions to lawmakers who voted to undermine our democracy.” He cited “votes by some members of Congress to subvert the results of the November election by challenging the results of the Electoral College”.
However, none of the companies that have so far announced the suspension of donations is among the top 20 donors for Congressional Republicans who formally opposed the Electoral College count. The two main donors to business groups are the American Bankers Association (ABA) and the National Association of Realtors (NAR), each of which donated a total of $ 1.3 million to 147 lawmakers, according to Open Secrets, that tracks political donations.
In a statement to CBS MoneyWatch, NAR said the trading group “will continue to closely monitor events in Washington in the days before and after Joe Biden’s inauguration in order to ensure our political participation” represents its members. ABA said in a statement that it will review its political activities “in the coming weeks”.
“Last week’s worrying events will certainly be taken into account in these discussions,” the group said.
In a statement, American Express said: “Last week’s attempts by some members of Congress to overturn the results of the presidential election and interrupt the peaceful transition of power do not align with our American Express Blue Box values; therefore, the AXP PAC will not support them, “referring to the American Express Political Action Committee.
The financial firm said its PAC did not give money to any of the senators who opposed it, while also noting that it had already contributed to 22 of the 139 House members who voted against certifying election results.
Citigroup confirmed on Sunday that it is suspending all federal political donations in the first three months of 2021. In a memo to employees on Friday, Citi’s head of global government affairs, Candi Wolff, said “we want you to be sure that we will not support candidates who do not respect the rule of law. “
“We support engagement with our political leaders even when we disagree, and our PAC is an important tool for that engagement,” wrote Wolff, adding that the company in 2019 donated $ 1,000 to Sen. Josh Hawley, R.-Missouri, which represents a state in which Citi has many employees.
In all, Citi’s PAC donated $ 742,000 to federal candidates in 2019-20 according to OpenSecrets. Of that amount, $ 413,500 – or about 56% – went to Republicans and the rest to Democrats. Citigroup is not among the top 20 donors for lawmakers who opposed the certification of Electoral College results.
Unlike some other companies, Citi says it is suspending all federal contributions, including for Democrats.
Boston Scientific said on Sunday that it is also suspending donations to lawmakers while the medical device maker examines its approach to political contributions. The company said it believed in “respect for the integrity of the democratic process, the outcome of the elections and the peaceful transition of power”.
—With an Associated Press report.