End Citizens United President Tiffany Muller issued the following statement on the 15th anniversary of the Supreme Court’s Citizens United v FEC decision:
“Fifteen years ago, the Supreme Court handed billionaires and corporate special interests unprecedented power to influence our democracy with its disastrous Citizens United decision. Yesterday, Donald Trump was sworn in, ushering in the wealthiest administration in American history. The timing of these events is the clearest example of how Citizens United has corrupted our government and rigged the system against working families.
“The incoming administration is the embodiment of a pay-to-play system where money buys power. These donors poured over $300 million into Trump’s 2024 campaign, and in return, they’ve secured positions at the highest levels of government. This is corruption on a scale we’ve never seen before, and it goes against the promise of a government by the people and for the people.
“We’re now living under an oligarchy. A small group of elites dominate both the private and public sectors. Their policies will be designed to benefit themselves: tax handouts for the rich paid for by cuts to Social Security and Medicare and price hikes on consumer goods, a rollback of environmental protections, fewer workers’ rights and stagnant wages, and reckless misuse of taxpayer dollars.
“The American people deserve a government that works for them––not one that’s auctioned off to the highest bidder. The fight to overturn Citizens United is one of the most pressing causes of our generation. We must hold elected officials accountable, we must elect leaders who stand on the side of democracy, and we must shape our government to serve all of us. There’s too much at stake to accept anything less.”
Citizens United: By the Numbers
- $15 Billion in outside spending has been made since the Citizens United decision.
- A record $4.5 billion in outside spending was made in the 2024 elections, 800% moreoutside money spent in the last presidential election pre-Citizens United.
- Two thirds of the outside spending in the 2024 election came from groups that do not fully disclose the source of the funding.
- A record $1.3 billion in dark money was steered to super PACs spending on 2024 federal elections.
- 3 donors provided $521 million to support Trump in the 2024 election, more than one third of all the money raised.
- More than $300 million was spent by wealthy donors to support Trump’s campaign who have since been appointed to various positions in the incoming Trump Administration.
- According to OpenSecrets analysis of disclosed contributions in the 2024 election (not including donations given to dark money groups that don’t disclose donors):
- Finance, insurance and real estate interests spent over $600 million in the 2024 elections to both candidates and outside groups, nearly 65% of which was in support of Republicans.
- Transportation interests spent over $328 million, over 96% of which was in support of Republicans.
- Healthcare interests spent over $235 million, nearly 65% of which was in support of Republicans.
- Energy and natural resources interests spent over $63 million, nearly 85% of which was in support of Republicans.
- Agribusiness interests spent nearly $40 million, over 75% of which was in support of Republicans.
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