Private equity group halts political donations after U.S. capitol seige

(Reuters) - A private equity lobby group representing some of biggest buyout firms, including Blackstone Group Inc and KKR & Co Inc, said on Monday it has paused all political donations following the storming of the U.S. Capitol last week.

"Our country faces enormous health, economic, and social challenges that take precedent over politics. In this environment, the American Investment Council is pausing all political contributions to candidates from the AIC PAC," a spokeswoman for Washington, D.C.-based American Investment Council said in a statement.

Many U.S. companies, from big banks such as J.P. Morgan and Goldman Sachs to tech giants like Microsoft and Facebook, have announced that they will halt political donations after supporters of President Donald Trump stormed the U.S. Capitol just before lawmakers voted to certify Democrat Joe Biden's victory in the Nov. 3 presidential election. At least four people, including a U.S. capitol officer, were killed in the attack.

The AIC PAC spent about $330,000 in the 2020 election cycle, with about 47% of its donations going to Republican candidates and about 25% given to Democrats, according to data from the Center of Reponsive Politics.

(Reporting by Chibuike Oguh in New York)

By Chibuike Oguh