Greene threatens GOP “investigations” into companies that cut off Republicans after Jan. 6 riot

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., on Wednesday vowed that the GOP will investigate corporations that stopped donating to Republicans who supported claims of a “stolen” 2020 election if the party wins back the House in November.

Greene, in an appearance on former Trump adviser Steve Bannon’s “War Room” podcast, accused businesses of silencing their employees and partaking in “corporate communism.”

The congresswoman, who voted against certifying President Joe Biden’s victory on January 6, 2021, said she wants to go after corporate donors that cut off contributions to members of Congress who backed widely debunked claims of massive fraud in the last presidential election. 

“You know what they did after January 6, Steve? They stopped donating. All the lobbyists, all the big corporations stopped donating to a whole bunch of my Republican colleagues that they used to donate to,” Greene said. “They said: ‘Oh no, we can’t support you because of the big lie,’ or whatever they want to call it.”

She added that companies should focus on running their businesses and pleasing customers rather than getting involved in politics. 

“There is going to be investigations coming,” Greene said. “And there should be. There definitely should be, because the way corporations have conducted themselves, I’ve always called it corporate communism.”

In the aftermath of the insurrection, nearly 250 corporations pledged to stop donating to members of Congress who voted against certifying the election, but more than two-thirds of these companies abandoned their commitment, according to a report from Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington. 

While Greene didn’t make clear what companies she and her colleagues would go after, she advised businesses to “lawyer up”. She claimed that “half” of the country was “sick and tired” of “woke corporations”. 

Fortune 500 companies are already hiring lawyers in anticipation of a Republican-controlled House that could target companies at odds with conservative positions, according to reporting by Axios.

Right-wing groups have signaled for months that the GOP would expand its targets beyond the Biden administration if it wins back power.

“The days of just focusing on government agency action are over,” Mike Howell, who leads the Heritage Foundation’s Oversight Project, told Axios. “It’s not just the government now where the left is enacting its agenda; it’s in corporate boardrooms, it’s in school boards.”

Republicans are particularly upset with companies focusing on “equity, sustainability and governance reform,” which they view as an “ideological affront,” the outlet reported.

“Republican lobbyists for years delivered win after win after win for corporate America with a Republican Party that wanted to help,” a GOP lobbyist told Axios. “A lot of those members that helped deliver those wins have retired or lost elections, and are being replaced by people that could care less about building a relationship with a Fortune 500 company’s in-house lobbyist.”

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Greene herself currently lacks the power to launch investigations. She was stripped of her committee assignments in early 2021 after promoting conspiracy theories and endorsing political violence, according to Business Insider. The Georgia representative expressed support for assassinating top Democrats on her own Facebook page and frequently posted far-right extremist conspiracy theories. Greene also spread voter fraud conspiracy theories the day after the election and repeatedly defended Trump’s role in inciting the Jan. 6 Capitol riot. 

Her unwavering support of the former president has worked in her favor. Trump has floated the idea of offering Greene a top position in his administration if he returns to the White House, Rolling Stone reported. A source told Rolling stone that the position could be a senior Justice Department role. 

Aware of her influence, Greene has said that House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., should give her more power and leeway if he becomes speaker of the House to keep the Republican base happy.