January 11, 2017 -- This week, the U.S. Senate begins holding confirmation hearings on President-elect Donald Trump’s Cabinet nominees. Below is a snapshot of the political contributions made by or to those appointees.
For nominees who have run for federal office, MapLight has looked at the top donors to their campaigns. For other appointees, MapLight has analyzed their contributions to political committees -- campaigns, parties, PACs, and super PACs.
This post will be updated as hearings are scheduled.
Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Alabama)
U.S. Attorney General nominee
Confirmation hearing: Jan. 10 before the Senate Judiciary Committee
Sessions has been in the U.S. Senate since 1997.
Here are the top donors to Sessions’ most recent Senate campaign in 2014, including corporate PACs and executives of those companies.
|
ExxonMobil |
$12,500 |
|
Drummond Company |
$12,100 |
|
Lockheed Martin |
$11,000 |
|
HealthSouth |
$10,700 |
Tea Party Patriots Citizens Fund, a super PAC, spent $13,500 to support Sessions’ campaign.
Gen. John Kelly (Ret.)
Homeland Security secretary
Confirmed: Jan. 20
No known campaign contributions
Elaine Chao
Transportation secretary nominee
Confirmed: Jan. 31
Chao, the wife of Sen. Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Kentucky), served as Labor Secretary under President George W. Bush.
Here are the top recipients of Chao’s contributions since 1999:
|
Republican Party of Kentucky |
$55,000 |
|
Republican National Committee |
$50,000 |
|
1999 State Victory Fund Committee (Joint fundraising committee associated with George W. Bush) |
$20,000 |
Chao has also given $11,000 total to support her husband’s Senate campaigns (1996, 2002, and 2014).
Rex Tillerson
Secretary of State nominee
Confirmed: Feb. 1
Tillerson, the former CEO of ExxonMobil, retired from the oil giant at the end of 2016.
Here are the top recipients of Tillerson’s contributions since 1999:
|
National Republican Senatorial Committee |
$159,100 |
|
Republican National Committee |
$80,920 |
|
ExxonMobil PAC |
$55,000 |
|
Romney Victory Inc (Joint fundraising committee associated with Mitt Romney) |
$50,000 |
|
National Republican Congressional Committee |
$44,750 |
During the 2016 election cycle, Tillerson gave $35,000 to the Republican National Committee, $33,400 to the NRSC, and $5,000 to the NRCC.
Here are the top recipients of the ExxonMobil PAC contributions 2007-2016:
|
Joe Barton (Chair of the House Energy and Commerce Committee 2004-2007) |
$49,999 |
|
Fred Upton (Chair of the House Energy and Commerce Committee 2011-2017) |
$40,000 |
|
John Shimkus (current chair of the House Energy Subcommittee on Environment and the Economy) |
$39,000 |
|
Pete Sessions (current chair of the House Rules Committee) |
$38,500 |
ExxonMobil has reported spending $8.8 million to lobby the federal government in 2016. Since 2008, the company has spent over $140 million.
Rep. Mike Pompeo (R-Kansas)
CIA director nominee
Confirmed: Jan. 23
Pompeo was first elected to Congress in 2012.
Top donors to Pompeo’s most recent campaign in 2016, including corporate PACs and employees of those firms:
|
Koch Industries |
$51,500 |
|
General Mills |
$15,200 |
|
Cox Enterprises |
$11,000 |
|
Spirit AeroSystems |
$10,700 |
Dr. Ben Carson
Housing secretary nominee
Confirmation hearing: Jan. 12 before the the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee
Carson, a retired neurosurgeon, was a 2016 Republican presidential candidate.
Individual donors contributed nearly all of the money Carson raised for his presidential campaign. Of those people, 42 percent gave $200 or more.
The following outside groups were the top spenders on ads, mailers, and other communications to support Carson’s campaign:
|
The 2016 Committee (Super PAC) |
$6,593,841 |
|
Our Children’s Future (Super PAC) |
$88,125 |
|
Extraordinary America (Other independent expenditure organization) |
$54,675 |
Gen. James Mattis (Ret.)
Defense secretary
Confirmed: Jan. 20
Mattis retired from the U.S. Marine Corps in 2013, after a 41-year career.
No known campaign contributions.
Betsy DeVos
Education Secretary nominee
Confirmation hearing: Jan. 17 before the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee
DeVos is a charter school advocate and co-owner, along with her husband, Richard, of the Windquest Group, a private equity firm. Previously, Richard DeVos was president of Amway, the company his father co-founded.
Here are the top recipients of Betsy DeVos’s contributions since the 1990 election cycle:
|
Republican National Committee |
$192,800 |
|
New Republican.org (Super PAC) |
$110,000 |
|
Michigan Republican Party |
$101,200 |
|
Senate Leadership Fund (Super PAC) |
$100,000 |
|
American Crossroads (Super PAC) |
$100,000 |
|
National Republican Senatorial Committee |
$99,200 |
|
Conservative Solutions PAC (Super PAC) |
$50,000 |
About half of all of Devos’s lifetime contributions were made during the 2016 election cycle.
Wilbur Ross
Commerce secretary nominee
Confirmation hearing: Jan. 18 before the Senate Commerce Committee
Ross, a billionaire, is the founder of the investment firm WL Ross & Co.
Here are the top recipients of Ross’s contributions since the 2012 election cycle:
|
Trump Victory (Joint fundraising committee associated with Donald Trump) |
$200,000 |
|
Republican National Committee |
$117,100 |
|
Restore Our Future, Inc. (Super PAC) |
$100,000 |
|
Romney Victory Inc (Joint fundraising committee associated with Mitt Romney) |
$73,300 |
|
Boehner for Speaker (Joint fundraising committee associated with John Boehner) |
$55,000 |
Rep. Ryan Zinke (R-Montana)
Interior secretary nominee
Confirmation hearing: Jan. 17 before the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee
Zinke, a former Navy SEAL, was first elected to Congress in 2014.
Here are the top donors to Zinke’s 2016 Congressional campaign, including corporate PACs and employees:
|
The Oasis Petroleum |
$15,800 |
|
Blessey Marine Services |
$15,700 |
|
Yellowstone Bank |
$13,500 |
|
The Eye of the Tiger PAC |
$13,000 |
|
BNSF Railway |
$11,700 |
Scott Pruitt
Environmental Protection Agency administrator nominee
Confirmation hearing: Jan. 18 before the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee
Pruitt, Oklahoma’s attorney general, is an outspoken critic of the EPA and is currently suing the agency over rules aimed at reducing greenhouse gases.
Here are the top donors to Pruitt’s 2014 Attorney General campaign, using data retrieved from the National Institute of Money in State Politics (NIMSP), including corporate PACs and employees:
|
AT&T |
$45,400 |
|
OG&E |
$25,660 |
|
Dickstein Shapiro LLP |
$20,283 |
|
Hall Capital LLC |
$15,000 |
|
MacFarlane Group |
$13,975 |
Nikki Haley
U.N. Ambassador nominee
Confirmed: Jan. 24
Prior to her confirmation, Haley was the governor of South Carolina.
Here are the top donors to Haley’s 2014 gubernatorial campaign, using data retrieved from the National Institute of Money in State Politics (NIMSP), not including individuals:
|
South Carolina Republican Party |
$50,000 |
|
USAA |
$17,500 |
|
Southport Lane |
$14,408 |
|
Hospital Corp of America |
$10,500 |
Rick Perry
Energy Secretary nominee
Confirmation hearing: Jan. 19 before the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources
Perry, the former governor of Texas, was a Republican presidential candidate in 2012 and 2016.
Here are the top donors to Perry’s 2016 Presidential campaign, including corporate PACs and employees:
|
MCNA Dental |
$60,400 |
|
Energy Transfer |
$13,500 |
|
Woodbridge Structured Funding |
$10,800 |
|
Texas Tech University System |
$9,350 |
Steven Mnuchin
Treasury Secretary nominee
Confirmation hearing: Jan. 19 before the Senate Committee on Finance
Mnuchin, who was the treasurer for Trump’s presidential campaign, has worked at Goldman Sachs, run a hedge fund, and financed several Hollywood blockbusters, including Avatar.
Here are the top recipients of Mnuchin’s contributions since the 2000 election cycle:
|
Trump Victory (Joint fundraising committee associated with Donald Trump) |
$425,000 |
|
Team Ryan (Joint fundraising committee associated with Paul Ryan) |
$25,000 |
|
Romney Victory Inc (Joint fundraising committee associated with Mitt Romney) |
$22,500 |
|
Wildes for Congress |
$13,400 |
|
Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee |
$10,000 |
Tom Price
Health and Human Services Secretary nominee
Confirmation hearing: Jan. 18 before the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions
Top donors to Price’s most recent campaign in 2016, including corporate PACs and employees of those firms:
|
MiMedx Group |
$16,400 |
|
Peachtree Orthopaedic Clinic |
$13,000 |
|
UBS |
$11,500 |
|
Morgan Stanley |
$11,000 |
|
Aflac |
$11,000 |
|
Jackson Healthcare |
$10,800 |
The majority of Price’s personal political spending has gone to support his own campaigns for Congress. During the 2004 election cycle, he loaned his campaign $499,000, 19.6% of all the contributions his campaign received, which he repaid during the the following cycle. In the 2006 election cycle, Price loaned his campaign $250,000, repaid in 2008.
Price’s personal financial disclosures have recently been under scrutiny. The filings show that last March he purchased stock in Zimmer Biomet, a leading manufacturer of implants for knee and hip replacements. Shortly afterwards, he introduced the HIP Act, which would have benefitted Zimmet financially by suspending changes to the Medicare payment system for joint replacements. Price’s bill did not pass. He also bought stock in the biotech firm Innate Immunotherapeutics in August, reportedly after learning of the company from Rep. Chris Collins. Price’s latest comprehensive personal financial disclosure, covering 2015, is available here.
Rep. Mick Mulvaney (R-South Carolina)
Office of Management and Budget director nominee
Confirmation hearing: Jan. 24 before the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs
Mulvaney is a founding member of the House Freedom Caucus, which include some of the most conservative members of Congress.
Top donors to Mulvaney’s most recent campaign in 2016, including corporate PACs and employees of those firms:
|
Element Electronics |
$16,200 |
|
Delta Air Lines |
$10,200 |
|
American Bankers Association |
$10,000 |
|
American Institute of Certified Public Accountants |
$10,000 |
|
Duke Energy |
$10,000 |
|
Ernst & Young |
$10,000 |
|
Financial Service Centers of America (FiSCA) |
$10,000 |
|
Investment Company Institute |
$10,000 |
|
Koch Industries |
$10,000 |
|
Majority Committee PAC (MCPAC) (Leadership PAC for Kevin McCarthy) |
$10,000 |
|
National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors |
$10,000 |
|
National Automobile Dealers Association |
$10,000 |
Linda McMahon
Administrator of the Small Business Administration nominee
Confirmation hearing: Jan. 24 before the Senate Committee on Small Business & Entrepreneurship
McMahon, the former CEO of World Wrestling Entertainment, ran for Senate in 2010 and 2012. She lost both bids. She contributed nearly $100 million total to her two campaigns, in direct contributions and loans.
Here are the top recipients of Linda McMahon’s contributions since the 2014 election cycle, excluding her own campaigns:
|
Rebuilding America Now (Super PAC) |
$6,000,000 |
|
Ending Spending Action Fund (Super PAC) |
$2,150,000 |
|
Future45 (Super PAC) |
$1,200,000 |
|
American Crossroads (Super PAC) |
$800,000 |
|
Congressional Leadership Fund (Super PAC) |
$625,000 |
|
America Leads (Super PAC) |
$550,000 |
|
Senate Leadership Fund (Super PAC) |
$500,000 |
In addition, McMahon contributed $152,700 to Donald Trump’s joint fundraising committee, Trump Victory, during 2016.
Andrew Puzder
Labor Secretary nominee
Confirmation hearing: Feb. 2 before the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions
Puzder is the CEO of CKE Restaurants, the parent company of the Carl’s Jr and Hardees fast-food chains.
CKE Restaurants has reported spending $40,000 to lobby the federal government in 2016. Since 2008, the company has spent $940,000.
Here are the top recipients of Andrew Puzder’s contributions since the 1996 election cycle:
|
Republican National Committee |
$324,000 |
|
Restore Our Future (Super PAC) |
$120,000 |
|
Trump Victory (Joint fundraising committee associated with Donald Trump) |
$75,000 |
|
National Republican Senatorial Committee |
$48,300 |
|
McCain Victory California (Joint fundraising committee associated with John McCain) |
$43,100 |
