[[link removed]] August 23, 2024
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Billionaire Timothy Mellon has poured $165 million into 2024 elections
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Timothy Mellon, heir to Gilded Age industrialist Andrew Mellon, has continued to pour tens of millions into the campaigns of former President Donald Trump, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Republican congressional candidates in 2024.
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Japanese-owned Nippon Steel’s deal to acquire U.S. Steel spurs record lobbying spending
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U.S. Steel and Japanese-owned Nippon Steel have poured record sums into lobbying amid merger deal scrutiny.
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‘Guardian angel’ megadonors give $196M to influence 2024 elections
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Contributions from “guardian angel” megadonors totaled about $196 million between the start of the 2023-2024 election cycle through June 30.
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Chart of the Week
Dive deeper into the data behind the headlines
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What to Know
The proposed $14.9 billion acquisition of U.S. Steel by Japan’s Nippon Steel has triggered intense political and regulatory scrutiny, with both companies ramping up their lobbying efforts amid bipartisan opposition and a review by federal regulators.
By the Numbers
Until the final quarter of 2023, the Japanese company had no registered U.S. lobbyists. However, as the deal moved forward, Nippon Steel quickly assembled a high-profile lobbying team with multiple "revolving door" lobbyists. Nippon Steel’s lobbying spending skyrocketed to nearly $1.1 million in the first half of 2024, with $830,000 spent in the most recent quarter alone.
U.S. Steel has also ramped up its lobbying, spending $1.7 million in the first half of 2024, more than triple the $545,000 it spent during the same period last year and exceeding its total annual federal lobbying spending during any year in the past decade.
Dig Deeper
Nippon Steel's acquisition of U.S. Steel has faced significant delays due to mounting resistance from key political figures, including both former President Donald Trump and President Joe Biden. Trump reiterated his opposition to the merger during a speech this week at a factory in Pennsylvania, a state where U.S. Steel is headquartered.
The merger remains under the scrutiny of the Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S., which is tasked with evaluating the national security implications of foreign investments in the U.S. economy. The committee’s reviews can ultimately end up on a president’s desk for a decision but the timeline is not public, leaving it unclear whether that would happen while Biden is in the White House or after the next president is inaugurated.
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OpenSecrets in the News
See our media citations from outlets around the nation this week:
[[link removed]] Democrats Call for the Elimination of Billions in Oil and Gas Subsidies ( The Wall Street Journal ) [[link removed]]
The oil and gas industries spent $72 million on federal lobbying on various issues in the first half of 2024, according to influence tracker OpenSecrets. Environmental and renewable energy groups spent about $46 million.
The Democratic Party’s Money Machine ( The New York Times ) [[link removed]]
In this election, staff salaries and transfers to fight races at the state or national level account for almost half of spending. Expenditure on media represents less than 6 percent, down from about 12 percent in 2016. One reason for the shift is that independent super PACs are now able to spend on advertising, allowing the D.N.C. to focus more on other priorities, Brendan Glavin, the deputy research director at OpenSecrets, a group that tracks money in politics, told DealBook.
Trump says Medal of Freedom "equivalent" to and "much better" than Medal of Honor, sparking backlash from veterans ( CBS News ) [[link removed]]
Former President Donald Trump received an immediate backlash Thursday when he said the Presidential Medal of Freedom he awarded to Dr. Miriam Adelson, the widow of Republican mega-donor Sheldon Adelson, was "equivalent" and "much better" than the Medal of Honor, the nation's highest military award for bravery in combat. The Adelson's total contributions to Republicans totaled more than $218 million between 2019 and 2020, according to OpenSecrets, which tracks money in politics.
GOP megadonor Miriam Adelson plans to do whatever it takes to help Trump win with $100 million PAC ( CNBC ) [[link removed]]
Crypto campaign money is bipartisan ( [[link removed]] Axios [[link removed]] )
Exclusive: Harris' election effort raises around $500 million in a month, sources say ( Reuters ) [[link removed]]
Map Shows Which States Make The Biggest Political Donations ( Newsweek ) [[link removed]]
Oprah Endorses Kamala Harris At DNC: Her Political History—And Rare Endorsements—Explained ( Forbes ) [[link removed]]
Crypto’s ‘unprecedented’ spending spree ( Punchbowl News ) [[link removed]]
Outside Spending in 2024 Federal Election Tops $1 Billion ( InDepthNH ) [[link removed]]
One super-PAC’s curious reliance on a short-lived, lavishly funded quasi–news site ( Columbia Journalism Review ) [[link removed]]
DNC Platform Vows To End ‘Dark Money’ As Dems Raise Hundreds Of Millions In The Shadows ( Daily Caller News Foundation ) [[link removed]]
Not so fast: Harris super PAC president says internal polling numbers ‘are much less rosy’ ( The Independent ) [[link removed]]
Harris caught in fight between donors, progressives over Big Tech power ( The Hill ) [[link removed]]
Who’s behind one of Nevada’s biggest Democratic donors? It’s a secret. ( The Daily Indy ) [[link removed]]
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