John,

After the January 6 insurrection, dozens of companies quickly pledged to suspend political donations, with many pledging to suspend donations specifically to the Sedition Caucus—the 147 members of Congress who voted against certifying the election. Others pledged to pause all donations while they reviewed donation criteria.

Many of these companies had strong words about their commitment to democracy and peaceful transitions of power.

But months later, after the spotlight was gone, companies like Walgreens, UPS, Capital One, Exelon and Motorola Solutions all quietly began giving big to re-elect the Sedition Caucus.

By the end of 2021, UPS had given to 63 members of the Sedition Caucus—becoming one of the top corporate donors to the members who rejected democracy. Motorola Solutions also went big when they abandoned their pledge, giving $61,000 to 14 members of the Sedition Caucus. Walgreens gave more than $25,000 starting in November 2021—including to House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, who has targeted members of the House Republican Caucus who are participating in the January 6th Select Committee. Capital One kept their pledge until November as well—but then gave $5,000 to Rep. Blaine Luetkemeyer, who had reportedly said that he’d put companies who paused donations on a “list.”

These companies wanted good PR for their pledges and nice words about democracy, but they seemingly didn’t want it to come at the expense of access to members of Congress. That’s unacceptable, and we’re going to keep investigating and calling them out, for as long as it takes.

Thank you,

Noah Bookbinder
President, CREW

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