Facebook, Microsoft and Google have joined a growing list of big banks and other major companies pausing their political spending following last week’s violent attack on the U.S. Capitol.
One after another, corporate responses have escalated. Some have suspended donations to lawmakers who objected to the certification of the presidential election. Many have halted all of their political donations for a few months. A few went as far as to support the removal of the president.
“The outgoing president incited violence in an attempt to retain power, and any elected leader defending him is violating their oath to the Constitution and rejecting democracy in favor of anarchy,” said National Association of Manufacturers CEO Jay Timmons, urging Vice President Pence to consider invoking the 25th Amendment, which allows removal of a president deemed unfit to serve.
Money-in-politics groups welcomed this unusually widespread — and self-initiated — reckoning by corporations over their own role in contributing to the nation’s current political state.
“You just can’t really overemphasize the role that donors play in the current political calculation,” said Meredith McGehee, executive director at Issue One, a nonprofit that works to reduce the influence of money in politics.
“In this moment of crisis, they sent a really important signal that the actions of the objectors were unacceptable … because what they were doing was voting to overturn the will of the voters,” McGehee said.
Facebook told NPR on Monday that it was pausing the spending of its political action committee for at least the first three months of the year, “while we review our policies.”
Microsoft said it’s assessing the implications of last week’s events, adding: “The PAC regularly pauses its donations in the first quarter of a new Congress,but it will take additional steps this year to consider these recent events and consult with employees.”
Indeed, right now — the start of the year right after an election is concluded — is when many companies conduct this kind of review of political spending anyway.
Also, public campaign spending by corporations is much more restricted than spending by super PACs and especially tax-exempt advocacy groups that don’t disclose their donors. Plus, a lot of corporate money in American politics flows from individuals, corporate executives and other employees.
Earlier, Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan Chase and Citigroup told reporters they would suspend all political donations. Airbnb, Comcast and others said they were suspending PAC donations to Republicans who objected to the Electoral College vote. The newsletter Popular Information is tracking such corporate responses, also addingMarriott and BlueCross BlueShield to the list.
Similarly, Hallmark has asked Sens. Josh Hawley and Roger Marshall to return $7,000 and $5,000, respectively, in employee donations from the last two years, according toThe Kansas City Star.
“I think they have to take a look long and hard at what role has their political spending play in sort of the buildup to this crisis,” said Bruce Freed, the head of the Center for Political Accountability.
“The question is — does this have staying power, or or is it going to be a move of the moment?” Freed said. “What do they do in six months? What are they doing a year? Is this a real epiphany moment in terms of a change in how companies approach their political spending?”
Online merchant platform Shopify shut down two stores affiliated with the Trump Organization and Trump’s campaign. The PGA of America board of directors has voted to pull next year’s PGA Championship from Trump’s golf club in New Jersey.
Editor’s note: Comcast, Facebook, Google, Microsoft, Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan Chase are among NPR’s financial supporters.
FREDERICTON – A look at David Coon, leader of the Green Party of New Brunswick:
Born: Oct. 28, 1956.
Early years: Born in Toronto and raised in Montreal, he spent about three decades as an environmental advocate.
Education: A trained biologist, he graduated with a bachelor of science from McGill University in Montreal in 1978.
Family: He and his wife Janice Harvey have two daughters, Caroline and Laura.
Before politics: Worked as an environmental educator, organizer, activist and manager for 33 years, mainly with the Conservation Council of New Brunswick.
Politics: Joined the Green Party of Canada in May 2006 and was elected leader of the New Brunswick Green Party in September 2012. Won a seat in the legislature in 2014 — a first for the province’s Greens.
Quote: “It was despicable. He’s clearly decided to take the low road in this campaign, to adopt some Trump-lite fearmongering.” — David Coon on Sept. 12, 2024, reacting to Blaine Higgs’s claim that the federal government had decided to send 4,600 asylum seekers to New Brunswick.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 19, 2024.
FREDERICTON – A look at Blaine Higgs, leader of the Progressive Conservative Party of New Brunswick.
Born: March 1, 1954.
Early years: The son of a customs officer, he grew up in Forest City, N.B., near the Canada-U.S. border.
Education: Graduated from the University of New Brunswick with a degree in mechanical engineering in 1977.
Family: Married his high-school sweetheart, Marcia, and settled in Saint John, N.B., where they had four daughters: Lindsey, Laura, Sarah and Rachel.
Before politics: Hired by Irving Oil a week after he graduated from university and was eventually promoted to director of distribution. Worked for 33 years at the company.
Politics: Elected to the legislature in 2010 and later served as finance minister under former Progressive Conservative Premier David Alward. Elected Tory leader in 2016 and has been premier since 2018.
Quote: “I’ve always felt parents should play the main role in raising children. No one is denying gender diversity is real. But we need to figure out how to manage it.” — Blaine Higgs in a year-end interview in 2023, explaining changes to school policies about gender identity.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 19, 2024.
OTTAWA – The pressing issues of climate change and food security join more familiar ones like violent extremism and espionage on a new list of Canada’s intelligence priorities.
The federal government says publishing the list of priorities for the first time is an important step toward greater transparency.
The government revises the priorities every two years, based on recommendations from the national security adviser and the intelligence community.
Once the priorities are reviewed and approved by the federal cabinet, key ministers issue directives to federal agencies that produce intelligence.
Among the priorities are the security of global health, food, water and biodiversity, as well as the issues of climate change and global sustainability.
The new list also includes foreign interference and malign influence, cyberthreats, infrastructure security, Arctic sovereignty, border integrity and transnational organized crime.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 19, 2024.
