Some Corporations Halt Donations to Republicans Who Voted Against Certifying Biden’s Win

Vice President Mike Pence presides over the Electoral College vote certification during a joint session of Congress to count the electoral votes at the U.S. Capitol in Washington on Jan. 6, 2021. Kevin Dietsch/POOL/AFP via Getty Images

A host of American corporations have announced that they are halting donations to Republican members of Congress who on Jan. 6 objected to certifying the Electoral College votes cast for President-elect Joe Biden.

During a joint session of Congress last Wednesday, a total of 147 Republicans voted against certifying the electoral votes in two states, Arizona and Pennsylvania.

The same day saw a massive pro-Trump rally, after which some people violently breached the U.S. Capitol, prompting some companies to issue statements of condemnation.

Protesters storm the Capitol Building in Washington on Jan. 6, 2020. Ahmed Gaber/Reuters

American Express CEO Stephen Squeri issued a statement on Jan. 6, saying, “Like many of you, I watched with profound sadness, anger, and disgust at the violence and lawlessness that took place earlier today at the U.S. Capitol building. These actions were dangerous and anti-American.”

In a follow-on statement on Jan. 11, Squeri said the American Express political action committee, which previously made contributions to 22 of the 139 House members who voted in favor of the objections, would no longer support any Republican members of Congress who cast votes in opposition to certifying Biden’s win.

“Last week’s attempts by some congressional members to subvert the presidential election results and disrupt the peaceful transition of power do not align with our American Express Blue Box values; therefore, the AXP PAC will not support them,” he wrote.

Other corporations have issued similar statements, including Airbnb, Amazon, AT&T, Blue Cross Blue Shield, Commerce Bank, Dow Chemical, Marriott, and Mastercard.

“Airbnb strongly condemns last week’s attack on the U.S. Capitol and the efforts to undermine our democratic process,” the company said in a statement. “The Airbnb PAC will update its framework and withhold support from those who voted against the certification of the presidential election results.”

AT&T released a statement on Monday, saying, “Employees on our Federal PAC Board convened a call today and decided to suspend contributions to members of Congress who voted to object to the certification of Electoral College votes last week.”

The Blue Cross Blue Shield Association issued a statement on Jan. 8, saying, “In light of this week’s violent, shocking assault on the United States Capitol, and the votes of some members of Congress to subvert the results of November’s election by challenging Electoral College results, BCSBA will suspend contributions to those lawmakers who voted to undermine our democracy.”

Congress on Jan. 7 certified the Electoral College vote for Biden in an election overshadowed by allegations of irregularities and fraud, which have been roundly dismissed by state election officials, and others.

A number of Republican lawmakers objected to the electoral votes, arguing that allegations of election-related irregularities had been insufficiently addressed. Ahead of the joint session of Congress, around a dozen Republican senators called on Congress to appoint an electoral commission to conduct an emergency 10-day audit of the election results.

Republican lawmakers succeeded in launching objections to electoral tallies from Arizona and Pennsylvania, forcing both houses of Congress to retreat to their respective chambers in order to debate the reasons for objecting to the votes.

Both chambers ultimately voted to reject the challenge for both states, with the final tally showing Biden garnered 306 electoral votes while President Donald Trump won 232.

Biden’s inauguration is set for Jan. 20, with police saying there will be no public access to the grounds of the U.S. Capitol for the event and that there are comprehensive plans in place to prevent the kind of violence that took place last Wednesday.