Senate

Report: Top GOP donors upset with legislative failures

Camille Fine

Top GOP donors are reportedly angry over the Republican Party’s legislative failures, telling lawmakers their wallets are closed until something passes through the chambers.

Thomas Wachtell, a longtime party donor, confronted Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) about getting a legislative win during a recent dinner at the home of Los Angeles billionaire Robert Day, Politico reported Thursday, while pointing to two dozen attendees who witnessed the testy exchange.

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Wachtell told the news outlet that McConnell reacted defensively, telling him that passing legislation is a longer process than President Trump seems to understand.

“Anybody who was there knew that I was not happy. And I don’t think anybody was happy. How could you be?” Wachtell, a former oil and gas investor, told Politico.

“You’re never going to get a more sympathetic Republican than I am. But I’m sick and tired of nothing happening,” he continued. 

Wachtell, who previously gave $2,000 to the majority leader, has stopped the flow of donations that went to Senate GOP causes, according to the report.

“The GOP leaders should know, no movement on remaining agenda: tax reform, infrastructure, deregulation, etc. means no funding from supporters like me,” one angry donor said to a longtime Republican fundraiser in an email forwarded to Politico. “No meetings, calls, contributions until we see progress.”

The report comes after Republicans have turned their attention to tax reform after repeatedly failing to pass a new health-care bill that repeals or replaces ObamaCare, with the latest Graham-Cassidy measure failing to gain enough support to even get to the Senate floor late last month.

As the GOP agenda stalls, party contributors are slowing down their cash donations until the lawmakers start showing they can get results and keep their key promises to undo Obama-era measures.

With the 2018 midterm elections just around the corner, GOP lawmakers are trying to reassure the donors that they can deliver.

Tags Mitch McConnell

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