US Chamber of Commerce President to Step Down Amid Probe

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The U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation’s president is stepping down from her role.

Media outlet The Hill reviewed an internal memo that revealed that Carolyn Crawley will be stepping aside from her position. 

In the memo, Suzanne Clark, the president of the Chamber itself, wrote:

“Sharing the news that Carolyn will be leaving the Chamber at the end of the summer is bittersweet. We began thoughtful conversations earlier this year about her desire to focus on a much more personal endeavor.”

While no reason was given for Crawley’s departure from the Chamber Foundation in the memo, it comes not long after Republican Representative Jason Smith of Missouri sent her and Clark a letter that questioned donations the foundation was given from the Tides Foundation, a left-leaning non-profit organization.

Smith is the chair of the House Ways and Means Committee.

Previously, officials from the Chamber told The Hill that the inquiry Smith was leading was based on a story that was “factually inaccurate” that was published by Breitbart, a conservative media outlet.

Breitbart was the first outlet to report that the Tides Foundation disclosed that they gave the Chamber more than $12 million in donations from 2018 through 2022.

The Chamber declined to disclose what the source of those funds was, and officials defended the group’s right to do so. Officials from the Chamber — which is the largest lobbying group that’s pro business — also said that the Tides Foundation is only a vehicle for certain funds they receive from corporate donors, and doesn’t actually serve as a donor of funds.

The $12 million that the Foundation gave the Chamber were for “economic development,” “equality, human rights and empowerment” and “project support.”

The Tides Foundation received some of its funding from open Society Foundations, a non-profit group founded by George Soros, a billionaire megadonor to the Democratic Party.

Because of this, Breitbart reported that the Chamber was turning “to Soros-funded groups and Democrats to keep dwindling operations alive.”

Yet, the president of the Chamber Foundation’s Hiring Our Heroes program, Eric Eversole, said that reporting was just ‘inaccurate.” As he said last month:

“The Tides Foundation operates a donor advised fund, through which corporations and individuals make charitable donations. The funds received by the Chamber Foundation were charitable contributions from corporations made to the donor advised fund.”

In its latest Form 990 tax filing, the Tides Foundation reported that it raised $573.7 million in 2022, and paid out a total of $667 million in grants that year.

The memo that The Hill reviewed also noted that the senior vice president of the Foundation, Michael Carney, was appointed as its president. As Clark wrote:

“It is a testament to her commitment to the Foundation and the Chamber that a priority has been a smooth transition.”

A spokesperson for the Chamber wouldn’t comment further on the situation to The Hill, only telling the outlet that it should refer to the memo.