President Trump’s populism has strained the Republican Party’s relationship with its business wing to the point where the U.S. Chamber of Commerce is increasing its endorsements of Democrats, signaling a possible realignment that could reverberate beyond his term.
The Chamber parted ways with its top political strategist, Scott Reed, earlier this week. Reed, who managed Bob Dole’s 1996 presidential campaign, cited on his way out the door a leftward drift in the organization and an unwillingness to defend the endangered Republican Senate majority.
Republicans treated it as the end of an era. “Damn. Scott Reed built that place,” tweeted veteran Republican operative David Kochel. “He was such a great partner for so many campaigns and groups electing pro-growth candidates.”
“It’s been difficult to watch what was once the gold standard for influence and advocacy slowly decline over the last few years, and now it appears the last vestige of relevance has just walked out the door,” said National Republican Senatorial Committee Executive Director Kevin McLaughlin in a statement.
“Everyone has their role to play, but our role is different than the party committees,” said Neil Bradley, the Chamber’s executive vice president and chief policy officer. “We are not a partisan organization. Our role is to advance the public policy priorities of the business community and our membership.”
Reed’s departure follows the Chamber’s endorsement of 30 House Democrats. But the tensions with Trump are not new. They and other business groups have clashed with the president over tariffs, trade deals, and immigration, rejecting his more nationalist and populist tinge on conservatism. “The GOP will be, from now on, the party also of the American worker,” Trump vowed in 2017.
“Chamber Republicans are Bush Republicans,” said a former Trump 2016 campaign official. “We’re the party of Trump Republicans now.”
Under the leadership of Thomas Donohue, the Chamber’s chief executive officer and, until last year, its president since 1997, that meant disentangling the organization’s brand from Trump’s GOP.
“It’s very unfortunate that the far Right has gone very far right, and the far Left has gone very far left. If you think about this, there is a hole in the middle,” Donohue told the Washington Post last year. “So, what we’re doing — and this is critical — is adjusting and responding to the new politics. We’re adjusting and responding to the new Congress and the way the administration operates. The people that win in sports and in politics and in business are the people that are not so focused on one approach but are ready to adjust.”
Trump was equally offhand with the Chamber, though he has said he is a member. He told CNBC that foreign countries “take advantage of us in every way possible, and the U.S. Chamber is right there with them.” Trump added, “The Chamber is probably more for the companies and the people that are members than they are for our country.”
Early Trump supporters such as former Attorney General Jeff Sessions, then a Republican senator from Alabama, and former White House chief strategist Steve Bannon talked about transforming the historically white-collar GOP into a blue-collar party. “We’ve turned the Republican Party into a working-class party,” Bannon told the Guardian last year. “Now, interestingly, we don’t have any elected representatives who believe that, but that’s a legacy issue. We’ll get over that.”
This could be an artifact of Trump, or it could continue as the party loses suburban voters and continues to make inroads with the white working class.
“I don’t know what the future holds for the business wing of the GOP. I think it all depends on what the GOP looks like in the future,” said Patrick Hynes, a communications consultant who has advised Republican candidates. “As more large corporations join more social justice causes, they will inevitably begin to rethink their strategies as they regard public affairs. If the GOP continues to skew rural, white, and less college-educated, it’s rift with those companies will grow wider. Eventually, we could see the Democrats become the ‘party of big business.’”
The Chamber downplays talk of any leftward drift. “This election cycle, the Chamber endorsed 192 Republicans and 30 House Democrats, all of which earned a 70% or greater on the Chamber’s scorecard. Please note, we’re endorsing all of the 192 Republicans seeking reelection,” said a spokesman. “All of these legislators worked to advance policies critical to the business community, and many scored additional points for crossing the aisle to enact important pieces of legislation.”
The Chamber also endorsed 17 Republican incumbent senators, including Susan Collins of Maine, Cory Gardner of Colorado, Joni Ernst of Iowa, Thom Tillis of North Carolina, Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, and Martha McSally of Arizona, all of whom are in tough reelection races. It has endorsed five Republicans seeking Senate seats that are open or currently held by Democrats. And it backed Trump’s nomination of Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court.
Trump has also promoted the deregulation of business and signed into law a corporate income tax cut as president. Democratic challenger Joe Biden chastised Trump and his “rich buddies” at Tuesday night’s debate. “I think it’s time working families get a break and the super-wealthy and big corporations pay their fair share,” Biden said. “They’re still going to be doing just fine.”
Business has traditionally helped Republicans compete against Democratic labor unions. “If the Chamber isn’t the Republican counter to the AFL-CIO, where are Republicans going to turn for that umbrella support that they need in races?” former GOP Rep. Jack Kingston rhetorically asked the Washington Examiner last year.
