Corporate America is hedging its bets seven months before the midterms, quietly hiring Democratic lobbyists and bracing for the investigative onslaught that would follow a Democratic takeover of Congress, with Mar-a-Lago donors, ballroom contributors and Trump dealmakers all expected to be in the crosshairs, Politico reported Thursday.
The scramble reflects a growing belief that Democrats will flip at least one chamber in November, bringing with them subpoena power and motivation to expose what companies were promised in exchange for their cozy relationships with the President Donald Trump's White House.
"I think the trifecta of ‘we need to go to the White House, we need to go to Mar-a-Lago, we need to write a check for the ballroom’ is going to look a lot different," said Doug Holtz-Eakin of the American Action Forum.
Capitol Hill staffers have already been "sending warnings downtown," one Democratic lobbyist told Politico, that, unlike the Trump administration, corporations won't be able to simply ignore Democratic subpoenas. "So they’re going to have to answer for, what was promised when you gave money to the ballroom?"
Companies singled out for likely scrutiny include those that donated to Trump's ballroom project and Freedom 250 initiative, drugmakers who cut deals on most favored nation pricing, and firms that benefited from Pentagon contracts tied to Trump allies. Cryptocurrency pardons, including that of Binance founder Changpeng Zhao, are also expected to face investigation.
Palantir, which provides data analytics to ICE, has already retained Democratic lobbyists to get ahead of the scrutiny.
"Democrats are going to see what’s behind the curtain very quickly,” one lobbyist warned. “It’s a short window, things will change. … Being this cozy puts a bullseye on your back very quickly.”
