WHAT TIKTOK’S ALLIES ARE SAYING: “As House lawmakers weighed legislation earlier this month that could amount to a ban on TikTok, the conservative political powerhouse Club for Growth had a threat for members: Vote for the bill, and we could dock your score,” our Hailey Fuchs reports in a look at the various pleas the company and its allies have been making on the Hill.
— “The Club for Growth, buoyed by funding from major TikTok parent-company investor Jeff Yass, has become a massively influential player in contested Republican primaries, scoring lawmakers based on how they vote on certain legislation. The group has also become a key player in the fight over the Chinese-owned social media platform and efforts by Republicans to force its parent company, ByteDance, to sell, as the bill threatens Yass’ investment, which is reportedly worth up to $21 billion.” — “Someone aware of TikTok’s efforts on the Hill said that it has also argued that the move would actually hurt retirees: Major financial firms are invested in ByteDance, the logic goes, and pension funds have provided capital to those giants.” — “After the bill passed the House overwhelmingly, TikTok’s fate lies with the Senate. The company is now focusing advocacy on states with key Senate races in 2024, with a new and extensive ad buy” featuring “clips of the company’s advocates demonstrating in front of the Capitol and the White House, TikTok creators gush about their love of the app.” — The platform “has also sought to push the spotlight to other actors that could pop up in its place if Congress ensures its demise. One Democratic staffer said TikTok has argued another domestic company could still act nefariously with Americans’ user data, and a lobbyist with tech-related clients said that TikTok has argued the move would make Facebook more powerful.” ANNALS OF CAMPAIGN FINANCE: “Sen. Ted Cruz's office has repeatedly dismissed ethical questions about his three-times-a-week podcasting gig, saying he makes no money from the venture with a company that lobbies Congress,” but the Houston Chronicle’s Ben Wermund reports that the full story is a little murkier. — “iHeartMedia, the massive radio network that picked up the ‘Verdict with Ted Cruz’ podcast in 2022, has made regular, and growing, payments to a super PAC supporting the Texas Republican's reelection effort.” — “The payments, which the media company says are associated with ad revenue from the podcast, total $630,850 — about a third of the $2 million the Truth and Courage PAC reported raising since the start of 2023, according to the latest Federal Election Commission data.” — “Ethics and campaign finance experts say the payments appear to be a novel arrangement that blur the lines between what is allowed under campaign finance law and Senate ethics rules. Cruz is the top Republican on the Senate Commerce Committee that oversees the communications industry.” GANG’S GETTING BACK TOGETHER: “The day after a pro-Trump mob stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, billionaire and GOP megadonor Nelson Peltz called the attempted insurrection a ‘disgrace’ and expressed remorse for voting for Donald Trump. ‘I’m sorry I did that,’ Peltz said of supporting Trump in 2020.” — “But earlier this month, Peltz had breakfast with Trump and other billionaires — including hotelier Steve Wynn, Tesla and X CEO Elon Musk and former Marvel chairman Isaac Perlmutter — at Peltz’s luxurious Palm Beach oceanfront mansion, according to people with knowledge of the meeting, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe the private gathering. Peltz, a renowned activist investor currently in a battle over Disney, then told the Financial Times that he would ‘probably’ vote for the GOP front-runner in 2024.” — Peltz isn’t alone: “As hopes of a Republican alternative have crumbled, elite donors who once balked at Trump’s fueling of the Capitol insurrection, worried about his legal problems and decried what they saw as his chaotic presidency are rediscovering their affinity for the former president — even as he praises and vows to free Jan. 6 defendants, promises mass deportations and faces 88 felony charges.” — “The shift reflects many conservative billionaires’ fears of President Biden’s tax agenda, which if approved would drastically reduce their fortunes,” in addition to disagreements over other Biden foreign and domestic policy moves. PUTTING A LOT OF CHIPS IN INTEL’S BASKET: Biden “last week unleashed $8.5 billion of federal support on a single company, Intel — the biggest check his administration plans to write from the CHIPS and Science Act, a signature economic-growth policy. In an announcement at Intel’s chipmaking complex in Arizona, he embraced the company as a crown jewel of the American ‘future economy,’” our Christine Mui writes. — “The investment is smart politics, letting Biden take credit for thousands of jobs both created and promised in swing states Arizona and Ohio, and giving him a public victory lap at a time of dismal ratings. But it also ties Biden’s legacy to a tech giant with significant problems of its own — one in the middle of an attempted recovery after falling behind in a crucial global competition.” — “Intel was once the world’s undisputed leader in advanced computer chips. It got lapped by international players like Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company and South Korea’s Samsung, which now dominate the $527 billion global semiconductor market.” — “Intel’s CEO, Pat Gelsinger, has conceded that ‘clearly Intel stumbled’ as it failed to seize opportunities in booming global markets. But he also proved hugely influential in steering federal money toward his own industry, and Intel’s reboot — now in its third year — has captured the White House’s imagination. … To deliver on the jobs and political upside, Intel is now going to have to deliver on its ambitious corporate promises.” | 
