Toyota halting contributions to lawmakers who opposed Biden certification

WASHINGTON -- Toyota Motor Corp. said Thursday its political action committee will halt donations to U.S. members of Congress who voted against President Joe Biden's election certification in January.

The largest Japanese automaker has faced harsh criticism for donations to some lawmakers -- members of then-President Donald Trump's Republican Party -- who voted against certification of Biden's win in some U.S. states.

"We are actively listening to our stakeholders and, at this time, have decided to stop contributing to those members of Congress who contested the certification of certain states in the 2020 election," the company said.

More than 535 people have been arrested and charged with joining an attack on the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6 in an unsuccessful attempt to stop Congress from certifying Biden's election victory over Trump.

Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington said last month that Toyota made $56,000 in total donations to 38 of the 147 Republican lawmakers who voted against Biden's electoral certification and said it was the most any company directly contributed to lawmakers who opposed certification.

That disclosure and subsequent media coverage prompted a frenzy of criticism of Toyota, which had earlier defended the donations.

In January, an Automotive News review found that Toyota’s political action committee donations in the 2019-20 election cycle, totaling more than $1 million, were almost evenly split: 49 percent went to Republicans and 51 percent went to Democrats.

The Lincoln Project, a group that has broadcast ads critical of Trump, on Thursday posted an ad criticizing Toyota's donations to those Republicans.

A Toyota spokesman did not say how long the contribution halt will last.

Automotive News contributed to this report.