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.
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 manufactures cars in Alabama, Arkansas, and Mississippi, all Republican country.
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