New memo accuses GOP Senate hopefuls of self-enrichment

A new memo from End Citizens United flags ethics concerns about five Republicans competing in marquee Senate races.

Since 2015, End Citizens United has worked to eliminate dark money in U.S. politics by calling out corruption and elevating candidates who support commonsense campaign finance reforms. 

The memo alleges that Alaska Sen. Dan Sullivan, Maine Sen. Susan Collins, former Michigan Rep. Mike Rogers, former New Hampshire Sen. John Sununu, and North Carolina Republican Michael Whatley have all engaged in patterns of double-dealing and self-enrichment.

End Citizens United President Tiffany Muller says these Republicans “have spent their political careers leveraging their influence, cashing in on their connections, and abusing the public trust for personal gain instead of fighting for their constituents.”

The memo details, for example, how Sullivan has repeatedly voted to advance the interests of RPM International, a chemical manufacturing company run by his brother and in which he holds up to a $5 million stake. This includes blocking an amendment that would have allowed the EPA to crack down on cancer-causing pollutants and substances.

The memo also lays out Sullivan’s side hustle as a stock trader. He has made up to $2 million worth of trades while in office and has an estimated net worth of $8.29 million.

Collins is also a prolific stock trader, the memo says. Last year, she dodged questions from a reporter about her husband owning shares of Boeing, RTX Corporation (formerly Raytheon), and other companies regulated by Congress.

Collins claimed to have no knowledge of her husband’s financial dealings despite reporting them in her own personal financial disclosures. Both Collins and Sullivan opposed a bipartisan effort to ban stock trading by members of Congress and their spouses.

Rogers, meanwhile, left Congress a decade ago, reportedly to pursue money-making ventures. According to the memo, he leveraged his national security expertise into lucrative consulting gigs with multinational corporations, including a cell phone company that helped Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro spy on civilians.

Rogers is now running for Michigan’s open U.S. Senate seat with the backing of President Donald Trump.

Sununu, another Trump-backed candidate, followed a similar trajectory. After leaving the Senate in 2009, he went to work for a lobbying firm whose clients included Pfizer, Gilead, Merck, Bayer, and Johnson & Johnson. He is now trying to return to the Senate on a platform of lowering health care costs.

Whatley also had an extensive lobbying career. He spent more than a decade advancing the interests of oil and natural gas companies. His current oil and gas investments are worth up to $1.39 million and have grown substantially as a result of the war in Iran.

“Voters expect elected officials to fight for hardworking families, not to cozy up to special interests and then walk through the revolving door to cash in,” Muller said. “We’re committed to holding these Revolving Door Republicans accountable for putting themselves and their donors ahead of the people they’re supposed to serve.”

End Citizens United has endorsed the likely Democratic candidates in these races: former Rep. Mary Peltola in Alaska, oysterman Graham Platner in Maine, Rep. Chris Papas in New Hampshire, and former Gov. Roy Cooper in North Carolina.

Michigan’s Democratic Senate candidate will be chosen in an Aug. 4 primary.