It was probably not the best place to be spotted for a rising Republican leader, but just a week after senators were grilling Goldman Sachs executives and as a Securities and Exchange Commission lawsuit about the firm’s mortgage investments moves forward, House Minority Whip Eric Cantor was at the megabank’s Battery Park offices in New York.
Cantor paid a visit to the investment bank’s Manhattan headquarters Monday to break bread with Goldman Chief Executive Officer Lloyd Blankfein and others as part of the Partnership for New York City, a booster group for companies that call New York home.
Blankfein is co-chairman of the nonprofit organization, which regularly hosts speakers from government, politics and academia. Cantor spoke on fiscal issues, including his thoughts on how Washington is handling economic issues.
The minority whip has a history with Goldman Sachs — his wife is a former employee, and Cantor voted in favor of the 2008 bank bailout that ended up sending billions of dollars to the firm.
A source close to Goldman said Cantor, one of the most prolific fundraisers in the House, was offered a fundraiser from the organization but declined. A Goldman spokeswoman declined to say whether the firm had offered to raise cash for Cantor.
Cantor’s spokesman, Brad Dayspring, confirmed Cantor was in New York City speaking to the organization, but said it was not a Goldman event and not a fundraiser.
Representatives for 40 other companies were at the meeting at Goldman. Just last week, Tim Kaine, chairman of the Democratic National Committee, spoke to the group at UBS’ American headquarters. In the past, Cabinet secretaries, Valerie Jarrett, Tim Geithner and Charlie Rangel have attended events held by the organization.
