Trump plans to form leadership PAC in bid to hold influence over GOP

President Trump is planning to form a leadership PAC as he looks to retain influence in the GOP after he leaves office. 

Tim Murtaugh, a spokesperson for Trump’s campaign, said that the plan is not a recent development. But with President-elect Joe Biden’s victory in the 2020 presidential race, a leadership PAC could help Trump hold on to his status as a Republican kingmaker in the years to come, allowing him to help finance GOP candidates and causes aligned with his interests.

“The president always planned to do this, win or lose, so he can support candidates and issues he cares about, such as combating voter fraud,” Murtaugh said in a statement. 

Donors can contribute up to $5,000 a year to a leadership PAC, far less than what individuals can give to joint fundraising committees like the one established by Trump, the Republican National Committee and various state parties.

But such leadership PACs can accept contributions from an unlimited number of individuals, as well as other PACs. 

Trump has not yet conceded the presidential race to Biden, despite growing vote deficits in a handful of uncalled battleground states. Instead, he has alleged without evidence that widespread fraud and irregularities deprived him of a win, and his campaign has begun moving forward with legal challenges to contest the outcome of the election in several states.

Biden, meanwhile, is making preparations for a presidential transition in January. 

A leadership PAC could give Trump considerable influence ahead of the 2022 midterm elections and the 2024 presidential race. His allies have also floated the possibility of Trump mounting another White House bid in 2024.

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), one of the president’s most prominent allies in the Senate, said on Monday that Trump should “not let his movement die” and should “consider running again.”

“I would encourage him to think about doing it,” Graham told Fox News Radio’s Brian Kilmeade, adding that Trump should “create an organization, platforms over the next four years to keep his movement alive.”