Private equity billionaire Stephen Schwarzman’s firm “funneled massive amounts of campaign cash” to Republicans in support of 2017 tax bill

 

This week, private equity billionaire-backed 1820 PAC launched nearly $400,000 in new ads propping up Senator Collins. 1820 PAC is primarily funded by Donald Trump ally and billionaire Stephen Schwarzman. Schwarzman is the CEO of a private equity firm that stood to gain billions from the 2017 GOP tax giveaway and is now the top contributor to Collins’ campaign.

 

Schwarzman and his Wall Street allies lobbied hard for the GOP tax bill and dramatically boosted their campaign contributions to key Republicans during the debate over the legislation. Schwarzman and his wife even held a $100,000 per person fundraiser attended by Trump on the day the Senate passed the tax giveaway.

 

It’s clear that Wall Street and corporate interests are all-in to support Senator Collins after her vote to give them billions in the GOP tax law. Unfortunately for Mainers, that same tax bill stuck them with four-figure health care premium increases, sparked a lawsuit that could end coverage protections for the nearly 600,000 people in this state with a pre-existing condition, and is adding nearly $2 trillion to the national debt — threatening Social Security and Medicare.

 

This isn’t the first time that Schwarzman has jumped in to try to rescue Senator Collins from her plummeting favorability numbers. Earlier this year, 1820 PAC launched ads in support of Collins that drew an FEC complaint for being comprised almost entirely of footage provided by the Collins campaign.

 

“All of the Super PAC money in the world can’t change the fact that Senator Collins voted for a tax law that put the interests of corporate billionaires ahead of hardworking Mainers,” said Maine Democratic Party Executive Director Lisa Roberts. “Trump’s billionaire allies aren’t interested in the future of our state, they just want a reliable vote in Washington for their corporate special interest agenda and they know that Senator Collins is their best bet.”

 

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