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- Trump’s Save America leadership political action committee took in $31.2 million by the end of last year.
- The fund was created a few days following the election.
- Funds could help yield influence over the GOP as Trump heads towards an impeachment trial.
- Visit Business Insider’s homepage for more stories.
Former President Donald Trump’s Save America political action committee took in $31.2 million by the end of 2020, a new financial report filed with the Federal Election Commission showed.
The PAC was created on November 9 a few days after the presidential election and has so far only spent a little over $200,000 towards underwriting merchant fees at the online fundraising platform, WinRed, CNN reported.
The report shows that most of the money was raised through grassroots fundraising appeals that called for help overturning the 2020 election results.
Trump and his Republican allies made baseless claims of election fraud but they’ve lost several dozen lawsuits in that attempt.
Trump can’t directly use the funds for his own future political campaign but they are expected to help boost his influence over the GOP. The former president is expected to start an impeachment trial in the Senate during the week of February 8.
"The more money [Trump] stacks up in his committee, the greater his grip will remain on many elected Republicans who will fear those resources could be turned against them," Rob Stutzman, a California-based Republican consultant, told Politico.
Business Insider's Oma Seddiq reported that there aren't many restrictions on how the donations to the PAC could be spent, so Trump could use the funds for himself.
Because Save America is a leadership PAC, there are fewer regulations than those tied to a campaign PAC, The Washington Post reported in December. Save America can receive unlimited contributions from individuals or up to $5,000 a year from other committees. Similarly, it can contribute up to $5,000 a year to other committees. Trump can't use it to pay off his campaign debts, but beyond that, the PAC is free to spend whatever it wants, whenever it wants.
The Post added that Trump could potentially use the funds to pay for golf club memberships, his travel, or even rallies. He could even pay himself if he declares it as income.
Politico reported that 75% of the funds from the Trump Make America Great Again Committee would go also towards the Save America PAC, and the other 25% would go to the Republican National Committee. That means that there's almost $60 million between the two Trump committees.
Ten Republicans in the House voted alongside Democrats to impeach Trump on a charge of inciting an insurrection after his supporters breached the US Capitol and clashed with law enforcement, halting a joint session of Congress as lawmakers were set to certify President Joe Biden's election victory on January 6.
The attack left five people dead.
Trump has already used the Save America PAC to show his influence. After House Republican Conference Chair Rep. Liz Cheney voted to impeach Trump, the PAC commissioned and released a poll on her reelection prospects, CNN reported.