Wall Street Money Dries Up for Lawmaker After Anti-Gay Remarks

Representative Scott Garrett heads an influential House subcommittee overseeing the U.S. capital markets.

By Robert Schmidt & Silla Brush

Representative Scott Garrett, who heads an influential House subcommittee overseeing the U.S. capital markets, is facing a revolt by corporate and Wall Street donors after he reportedly made anti-gay remarks at a private meeting of Republican lawmakers.

Earlier this month, in what financial lobbyists said was a sign of things to come, the Big 4 accounting firms and their trade association abruptly canceled a fundraising event for the New Jersey Republican. In addition, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. has decided to stop making political action committee donations to Garrett, people familiar with the matter said.

Other firms are likely to follow suit, and some in the industry have debated whether to take a more drastic step and ask for their contributions back from Garrett, said the people, who asked for anonymity so as to not antagonize a lawmaker who oversees their industry. Financial lobbyists have also raised concerns with Republican House leaders, the people said.

The Financial Services’ capital markets subcommittee is informally known in Washington fundraising circles as the ATM -- a seat almost guarantees endless streams of cash from the financial firms that have business before the panel. While in the post, Garrett has pushed a deregulatory agenda backed by most of Wall Street, including rolling back the Dodd-Frank law.

Not surprisingly, Garrett’s top donors include banks, hedge funds, audit firms and exchanges. They were jarred when Politico reported on July 16 that Garrett had made remarks disparaging gays in a closed door meeting, telling colleagues that he refused to pay required dues to the Republicans’ congressional campaign committee because it had recruited, and supported, homosexual candidates.

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http://www.bloomberg.com/politics/articles/2015-07-29/wall-street-money-dries-up-for-lawmaker-after-anti-gay-remarks