TOP U.S. BUSINESS LEADERS URGE CONGRESS TO CERTIFY
They say effort to overturn undermines tenets of democracy
Almost 200 of the country’s top business leaders urged Congress to certify the electoral results for President-elect Joe Biden in a letter Monday, arguing that “attempts to thwart or delay this process run counter to the essential tenets of our democracy.”
The letter marked the business community’s most significant push yet to ensure President Donald Trump’s efforts to overturn the November election are unsuccessful. Signers included a wide array of executives of Fortune 500 companies, from the leaders of banks, airlines, investment firms, pharmaceutical companies, professional sports leagues, real estate conglomerates, top law firms and media companies.
“The presidential election has been decided and it is time for the country to move forward,” the letter reviewed by The Washington Post said. “The incoming Biden administration faces the urgent tasks of defeating COVID-19 and restoring the livelihoods of millions of Americans who have lost jobs and businesses during the pandemic.”
Many of the leaders have previously been wary of getting publicly involved in politics, and some have been supportive of the president. Kathryn Wylde, the president and chief executive of the Partnership for New York City, which organized the letter, said questioning the national election was causing long-term damage to the country and that important issues such as vaccine distribution and high unemployment needed more focus.
The partnership — the major advocacy and political inf luence arm for the business community in New York — counts many of the city’s top firms as its members.
Among the signers included leaders of Goldman Sachs, Microsoft, Pfizer, the National Basketball Association, Mastercard, Blackstone Group, BlackRock, Lyft, Deloitte, Warby Parker, Moody’s, WeWork, Ernst & Young, JetBlue, MetLife, Condé Nast, the Carlyle Group, Hearst, American Express, Saks Fifth Avenue, Price Waterhouse Cooper and Deutsche Bank, along with 150 more.
Others who signed include some of New York’s top private equity and real estate figures, including Henry Kravis, Rob Speyer, William Rudin and Laurence Fink.
Much of the business community initially had a cordial relationship with Trump in the early days and maneuvered to influence the Republican tax bill. They were pleased with some of Trump’s choices for top administration jobs, such as Gary Cohn as his first national economic adviser.
But there was a significant rift after Trump’s comments in Charlottesville, Va., on the protests by self-proclaimed white supremacists in the streets, and chief executives withdrew from his business council.
Trump has taken pride in having close ties with some business leaders such as Stephen Schwarzman, chief executive of the Blackstone Group. Schwarzman did not sign the letter, but the president and chief operating officer of his firm — Jonathan Gray — did.
The statement came on the same day that Thomas J. Donohue, the head of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, issued a statement urging certification of the vote.
“Efforts by some members of Congress to disregard certified election results in an effort to change the election outcome or to try a make a long-term political point undermines our democracy and the rule of law and will only result in further division across our nation,” Donohue wrote.
“The United States of America faces enormous challenges that not only require an orderly transition of administrations, but the focus of the incoming Biden administration and the new Congress, and cooperation across party lines,” he continued.
“We urge Congress to fulfill its responsibility in counting the electoral votes, the Trump administration to facilitate an orderly transition for the incoming Biden administration, and all of our elected officials to devote their energies to combating the pandemic and supporting our economic recovery.”