The conservative Koch brothers have told top donors they will not formally back the anticipated Republican presidential nominee, President Trump, in 2020, according to a report published Thursday evening.
Top donors to various Koch groups were told in recent months they plan to sit out the upcoming presidential election similar to what they did in 2016, the Washington Post reported.
A spokesman for the billion-dollar network said their groups will instead back candidates in House, Senate, gubernatorial, and state legislature races next fall.
A Jan. 2 email the network’s chairman Brian Hooks sent to key backers focused on policies it planned on focusing on in 2019. Those issues included income inequality, education reforms, criminal justice, and a long-term solution to the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program.
[Also read: RNC expected to reaffirm support for Trump]
That message did not mention Trump or the 2020 presidential race.
In mid-2017, the Koch officials ripped the “tremendous lack of leadership” in Washington and said the “divisiveness of the White House is causing long-term damage.” At the time, Trump called the Koch groups a “total joke.”
Billionaire brothers Charles and David Koch sit at the top of the second-largest company in the country, and their massive grassroots network is typically desired by Republican candidates.
During Trump’s first two years in office, the Kochs occasionally signaled support for some policy reforms, but never came out to endorse Trump as a politician.
Donors who were informed of the network’s plans in the next 22 months were told the Kochs want to focus on philanthropy and education.
