Money flows into leadership PACs and CA flower growers may get more DC business
Good morning and welcome to the A.M. Alert! A final goodbye from our departing summer interns, Molly Gibbs and Rebecca-Ann Jattan. It’s been a pleasure to write for you.
MONEY MONEY MONEY
Via David Lightman
California members of Congress, like their colleagues, use Leadership Political Action Committees to make influential friends in the political world and possibly prepare themselves for higher offices.
The latest campaign finance details were released last week as members of Congress filed campaign reports detailing how their Leadership PACs raised and spent money in the first half of 2025.
Such PACs are separate from a lawmaker’s campaign account. They are “designed for two things: to make money and to make friends, both of which are crucial to ambitious politicians looking to advance their careers,” said a summary from OpenSecrets, a nonpartisan campaign finance watchdog.
It added, “Their fundraising ability might earn them leverage within their own party.”
Among the filings for the Jan. 1 to June 30 period, with listed next to members affiliated with them:
- Rep. Kevin Kiley, R-Roseville. The PAC affiliated with Kiley raised $25,010 and has $17,221 on hand. In the 2023-24 election cycle, the PAC spent $55,508.
The PAC got $5,000 in May from the SpaceX PAC. SpaceX was founded by former Trump adviser Elon Musk, its chief executive officer.
The donation was nothing unusual. The SpaceX PAC split its contributions to House candidates in the 2024 election cycle, giving about 60% to Republicans and 40% to Democrats nationwide.
It contributed to 25 California candidates in the 2023-24 cycle — 15 Democrats and 10 Republicans. Among the recipients were Kiley, Reps. Ami Bera, D-Sacramento, and Doris Matsui, D-Sacramento, and David Valadao, R-Hanford, who each got $5,000.
“SpaceX is a vital defense contractor and a major employer providing thousands of family-sustaining jobs to Californians. We’re proud to have their support,” said Robert Holste, Kiley’s chief of staff.
SpaceX did not respond to a request for comment.
- Matsui’s SAC PAC had $30,000 in receipts and $18.753 on hand. Matsui is a senior member of the powerful House Energy & Commerce Committee. The PAC spent $298,519 on the 2024 election.
- Bera’s American Innovation PAC raised $20,000 and had $27,067 on hand. Last election the PAC spent $141,641.
- Valadao’s Vitoria PAC raised $13,000 and has $2,141 on hand. The congressman had a tough race last year and the PAC spent $218,598.
- Rep. Jim Costa’s First Leadership PAC has raised $3,000 and had $3,717 on hand. Costa is a Fresno Valley Democrat. The PAC spent $82,281 last cycle.
CALIFORNIA FIELDS TO THE CAPITOL
Via Amelia Wu
A bipartisan effort led by the Congressional Cut Flower Caucus and Rep. Salud Carbajal, D-Santa Barbara, will mandate that any cut flowers and foliage proudly displayed in federal buildings would be American grown.
California accounts for nearly 75% of all American-grown cut flowers, according to a statement from Carbajal. The representative emphasized the bill’s role in uplifting domestic growers and honoring the late Congressman Don Young, a champion of the industry.
The homegrown foliage is required for public areas of the Executive Office of the President, Department of Defense and the Department of State.
“This bipartisan legislation honors Don’s legacy, while ensuring federal agencies lead by example in purchasing American-grown flowers,” said Rep. Chellie Pingree, D-Maine and co-chair of the Cut Flower Caucus. “It’s a commonsense way to support our domestic growers year-round.”
Additionally, a resolution was written to recognize July 2025 as “American Grown Flower and Foliage Month.”
Nearly $60 billion is spent on floral products each year, with a per capita total of about $177 in the United States, according to the resolution.
The Congressional Cut Flower Caucus was founded in 2014 to “help address, support and represent the economic interests and opportunities for America’s flower farmers,” the organization’s description said. That same year, the Certified American Grown logo was created to educate consumers to purchase flowers from domestic producers.
QUOTE OF THE DAY
"It is a cruel manipulation to use Jewish students’ real concerns about antisemitism on campus as an excuse to cut millions of dollars in grants that were being used to make all Americans safer and healthier."
— Gov. Gavin Newsom
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