JUST IN: Toyota Announces It Will No Longer Donate to Republicans Who Voted Against Election Certification
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After taking serious flak over political donations made to Republican members of Congress who voted against certifying the 2020 presidential election, Toyota has announced it will stop donations to those members. According to Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, the company’s political action committee has given $56,000 to 38 members of Congress who objected to the certification election on January 6.
In a statement issued Thursday, Japan-based automaker said it has “decided to stop contributing to those Members of Congress who contested the certification”:
Toyota is committed to supporting and promoting actions that further our democracy. Our company has long-standing relationships with Members of Congress across the political spectrum, especially those representing our U.S. operations. Our bipartisan PAC equally supports Democrats and Republicans running for Congress. In fact, in 2021, the vast majority of contributions went to Democrats and Republicans who supported the certification of the 2020 election. We understand that the PAC decision to support select Members of Congress who contested the results troubled some stakeholders. We are actively listening to our stakeholders and, at this time, we have decided to stop contributing to those Members of Congress who contested the certification of certain states in the 2020 election.
The statement represents quite a reversal from Toyota. Two weeks ago a spokesperson for the company told Axios, “We do not believe it is appropriate to judge members of Congress solely based on their votes on the electoral certification.”
Toyota’s PAC has donated to more members who voted against certification than any other company PAC.
Toyota has several manufacturing facilities in the U.S., mainly in states that are considered Republican strongholds such as Alabama, Arkansas, and Mississippi.
In all, 147 Republican representatives and senators voted against certifying Joe Biden as the winner of the 2020 election. That certification was delayed for several hours after a mob stormed the Capitol because its members wrongly believed the election had been stolen from Trump. Earlier in the day, Trump held a rally in Washington, D.C. and suggested the crowd should march to the Capitol and “show strength.”
