House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy’s political team has been furiously working the phones for 48 hours to reassure nervous donors, with advisers confidant the “vast majority” is committed to sticking with the California Republican and his colleagues.
Sources familiar with the effort say top McCarthy adviser Jeff Miller, a lobbyist, and other Republican operatives on the leader’s team have made over 200 calls to corporate political action committees and other campaign contributors worried about the direction of the Republican Party. Concerns have risen since Jan. 6, when President Trump’s supporters, incited by his call to action, stormed the U.S. Capitol to derail Congress from certifying President-elect Joe Biden the winner of the 2020 election.
“They’re not going to back away from the party and its free-enterprises principles,” a Republican source said, adding that there has been minimal blowback from wealthy GOP donors who contribute to the party in large amounts.
But across Washington on Monday, a pall was cast on the GOP as corporate PACs announced plans to cut ties with the congressional Republicans, at least temporarily.
Some are specifically withholding money from House Republicans who, like McCarthy, voted to object to Biden’s Electoral College victories in Arizona and Pennsylvania; others are refusing to support the party writ large. Critics Right and Left say Republicans who objected during the Jan. 6 electoral certification process enabled Trump’s brazen attempt to overturn the Nov. 3 election. These givers do not want to be associated with what amounted to an insurrection against the government.
“This is bad,” a Republican lobbyist who actively raises money for the GOP said.
“I anticipate that things are going to continue to not get better very quickly,” said another Republican who works on K Street and previously served as a House GOP leadership aide. “I don’t think it will blow over. I also think it could have unintended consequences. This decision could drive Republicans to become more populist and less sympathetic to corporate America’s needs.”
Corporations suspending donations to Republicans include some of the most nationally and internationally recognized brands: Marriott; Blue Cross Blue Shield; Commerce Bancshares; AirBnB; Verizon; AT&T; American Express; Mastercard; Dow (the chemical giant). They contribute to congressional Republicans through PACs, whose donations are limited by federal campaign finance law.
With Republicans reeling after losing the presidency and control of the Senate, and with Democrats poised to control all of Washington upon Biden’s inauguration, the loss of political resources could complicate their path back to power in the 2022 midterm elections. Still, the majority of House Republicans who objected to certifying the results in Arizona and Pennsylvania, 121 and 138, respectively, do not appear regretful. If anything, they are digging in.
“Just like the mob that stormed the Capitol, these CEO’s are reacting emotionally and irrationally to either blackmail or seek vengeance against members of Congress because they disagree with the way we voted,” one House Republican said. “We’re wondering why the Democrat whip and three committee chairmen who voted the exact same way in 2005 aren’t getting the same treatment.”
Had Trump supporters not laid siege to the Capitol on the heels of the outgoing president encouraging them to march on Capitol Hill to “stop the steal” of the election, Republicans might not have been penalized for their votes, either. But the political lens through which their objections were viewed, fealty to Trump, changed after the violence.
Suddenly, the objections lodged by House Republicans were viewed as contributing to the unrest because they lent credence to Trump’s unfounded claims that the election was rigged. Whatever their intentions beforehand, House Republicans should have dropped their objections, critics say, to send a strong message that the presidential election was legitimate and prevent further upheaval.
A House GOP leadership aide said most House Republicans never believed otherwise. Some objected to Biden’s win because they feared a primary challenge in 2022, others because they took issue with how some of the swing states conducted their elections. Few thought Trump would see their objections as a path to his loss being overturned and a second term in the White House. They miscalculated.
“Many were surprised the president actually believed we could over-turn,” an aide said. “Then the f—ing moron at 1600 [Pennsylvania Avenue] turned all that on its head.”
