Big business halted political donations after Capitol siege

Several companies and tech giants are restricting or suspending political contributions after the Capitol siege.

Why is this important: The crowd-pleasing policy has become too dangerous for many American business leaders.

What is happening:

• Charles Schwab closes its PAC. (Schwab, the company’s chairman, has donated millions to pro-Trump and GOP groups, while the New York Times reports).
• Nike “will not support any member of Congress … who voted to decertify the Electoral College results” through his PAC, the company said in a statement.
• Walt Disney Company will pause political contributions in 2021 to lawmakers who voted to reject certification of Electoral College votes. “The insurgency on our nation’s Capitol was a direct attack on one of our nation’s most revered principles: the peaceful transition of power,” a spokesperson told Axios.
• Facebook, Microsoft and Google suspend all political spending.
• walmartThe PAC “indefinitely suspends contributions to members of Congress who voted against the legal certification of state electoral college votes,” spokesperson Randy Hargrove told Axios in a statement.
• Aerospace giant Northrop Grumman suspends its PAC donations and “evaluates the way forward”, spokesman Tim Paynter says Defense News.
• Comcast said he was suspending political contributions to elected officials who challenged certification of Electoral College votes.
• Verizon also said he was suspending political contributions to lawmakers who protested Electoral College results.
• Amazon mentioned“Given the unacceptable attempt to undermine a legitimate democratic process, Amazon’s PAC suspended contributions to any member of Congress who voted to overturn the results of the U.S. presidential election.”
• BP the employee PAC will suspend all contributions for six months and reassess its candidate support criteria.
• AT&T Federal Council of the CAP has decided to suspend contributions to members of Congress who opposed the certification of Electoral College votes.
• JPMorgan Chase suspends all donations to both parties for six months. “The country is facing unprecedented health, economic and political crises,” said Peter Scher, Mid-Atlantic Region President and Head of Corporate Accountability. “There will be plenty of time to campaign later.”
• Citi’s Global Government Affairs chief Candi Wolff said in a letter to colleagues that the bank would suspend all contributions in the first quarter, and after that, “[W]We will not support candidates who do not respect the rule of law.”
• Marriott International said the hotel giant would suspend donations “to those who voted against certifying the election.”
• Blue Cross Blue Shield Association mentioned it will suspend contributions to “legislators who voted to undermine our democracy” by challenging electoral college results.
• Boston Scientific, the manufacturer of medical devices, is to make a break all federal donations.
• Goldman Sachs freezes donations via its PAC. The company said The New York Times it will carry out “an in-depth assessment of how people have acted during this period”.
• Dowthe chemical giant, told Bloomberg it will not donate to lawmakers who voted against certification for one election cycle — two years for those in the House and six years for senators.
• black rock said he would pause all PAC donations, and in the meantime “conduct a thorough review of events and assess how we will focus our political activity going forward,” according to a memo obtained by Axios.
• Airbnb said his PAC would withhold donations to lawmakers “who voted against certifying the results of the presidential election.”