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] |
MAGA Inc. or "Make America Great Again Inc." (founded September 23, 2022) is an American Super PAC that supports former US president Donald Trump. [3] [4] 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.
History
2022
A 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] But it is 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]
In 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
In 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] 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
On May 31, 2024, Timothy Mellon, a billionaire banking heir, gave $50 million to the PAC. [36]
See also
References
- ^ 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.
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] |
MAGA Inc. or "Make America Great Again Inc." (founded September 23, 2022) is an American Super PAC that supports former US president Donald Trump. [3] [4] 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.
History
2022
A 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] But it is 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]
In 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
In 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] 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
On May 31, 2024, Timothy Mellon, a billionaire banking heir, gave $50 million to the PAC. [36]
See also
References
- ^ 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.