Republican Senators Look to Shrink Role of Foreign Money in Politics

Sen. Bill Hagerty (R-Tenn.) on Capitol Hill, on June 23, 2021. (Sarah Silbiger-Pool/Getty Images)

A group of Republican senators are looking to crack down on clandestine, foreign influence in American politics.

On April 17, Sen. Bill Hagerty (R-Tenn.) introduced the Preventing Foreign Interference in American Elections Act in the Senate. The bill, according to a release from the senator’s office, would limit the influence of money on politics.

First, it would block the circumvention of laws banning indirect election-related contributions by foreign nationals by “expressly covering any donation with an express or implied instruction (including involving intermediaries or conduits) that results in the donation being used for prohibited U.S. election-related activity.”

Second, it would bar foreign nationals from contributing to ballot harvesting, voter drives, partisan communication, or private financing of public election administration.

Third, it would prohibit foreign nationals from donating “in connection with state ballot initiatives.”

Finally, it would stop “overbroad investigations or pretextual government collection or disclosure of Americans’ nonprofit donor information for the purpose of intimidation or chilling Americans’ free-speech rights.”

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“This type of influence undermines democracy and self-government here in America, and its staggering scope should be alarming,” Mr. Hagerty said in a release.

Mr. Hagerty called attention to the efforts of progressive organizations to influence American politics in recent years. His release said that much of the money that flows into these organizations comes from a single man: Hansjorg Wyss.

The Epoch Times previously reported that Mr. Wyss is likely a major financier of a group of funds administrated by Arabella Advisors. In 2020 and 2022, groups under the Arabella umbrella steered millions of dollars toward organizations and political action committees, which ultimately spent their money backing Democratic Party politicians.

In 2022, the six organizations associated with Arabella Advisors—New Venture Fund, Sixteen Thirty Fund, Hopewell Fund, Windward Fund, North Fund, and Impetus Fund—spent more than $1.2 billion on the 2020 general election and more than $1.4 billion on the 2022 midterms.

Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.), Sen. Ted Budd (R-N.C.), Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), Sen. Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.), and Sen. Roger Marshall (R-Kan.) co-sponsored the bill.

A similar measure was introduced in the House, the American Confidence in Elections Act, by Rep. Bryan Steil (R-Wis.) in 2023.

(L-R) Hansjorg Wyss, Roz Zander, and Michael Bloomberg attend Oceana's 2015 New York City benefit at Four Seasons Restaurant on April 1, 2015, in New York. (Craig Barritt/Getty Images for Oceana)

$100 Million Spent on Ballot Initiatives

The bill was introduced shortly after the release of a new report from the nonprofit Americans for Public Trust.

The report, published on April 15, said Mr. Wyss funnels his money through the Sixteen Thirty Fund, a 501(c)(4) nonprofit that is one of the most politically active accounts associated with Arabella Advisors.

In a November 2023 blog post, Sixteen Thirty Fund President Amy Kurtz described the group’s plans for 2024 as follows: “We are prepared and proud to lead alongside our projects in the fight against authoritarianism and efforts to dismantle our freedoms.”

Americans for Public Trust said it reviewed Sixteen Thirty’s last 10 annual tax returns and found that it spent nearly $100 million on various ballot initiatives in 25 states.

The most significant expenditures are directed toward Michigan. According to Americans for Public Trust, Sixteen Thirty spent nearly $34 million across 10 ballot initiative campaigns since 2017.

The initiatives, according to the trust, “intended to place onerous burdens on small businesses, rewrite the state’s election laws, and enshrine the right to an abortion in the state’s constitution.”

The abortion amendment was passed in 2022. It made abortion, as well as contraceptive use, a right in the Michigan state constitution.

Sixteen Thirty also spent heavily in Ohio. According to the trust, in 2023, Sixteen Thirty spent $14 million on ballot initiatives. The Buckeye State passed a similar abortion ballot initiative that same year.

The Americans for Public Trust report noted that some state laws exist to limit the influence of foreign dollars on their elections. Still, the lack of a federal statute means “foreign nationals ... are allowed to write blank checks to fund ballot issues that could prioritize their interests over those of the residents of the state.”

“If state and federal laws permit a Swiss billionaire to fund ballot initiative campaigns, there is nothing stopping U.S. adversaries from Communist China, Russia, or North Korea from doing the same,” the report said.

On April 17, The Epoch Times reported that the Democratic Party sees ballot initiatives like the ones passed in Michigan and Ohio as a way to motivate left-leaning Americans to vote. Meanwhile, the Republican Party is focusing on ballot initiatives on election integrity issues.

In an interview, Caitlin Sutherland, the executive director of Americans for Public Trust, said that with much of the electoral year still to come, she could assume that much more money is coming from Sixteen Thirty and foreign funds into these ballot initiatives.