"Trusted Trump, Now Facing Funding Cut"… Following Disney and Google, MS Also "Halts Political Donations"

[Image source=AP Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Choi Eun-young] Microsoft (MS) has decided to stop supporting lawmakers who opposed the certification of the Electoral College vote results for U.S. President Joe Biden last year. Following Disney and Google, MS's decision is expected to make it difficult for Republican lawmakers who supported former President Donald Trump's claims of election fraud to raise corporate political funds.

On the 5th, foreign media including CNBC reported that MS's political action committee (MSPAC) announced it will no longer donate to federal lawmakers who voted against the certification of the presidential Electoral College vote results during future election campaigns.

Additionally, MS plans to introduce new activities to support political efforts and rename its political action committee to "Microsoft Voluntary Corporate Shareholder PAC" (MSVPAC).

Previously, MS had been collecting employee donations and contributing to state and federal government office candidates since 1988, two years after its initial public offering (IPO).

However, when former President Donald Trump claimed election fraud and some Republican lawmakers supported these claims, some employees launched petitions and opposition campaigns to stop donations to those lawmakers. MS reportedly held meetings to listen to these opinions before making this decision.

Meanwhile, as a result of MS's decision, Republican lawmakers who opposed the certification of President Joe Biden's Electoral College vote results are once again facing challenges in raising political funds from corporations.

On the 5th of last month (local time), supporters of President Donald Trump held a protest against certification in front of the Supreme Court in Washington, DC. [Image source=Yonhap News]

Earlier, on the 12th of last month (local time), Walmart declared it would stop political donations to lawmakers who opposed the certification of the presidential Electoral College vote results. At that time, Walmart stated, "Our political committee has decided to indefinitely suspend political donations to lawmakers who voted against certifying Joe Biden as president," adding, "The Capitol Hill riot in Washington D.C. last week was also a factor in this decision."

On the same day, Disney also issued a statement saying, "The chaos at the Capitol was a direct attack on the peaceful transfer of power," and "In light of these events, we have decided not to provide political support this year to lawmakers who voted to reject the certification of the Electoral College vote."

Prior to these companies, JP Morgan Chase, Google, and General Motors (GM) announced they would stop donations to lawmakers from both parties, and Marriott International also ceased donations to Republican lawmakers.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.