After pledging to suspend all contributions to members of Congress indefinitely and review their contribution policies following the insurrection, Motorola Solutions began giving to the Sedition Caucus again in November 2021. The company has since given $61,000 to 14 members of Congress who objected to the certification of the 2020 presidential election. 

Among the members receiving support from Motorola Solutions were Rep. Joe Wilson, who signed on to the Texas lawsuit challenging the election results, Rep. John Rutherford, who refused to hold Trump responsible for inciting the riot and doubled down on his vote to reject the election just weeks ago, Rep. Elise Stefanik, and House Minority Whip Steve Scalise.

Motorola also gave $15,000 each to the National Republican Senatorial Committee and National Republican Congressional Committee in June 2021, and then $15,000 each again in January 2022—donations that may not have violated a pledge to give directly, but which could go to helping re-elect members of the Sedition Caucus. 

Motorola was not the only company to return to giving. The Hartford Financial Services pledged after the insurrection to pause all political giving for “6 months or less.” The company technically kept its pledge, and began giving to seditionists in September 2021, eight months after the insurrection. It has now given $4,500 to three Sedition Caucus members, including Rep. Blaine Luetkemeyer, who sits on the Financial Services Committee and who reportedly said he’d put companies who paused donations on “a list.” 

“If companies are pausing donations, but simply give the same donation they would have, just 6 months or more later, then no point has been made. They are still funding sedition, but they just waited until the spotlight was not so bright. ”

While Hartford kept its initial pledge, the fact that the pledge only lasted for six months, at the very start of an election cycle, highlights why a pause in donations is ultimately a hollow gesture. If companies are pausing donations, but simply give the same donation they would have, just 6 months or more later, then no point has been made. They are still funding sedition, but they just waited until the spotlight was not so bright. 

When Motorola pledged to stop giving indefinitely, and re-evaluate its contribution policies, it apparently arrived at the conclusion that after 10 months, sedition wasn’t a barrier to its support. While many companies are admirably maintaining their pledges and supporting democracy, other companies that made seemingly strong pledges after the insurrection appear to be quietly abandoning them in increasing numbers, perhaps hoping that consumers won’t notice their commitment to profits over democracy. 

Photo by Focal Project under a Creative Commons license.

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