Facebook and Mark Zuckerberg have donated to politicians on both sides of the aisle, with New Jersey Senator Cory Booker at the top of the list.
Facebook, Mark Zuckerberg, and Sheryl Sandberg have donated to some of the lawmakers questioning Zuckerberg during his Congressional testimony this week.
Facebook has given the most to Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ).
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg doesn’t have a strong presence in Washington — but he, Sheryl Sandberg, and Facebook Inc have donated tens of thousands of dollars to several of the same lawmakers that questioned him this week in high-profile Congressional hearings.
Congress grilled Zuckerberg over the Cambridge Analytica privacy scandal in which the personal data of 87 million users was obtained by the Trump-linked political research firm Cambridge Analytica. In his first day of testimony, Zuckerberg also answered questions about the spread of fake news, Russian manipulation of the social network, and free speech.
Since 2014, Facebook has donated a total of $1.8 million to members of Congress, according to data from the Center for Responsive Politics. And personally, Zuckerberg has given to two of the senators — both in 2013 — who questioned him yesterday: $5,200 to Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-UT) and $7,800 to Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ).
Zuckerberg and Sen. Booker have some history. In 2010, Zuckerberg appeared on the Oprah Winfrey television show with then Newark, NJ Mayor Booker and then NJ Gov. Chris Christie to announce a $100 million gift to “fix” New Jersey’s school system with charter schools and other reforms (the initiative has since been criticized for being a well-intentioned but poorly conceived plan that caused a lot of upheaval to local residents and students).
Sheryl Sandberg, Zuckerberg’s second-in-command, has donated to the following legislators during their time in office:
Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) – $7,900
Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT) – $5,400
Sen. Mazie Hirono (D-HI) – $2,700
Rep. Anna Eshoo (D-CA) – $17,700
Sen. Diane Feinstein (D-CA) – $7,900
Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-WA) – $5,200
Sen. Kamala Harris (D-CA) – $5,200
It’s not unusual for corporations to donate to politicians on both sides of the aisle, of course. But it’s worth keeping this financial relationship in mind while watching Zuckerberg’s exchanges with lawmakers.
Here is a list of every lawmaker on the Senate Judiciary and Commerce committees and the House Committee on Energy and Commerce that Facebook has contributed to in the past four years, according to the Center for Responsive Politics.
Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ) – $44,025
Kamala D Harris (D-CA) – $30,990
Greg Walden (R-OR) – $20,000
Steve Scalise (R-LA) – $19,500
Patrick Leahy (D-VT) – $16,400
Cory Gardner (R-CO) – $16,000
Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) – $15,900
Orrin G Hatch (R-UT) – $15,200
Dean Heller (R-NV) – $14,400
Roy Blunt (R-MO) – $14,100
Fred Upton (R-MI) – $14,000
John M Shimkus (R-IL) – $14,000
Mike Lee (R-UT) – $13,500
Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) – $13,200
Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) – $11,000
John Thune (R-SD) – $10,000
Bill Nelson (D-FL) – $10,000
Jon Tester (D-MT) – $10,000
Deb Fischer (R-NE) – $10,000
Roger Wicker (R-MS) – $10,000
John Cornyn (R-TX) – $10,000
Maria Cantwell (D) – $9,100
Diana DeGette (D-CO) – $9,000
Brett Guthrie (R-KY) – $9,000
Peter Welch (D-VT) – $8,500
Adam Kinzinger (R-IL) -$8,500
Doris O Matsui (D-CA) – $8,000
Jeff Flake (R-AZ) – $7,500
Jerry Moran (R-KS) – $7,500
Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) – $7,500
Mimi Walters (R-CA) – $7,500
Thom Tillis (R-NC) – $7,500
Chris Coons (D-DE) – $7,500
Pete Olsen (R-TX) – $6,500
Michael Burgess (R-TX) – $6,000
Frank Pallone (D-NJ) – $6,000
Ben Lujan (D-NM) – $6,000
Ron Johnson (R-WI) – $6,000
G K Butterfield (D-NC) – $5,500
Gary Peters (D-MI) – $5,000
Ben Sasse (R-NE) – $5,000
Robert E Latta (R-OH) – $5,000
Chuck Grassley (R-IA) – $5,000
Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA) – $4,500
Yvette D Clarke (D-NY) – $4,000
Tony Cárdenas (D-CA)- $4,000
Richard Hudson (R-NC) – $4,000
Joseph Kennedy (D-MA) – $4,000
Rep. Anna Eshoo (D-CA) – $3,900
Raul Ruiz (D-CA) – $3,750
Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) – $3,535
Lindsey Graham (R-SC) – $3,500
Kevin Cramer (R-ND) – $3,000
Bill Johnson (R-OH) – $3,000
Jerry Mcnerney (D-CA) – $3,000
Kurt Schrader (D-OR) – $3,000
Bobby L Rush (D-IL) -$3,000
Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) – $3,000
Rep.

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