Three major drug makers each donated tens of thousands of dollars last year to Republican members of Congress who voted against certifying President Biden’s election, despite pledges to withhold or pause such contributions, a new analysis found.
During the second half of 2021, Eli Lilly (LLY), Pfizer (PFE), and Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) gave $32,500, $49,500, and $22,500, respectively, to members of the so-called “Sedition Caucus,” after claiming they would suspend contributions to members of Congress who voted against certifying the election, according to Accountable.US, a government watchdog that analyzed political contributions.
Separately, Merck (MRK) donated $56,000 to several caucus members, even after Ken Frazier, the chief executive officer at the time, subsequently led efforts to oppose restrictive state voting laws in the wake of the resurrection. He argued that it was “a mistake for corporations to take democracy for granted,” but unlike the other drug makers, Merck never publicly pledged to halt such political donations.
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