Sen. Josh Hawley introduces ban on political spending by publicly-traded corporations

Sen. Josh Hawley, a Missouri Republican, introduced legislation Tuesday that would ban political spending by publicly-traded corporations, long a goal of many Democrats.

Hawley, up for reelection in 2024, cast the bill as a step toward undoing a 2010 U.S. Supreme Court decision called Citizens United that opened the door to significant corporate spending on elections. He said the measure aimed to get corporate money out of American politics and limit the power of publicly-traded corporations to influence elections.

The bill would specifically ban independent expenditures, political ads and other electioneering communications by publicly-traded corporations. It would also stop publicly-traded corporations from donating to super PACs.

But it doesn’t address other significant aspects of Citizens United, such as the ability of nonprofits and other associations to spend on politics – leaving untouched what are often called “dark money” groups that spend money on elections without disclosing their donors.

Hawley is among a faction of Republicans who say they are skeptical – or even hostile – toward large corporations, a sharp change from the Republican Party’s traditional embrace of business. They view large parts of corporate America as increasingly liberal, or “woke,” and have singled out their opposition to GOP-backed laws restricting gender-affirming care or limiting how sexual identity and gender orientation can be discussed in schools.

“For decades, Corporate America has funneled billions of dollars into elections in favor of politicians who favor their woke, social agendas—instead of American voters’ interests. This legislation would hold mega-corporations’ feet to the fire and stop their dollars from buying our elections,” Hawley said in a statement.

Hawley experienced blowback from some companies that previously donated to him after he voted to overturn President Joe Biden’s electoral college victory on Jan. 6, 2021, and raised his fist in solidarity with a crowd that would later violently storm the Capitol. He has since made up whatever he lost from big donors by significantly growing the amount he raises from small-dollar donors.

In the wake of the attack, Kansas City-based Hallmark asked for campaign contributions back from Hawley (the company is privately owned and wouldn’t be affected by Hawley’s legislation). Big companies including Cerner, American Express, Marriott and AT&T pledged to either stop or pause donations their political arms made to candidates, such as Hawley, who voted against certifying Biden’s win.

Lucas Kunce, a Democrat running for U.S. Senate in Missouri, called the bill a “campaign prop.”

Kunce wrote on X, formerly called Twitter, that Hawley “has proudly taken max checks from and been endorsed by Citizens United — and his bill wouldn’t even touch them or the big money elites buying our elections.”

It’s unclear whether the bill will gain traction in the Democratic-controlled Senate. Some Republicans will likely oppose the measure and some Democrats will likely criticize it leaving dark money groups in place.