N.J. contributions to Trump transition slowed after Christie left
New Jersey contributors are well-represented in the early fundraising efforts of Trump for America, the non-profit created after Donald Trump locked up the Republican presidential nomination to help fund the transition.
But contributions from the state appear to have fallen off sharply after Governor Christie was replaced on Nov. 11 as chairman of the transition team by Mike Pence, the Indiana governor and vice president-elect, according to an analysis by The Record of a report released Thursday showing the names of donors and the dates and amounts they gave, but not their addresses or occupations.
One of the earliest donations recorded, on July 5, was $5,000 from Dale Florio, a principal of Trenton’s largest lobbying firm who was also among those chosen by the Christie team to be a delegate pledged to Trump at the Republican National Convention.
Other New Jersey Trump delegates giving the maximum $5,000 were former acting Gov. Donald DiFrancesco, Celgene Corp. Executive Chairman Robert Hugin, real estate investor Finn Wentworth, Republican State Committee Chairman Sam Raia and ShopRite supermarkets owner Richard Saker.
Also giving the maximum $5,000 were Todd Christie, the governor’s brother, and Gibbons PC, the law firm of Bill Palatucci, a Republican National Committee member who was the treasurer of Christie’s unsuccessful presidential campaign.
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Palatucci said that the governor remained active in Trump’s transition effort after being replaced by Pence and that the finance director he had picked, Cam Handerson, remained in the position and continued to tap supporters in the state.
“Donors continued to come from New Jersey. I know that for a fact,” Palatucci said. “Of course, it is also natural that after winning the election, the Trump transition would receive donations from across the country, regardless of who is chair. “
The Record was able to identify 30 donors giving the maximum, or $150,000 in total, from New Jersey sources before Christie’s replacement by Pence. Afterward, there appeared only to be a handful giving the maximum from the state, including former Gov. Thomas H. Kean and his son, State Sen. Minority Leader Thomas Kean Jr.
Also giving $1,000, on Dec. 6, was state Sen. Joseph Kyrillos, a Monmouth County Republican who broke with Christie when he was a presidential candidate and supported former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush instead.
Overall, the committee raised $6.5 million.
Nationally, corporations that gave the $5,000 maximum contribution to Trump for America Inc. included Citigroup; the private-prison firm GEO Group; EdisonLearning, a for-profit education services and charter school company; payday lender Advance America; and Florida Crystals Corporation, a sugar producer.
Business trade groups and lobbyists also stepped in to aid the transition. They ranged from the Mortgage Bankers Association and the American Petroleum Institute to Alfonse D’Amato, a former New York senator-turned-lobbyist.
Some of Trump’s ultra-wealthy advisers and Cabinet members and their relatives also contributed to the transition. Relatives of Trump Education Secretary Besty DeVos, a high-profile Republican contributor, donated a total of $50,000.
Fast-food executive Andrew Puzder, who this month withdrew from consideration as Trump’s labor secretary, gave $5,000 to the transition in late November. Billionaire investor Carl Icahn, tapped as a special adviser to Trump on regulatory issues, also appeared on the donor list.
The contributor list also included well-known Republican political benefactors, such as Las Vegas casino mogul Sheldon Adelson. He and his relatives donated a total of $15,000.
Adelson, who donated $20 million with his wife to a pro-Trump super PAC, has dined at the White House since Trump took the oath of office and this week will preside over the Republican Jewish Coalition’s annual leadership meeting at his Las Vegas casino resort, The Venetian. Vice President Pence is to address the influential GOP group on Friday.
In all, Trump for America spent $4.66 million through Feb. 15, according to its report to the General Services Administration, the government agency that helps oversee presidential transitions.
That’s far less than the $9.3 million in public and private funds that President Barack Obama spent on transition work following his first election in 2008, according to data compiled by the Partnership for Public Service, a non-profit group that tracks presidential transitions.
“This is, in relative terms, small dollars if you think about campaign operations that are spending hundreds and hundreds of millions of dollars,” said Max Stier, the Partnership’s CEO and president.
The bigger issue, he said, is the Trump administration has not kept pace with the Obama team in terms of adding critical personnel.
Of the 549 key positions requiring Senate confirmation, the Senate has confirmed 14 Trump appointees. An additional 20 await confirmation. A total of 515 await nomination by Trump, according a tracker maintained by the Partnership and The Washington Post.
Fredreka Schouten of USA Today contributed to this article.