Following the riot at the U.S. Capitol on January 6, dozens of corporations pledged to stop donating to 147 Republican members of Congress who voted that day to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election. 

The riot was an attack on the foundation of democracy. It was an effort to disrupt the certification of the Electoral College based on the lie that Biden did not win legitimately. The 147 Republicans who objected to the certification of the election validated that lie. The corporations that pledged to withhold their PAC donations from that group were making a statement that they would not support members of Congress who were willing to undermine the democratic process. 

Over the last year, the threats to American democracy have intensified. Trump has continued to push his false claims of election fraud as he consolidated his control over the Republican Party. In the days following January 6, House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) said Trump "bears responsibility" for the attack on the Capitol. Today, McCarthy claims he was misinformed and Trump acted appropriately. Senator Lindsay Graham (R-SC) underwent a similar transformation. 

Trump is using the influence he maintained after January 6 to install loyalists at all levels of government — especially those who could help him overturn future election results. For example, Trump has endorsed several candidates for Secretary of State that have promoted his lies about the 2020 election. 

Of the 147 Republican objectors, only one has publicly expressed regret for their vote on January 6 over the past year.

During this time, Popular Information has comprehensively monitored the FEC filings of corporate PACs and published them in the January 6 corporate accountability index. To date, 79 major corporations — including Allstate, Nike, and Walgreens — have kept the commitments they made after January 6. These companies have not donated directly to Republican objectors or to multi-candidate committees that support Republican objectors, like the National Republican Campaign Committee (NRCC) and the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC). 

Another 26 companies — including Comcast, Dell, and Google — have not donated to individual Republican objectors but have donated to committees like the NRCC and NRSC. 58 companies — including Eli Lilly, PriceWaterhouseCoopers, and American Airlines — have directly violated their pledge by donating directly to Republican objectors.  

Overall, as yesterday's Popular Information revealed, corporate PAC donations to GOP objectors were down about 60% in 2021 as compared to 2019.

But if corporations were concerned about the state of democracy in January 2021, they should be more concerned in 2022. The 147 Republican objectors have demonstrated their willingness to use their power to undermine the democratic process. 

Popular Information contacted 183 companies and asked if their corporate PACs would suspend donations to the 147 Republican objectors in 2022. There are seven companies that have explicitly pledged to withhold PAC funding to the Republican objectors in 2022:

Airbnb: Airbnb told Popular Information it would not donate to the Republican objectors in 2022.

BASF: "BASF is committed to staying with our approach for the remainder of the 2022 election cycle."

Eversource Energy: "[W]e intend to uphold that pledge."

Lyft: "Yes, we plan to uphold this pledge."

Microsoft: "[W]e are committed to our pledge"

Dow: "This suspension will remain in place for a period of one election cycle (two years for House members; up to six years for Senators), which specifically includes contributions to the candidate’s reelection committee and their affiliated PACs. Dow is committed to the principles of democracy and the peaceful transfer of power."

American Express: Last year, American Express told Popular Information that its PAC would never donate to the 147 Republican objectors again. 

NRG Energy came close to making a commitment for 2022, telling Popular Information that it has "no plans to change our commitment at this time." Marriott International confirmed that its policy cutting off PAC donations to Republican objectors remains in effect and said it was "continuing to evaluate the policy, including when we might lift the pause, but have not yet made a decision on timing."

GE previously pledged to withhold PAC contributions to the Republican objectors for the entirety of the 2022 cycle but has already supported them indirectly through contributions to the NRSC and NRCC.

So dozens of major companies cut off corporate PAC donations to Republican objectors in 2021 but, at this point, most are keeping their options open for 2022. It's a worrisome sign for the future of democracy. 

Corporate promise breakers

In 2021, six companies pledged to cut off PAC contributions specifically to Republican objectors after January 6 and directly violated their pledge. 

That group includes the health insurer Cigna, which told CNN in January that there "is never any justification for violence or the kind of destruction that occurred at the U.S. Capitol last week — a building that stands as a powerful symbol of the very democracy that makes our nation strong.” The company pledged to “discontinue support” to “any elected official who encouraged or supported violence, or otherwise hindered a peaceful transition of power.” Since then, Cigna has donated $30,000 to 15 Republican objectors and $15,000 to both the NRSC and NRCC.

Cigna later told the New York Times that these donations didn't violate its pledge to elected officials who "hindered a peaceful transition of power" because congressional votes are “by definition, part of the peaceful transition of power.” The company's official position is that voting to overturn the election is part of the "peaceful transition of power."

Another company in this category is PG&E, which also told CNN in January that it was suspending donations to Republican objectors. "While we always welcome diverse political opinions, both in our workforce and in the halls of power, PG&E strongly objects to actions meant to erode a belief in our democratic principles and institutions," the company said. 

Since then, PG&E has donated $14,500 to 9 Republican objectors. The company also donated $15,000 to both the NRSC and NRCC. 

52 companies suspended all political contributions after January 6 and then sent PAC money to Republican objectors. 

This group includes T-Mobile, which said that the "assault on the U.S. Capitol and on democracy was unacceptable" and, as a result, it would "reevaluate our PAC giving." Since then, T-Mobile has donated $1,000 to one Republican objector, Congressman Hal Rogers (R-KY), and $30,000 to the NRSC. 

There were 26 companies that pledged to suspend donations to the Republican objectors (or all donations) but violated the spirit of that pledge by donating to multi-candidate committees that support the Republican objectors. 

This group includes AT&T, which pledged “to suspend contributions to members of Congress who voted to object to the certification of Electoral College votes this week.” In February, however, AT&T donated $5,000 to the House Conservatives Fund. The chair of the House Conservatives Fund is Jim Banks (R-IN), who objected to the certification of the Electoral College in January. Banks also signed an amicus brief submitted to the Supreme Court supporting Texas' efforts to throw out the election results in several states. The House Conservatives Fund also serves as the primary fundraising vehicle for the Republican Study Committee (RSC). The overwhelming majority of members of the RSC voted to overturn the election results on January 6. The RSC has pushed false claims that the 2020 election was rife with fraud.

In March, when the donation first became public, AT&T told Popular Information that its policy was still not to donate to members of Congress who objected to certification. AT&T claimed that the House Conservatives Fund "assured" the company that its PAC contribution would not support the re-election of Republican objectors.

In August, however, AT&T donated $15,000 to both the NRCC and NRSC. These donations will support the reelection of every Republican objector running for reelection. Popular Information contacted AT&T and asked whether, as it had pledged in March, it had secured a commitment that none of the funds it donated to the NRCC or NRSC would support Republican objectors. The company did not respond.  

You can check out a full list of which companies kept their promises — and which broke their promises — HERE.

The biggest corporate donors to Republican objectors

The largest corporate donors to Republican objectors were companies that, for the most part, stayed quiet after January 6. This group includes Boeing ($346,500), Koch Industries ($308,000), American Crystal Sugar ($285,000), General Dynamics ($233,500) and Valero Energy ($207,500).