Republicans are scrambling to limit the consequences as major donors freeze political contributions and distance themselves from lawmakers who voted to reverse the election college outcome.
House minority leader Kevin McCarthy
Kevin Owen McCarthyMcCarthy does not want to call for the attempt to oust Cheney GOP senators to investigate commission to investigate the Capitol attack. Here are the Republicans of the House who voted to accuse Trump MORE (R-Calif.), Who voted to reject election votes from Arizona and Pennsylvania, called on existing donors to try to calm nerves, saying that he and despite the riots at the Capitol was an attempt to hinder the transition of power – his party can work with the incoming Biden administration.
But many large corporations and businesses have indicated they are in no hurry to resume their contributions to Republicans who objected to the outcome of the presidential election.
According to various sources, McCarthy made a call to donors on Wednesday. At least one call consists of friendly large donors who have largely not pushed back. The leader’s remarks seem more written than not. He asked three questions and then had to run to the airport, one source said.
“He’s trying to calm donors. “I think he’s trying to reassure them that they want to work with President Biden and the vote does not mean they will not support Biden initiatives, such as infrastructure, debt ceiling, COVID relief,” a Republican donor said.
Corporations are targeting the 147 GOP lawmakers who voted last week to challenge the 2020 election results in Arizona or Pennsylvania, even after the deadly attack on the Capitol by a pro-Trump mob.
One lobbyist described McCarthy’s calls to donors: “I would equate it with a plane trying to turn to straighten its wings.”
But many businesses are not only questioning the GOP’s ability to work with Democrats, but are trying to distance themselves from the ugly scenes in DC last Wednesday.
Comcast was the largest corporate donor to McCarthy’s leadership and campaign committee, with its individuals and PAC donating $ 87,600 by 2020. The company is now suspending its contribution to lawmakers who voted against the election results, saying the violence at the U.S. Capitol last week was “horrific.”
Blue Cross Blue Shield is also a leading donor to McCarthy’s leadership PAC and campaign committee and his individuals and PAC have given them more than $ 62,200. The health insurance giant is now also suspending its contributions to lawmakers who ‘voted to undermine our democracy’.
“I think he’s trying to figure out how to lead in a very difficult situation,” the Republican donor said. ‘He has pressure on the left, he has pressure from the middle, and he has pressure from the right and from his members. He’s doing better than anyone else in the conference. ”
The individuals and corporate PAC at Amazon gave McCarthy’s leadership PAC and campaign committee more than $ 43,100. Now Amazon is interrupting donations to lawmakers who voted against the result, calling it an “unacceptable attempt to undermine a legitimate democratic process.”
McCarthy is not the only Republican calling to ease tensions.
Republican lawmakers, both from leadership and from House of Representatives, those who voted to reverse the election results and those who did not, according to various sources, called for the voting of corporate donors.
Republicans are asking lobbyists about the temperature of their clients, while the list of companies that say they will not donate to lawmakers who voted against the election result is growing.
Legislators ask: “what do the managers say at the c-suite level? Do you know what the attitude of your client is? Or members call you to explain their reason. “I have never called anyone to beg or anything like that,” said a lobbyist. “They are worried about a full-scale setback, but I do not know if I would use the word panic.”
“A lot of what you’re hearing is that we need to find out how we can heal the country, go through it next week and try to figure out how we can become normal again,” the lobbyist said.
Some companies have said they have not yet received any calls from lawmakers, suggesting that lawmakers first work through lobbyists and fundraisers.
The biggest impact financially is likely to be on compatriots who voted to reverse the election results and do not have a large individual donor base from donors to large personal donors. IDP leadership and those who are not largely dependent on corporate PACs do not care so much about the fall, sources said.
But Republicans who did not vote to reverse the election results are also frustrated with the situation because of the further bias it could lead to, one source said. They and Democrats also feel the sting of some businesses that completely disrupt political donations.
“Many GOP members who did not vote against it are just as frustrated as the Democrats about the suspension of corporate donations. They are concerned that a sustained retaliation from donors, and also from their Democratic colleagues, this for the two “Parties will make it even harder to work together in a year in which many hoped the tone would improve,” said a lobbyist.
Traditional resources for contributions to the Republic of the campaign also quickly draw their support and criticize the direction of the party.
A typical reliable source for Republicans, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, has promised to withhold support for certain members in the future.
“There are some members who have forfeited the support of the US Chamber of Commerce through their actions. Period, period, “said Neil Bradley, chief policy officer at the Chamber, at a press conference on Tuesday. He did not specify whose support was drawn, but said that Chamber leadership would ‘have a lot more to say’ if they assessed the situation.
Home Depot co-founder Ken Langone, a billionaire and longtime mega-Republican donor, said On Wednesday, he felt “betrayed” by Trump and urged Americans to unite so that Biden could be “the most successful president in the history of this country.”
In 2020, Langone donated $ 1.25 million to the Senate Leadership Fund, the super-PAC to support a Republican majority in the Senate, and $ 600,000 to Americans for Prosperity Action, the super-PAC linked to the network formed by billionaire conservative donors Charles and David Koch.
The National Association of Realtors is the largest dual PAC on behalf of a trade association and in 2020 gave nearly $ 3.6 million to federal candidates and was more than 47 percent to Republicans. The PAC council on Tuesday decided to temporarily suspend federal political payments.