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- Greeting card company Hallmark has asked two Republican senators to return its political donations after they voted against certifying Joe Biden as president on Wednesday.
- It had donated $12,000 to Sen. Josh Hawley of Missouri and Sen. Roger Marshall of Kansas during the 2020 election cycle through its Political Action Committee (PAC), Popular Information reported.
- “The recent actions of Senators Josh Hawley and Roger Marshall do not reflect our company’s values. As a result, HALLPAC requested Sens. Hawley and Marshall to return all HALLPAC campaign contributions.”
- Hallmark is the first big company to ask for political donations back after pro-Trump rioters stormed Capitol on Wednesday. Others have pulled the plug on future donations.
- Visit Business Insider’s homepage for more stories.
Hallmark has asked Sen. Josh Hawley of Missouri and Sen. Roger Marshall of Kansas, two Republicans, to return its donations after they both voted against certifying President-elect Joe Biden’s election victory Wednesday.
Hallmark is the first big company to ask for political donations back in the wake of the Capitol siege and the later vote to certify Biden as president. Some companies, including Amazon, have suspended future political contributions to Republican lawmakers who voted against Biden’s certification, while others have paused all donations to both Republicans and Democrats.
Through its Political Action Committee (PAC), the greeting card company has donated $5,000 to Marshall and $7,000 to Hawley over the past two years.
Congress met on Wednesday to certify the result of the US presidential election. Fueled by months of conspiracy theories and baseless allegations of election fraud from President Donald Trump and his backers, rioters stormed the Capitol. Five people died during the siege.
Congress ultimately voted to certify Biden’s win, but eight Republican senators and 139 representatives voted against this, including Hawley and Marshall. Several other GOP lawmakers who had said they would join the group dropped out following the riots.
Just hours later, Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez called on Hawley, as well as Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, to resign, blaming them for the violence at the Capitol.
In December, Hawley said he would object to Biden’s certification, the first senator to make the announcement. He is a staunch Trump ally.
“At the very least, Congress should investigate allegations of voter fraud and adopt measures to secure the integrity of our elections,” he said. “But Congress has so far failed to act.”
On Monday, Hallmark asked both Hawley and Marshall to return its donations.
“Hallmark believes the peaceful transition of power is part of the bedrock of our democratic system, and we abhor violence of any kind,” the company told Popular Information.
“The recent actions of Senators Josh Hawley and Roger Marshall do not reflect our company’s values. As a result, HALLPAC requested Sens. Hawley and Marshall to return all HALLPAC campaign contributions.”
Major US companies including Amazon, Morgan Stanley, and Dow have said they will cut off donations to Republican politicians who opposed Biden’s certification as president.
JPMorgan, Google, Facebook, Citibank, and Microsoft, meanwhile, are among the companies temporarily pulling the plug on all political contributions.
FedEx, Target, CVS Health, and Walmart are currently reviewing their positions on political contributions, Popular Information reported. Berkshire Hathaway Energy, Ford, and Bank of America told the publication they would review donations on an individual basis.
“Just coming out with another public letter isn’t going to do much,” Thomas Glocer, the former CEO of Thomson Reuters, said on January 5 after a meeting of top CEOs to discuss the impact of pulling political donations.
“Money is the key way,” he added.
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