Fallout from the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol continues to fall, and could hit some Michigan officials who have benefited from the endorsement of the Detroit Regional Chamber PAC.
Brad Williams, VP for government relations (Photo: Detroit Regional Chamber)
The PAC posted a statement Thursday morning stating "Members of the business community in Michigan and nationally are carefully evaluating their political engagement in light of the Jan. 6 events at the U.S. Capitol."
The three-paragraph statement serves as a warning to so-called mainstream Republicans who questioned the results of the 2020 elections, which led to the violence at the Capitol. It reads in part:
The Detroit Regional Chamber Political Action Committee (PAC) joins these leading business interests in the grave concern that too many of our elected leaders not only did too little to thwart the violence at the Capitol but propagated the falsehood that the 2020 election was not valid or somehow stolen.
The Chamber respects leaders with different policy approaches, but expects all leaders not to traffic in falsehoods, to support and defend the Constitution of the United States, to respect the will of Michigan voters, to uphold enduring American fundamental values, and to support federalism; including the right of states to conduct and certify their elections.
Several of the Chamber PAC's endorsed candidates in 2020 were among those who tried to invalidate Michigan's presidential vote for Joe Biden, including Reps. Jack Bergman, Tim Walberg, Bill Huizenga and John Moolenaar, all Republicans. Walberg and Bergman, along with newly sworn-in Republican Lisa McClain (another Chamber-endorsed candidate), all voted against certification of Biden's victory after the Capitol violence.
Bergman, Walberg, Huizenga and Moolenaar were included in the Free Press' damning "People of the Lie" roundup of the individuals whose actions, directly or indirectly, contributed to the protracted struggle to finalize Biden's victory, egged on by President Trump. All signed on to the Texas attorney general's lawsuit seeking to overturn the popular vote totals in Michigan and three other states, and allow the GOP-dominated state legislatures to award electoral votes.
The statement is a red flag for these candidates and others who might seek the Chamber's endorsement. "Going forward in our process, we will weigh heavily any candidate’s past or future actions that do not align with these principles," it says.
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