Kathleen Matthews received a lot of political heat for her personal donation of $2,600. But yesterday the Washington Post highlighted that she oversaw the donation of over $700,000 to Republican candidates in her role as overseeing Marriott International’s PAC:
At Marriott Matthews oversaw the company’s political action committee, which contributed more than $1.4 million to candidates between 2008 and 2014, including nearly $700,000 to Republicans, according to data compiled by the Center for Responsive Politics.
Matthews tried unconvincingly to distance herself from the many donations to Republicans:
Matthews said in an interview last week that Marriott employees were free to designate which party they wanted to receive their money. She also said decisions about specific contributions were made by lobbyists who reported to her.
As the lobbyists reported to Matthews, she retained responsibility for the donation decisions. Her explanation makes it look like she is attempting to push off that responsibility on to her subordinates.
So who received the donations from Marriott? Based on information from the Center for Responsive Politics, here are the highlights:
2014 Cycle Total to Republicans: $148,500
Total to House Republicans: $92,000
- John Boehner: $5,000
- Eric Cantor: $5,000
- Renee Ellmers: $2,500
- Andy Harris: $1,000
- Kevin McCarthy: $7,500
- Paul Ryan: $5,000
Total to Senate Republicans: $56,500
- Roy Blunt: $7,500
- Joni Ernst: $1,000
- Mitch McConnell: $7,500
- Marco Rubio: $2,500
2012 Cycle Total to Republicans: $160,400
Total to House Republicans: $83,900
- John Boehner: $5,000
- Eric Cantor; $5,000
- Darrell Issa: $1,000
- Kevin McCarthy: $2,500
- Paul Ryan: $2,500
Total to Senate Republicans: $76,500
- Scott Brown: $5,000
- Mitch McConnell: $2,500
2010 Cycle Total to Republicans: $152,700
Total to House Republicans: $56,200
- John Boehner: $5,000
- Eric Cantor; $4,500
- Darrell Issa: $1,000
- Kevin McCarthy: $2,000
- Paul Ryan: $2,500
Total to Senate Republicans: $96,500
- Roy Blunt: $10,000
- Scott Brown: $5,000
- Carly Fiorina: $5,000
- John McCain: $2,500
- Marco Rubio: $5,000
- Pat Toomey: $7,500
2008 Cycle Total to Republicans: $220,300
Total to House Republicans: $144,800
- Roy Blunt: $6,500
- John Boehner: $5,000
- Eric Cantor; $5,000
- Paul Ryan: $1,000
Total to Senate Republicans: $75,500
- Mitch McConnell: $7,000