MAGA Inc.

Last updated
MAGA Inc.
Make America Great Again Inc.
FormationSeptember 23, 2022;2 years ago (2022-09-23)
Typeindependent expenditure-only political committee (Super PAC)
Registration no.C00825851 [1]
Location
Executive director
 Taylor Budowich
Affiliations Save America [2]

MAGA Inc., also called Make America Great Again Inc. is an American Super PAC that supports Donald Trump. [3] [4] It was founded on September 23, 2022. As a Super PAC, it can raise unlimited money for campaigns and spend it freely to support Trump, but it is barred from coordinating directly with presidential campaigns.

Contents

History

Founding

A Statement of Organization was filed with the Federal Election Commission on September 23, 2022, for Make America Great Again Inc. as an independent expenditure-only political committee (Super PAC) that is supporting former US president Donald Trump, and is located in Alexandria, Virginia. [5] [6]

Distinct from Trump's existing Save America leadership PAC, which had served as his chief fundraising vehicle, as a Super PAC it can raise unlimited money for campaigns and spend it freely to support him. [7] [8] However, super PACs are barred from coordinating directly with campaigns. [7] [8]

Taylor Budowich, a 26-year-old former aide of Trump, was named the group's executive director. [9] [7] [10] In June 2023, Budowich testified before a federal grand jury in Miami as part of special counsel Jack Smith’s investigation into Trump's handling of classified documents. [11]

Maga Inc. pollster Tony Fabrizio Tony Fabrizio by Gage Skidmore.jpg
Maga Inc. pollster Tony Fabrizio

Other staff of the Super PAC are former Trump campaign aide Steven Cheung (communications director; who worked on Trump's 2016 and 2020 campaigns, is a former White House assistant communications director, and a former Ultimate Fighting Championship communications executive), longtime Trump pollster Tony Fabrizio (running polling operations); veteran GOP operative Chris LaCivita (chief strategist; former Swift Vets lead operator); and Sergio Gor (former campaign adviser and the publisher of Trump's post-presidential book A Journey Together, as a senior adviser). [12] [13] [14] [15] [16] [17] [18] Karoline Leavitt, who ran for New Hampshire's 1st District l in the 2022 United States House of Representatives elections in New Hampshire, is the spokeswoman for MAGA Inc. [19] Alex Pfeiffer, a former producer for Fox News’ Tucker Carlson, will also join the operation. [15]

Fundraising in 2022

In October 2022, Save America transferred $20 million to MAGA Inc. [20] In November 2022, the campaign finance watchdog Campaign Legal Center (CLC) filed a complaint with the Federal Election Commission (FEC), alleging that the transfer was inappropriate inasmuch as Trump was already a presidential candidate when he made the transfer. [21] [22] In May 2023, NRDC Action Fund affiliated Super-PAC, NRDC Action Votes, joined CLC in a supplemental complaint alleging that former Trump and Save America violated the Federal Election Campaign Act (FECA), specifically, the provisions that prohibit federal election candidates from utilizing “soft money", which refers to money that is not adherent to contribution limits, source prohibitions, or reporting requirements for election candidates. [23]

Also that month, businessman Timothy Mellon contributed $1.5 million to MAGA Inc. [24] Businessman Andrew Beal donated $500,000 to the Super PAC. [25]

Trump's Save America PAC transferred $60 million to MAGA Inc in 2022. [3] [26] MAGA Inc. reported $54 million in cash on hand at the end of 2022. [27] [28] MAGA Inc. spent money opposing some political candidates in 2022 (most notably $3.4 million opposing Raphael Warnock who won, 3.4 million opposing John Fetterman who won, and $3.0 million opposing Mark Kelly who won), and supporting some other political candidates (most notably $0.7 million supporting Blake Masters who lost, $0.09 million supporting Adam Laxalt who lost, and $0.08 supporting Mehmet Oz who lost). [1] [29]

2023

In June 2023, MAGA Inc filed a 15-page complaint with the Florida Commission on Ethics accusing Florida governor Ron DeSantis of violating federal and state campaign finance and ethics rules by running a shadow campaign for president. [30] [31]

By June 30, 2023, MAGA Inc had spent more than $23 million in 2023, almost entirely on ads attacking Ron DeSantis. [32]

In July 2023, Alina Habba joined the PAC as legal spokesperson and general counsel. [33]

MAGA Inc. gave back more than $12 million to Trump's Save America PAC in the first half of 2023, after Save America requested a refund; that accounted for one-third of MAGA Inc.’s spending over that time period. [34] It spent $22 million on buying TV ads in support of Trump. MAGA Inc. spent more than it raised in the first six months of the year, raising $14.6 million. [34] It reported $30.8 million in its account as of June 30; at the same time, the PAC of Ron DeSantis had $96.8 million in cash on hand, and the PAC of Nikki Haley had $17.1 million in cash on hand. [34] [35]

Its top donors over the first six months of 2023 were Scientologist Patricia Duggan ($5 million) and casino owner Phil Ruffin ($2 million). [34] New York Jets owner Woody Johnson (U.S. ambassador to the United Kingdom under Trump) and Charles Kushner (Trump's son-in-law's father, whom Trump pardoned) both gave $1 million. [34]

2024

On May 31, 2024, Timothy Mellon, a billionaire banking heir, gave $50 million to the PAC. [36] Mellon also contributed $50 million in July 2024, which was over 90% of the money raised for MAGA Inc. in July. [37] Diane Hendricks gave $10 million, while the CEO of Cantor Fitzgerald, Howard Lutnick, and Paul Singer of Elliott Management, both contributed $5 million each to MAGA Inc. [38]

See also

Related Research Articles

In the United States, a political action committee (PAC) is a tax-exempt 527 organization that pools campaign contributions from members and donates those funds to campaigns for or against candidates, ballot initiatives, or legislation. The legal term PAC was created in pursuit of campaign finance reform in the United States. Democracies of other countries use different terms for the units of campaign spending or spending on political competition. At the U.S. federal level, an organization becomes a PAC when it receives or spends more than $1,000 for the purpose of influencing a federal election, and registers with the Federal Election Commission (FEC), according to the Federal Election Campaign Act as amended by the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002. At the state level, an organization becomes a PAC according to the state's election laws.

A 527 organization or 527 group is a type of U.S. tax-exempt organization organized under Section 527 of the U.S. Internal Revenue Code. A 527 group is created primarily to influence the selection, nomination, election, appointment or defeat of candidates to federal, state or local public office.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Campaign finance in the United States</span> Contributions to American election campaign funds

The financing of electoral campaigns in the United States happens at the federal, state, and local levels by contributions from individuals, corporations, political action committees, and sometimes the government. Campaign spending has risen steadily at least since 1990. For example, a candidate who won an election to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1990 spent on average $407,600, while the winner in 2022 spent on average $2.79 million; in the Senate, average spending for winning candidates went from $3.87 million to $26.53 million.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Timothy Mellon</span> American businessman (born 1942)

Timothy Mellon is an American businessman, the grandson of Andrew Mellon, and an heir to the Mellon banking fortune. As of June 2024, Forbes estimated the Mellon family's net worth at $14.1 billion.

Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, 558 U.S. 310 (2010), is a landmark decision of the Supreme Court of the United States regarding campaign finance laws and free speech under the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. The court held 5–4 that the freedom of speech clause of the First Amendment prohibits the government from restricting independent expenditures for political campaigns by corporations, nonprofit organizations, labor unions, and other associations.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">American Crossroads</span> Republican political organization in the US

American Crossroads is a US Super PAC that raises funds from donors to advocate for certain candidates of the Republican Party. It has pioneered many of the new methods of fundraising opened up by the Supreme Court's ruling in Citizens United v. FEC. Its president is Steven J. Law, a former United States Deputy Secretary of Labor for President George W. Bush and the Chairman of the Board of Directors is former Republican National Committee chairman Mike Duncan. Advisers to the group include Senior Advisor and former White House Deputy Chief of Staff Karl Rove and former Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour.

Super PACs, officially known as "independent expenditure-only political action committees," are unlike traditional political action committees in that they may raise unlimited amounts from individuals, corporations, unions, and other groups to spend on, for example, ads overtly advocating for or against political candidates. However, they are not allowed to either coordinate with or contribute directly to candidate campaigns or political parties. Super PACs are subject to the same organizational, reporting, and public disclosure requirements of traditional PACs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Campaign Legal Center</span> American nonprofit organization

Campaign Legal Center (CLC) is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) government watchdog group in the United States. CLC supports strong enforcement of United States campaign finance laws. Trevor Potter, former Republican chairman of the Federal Election Commission, is CLC's founding president.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dark money</span> Undisclosed American political contributions

In politics, particularly the politics of the United States, dark money refers to spending to influence elections, public policy, and political discourse, where the source of the money is not disclosed to the public.

Richard Ellis Uihlein and Elizabeth Uihlein are American billionaire businesspeople, founders of Uline and right-wing donors. Richard Uihlein is also an heir to the Schlitz brewing fortune.

Fundraising plays a central role in many presidential campaigns, and is a key factor in determining the viability of candidates. Money raised is applied for the salaries of non-volunteers in the campaign, transportation, campaign materials, media advertisements and other contingencies. Under United States law, officially declared candidates are required to file campaign finance details with the Federal Elections Commission (FEC) at the end of every calendar month or quarter. Summaries of these reports are made available to the public shortly thereafter, revealing the relative financial situations of all the campaigns.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">American Bridge 21st Century</span> Political action committee

American Bridge 21st Century or AB PAC is a liberal American Super PAC and opposition research group that supports Democratic candidates and opposes Republican candidates. It was founded by David Brock in 2010 and is associated with Media Matters for America.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Great America PAC</span> American conservative political donor organization

Great America PAC is a Super PAC that supported Donald Trump in the 2016 presidential election. It was founded in 2016 by Eric Beach, a political strategist and veteran of presidential campaigns. Beach soon brought on Ed Rollins, a long time Republican campaign consultant and strategist who served as the campaign manager for Ronald Reagan's 1984 presidential campaign.

FEC v. Massachusetts Citizens for Life was a lawsuit filed by the US Federal Election Commission.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Committee to Defeat the President</span>

The Committee to Defeat the President was first established as the hybrid Stop Hillary PAC in 2013. The PAC changed its name to the Committee to Defend the President in 2017. Ted Harvey, a former Colorado state senator, chairs the committee.

A hybrid PAC is a political committee classification in the United States. It is used by the Federal Election Commission to describe a committee with certain spending and contribution limitations.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wealth of Donald Trump</span> 45th U.S. Presidents fortune

The net worth of former United States president Donald Trump is not publicly known. For decades, Forbes has assessed his wealth, currently estimating it at $5.5 billion as of November 2024. Meanwhile, Bloomberg estimates his wealth at $6.68 billion as of the same date, although Trump himself claims a much higher net worth. He received gifts, loans, and inheritance from his father, who was a real-estate developer and businessman. Donald Trump's primary business has been real estate ventures, including hotels, casinos, and golf courses. He also made money from Trump-branded products including neckties, steaks, and urine tests. Money received through political fundraisers is used to pay for guest stays at properties owned by the Trump Organization and to pay his and his allies' lawyers.

The Democratic Coalition, formerly known as the Democratic Coalition Against Trump, is an American Super PAC founded in 2016 by Nathan Lerner, Scott Dworkin, and Jon Cooper for the purpose of opposing Donald Trump, with a fundraising goal of $20 million by Election Day. It was originally known as the Keep America Great PAC.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2024 Republican Party presidential primaries</span>

Presidential primaries and caucuses of the Republican Party took place within all 50 U.S. states, the District of Columbia, and five U.S. territories between January 15, 2024, and June 4, 2024, ahead of the 2024 United States presidential election. These elections selected most of the 2,429 delegates to be sent to the Republican National Convention. Former president Donald Trump was nominated for president of the United States for a third consecutive election cycle.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Save America</span> Political action committee run by Donald Trump

Save America is a leadership political action committee founded and controlled by former US president Donald Trump. It has been Trump's primary fundraising and political spending arm since he left office. The PAC has spent more than $60 million on legal fees for the former president and his allies.

References

  1. 1 2 "MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN INC. - committee overview". FEC.gov. January 2023.
  2. ↑ "Save America – committee overview". Federal Election Commission. January 2023.
  3. 1 2 Goldmacher, Shane; Haberman, Maggie (June 25, 2023). "As Legal Fees Mount, Trump Steers Donations Into PAC That Has Covered Them". The New York Times.
  4. ↑ Bridget Bowman and Ben Kamisar (June 13, 2023). "Eyes on 2024: Trump and allies launch ads to counter indictment". NBC News.
  5. ↑ "Form 1 for MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN INC". FEC.
  6. ↑ "24/48 Hour Report of Independent Expenditures (Schedule E); MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN INC.", FEC, June 16, 2023/
  7. 1 2 3 Jill Colvin (September 23, 2022). "Donald Trump allies create a new super PAC called MAGA Inc". PBS NewsHour.
  8. 1 2 "Trump struggles to fundraise in early weeks of 2024 campaign". CBS58. February 1, 2023.
  9. ↑ Andrew Sheeler (June 7, 2023). "Sacramento Trump operative testifies to Florida grand jury in Mar-a-Lago document probe," The Fresno Bee.
  10. ↑ Luke Barr, Katherine Faulders, and John Santucci (June 7, 2023). "Former Trump aide, MAGA Inc founder Taylor Budowich, goes before grand jury in classified docs probe". ABC News.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  11. ↑ Polantz, Katelyn (June 7, 2023). "Former Trump aide appears before grand jury in classified documents probe". CNN.
  12. ↑ "Trump eyes longtime Virginia operative for senior 2024 campaign role", The Washington Post.
  13. ↑ Dorn, Sara (October 26, 2022). "Trump-Linked Super PAC Spends Millions In These Key Senate Races". Forbes.
  14. ↑ Isenstadt, Alex (September 23, 2022). "Trump to unleash millions in the midterms in possible prelude to 2024". POLITICO.
  15. 1 2 Gabby Orr, Dan Merica, Fredreka Schouten (September 23, 2022). "Trump allies launch new super PAC to bolster GOP candidates in midterms as former President eyes 2024 campaign". CNN.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  16. ↑ "Trump Has a 'Solid' 2024 Team But MAGA Fringe Never Far Away". Time. November 23, 2022.
  17. ↑ Samuels, Brett (September 23, 2022). "Top Trump allies launch super PAC to back endorsed candidates". The Hill.
  18. ↑ Petrizzo, Jake Lahut, Zachary (December 9, 2022). "Did Donald Trump Already Forget He's Running for President?". The Daily Beast.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  19. ↑ "Eyes on 2024: Trump's rivals mostly silent (so far) on indictment". NBC News. August 15, 2023.
  20. ↑ Alex Leary (October 31, 2022). "Trump Transfers $20 Million From Save America PAC to MAGA PAC". The Wall Street Journal.
  21. ↑ Perkins, Tom (January 3, 2023). "Trump seems to have a large war chest–but is he struggling to raise money?". The Guardian.
  22. ↑ ""Supplemental Complaint before the Federal Election Commission"" (PDF).
  23. ↑ Dison, Denis (May 17, 2023). "NRDC Action Votes Joins FEC Complaint Against Former President Trump and his Leadership PAC for Violations of "Soft Money" Ban". NRDC Action Fund.
  24. ↑ Schwartz, Brian (December 11, 2022). "Meet the megadonors backing the Trump super PAC as some top donors opt out of supporting 2024 candidacy". CNBC.
  25. ↑ Mark Niquette, Bill Allison and Gregory Korte (March 30, 2023)·"Trump Super PAC Puts $1.3 Million Into Taking DeSantis Out of 2024 Race", Yahoo.
  26. ↑ "Pro-Trump group sets records in early US super PAC spending," NASDAQ, May 4, 2023.
  27. ↑ "Trump committee burns through cash in early months, new filings show". POLITICO. January 31, 2023.
  28. ↑ Jessica Piper and Meridith McGraw (May 9, 2023). "Trump world to donors: A dollar to DeSantis may as well be a donation to Biden". POLITICO.
  29. ↑ "Pro-Trump ad attacks 'pudding fingers' Ron DeSantis". Yahoo News. April 15, 2023.
  30. ↑ "Pro-Trump super PAC files ethics complaint against potential 2024 opponent Ron DeSantis". CBS News. March 15, 2023.
  31. ↑ "Former President Trump calls out Stitt following presidential endorsement". Fox23. June 12, 2023.
  32. ↑ Lange, Jason; Layne, Nathan (June 30, 2023). "Trump, DeSantis allies drive a 2024 election spending spree". Reuters.
  33. ↑ Dye, Liz (July 10, 2023). "Trump Lawyer Alina Habba Nopes Out To Spend More Time With His PAC Money - Above the Law".
  34. 1 2 3 4 5 Ben Kamisar, Bridget Bowman and Alexandra Marquez (August 1, 2023). "Trump's legal woes are costing his political operation millions of dollars". NBC News.
  35. ↑ Erin Doherty (August 13, 2023). "Trump's legal fights burn through his campaign war chest".
  36. ↑ Visser, Nick (2024-06-21). "Conservative Billionaire Gives $50 Million To Pro-Trump Super PAC". HuffPost. Retrieved 2024-06-21.
  37. ↑ Cook, Maia (2024-08-23). "Billionaire Timothy Mellon has poured $165 million into 2024 elections". OpenSecrets . Retrieved August 26, 2024.
  38. ↑ "Billionaires poured millions of dollars into presidential super PACs in August". NBC News. 2024-09-21. Retrieved 2024-11-08.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.