Republicans have long relied on corporate political action committees to help fund their campaigns, and those in the financial services sector have been particularly partial to them. After all, what Wall Street titan can say no to lower taxes, less regulation and a generally sympathetic ear?
So, less government, yes. Overthrow of government? Mob rule? Anarchy? No government at all? Not so much. JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Citigroup Inc. said they are pausing all PAC donations to Republicans and Democrats in the coming months. Other companies, including the Blue Cross Blue Shield insurance group and Marriott International Inc., said they would pause donations to Republican lawmakers who objected to President-elect Joe Biden’s Electoral College win after supporters of President Trump stormed the Capitol on Wednesday…. The JPMorgan and Citigroup PACs both gave more money to federal candidates who are Republicans compared to Democrats, according to the Center for Responsive Politics. Luckily, some of them don’t need PAC money to have a bank continue to fund their sedition. Goldman Sachs… is suspending political donations and conducting “a thorough assessment of how people acted during this period.”/That assessment will not include reviewing the investment bank’s ties to one politician in particular: Ted Cruz, whose wife, Heidi Cruz, serves as a managing director in Goldman Sachs’ Houston office. “Heidi is a valuable member of our private wealth team, and we don’t judge any of our employees by the records of their spouses or partners,” Goldman Sachs spokesperson and former Clinton White House press secretary Jake Siewert tells Forbes. And, anyway, these companies aren’t getting much bang for their G.O.P. buck these days. The private-equity industry’s standing hopes for a divided government have been dashed, and the industry is now likely to face a higher tax bill and stricter oversight under the incoming Congress…. In Georgia, those bets didn’t pay off. Republican candidates David Perdue and Kelly Loeffler received around $674,000 and $496,000 from employees of private-equity and investment firms, respectively, as of Dec. 26, according to the Center for Responsive Politics, a nonprofit that tracks money in politics. Messrs. Ossoff and Warnock received about $357,000 and $321,000, respectively. Mr. Purdue ranked second in the amount of campaign contributions candidates received from the industry in the 2020 races, behind only Mr. Biden, while Ms. Loeffler ranked ninth. Capitol Riot Prompts Some Big Banks and Companies to Pause Political Funding [WSJ]
Big companies pause their political contributions. [NYT]
How Goldman Sachs Is Still Indirectly Supporting Ted Cruz Despite Stopping Political Donations [Forbes]
Democratic Control Sparks Unease in Private Equity [WSJ]
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