- Marriott and Citi have cut off donations to GOP lawmakers who objected to certifying Democrat Joe Biden as president.
- Marriott and Citi are among the largest US companies to announce the will halt PAC donations to the GOP members who took part in the failed attempt to overturn the election.
- Companies including Microsoft, Google, GM, and Coca-Cola have condemned the riots as an assault on US democracy.
- Visit Business Insider’s homepage for more stories.
Marriott International, the world’s largest hotel chain, has cut off political donations to Republican members of Congress who voted against certifying Joe Biden as president.
The company told Insider it made the decision following last week’s deadly siege on the US Capitol by pro-Trump supporters seeking to overturn November’s election results.
“We have taken the destructive events at the Capitol to undermine a legitimate and fair election into consideration and will be pausing political giving from our Political Action Committee to those who voted against certification of the election,” a spokeswoman said in an email.
Even after the mob stormed the Capitol last Wednesday, breaking windows and looting offices, eight senators — including Josh Hawley of Missouri and Ted Cruz of Texas — and 139 representatives moved ahead with a planned objection to certifying the 2020 presidential election. Several other GOP lawmakers who had said they would join dropped out following the riots. Vice President Mike Pence had declined to go along with the plan.
The insurrection was fueled by months of conspiracy theories and baseless allegations of election fraud pushed by Trump and his backers. The violence led to five deaths, including one Capitol police officer.
Citi, whose CEO Michael Corbat said he was “disgusted” by the riots, will also pause contributions to the GOP members who objected. In 2019, the bank gave $1,000 to the campaign of Sen. Hawley, “who represents a state in which we have a significant employee presence,” Citi said an internal memo sent to employees last week.
“We want you to be assured that we will not support candidates who do not respect the rule of law. We intend to pause our contributions during the quarter as the country goes through the Presidential transition and hopefully emerges from these events stronger and more united,” Citi said.
Hawley’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Marriott and Citi are among the largest US companies to reveal they were halting PAC donations to the GOP members who participated in the failed attempt to overturn the election. The news site Popular Information was first to report Citi’s move. Blue Cross Blue Shield’s PAC, known as BLUEPAC, and Commerce Bancshares, have also cut off donations to any GOP members involved, the site reported.
A number of corporations have condemned the insurrection as an assault on US democracy. Apple, Google, Microsoft, IBM, and Facebook have all condemned the attack. Leaders in the auto industry, including General Motors CEO Mary Barra and Ford CEO Jim Farley, have also issued statements denouncing the rioters. Ben & Jerry’s, the popular ice cream brand, called for the impeachment of Trump. Coca-Cola called the riots “an offense to the ideals of American democracy.”
Read More: Amazon is removing Parler from its web hosting service
Some of Trump’s staunchest supporters also distanced themselves following the riots. Blackstone chairman, CEO, and co-founder Stephen Schwarzman — a longtime Trump ally who previously defended the president’s election lawsuits during a call with top American CEOs — said he was “shocked and horrified.” “The insurrection that followed the President’s remarks today is appalling and an affront to the democratic values we hold dear as Americans,” Schwarzman said in a statement to Insider.
Meantime, Simon & Schuster, one of the “Big Five” publishing houses, canceled the scheduled publication of Hawley’s upcoming book “The Tyranny of Big Tech.” Hawley responded that “Simon & Schuster is canceling my contract because I was representing my constituents, leading a debate on the Senate floor on voter integrity, which they have now decided to redefine as sedition.”
The publishing house said it did not come to the decision lightly. “As a publisher it will always be our mission to amplify a variety of voices and viewpoints: at the same time we take seriously our larger public responsibility as citizens, and cannot support Senator Hawley after his role in what became a dangerous threat to our democracy and freedom.”
Leave a Reply
Leave a Reply
This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.
