Mastercard is among the financial institutions and other corporations that are ending, at least temporarily, their campaign contributions to politicians who voted last week to challenge ”“ some would say overturn ”“ President-elect Joe Biden’s victory over Donald Trump.
In an internal memo to its employees, Purchase-based Mastercard wrote: “Simple decency and sober reflection require us to account for the events in Washington this past week ”“ not just the lawless violence, but also elected United States representatives seeking to subvert the decision of the people in the recent Presidential election. In our political system, nothing is more important than the smooth transition of power when voters have spoken.
“Accordingly, effective immediately, we have suspended Political Action Committee giving to members of Congress (House of Representatives and Senate) who voted to object to the certification of the 2020 Presidential election,” it stated. “We will continue to review the criteria that inform our political contributions to ensure they reflect our values. We remain hopeful about the future, one in which people of differences come together to add our common challenges.”
Mastercard”™s political action committee (PAC) reportedly donated $1,000 to U.S. Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Missouri), the first senator to announce that he would challenge the certification of the election results in Congress on Jan. 6.
According to OpenSecets.org, a website operated by the nonpartisan nonprofit Center for Responsive Politics, individuals employed by Mastercard, or those individuals”™ immediate family members, donated $128,256 to Biden and $17,868 to Trump in 2020.
Mastercard competitors Visa and American Express have also announced they will stop making contributions to politicians who tried to block the certification of the election results. Visa indicated its suspension could be temporary as it conducts a review of candidate contribution guidelines.
The moves come amidst a growing chorus of disapproval over the attacks at the Capitol, spurred by Trump”™s repeated dissatisfaction with the results of the November election.
In addition to Hawley, Republican senators voting after the insurrection was quelled to overturn the results in Arizona were Ted Cruz of Texas, Tommy Tuberville of Alabama, Cindy Hyde-Smith of Mississippi, Roger Marshall of Kansas and John Kennedy of Louisiana.
Voting to overturn the results in Pennsylvania were Sens. Hawley, Cruz, Tuberville, Hyde-Smith and Marshall, along with Cynthia Lummis of Wyoming and Rick Scott of Florida.
A total of 121 GOP members of the House of Representatives also voted to overturn Biden”™s victory, including Chris Jacobs, Nicole Malliotakis, Elise Stefanik and Lee Zeldin of New York and such high-profile names as House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, Darrell Issa and Devin Nunes (all of California); Greg Pence (brother of Vice President Mike Pence) of Indiana; Jim Jordan of Ohio; and Louie Gohmert of Texas.
FBI warns of threats
Other companies taking punitive action against those who voted against certifying the November results include Hallmark, whose PAC has asked Sens. Hawley and Marshall to return all of its campaign contributions. Marshall received $5,000 and Hawley took in $3,000 from the PAC last year, according to OpenSecrets.
JPMorgan Chase, Goldman Sachs, Citigroup and Morgan Stanley all said they would temporarily suspend sending donations from their PACs ”“ Chase for six months and Citigroup for three.
AT&T, Comcast, American Airlines and Dow have pledged to suspend PAC contributions to senators and representatives who voted against certification, with Dow saying its suspension would last for one election cycle ”“ two years for representatives and six years for senators.
Others suspending political contributions to those who voted against certifying the election”™s results include The Blue Cross Blue Shield Association, Coca-Cola and Marriott International.
On Sunday, the PGA of America”™s board of directors voted to terminate an agreement to play the PGA Championship at Trump National Golf Club in Bedminster, New Jersey, in 2022.
“It has become clear that conducting the PGA Championship at Trump Bedminster would be detrimental to the PGA of America brand, and would put at risk the PGA”™s ability to deliver our many programs, and sustain the longevity of our mission,” Jim Richerson, president of the PGA of America, said in a video statement.
The Trump Organization responded, “We have had a beautiful partnership with the PGA of America and are incredibly disappointed with their decision. This is a breach of a binding contract, and they have no right to terminate the agreement.”
Last week, a number of business organizations expressed their objections to the insurrection. The Business Roundtable, a D.C.-based nonprofit whose members include the CEOs of Harrison-headquartered Pepsico and other major U.S. companies, issued a statement saying that, “The country deserves better. Business Roundtable calls on the President and all relevant officials to put an end to the chaos and to facilitate the peaceful transition of power.”
In addition, a number of social media platforms have suspended Trump, including Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat and Shopify.
Meanwhile, the FBI has warned that more potentially violent protests could take place in Washington, D.C., and the capitals of all 50 states before or on Jan. 20, when Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris are scheduled to be sworn in.
“We have been in touch with our federal and local law enforcement partners and will be monitoring the situation,” said New York State Police spokesperson William Duffy. “Given recent events in Washington and across the country, the New York State Police has, out of an abundance of caution, taken steps to harden security in and around the State Capitol in Albany. These restrictions are in place until further notice.”
In Connecticut, Gov. Ned Lamont”™s chief of staff Paul Mounds told a press conference, “There are security assessments that are being done on various state buildings as we speak. The governor is receiving daily security updates that will go all the way up to the inauguration, particularly with the information that we have seen not only from the FBI, but from sources monitored by the state police about actions that could happen potentially over the weekend.”
