Minority Leader McConnell and other Republican members are hypocritically and cynically lying about dark money as a way to disparage historic Supreme Court nominee Ketanji Brown Jackson.
McConnell has been dark money’s biggest cheerleader and protector in the Senate. Since the Citizens United decision, he’s led Senate Republicans’ efforts to block at least 10 attempts to advance or pass the DISCLOSE Act, which would end dark money, including 5 times just in the last year alone. If he and his Senate Republicans were serious and acting in good faith on their claims about dark money, they would join Senate Democrats in supporting the DISCLOSE Act.
The facts on McConnell and dark money:
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Over the past decade, in every session of Congress, Democrats have introduced the DISCLOSE Act to bring much-needed transparency and accountability. Republicans have blocked advancing it every single time.
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In 2010, there were 2 votes held on the DISCLOSE Act. The bill had 59 votes on the second vote but needed 60 to move forward and Senator McConnell rallied his caucus to kill the bill.
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In 2012, there were 2 votes held on the DISCLOSE Act. McConnell led the GOP’s opposition to the bill and ultimately blocked it.
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In 2015, the bill was reintroduced and voted on as an amendment, only to be blocked by the Republican Party with a 47-52 vote.
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In the past year alone, Republicans have blocked the DISCLOSE Act 5 times. The DISCLOSE Act was a central tenet of Democrats’ efforts to pass a comprehensive anti-corruption and voting rights legislation, and was included in every iteration of the bill.
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Votes on legislation including the DISCLOSE Act include two votes to proceed on the For the People Act; one vote to proceed on the Freedom to Vote Act; one vote to proceed on the Freedom to Vote: John R. Lewis Act; and once, when the GOP blocked a unanimous consent request to take up a vote on the DISCLOSE Act.
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Radical groups on the right have raised at least $400 million in dark money to capture the courts, including spending at least $48 million specifically to block the nomination of Merrick Garland and pack the Court with radical nominees (Gorsuch, Kavanaugh, Coney Barrett).
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