With the
2018 Congressional midterm elections approaching, Republicans –
eager to keep their control of both houses of Congress – have been
seeking lucrative donations that would give Republican candidates an
advantage in the lead-up to November.
On
Thursday, those efforts paid off in a big way as the top Republican
congressional political action committee (PAC), the Congressional
Leadership Fund, secured a massive $30 million donation from Las
Vegas casino mogul Sheldon Adelson. Adelson’s massive donation
will account for just over 41 percent of all donations made to the
group since January 2017.
According
to Politico, the deal was brokered in part by Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI)
even though, as a federally elected official, he is not permitted to
solicit such eight-figure donations from private donors. In order to
get around this inconvenience, Ryan briefly left the room while Norm
Coleman of the Republican Jewish Coalition, who was also present at
the meeting, asked Adelson for the funds during Ryan’s conveniently
timed absence, and thus secured the multi-million dollar
contribution.
Adelson’s
willingness to help the GOP stay in power come November is
unsurprising. The Republican mega-donor gave heavily to the Trump
campaign and Republicans in 2016, donating $35 million to the former
and $55 million to the top two Republican Super PACs, the
Congressional Leadership Fund and the Senate Leadership Fund, during
that election cycle.
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