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The nation’s biggest federal defense contractors have quietly resumed giving money to Republicans who helped fuel the insurrection at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, despite making a public show of halting their political contributions after the attack and touting their companies’ roles in protecting democracy.

They have since given money to some of the same GOP lawmakers they publicly tried to distance themselves from, according to Federal Election Commission data analyzed and provided by Accountable.US, a progressive watchdog group focused on exposing government corruption and holding policymakers accountable.

“Corporations that halted political giving after the insurrection at the U.S. Capitol, yet quickly forgave the lawmakers who helped incite it, have shown their support for democracy takes a back seat to maintaining their political influence,” said Kyle Herrig, president of Accountable.US. “The decision to open their wallets for some of the worst anti-democratic voices in Congress shows, at best, they believe democracy is a value that can be compromised.”

Beyond federal defense contractors, the analysis from Accountable.US found that in the first half of 2021, 16 of the nation’s biggest corporations gave a combined $501,000 to 67 of the 119 most “anti-democratic U.S. House members.”

The watchdog group classifies these members as people who voted against certifying the 2020 election, voted against creating a special House committee to investigate the Jan. 6 insurrection, and voted against the For the People Act and its reforms to voting rights, campaign finance and ethics rules.

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