JPMorgan freezes donations to GOP-ers who contested election

JPMorgan Chase & Co will resume making political donations to U.S. lawmakers but will not give to Republican members of Congress who voted to overturn President Joe Biden's election victory, according to an internal memo on Friday seen by Reuters.

Lisa Bernhard produced this report.

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Morgan, which had halted political donations following the January 6th siege on the U.S. Capitol, will resume its contributions, with one major exception: It will continue to freeze donations to Republican members of Congress who voted to overturn President Joe Biden’s election victory.

That’s according to an internal memo on Friday seen by Reuters.

The pause will last through the 2021-2022 election cycle, which includes November's midterm elections.

The bank – the largest lender in the U.S. – will then review whether to resume contributions to those lawmakers on an individual basis.

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Morgan – led by longtime CEO Jamie Dimon - had donated through its Political Action Committee to what it described as a “handful” of the 147 GOP lawmakers who then went on to vote to overturn the presidential election result.

Since the initial corporate backlash over the Capitol siege – which prompted many companies, including fellow bank Morgan Stanley, to pause political donations - corporations have been grappling with how to resume PAC spending.

JPMorgan's PAC gave nearly $1 million to federal candidates and committees backing them during the 2019-2020 election cycle, according to the Center for Responsive Politics, with nearly 60% of direct donations going to Republicans.

Commercial banks overall have ramped up political spending in recent years, dishing out $14.6 million to federal candidates in the 2020 cycle, the second highest amount since 1990.