Corporate titans and wealthy donors from Georgia poured millions of dollars into President Donald Trump’s inauguration committee, newly disclosed records show.
Delta Air Lines gave $1 million to cover the cost of Trump’s Jan. 20 swearing-in. So did Jeff Sprecher, a financial executive whose wife, former U.S. Sen. Kelly Loeffler, was a co-chair of the inaugural committee and was later tapped to a Cabinet-level position.
The Coca-Cola Company and a host of other Georgia corporations and individuals also contributed to the fund in the weeks after Trump recaptured the state and the White House.
In all, Georgia companies and individuals contributed more than $5.2 million to Trump’s record-breaking inaugural campaign fund, according to an Atlanta Journal-Constitution analysis of Federal Election Commission filings.
The disclosure comes as the nation marks the 100th day of Trump’s whirlwind second term, which has seen the beginning of a multifront trade war, the deportation of thousands of immigrants, massive layoffs at federal agencies and scores of lawsuits seeking prevent various Trump initiatives.
Polls show many Americans are not happy with Trump’s actions, but Georgia Republicans in Congress are standing by the president. And the disclosures involving the inauguration show some Georgia companies and wealthy individuals were eager to curry favor with Trump, who has shown how swiftly he can remake federal tax, trade and spending policies. Overall, the Trump-Vance Inaugural Committee raised $239 million nationwide — dwarfing the previous record of $107 million set by Trump’s 2017 inauguration.
The filing didn’t include spending details, but inaugural funds often pay for the ceremonies, parades, balls and other celebrations tied to the quadrennial event. This year, freezing temperatures forced planners to cancel the traditional parade and move the ceremony indoors.
The Georgia contributions come from companies and individuals with a range of business interests.
The single-largest contribution was a $1.1 million check from Anthony Joseph Pratt, executive chairman of Conyers-based Pratt Industries, a paper recycling and packaging products company that recently opened a new plant in Cobb County. Pratt is one of Australia’s wealthiest executives and a top Trump megadonor.
Three officers of Alpharetta-based Rogers Electric, an electrical contracting company, gave a combined $1.1 million to Trump’s inaugural fund. The other seven-figure contributors were Delta Air Lines and Sprecher, the chief executive of the Intercontinental Exchange. His wife, Loeffler, is a former U.S. senator who now leads the Small Business Administration.
One of the most noteworthy smaller donations came from state Rep. Mike Cheokas, a former Democrat whose southwest Georgia district included the late President Jimmy Carter’s hometown of Plains. Cheokas switched parties in 2010 and is now a staunch Trump ally, serving as a delegate to last year’s GOP nominating convention. He gave $50,000 to Trump’s inauguration.
Other notable Georgia contributors include Coca-Cola ($289,750); Steady Platform Inc., an Atlanta-based employment app ($250,000); Donald M. Leebern III, president of the McDonough-based alcohol distributor Georgia Crown Distributing ($100,000) and Steve C. Keadle, president of Thomaston-based Keadle Lumber Enterprises ($100,000).
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