The defense industry is the biggest supporter of the Sedition Caucus

Despite promising to only make contributions to those who "uphold our country's most fundamental principles," Boeing has also given $35,000 to Speaker Mike Johnson, who played a critical rolein challenging the presidential transition of power in the aftermath of the 2020 election. Johnson helped to developa legal defense for contesting the 2020 election that many Republicans eventually cited in order to discount Biden electors. Johnson has also attempted to make it harder to hold insurrectionists accountable for the Capitol attack. When releasing footage of the insurrection to the public, Johnson, alongside other House Republicans, decidedto blur the faces of rioters to protect them from being charged by the Department of Justice.

Overall, these ten major defense companies have donated $108,000 to the six lawmakers with the worst democracy records. Of those six lawmakers, Rep. Chuck Fleischmann received the most donations ($64,500) with the largest donations coming from Leidos ($15,500) and Lockheed Martin ($14,500). During the 2020 election, Fleischmann parroted Trump's false claims of widespread voter fraud, and voted against certifying the 2020 election. He released a statementwhich said, "Just as President Donald Trump has said all along, universal mail-in voting provides opportunity for voter fraud, and that's been apparent throughout this election." Fleischmann is a member of the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology.

Of Sedition Caucus members, Rep. Ken Calvert was the top recipient of political donations by nine of the top ten companies. Calvert has repeatedly undermined efforts to increase government accountability and transparency, in addition to amplifying false accusations of widespread voter fraud during the 2020 election. The day after the January 6th attack, Calvert releaseda press statement that spent two sentences condemning the use of violence and the next 14 emphasizing "alleged voter fraud or irregularities" in the election and characterizing judges who ruled on ballot deadline issues at the time of the election as usurpers. Calvert is the Chairman of the Defense Appropriations Subcommittee, which is responsible for the Department of Defense's roughly $830 billion budget. In total, these companies have donated $348,500 to Rep. Calvert's campaign and leadership PACs.

Rep. Brian Babin was also popular among top defense companies, receiving $18,500 from Lockheed, $11,500 from RTX, $10,500 from Boeing, and $10,000 from Honeywell. Babin repeatedly used his platform to spread lies about election fraud. In his characterization of the 2020 election, Babin said that it was a "fraudulent and criminal election process" and that "tens of millions of Americans were disenfranchised." Babin claimedthat mail-in voting was a "danger to democracy," and he justified his objection to the certification of the 2020 election by describing his vote as a refusal to "surrender to tyranny." In a speech on the House floor he said, "If there was no fraud, simply show us the proof, investigate it, validate it." Of course, by this time, the allegations of fraud had already been investigated in 30 different court casesand found to be baseless on the merits. Babin is the Chairman of the Space & Aeronautics Subcommittee.

All companies have a financial interestin protecting democracy. But the defense industry is uniquely tied to the issue. Defense companies often boast about advancing freedom as a central part of their purpose. "At Northrop Grumman, we pioneer#technologyto protect our freedom and advance humanity," the company tweeted. Companies like Boeingand Lockheed Martinproudly remind the public of the role they played in "the Arsenal of Democracy," referring to the collective efforts of American companies in expanding manufacturing to support the US and allied powers during World War II."If innovation is our company's beating heart, purpose is our soul," wroteLockheed Martin's then-CEO Marillyn Hewson in the foreword of the book Innovation with Purpose. "We're at our best when we're working to make the world a better place through technology…Looking ahead to our next 100 years, we're honored to do our part to shape the future," she added. Political spending to seditionist lawmakers, however, undermines these sentiments. A commitment to democracy must be more than a statement, a tweet or a signal of intent.