One Cabinet Nominee Spent $10.4 Million in This Election Cycle and Has ‘Contributed to the Campaigns of 17 Senators Who Will Vote on Whether to Confirm Her’
38 percent of those who have been given top jobs in the Trump administration are top donors to Trump or groups working toward his election, or to Republicans or the GOP, a Politico report Tuesday finds. Politico analyzed Federal Election Commission (FEC) records, finding those 73 donors handed over $1.7 million to Trump and those working to elect him, and $57.3 million to other GOP candidates and the RNC. That averages more than $800,000 per donor.
“By self-funding my campaign, I am not controlled by my donors, special interests or lobbyists,†Trump announced in September last year. “I am only working for the people of the U.S.!â€
Six of Trump’s top donors have landed in his has cabinet. Politico reports that is “far more” than in any recent White House.
“The way this whole transition is going so far, we have as a general matter an unbelievable and shocking disregard for propriety and conflicts, much less the raging hypocrisy,†political scientist Norm Ornstein of the right wing Koch Brothers funded American Enterprise Institute (AEI) told Politico. “The bigger issue is the huge conflicts of interest and the utterly brazen way Trump and the people around him turning this into pay-to-play in a fashion never seen before.â€
Politico offers this stunning list of examples:
The biggest donor who has met with Trump since the election is Todd Ricketts, Trump’s pick for deputy secretary of commerce. Ricketts hails from the family that founded TD Ameritrade, owns the Chicago Cubs and is among the Republican Party’s top benefactors. They handed Republicans more than $15.7 million for 2016 and more than $26 million in previous cycles. The family also organized a super PAC called Future45 that became the largest unlimited-money group supporting Trump. Todd Ricketts personally donated $63,835 to Republicans.
Trump’s choice to lead the Department of Education, Betsy DeVos, and her family (heirs to auto parts and multi-level marketing fortunes) spent $10.4 million this cycle, including $445,000 to Trump’s joint fundraising committee (known as Trump Victory) and one of the super PACs supporting him. She and her husband, Dick, have contributed to the campaigns of 17 senators who will vote on whether to confirm her.
Linda McMahon, the wrestling magnate whom Trump named to helm the Small Business Administration, gave $6 million to a pro-Trump super PAC. She and her husband, Vince, are also the largest donors to Trump’s foundation.
Labor Secretary-designee Andy Puzder, CEO of the parent company of the Carl’s Jr. and Hardee’s fast food chains, and his wife gave $160,000 to Trump Victory and more than $600,000 to other Republicans this cycle.
Trump’s pick for treasury secretary, investor Steven Mnuchin, personally chipped in $425,000, but was arguably responsible for almost everything Trump raised as his campaign’s finance chairman.
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Image of Trump by Gage Skidmore via Flickr and a CC license
Image of cash by reynermedia via Flickr and a CC license
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