U.S. Chamber of Commerce Signals Interest In Democratic Party

The U.S. Chamber is testing its ability to uncouple from the Republican Party and gain influence among Democrats. They have strong potential to weaken the pro-labor values and pro-climate solutions traditionally upheld by Democrats.

By Hannah Leland, December 8, 2020

Joe Cunningham, a democrats recently endorsed by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce

The historically pro-business, pro-GOP US Chamber of Commerce backed 23 freshman House Democrats in the 2020 elections. As the Chamber typically only supports GOP candidates, this spurred backlash from GOP candidates. It also heightened rumors of the lobbying group’s bipartisanship.

That special buzzword “bipartisan” is sprinkled throughout the Chamber website alongside hopeful sentiments like "the U.S. Chamber is very well positioned to break through the gridlock and work with whomever occupies the White House and a divided Congress.” The US Chamber, parading itself as a great unifier, a bridge between parties, claims lawmakers should “put aside their differences” in the interest of “American lives and communities.” Meanwhile, nearly every other word, action, and dollar coming out of the Chamber has been in the interest of big business and to the detriment of climate solutions. 

Tom Donahue, CEO of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce on CNBC

However, these donations are dwarfed, in magnitude and political weight, by the Chamber’s spending on the Senate. The Chamber directly contributed $168,000 to GOP Senatorial candidates and nothing to Democrats. What’s more, the Chamber spent huge sums on TV-ads in five of the country’s closest Senate races. It worked: five of six GOP senatorial candidates endorsed by the Chamber won their tight races.  

The Democrats’ failure to take decisive control of the Senate dramatically reduced the chance of adequate climate action by the Federal government. While this failure cannot be definitively and categorically tied to the Chamber’s endorsements, it’s fair to say the Chamber’s extensive contributions tipped the scale in a divided Senate. 

The Chamber’s House Democrat endorsements aren’t meaningless -- some of these candidates’ politics are more in line with rational, science-based climate policy. We hope to see much more of this in the near future. Nevertheless, by intervening in the Senate, the Chamber has acted decisively against climate policy. Further, a Democratic White House, Democratic House, and Republican Senate is actually the optimal setup for the pro-corporate agenda. And none of these actions have been accompanied by a notable internal shift in the Chamber’s climate policy.

The urgency of the climate crisis demands we raise the standard for progressive policy, and fast. The Chamber’s mixed endorsements this election season simply allow the Chamber to maintain lines of communication with both parties as it furthers its own agenda. The standard for progressive policy has in fact been disastrously lowered; the word “bipartisan” meaninglessly filling the mouths of lobbyists as they funnel endless dollars into disastrous climate-obstructing policy.