Timothy Mellon, a G.O.P. Billionaire, Pulls Back His Money From Senate Republicans
Timothy Mellon, one of the party’s biggest donors in 2024, has so far withheld his midterm donations for Republican senators because he is unhappy about the failure to pass a key Trump priority.
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Timothy Mellon, one of the party’s biggest donors in 2024, has so far withheld his midterm donations for Republican senators because he is unhappy about the failure to pass a key Trump priority.
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· 7:02 min
Sept. 23, 2026
One of the Republican Party’s biggest donors has sharply reduced his giving ahead of the midterm elections, especially to Senate Republicans, a decision driven largely by the party’s failure to pass a far-reaching bill of voting restrictions.
The donor, Timothy Mellon, a reclusive Wyoming billionaire who is a grandson of the Gilded Age industrialist Andrew Mellon, gave nearly $200 million to support President Trump and other Republicans in the 2024 election. Only Elon Musk donated more.
Two years later, Mr. Mellon has given just $3 million or so in publicly disclosed donations to Republican candidates or groups. He also made a $20 million donation last month to help House Republicans, according to two people briefed on the contribution, which will not be disclosed until the next financial reports.
But Mr. Mellon has given nothing publicly so far to support Senate Republicans this fall — a move that has been conspicuous in the party’s financial circles, and shows how some influential Republicans remain angry about the party’s inability this summer to pass the voting legislation, called the SAVE America Act.
The electoral significance of Mr. Mellon’s sudden drop-off in giving is uncertain. Republicans have a broad financial advantage in the midterms, with Mr. Trump’s super PAC and other megadonors shoveling tens of millions of dollars into key races.
Still, Mr. Mellon’s tightfistedness illustrates the unexpected and acrimonious fallout inside the Republican Party after its failed push to pass the voting bill.
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Originally published by nytimes.com. Syndicated material does not necessarily reflect the views of Glamour Canada.
