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The stories that matter on money and politics in the race for the White House
Ken Griffin has again become a top donor to the Republican effort to control the US Congress after giving $10mn to one of the party’s crucial fundraising groups in the second quarter of the year, according to sources familiar with the matter.
The donation by the billionaire founder of hedge fund Citadel to the Congressional Leadership Fund came on top of $5mn given earlier in the current election cycle, and $10mn donated to the Senate Leadership Fund, bringing the total he has given to the two super Pacs since January 2023 to $25mn.
“I have long been dedicated to supporting problem-solving candidates who drive real results for the country. CLF has done a tremendous job in recruiting qualified individuals to serve our nation,” Griffin said on Monday.
The billionaire has been increasing the amount he has given to the organisation over past election cycles, donating $1mn to CLF in 2015-16, $4.5mn in 2017-18, $10mn in 2019-20, and $27mn in 2021-22.
But it remains unclear whether Griffin will donate to Trump. In 2022, he called on the former president to step aside for Ron DeSantis. A year later, as DeSantis floundered, he gave $5mn to boost Nikki Haley’s campaign.
Griffin’s donations to the CLF are earmarked for the super Pac’s “next generation” fund, which is dedicated to “emerging leaders” of the Republican party, including vulnerable first-term House members such as Juan Ciscomani, Lori Chavez-DeRemer and John James.
“For cycles now, Ken Griffin has taken a long view on his political giving,” CLF president Dan Conston told the Financial Times. “These are deliberate investments to elevate the kind of solutions-oriented candidates that exemplify the best of what America can be.”
The SLF declined to comment.
Griffin has given roughly $60mn to federal GOP candidates in the first three months of the year, including $10mn each to super Pacs for former Maryland governor Larry Hogan and former Bridgewater chief David McCormick, Senate candidates in Maryland and Pennsylvania, respectively.
In recent months Griffin has said his financial support for Trump would be contingent upon his vice-presidential pick. On Monday, Trump announced on Monday that Ohio senator JD Vance would be his running mate.
Griffin met the former president at the Trump National Golf Club in Sterling, Virginia, two weeks ago, according to a person familiar with the meeting, which was first reported by Bloomberg.
Additional reporting by Sam Learner
This story has been amended to clarify the timing of Griffin’s donations