The Dingells’ Love Affair With GM

(This article is from the Center for Responsible Politics www.opensecrets.org)

Is the Dingell family too close for political comfort? Rep. John Dingell is the longest-serving member of the U.S. House of Representatives. His wife, Debbie Dingell, is a powerful lobbyist for General Motors. And when General Motors does well, both Dingells financially benefit, write the Washington Post‘s Kimberly Kindy and Robert E. O’Harrow.

“The couple accumulated millions in GM holdings in the early 2000s through Debbie Dingell’s job …” the Post duo notes. “At the same time, John Dingell was Detroit’s staunchest ally, fighting against emissions and fuel-economy standards that would have hurt the short-term profitability of automakers. In the past year, he advocated for five bailouts for GM and Chrysler.”

A Center for Responsive Politics analysis indicates that, as a group, people and political action committees associates with the automotive industry represent Dingell’s third-largest campaign bankroller over the past two decades, behind health professionals and electric utilities.

Here is a breakdown by industry of financial contributions to Rep. John Dingell.