Bloomberg to donate $10 million to House Democrats

Michael Bloomberg, the former New York City mayor now running for president, will donate $10 million on Thursday to the reelection campaigns of vulnerable Democratic House members.

A senior campaign aide to Bloomberg told The Hill in an email on Wednesday that the billionaire is donating the funds to House Majority PAC to protect the lawmakers from Republican attacks over their support for impeachment.

“Sadly Republicans are more interested in protecting the president than the Constitution,” the Democratic presidential candidate said in a statement. 

“Fortunately House Democrats are holding the President accountable, and they need resources to stay in office,” added Bloomberg, who has already spent tens of millions on a presidential campaign that was launched just weeks ago.

Decisions around targeting and messaging will be made by the House Majority PAC, according to The Washington Post, which first reported the $10 million donation.

Two Republican groups have pledged about $10 million to go after Democratic House members, the Post reported.

Bloomberg spent $110 million in 2018 to help elect a Democratic House, according to the campaign aide. 

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) applauded the donation in a statement sent to The Hill by the Bloomberg campaign. 

“In 2018, Mayor Bloomberg was a critical ally in helping House Democrats regain the majority,” she said. “Now, the stakes are even higher as we work to make health care more affordable by reducing the skyrocketing cost of prescription drugs, increase wages and root out corruption. We welcome and thank Mayor Bloomberg for his support.”

The former mayor entered the crowded Democratic presidential race last month, calling President Trump an “existential threat to our country and our values.”

Polling aggregation website RealClearPolitics says Bloomberg is running in fifth place nationally in the Democratic primary.

–Updated at 10:03 a.m.