Republicans are facing a grown backlash for supporting President Donald Trump’s crusade to overturn his election loss, and they may lose financial support from the country’s U.S. top CEOs over plans to challenge the Electoral College results in Congress, CNBC reported Wednesday.
Yale School of Management’s Jeffrey Sonnenfeld told the business channel that he surveyed 33 chief executives during a virtual conference on Tuesday and 100 percent of respondents answered “yes” when asked if CEOs should warn lobbyists privately that their firms will no longer support those who will challenge the election results.
Participants in the survey were leaders in finance, manufacturing, and the pharmaceutical industry but were anonymous, Sonnenfeld said. He also said that the leaders want to spread the message that “it’s time to move on and respect the Constitution.”
“The GOP acting this way, these GOP members, are certainly not the voice of American business large or small, so they’re talking about cutting off support,” Sonnenfeld said.
Americans for Prosperity, a conservative advocacy group backed by billionaire mega-donor Charles Koch, said on Tuesday it supports the certification of Biden’s win.
Other pro-business organizations like the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the Business Roundtable and the National Association of Manufacturers have pushed back on lawmakers’ plan to object to the election results.
President-elect Joe Biden won the Electoral College vote, beating Trump 306-232 after registering wins in key battleground states like Arizona, Georgia, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and Michigan.
But Trump has yet to concede loss and has claimed without evidence that the contest was tainted by widespread voter fraud. Federal election officials have stated that there is no evidence of widespread voter fraud.
Thirteen Republican senators have vowed to object to the election results when Congress convenes Wednesday to count the votes of the Electoral College. The long-shot effort to object to the results would require majorities in both chambers.
