Washington D.C. was rocked this week after news broke of a major resignation announcement out of the the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation (USCCF).
According to The Hill, Carolyn Cawley, president of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation, will exit her high-level post at the end of the summer.
The shocking news came via an internal memo sent out by Chamber President Suzanne Clark.
The resignation announcement came in the wake of a U.S. House investigation regarding "donations the Chamber’s Foundation had received from the Tides Foundation," a George Soros-funded organization.
An investigation into the donations from the left-leaning Tides Foundation was launched reportedly in the wake of a Breitbart report that said "the Tides Foundation disclosed grants that totaled more than $12 million to the Chamber between 2018 and 2022."
Not surprisingly, the Chamber said the Breitbart report was "factually inaccurate," but was apparently enough for House Ways and Means Committee Chair Jason Smith (R-MO) to launch an investigation that ultimatley led to Cawley's resignation.
The Hill noted:
The country’s largest pro-business lobbying group also said the Tides Foundation was just a vehicle for funds from corporate donors, not the donor itself, but defended its right to decline to disclose the source of the funds.
Carolyn Cawley's departure comes on the heels of a letter she and Chamber President Suzanne Clark received from House Ways and Means Committee Chair Jason Smith questioning donations to the foundation from a left-leaning nonprofit, the Tides Foundation. https://t.co/lENKHNJ9wh
— The Hill (@thehill) June 1, 2024
For her part, Clark attempted to downplay the resignation announcement in the memo.
"Sharing the news that Carolyn will be leaving the Chamber at the end of the summer is bittersweet," Clark wrote in the memo. "We began thoughtful conversations earlier this year about her desire to focus on a much more personal endeavor."
In a previous letter regarding the investigation he launched, Smith explained why he believed it was bizarre that such large donations would be accepted from the left-leaning organization.
"Contrary to the USCC’s stated mission of improving lives ‘by advancing American business’ and advocating ‘for policies that help businesses create jobs and grow our economy,’ it seems odd that the foundation would accept funding from a group like the Tides Foundation, which is so focused on activities that seem counter to USCC’s mission," Smith wrote at the time.
In his letter, Smith gave Clark and Cawley until May 20 to respond, which came and went.
With the news of the resignation, Michael Carney, the foundation’s senior vice president, has been appointed to replace Cawley.
