ST. LOUIS — Three local companies that have been frequent donors to Missouri Sen. Josh Hawley say they will pause future campaign contributions, joining a growing number of national companies stepping back from political giving in the wake of the violence at the U.S. Capitol last week.
Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner, one of the largest law firms in St. Louis, said its political action committee has “paused” political contributions “following the extraordinary events last week at the U.S. Capitol.”
Coal-heavy electric utility Ameren Corp., another business dependent on government access, said it would put a hold on its federal contributions.
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“While it will be important that we continue to participate in the political process ... in light of the troubling events on Jan. 6 coupled with the changes in Congress and the new Biden administration, we are suspending all federal PAC contributions for the immediate future,” the St. Louis utility said in a statement.
A spokeswoman for Des Peres-based financial services firm Edward Jones also said it will pause contributions to all elected officials and called for “a peaceful transition of power.” Edward Jones and its employees are among Hawley’s largest contributors, according to the Center for Responsive Politics.
”Our (political action committee) has a long history of bipartisan advocacy, and we want to ensure that any elected officials we support share the values and the views of the firm,” the company said in a statement.
As the first U.S. senator to publicly declare he would challenge the electoral votes of a state President Elect Joe Biden won, Hawley has been closely tied to the violence that erupted in Washington last week when a mob of President Donald Trump supporters stormed the Capitol as Congress was certifying electoral votes. Hawley was photographed raising his fist in solidarity with the protestors before they overwhelmed police.
Walmart, the world’s biggest retailer, on Tuesday joined other major companies in indefinitely suspending ”contributions to those members of Congress who voted against the lawful certification of state electoral college votes.” General Motors also said Tuesday it would pause all contributions, adding that last year it “enhanced the character and public integrity criteria for making contributions.”
Several major U.S. companies have already stopped contributions to lawmakers, such as Hawley, who objected to the election results. Some, including Mastercard, Citigroup and AT&T, have major presences in the St. Louis area.
But other major Hawley donors are quiet. One big early backer was Emerson CEO David Farr, who with his wife gave $100,000 to a Hawley committee during his 2018 run for senate. Ferguson-based Emerson’s political action committee and employees of the company have donated at least $50,000 to Hawley’s political efforts since 2015, according to the Center for Responsive politics, making the firm and its employees some of the senator’s most generous donors.
A spokesman for the company said Emerson had no comment.
St. Louis philanthropist and political activist Rex Sinquefield and his wife also donated $100,000 to a Hawley campaign fund during his initial run for senate, and Sinquefield has contributed thousands more. A spokesman for Sinquefield did not respond to a request for comment.
German conglomerate Bayer, parent of the former Monsanto based in Creve Coeur, is another big local donor. The company and its employees have donated about $27,000 to Hawley since 2015.
A Bayer spokeswoman late Tuesday called the situation “evolving.”
“The BayerPAC board,” she said, “is currently reviewing its giving policies.”
U.S. companies suspend political donations after Capitol attack
COMPANY | ACTION |
---|---|
Airbnb Inc. | Withholds support from those who voted against the certification of the presidential election results |
Alphabet Google | Temporarily suspends donations to both parties |
Amazon.com | Suspends donations to lawmakers who voted against Biden certification |
Ameren Corp. | Suspending all federal PAC contributions for the immediate future |
American Express | Halts donations to lawmakers who opposed Biden certification |
Aon PLC | Confirms it has ended its relationship with the Trump Organization |
Archer Daniels Midland | Suspends new political donations, reviews donation policies |
AT&T | Suspends donations to lawmakers who opposed Biden certification |
Bank of America | Will halt all PAC funding decisions in the immediate future |
Best Buy | Stops providing campaign contributions to the 147 members of Congress who objected to certifying the election results |
Biogen Inc. | Suspending all political donations to allow a thorough review of its political contribution criteria and policies |
BlackRock | Will temporarily suspend donations to Democrats and Republicans alike |
Boeing Co. | Not making political contributions at this time, will continue to carefully evaluate future political contributions |
BP | Employee group suspends campaign donations for six months, will re-evaluate support criteria |
Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner | Paused all political contributions |
CBOE Global Markets | PAC is temporarily pausing all donations |
Charles Schwab Corp. | Will discontinue PAC and no longer accept contirubtions from employees or make financial contributions to lawmakers |
Citigroup | Intends to pause its contributions during the quarter, according to memo seen by Reuters |
CME Group | Will suspend all political contributions through political action committee for foreseeable future |
Comcast Corp. | Suspending contributions to U.S. lawmakers who opposed Biden certification |
Deutsche Bank | Will not do business in the future with Trump or his companies, the New York Times reported |
DoorDash | Has communicated its outrage with RAGA and made it clear that it expects immediate action |
Dow Inc. | Suspends contributions to all lawmakers who opposed certification of the presidential election |
Edward Jones | Paused all political contributions |
Expedia | Suspends all political contributions at the federal, state and local levels as it reevaluates approach moving forward |
Temporarily suspends donations to both parties | |
Ford Motor Co. | Suspends all donations as it reviews events of last year |
General Electric | GEPAC board voted to suspend donations to those who voted to oppose the electoral college results |
GoFundMe | No longer allows people to raise money for travel to a political event where there is risk of violence by the attendees |
Goldman Sachs Group | Pausing political funding, considering new strategy in response to last week's violence, according to sources |
Hallmark Cards | Requests Missouri Senator Josh Hawley and Kansas Senator Roger Marshall, both of whom objected to Biden's certification, to return all campaign contributions |
Hilton | Will not be making political donations and will keep its PAC suspended indefinitely |
Johnson & Johnson | Pauses all political contributions, has not made any federal political contributions in 2021 |
JPMorgan Chase | Will pause all contributions from its political action committee for at least the next six months |
Leidos Holdings | Leidos' Political Action Committee (PAC) decides to temporarily pause all political donations |
Lockheed Martin | Not making political contributions, continues evaluation to ensure political donantion and engagement project remains aligned with its business priorities |
Marriott International | Suspends donations to lawmakers who voted against certifying President-elect Joe Biden's victory |
Microsoft Corp. | Temporarily suspends donations to both parties |
Nasdaq | PAC will pause political donations for the next several months |
Nike Inc. | PAC will not support any member of Congress who voted to decertify the Electoral College results |
PepsiCo | Suspending all political contributions while conducting a full review to ensure they align with company's values and our shared vision |
Raytheon Technologies | Pauses all political action committee contributions |
Signature Bank | Called for Trump to step down; Trump's ethics disclosures show he has checking and money-market accounts at the bank |
Smithfield Foods | Will temporarily suspend donations to Democrats and Republicans alike |
State Street Corp. | Will not support lawmakers or candidates who undermine legitimate election outcomes |
Stripe Inc. | Stops processing payments for Trump's campaign website |
Tyson Foods | Temporarily suspending all political action committee activity while the company reviews and considers the events of the past week |
Union Pacific | Will temporarily suspend donations to Democrats and Republicans alike |
Verizon Communications | Suspends political contributions to members of Congress who voted to object to the certification of electoral college votes |
Visa | Temporarily suspends all political donations |
Walmart | Suspends donations to U.S. lawmakers who voted against President-elect Joe Biden's election certification |
Wells Fargo | PAC will pause political contributions for the foreseeable future to review strategy at the outset of the new Congress and administration |
Reuters contributed to this report.
One political science professor said Hawley’s political opponents will forever link him to the insurrection on Wednesday.
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