President Trump’s preferred super PAC, America First Action, and a joint Republican Party fundraising committee received major first quarter 2020 donations from people named to the White House “Great American Economic Revival Industry Groups,” which Trump has assembled to advise him on reopening the economy.
Blackstone CEO Stephen Schwarzman gave America First Action $3 million on Jan. 31. Schwarzman was named Tuesday to the president’s “financial services” industry group, one of 17 groups. Also named to the president’s councils were real estate developer Geoff Palmer, who gave AFA $2 million on Feb. 5, and Arkansas billionaire Warren Stephens, who gave $1 million on Jan. 28. The super PAC, which can raise contributions in unlimited sums, is expected to play a critical role in the president’s reelection this year, supplementing the campaign and party committees.
Leading America First Action is longtime Trump ally Linda McMahon, a former World Wrestling Entertainment chief executive and Trump official, whose husband, Vince McMahon, is also in one of the groups. Linda McMahon took control of the super PAC last year amid concerns that it was losing influence.
Trump’s joint fundraising committee with the Republican Party, Trump Victory, received donations in excess of $500,000 from several newly named group members.
Billionaire casino magnate and Republican activist Sheldon Adelson and his wife, Miriam, together gave more than $1 million on Feb. 28. Phil Ruffin, a Trump business partner and friend, gave $500,000 on March 4. Both donors were named to the “hospitality” industry group put together by the White House.
The parents of TD Ameritrade executive and “financial services” group member Todd Ricketts, TD Ameritrade founder Joe Ricketts and his wife, Marlene, gave Trump Victory a combined $855,000 on Jan. 28 and March 3. Trump had tweeted in 2016 that the Ricketts family had “a lot to hide” after learning that Marlene Ricketts gave $3 million to the anti-Trump Our Principles PAC, which hammered Trump ahead of the Iowa caucuses.
Transport executive Louis DeJoy gave to Trump Victory in January and February, for a total of $310,000. DeJoy is on the administration’s “transportation” industry group, members of which joined a short ceremony on the White House South Lawn on Thursday to honor truckers working through the pandemic.
DeJoy, whose wife, Aldona Wos, is Trump’s new pick for ambassador to Canada, attended a $500,000 fundraiser in Palm Beach days after she was named on Feb. 11.
Witkoff Group president and “real estate” group member Stephen Witkoff gave $355,000 on Jan. 13.
Asked if the number of executives named to the White House Great American Economic Revival Industry Groups, who are also significant donors to the president’s super PAC and reelection campaign, presented a conflict of interest, White House deputy press secretary Judd Deere said that such private-public collaborations were a hallmark of the Trump administration.
“President Trump, who has already brought together the private sector and federal government for unprecedented collaboration during the COVID-19 pandemic, is beginning a dialogue with prominent and successful individuals across multiple industries with different backgrounds and skill sets for the monumental task of reopening the American economy,” Deere said. “President Trump’s policies built a booming economy, and they will do so again.”
Trump’s move to bring together groups of executives from industries across the country is in keeping with his reputation as someone who likes to hear all sides of the debate before moving forward with a decision. Trump donor and friend Mike Lindell likened the president to a “vacuum cleaner of knowledge” in this way, sucking up information all around him.
