In a recent private meeting, Senate GOP Leader Mitch McConnell issued a stern warning to Republican senators against supporting a new bill from Senator Josh Hawley (R-MO), or they will face an “incoming” from the “center-right” if they supported Hawley’s bill, according to CNN.
On Tuesday, Sen. Hawley introduced a new legislation titled the Ending Corporate Influence on Elections Act. This bill aims to “get corporate money out of American politics and dramatically cut back on publicly traded corporations’ ability to influence elections.”
The legislation serves as a countermeasure to the 2010 Supreme Court ruling in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, seeking to reverse its implications.
In Citizens United v. FEC, the Supreme Court ruled that the government cannot restrict independent expenditures for political campaigns by corporations. The decision was made on January 21, 2010.
“For decades, Corporate America has funneled billions of dollars into elections in favor of politicians who favor their woke, social agendas—instead of American voters’ interests. This legislation would hold mega-corporations’ feet to the fire and stop their dollars from buying our elections,” said Senator Hawley.
The Ending Corporate Influence on Elections Act would:
- Ban publicly traded corporations from making independent expenditures, political ads, or other electioneering communications.
- Ban publicly traded companies from giving money to Super PACs.
More from the press release:
Senator Hawley’s new legislation is part of his larger agenda to hold Corporate America accountable for drowning out the voices of the American people:
In September, Senator Hawley introduced legislation to cap credit card interest rates at 18 percent and bring relief to working people across America.
Last month Senator Hawley also visited with workers on strike at the General Motors plant in Wentzville, Mo., to stand with them and support American jobs.
In May, Senator Hawley introduced legislation to raise tariffs on imports from China until the United States’ unsustainable bilateral trade deficit comes into balance.
In April, he unveiled two bills to crack down on Big Pharma’s exploitative drug prices and cap the cost of insulin.
In December 2022, Senator Hawley stood with and voted to support rail workers as they sought a fair deal with sick leave.
In April 2021, Senator Hawley introduced legislation to break up Big Tech companies seeking to dominate multiple industries simultaneously. More on his efforts to fight back against mega-corporations’ growing influence in America can be found on his website.
However, according to a new report, McConnell, who has long been an advocate for fewer restrictions on campaign finance, cautioned his colleagues that supporting such a bill could lead to repercussions from the “center-right” political sphere.
Mitch McConnell has long controlled a powerful super PAC, the Senate Leadership Fund, which has been instrumental in helping many Republican senators win their seats. During the meeting, McConnell read off a list of senators who had benefited from heavy financial support from this fund, including Hawley himself, according to sources familiar with the matter.
More from CNN:
According to multiple sources familiar with the Tuesday lunch meeting, McConnell warned GOP senators that they could face “incoming” from the “center-right” if they signed onto Hawley’s bill. He also read off a list of senators who won their races amid heavy financial support from the Senate Leadership Fund, an outside group tied to the GOP leader that spends big on TV ads in battleground Senate races. On that list of senators: Hawley himself, according to sources familiar with the matter.
In an interview, Hawley defended his bill and said that corporate influence should be limited in elections.
“I think that’s wrong,” Hawley told CNN. “I think it’s wrong as an original matter. I think it’s warping our politics, and I see no reason for conservatives to defend it. It’s wrong as a matter of the original meaning of the Constitution. It is bad for our elections. It’s bad for our voters. And I just think on principle, we ought to be concerned.”
According to a list of senators obtained by CNN, McConnell singled out a number of lawmakers who benefited from his outside group over the last three cycles: Mike Braun of Indiana, Kevin Cramer of North Dakota, Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee, Dan Sullivan of Alaska, Joni Ernst of Iowa, Roger Marshall of Kansas, Susan Collins of Maine, Steve Daines of Montana, Thom Tillis of North Carolina, Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, Katie Britt of Alabama, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, Eric Schmitt of Missouri, Ted Budd of North Carolina, JD Vance of Ohio and Ron Johnson of Wisconsin.
In 2018, Hawley benefited from more than $20 million from McConnell’s group.
