Toyota has announced that it will stop donating to U.S. members of Congress who voted against certifying the results of the 2020 presidential elections, in which Joe Biden won, in January.
In late June, a watchdog group dubbed Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington revealed that Toyota’s political action committee had donated $55,000 to 37 members of Congress who peddled a host of conspiracy theories after the 2020 elections.
In a statement, the Japanese automaker has confirmed that after “actively listening to our stakeholders” it will stop contributing to Congress members who contested the certification of the results in certain states.
Read More: Toyota Remains Top Donor To Congress Members Who Voted Against Certifying 2020 Elections
This decision comes just a week after a Toyota spokesperson told Axios that it was not “appropriate to judge members of Congress solely based on their votes on the electoral certification.”
“In 2021, the vast majority of the contributions went to Democrats and Republicans who supported the certification of the 2020 election,” added Toyota in its recent statement. “We understand that the PAC decision to support select Members of Congress who contested the results troubled some stakeholders.”
The analysis from Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington revealed that Toyota’s donations to members of Congress that opposed the election certification were the most of any donor and exceeded historically Republican donors such as Koch Industries and Walmart.
In January, research from Auto News revealed that Toyota’s political action committee made more than $1 million in donations during the 2019-20 electric cycle and that they were closely split with 49 per cent going to Republicans and 51 per cent to Democrats.
