MLB suspends all political contributions after invasion of Capitol Hill last week by crowd loyal to President Trump
NEW YORK (AP) – Major League Baseball is suspending all political contributions following the invasion of the United States Capitol last week by a crowd loyal to President Donald Trump, joining a wave of big companies rethinking their efforts to put pressure on Washington.
“In light of the unprecedented events of last week on the United States Capitol, MLB is suspending contributions from its Political Action Committee pending a review of our political contribution policy going forward.” the league said in a statement to the Associated Press on Wednesday.
“ Among his lobbying successes was a bill in 2018 that exempted minor league baseball players earning as little as $ 5,500 per season from federal minimum wage laws.“
Following the insurgency last week by Trump supporters as Congress tried to certify the presidential election results, many companies have said they will avoid donating to members of the House and Senate who have voted to overturn President-elect Joe Biden’s victory over Trump. Others, like the MLB, have completely deferred political donations to both political parties.
MLB is the first of the major professional sports leagues to announce that it will change its lobbying strategy in the wake of the deadly Capitol riots.
The Office of the Political Action Committee of the Office of the Commissioner of Major League Baseball has donated $ 669,375 to Senate and House candidates since the 2016 election cycle, with 52.4% of that money going to Republican candidates, according to the Center for Responsive Politics.
Among his lobbying successes was a bill in 2018 that exempted minor league baseball players earning as little as $ 5,500 per season from federal minimum wage laws, anticipating a three-player lawsuit filed four years ago. earlier. The “Save America’s Passtime Act” appeared on page 1,967 of a $ 1.3 trillion spending bill.
Since the 2016 election cycle, the MLB has made contributions to two senators and nine representatives who were among those opposed to certifying Biden’s victory.
Senate Republicans are Ted Cruz (Texas) and Cindy Hyde-Smith (Mississippi), and House Republicans are Roger Williams (Texas), Kevin McCarthy (California), David Schweikert (Arizona), Steve Chabot (Ohio), Markwayne Mullin (Oklahoma), Adrian Smith (Nebraska), Michael Burgess (Texas), Rick Crawford (Arkansas) and Elise Stefanik (New York).
