Billionaire Oligarch Michael Bloomberg Scraps PAC Plan, Donates $18 Million to the DNC Instead

Former New York Mayor and billionaire oligarch Mike Bloomberg is discontinuing his plans for an independent political action committee to promote Democrats in the 2020 presidential election. Instead, he will donate $18 million to the Democratic National Committee, according to an announcement from his campaign on Friday, March 20, 2020.

CNBC reported that Bloomberg will be laying off campaign staff, who will receive payment through the first week in April and get medical benefits until the end of that month.

Bloomberg’s presidential campaign said the DNC will use the investment to increase hiring, organizing, and data operations in battleground states. Further, it will transfer a number of field offices to state parties.

“While we considered creating our own independent entity to support the nominee and hold the President accountable, this race is too important to have many competing groups with good intentions but that are not coordinated and united in strategy and execution,” the campaign stated in a memo it sent to DNC Chairman Tom Perez.

The billionaire endorsed former Vice President Joe Biden after dropping out of the 2020 Democratic primary earlier this month. Bloomberg dropped more than $500 million on his failed presidential effort and has promised to support the Democratic nominee.

The Bloomberg campaign described the $18 million transfer of unused campaign money as “the largest transfer from a presidential campaign in recent history.”

Bloomberg is making sure to cement his financial hold over the Democratic Party.

He might be out of the race, but his influence will still be felt as the party moves in a more radical technocratic direction.