Conventional wisdom holds that Republicans are more business-friendly than Democrats, but that general accepted belief may no longer be the case. The business lobby once was considered a “reliable Republican ally,” but the tide began to turn around the time of the 2020 election, Bloomberg reports.
“The ensuing drama will unfold over the next two years in the US House, where the incoming GOP majority plans to pressure companies on immigration, equality and climate-change stances that are now being assailed by key Republicans as ‘woke capitalism,’” the media outlet reported Sunday.
Speaker of the House hopeful Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) has been an outspoken critic of the US Chamber of Commerce, which backed some Democratic candidates in 2020. Axios reported that McCarthy is calling for a change in leadership at the organization, encouraging the board to oust President and CEO Suzanne Clark.
“We serve our members, not a political party,” Mark Ordan, chairman of the board of directors at the chamber, told Axios. “It is for that reason that our governing body, the executive committee of the board of directors, is unequivocally enthusiastic about Suzanne’s performance and the importance of her ongoing tenure as CEO of the US Chamber. She has our complete support.”
Another factor in the growing discord between conservatives and corporations is a new breed of Republicans that is more focused on opposing environmental, social and governance investing policies than on accomplishing items on businesses’ to-do lists, according to Bloomberg.
An issue, one person told the media outlet, is “the incoming freshman class has deep-rooted opinions and little experience with trade policy, the debt limit or the policies surrounding ESG.”
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