MAGA Inc., also called Make America Great Again Inc. is an American Super PAC that supports former US president 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.
Make America Great Again Inc. | |
| Formation | September 23, 2022 |
|---|---|
| Type | independent expenditure-only political committee (Super PAC) |
| Registration no. | C00825851[1] |
| Location |
|
Executive director | Taylor Budowich |
| Affiliations | Save America[2] |
History
editFounding
editA 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]
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
editIn 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
editIn 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
editOn 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]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ a b "MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN INC. - committee overview". FEC.gov.
- ^ "Save America – committee overview". Federal Election Commission.
- ^ a b Goldmacher, Shane; Haberman, Maggie (June 25, 2023). "As Legal Fees Mount, Trump Steers Donations Into PAC That Has Covered Them". The New York Times.
- ^ Bridget Bowman and Ben Kamisar (June 13, 2023). "Eyes on 2024: Trump and allies launch ads to counter indictment". NBC News.
- ^ "Form 1 for MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN INC". FEC.
- ^ "24/48 Hour Report of Independent Expenditures (Schedule E); MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN INC.", FEC, June 16, 2023/
- ^ a b c Jill Colvin (September 23, 2022). "Donald Trump allies create a new super PAC called MAGA Inc". PBS NewsHour.
- ^ a b "Trump struggles to fundraise in early weeks of 2024 campaign". CBS58. February 1, 2023.
- ^ Andrew Sheeler (June 7, 2023). "Sacramento Trump operative testifies to Florida grand jury in Mar-a-Lago document probe," The Fresno Bee.
- ^ 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) - ^ Polantz, Katelyn (June 7, 2023). "Former Trump aide appears before grand jury in classified documents probe". CNN.
- ^ "Trump eyes longtime Virginia operative for senior 2024 campaign role", The Washington Post.
- ^ Dorn, Sara (October 26, 2022). "Trump-Linked Super PAC Spends Millions In These Key Senate Races". Forbes.
- ^ Isenstadt, Alex (September 23, 2022). "Trump to unleash millions in the midterms in possible prelude to 2024". POLITICO.
- ^ a b 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) - ^ "Trump Has a 'Solid' 2024 Team But MAGA Fringe Never Far Away". Time. November 23, 2022.
- ^ Samuels, Brett (September 23, 2022). "Top Trump allies launch super PAC to back endorsed candidates". The Hill.
- ^ 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) - ^ "Eyes on 2024: Trump's rivals mostly silent (so far) on indictment". NBC News. August 15, 2023.
- ^ Alex Leary (October 31, 2022). "Trump Transfers $20 Million From Save America PAC to MAGA PAC". The Wall Street Journal.
- ^ Perkins, Tom (January 3, 2023). "Trump seems to have a large war chest–but is he struggling to raise money?". The Guardian.
- ^ ""Supplemental Complaint before the Federal Election Commission"" (PDF).
- ^ 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.
- ^ Schwartz, Brian (December 11, 2022). "Meet the megadonors backing the Trump super PAC as some top donors opt out of supporting 2024 candidacy". CNBC.
- ^ 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.
- ^ "Pro-Trump group sets records in early US super PAC spending," NASDAQ, May 4, 2023.
- ^ "Trump committee burns through cash in early months, new filings show". POLITICO. January 31, 2023.
- ^ 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.
- ^ "Pro-Trump ad attacks 'pudding fingers' Ron DeSantis". Yahoo News. April 15, 2023.
- ^ "Pro-Trump super PAC files ethics complaint against potential 2024 opponent Ron DeSantis". CBS News. March 15, 2023.
- ^ "Former President Trump calls out Stitt following presidential endorsement". Fox23. June 12, 2023.
- ^ Lange, Jason; Layne, Nathan (June 30, 2023). "Trump, DeSantis allies drive a 2024 election spending spree". Reuters.
- ^ Dye, Liz (July 10, 2023). "Trump Lawyer Alina Habba Nopes Out To Spend More Time With His PAC Money - Above the Law".
- ^ a b c d e Ben Kamisar, Bridget Bowman and Alexandra Marquez (August 1, 2023). "Trump's legal woes are costing his political operation millions of dollars". NBC News.
- ^ Erin Doherty (August 13, 2023). "Trump's legal fights burn through his campaign war chest".
- ^ Visser, Nick (2024-06-21). "Conservative Billionaire Gives $50 Million To Pro-Trump Super PAC". HuffPost. Retrieved 2024-06-21.
- ^ Cook, Maia (2024-08-23). "Billionaire Timothy Mellon has poured $165 million into 2024 elections". OpenSecrets. Retrieved August 26, 2024.