Media: In The News

American Greatness: Chamber Of Commerce’s Congressional Influence Declining Over Big Tech

May 10, 2022

American Greatness

After over 100 years, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce is beginning to see its influence in Congress wane after the group came out in support of Big Tech, leading to many Republicans criticizing the Chamber and its lobbying efforts.

As the New York Post reports, the 110-year-old Chamber of Commerce – once one of the most powerful and influential organizations in the country, particularly on the Republican side – has begun accepting heavy donations from Big Tech platforms, including Facebook, Google, and Amazon. In return, the Chamber has been lobbying against antitrust reform that would threaten the monopoly power that such companies hold over various corners of the Internet.

Over half a dozen staffers, aides, and others involved in the Congressional Republican Party told the Post, anonymously, about the group’s declining influence on Capitol Hill.

“I don’t think the Chamber has much, if any, juice with Republicans now at all,” said one House GOP aide.

“The Chamber of Commerce takes a lot of money from Big Tech and so they diligently do their bidding,” said Mike Davis, a former aide for Senator Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa). “Today’s conservatives understand that corporate power is oftentimes even more oppressive than government power.”

Although the Chamber has historically been staffed with Republicans, many with former ties to Congress, and has lobbied in support of fiscal conservatism and less government regulation in the past, the group’s application of the same “hands-off” standard to Big Tech has alienated many Republicans, both in Congress and in the popular base.

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Read the full article HERE.