House GOP Boots Chamber of Commerce Lobbyists from Strategy Calls on Reconciliation Package

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House Republicans have reportedly ejected Chamber of Commerce lobbyists from their conference calls with allies about the reconciliation package making its way through Congress.

“The Chamber is opposed to the reconciliation bill because it is bad for the economy,” the group said in a Monday statement to Punchbowl News, insisting it opposed the $3.5 trillion spending plan authored by Democrats. “Defeating the bill is the top priority for the Chamber, which is why we have been working all year to educate the lawmakers whose votes will decide whether or not these economically disastrous policies become law. That won’t change, and in fact, our efforts on behalf of our members will only increase in the weeks ahead.”

The Chamber of Commerce has traditionally been a generous contributor to Republican congressional candidates, but the group has increasingly drawn ire from Republican voters who believe the cash is coming from corporations hostile to their interests. That dynamic has been exacerbated this year by the group’s support for big Democratic spending proposals, including the party’s $1 trillion infrastructure plan.

The group’s executive vice president and chief policy officer, Neil Bradley, a former House GOP leadership aide, suggested in a comment to reporters last week that he held inside information about Republicans who supported the infrastructure proposal, and suggested his organization might consider retaliating against those who opposed it.

“At the end of the day, members are gonna vote, but we’re also, at the U.S. Chamber, going to remember the members who put in the hard work to get us to this point, and they deserve credit,” Bradley said. “And anyone who kind of stands in their way and blocks this bill, that’ll be remembered, as well.”