Some Republicans in Congress are donating their contributions from Las Vegas billionaire Steve Wynn to charity in light of sexual misconduct allegations against the former Republican National Committee finance chairman.
The announcements come in light of a Wall Street Journal report on Friday that Wynn, a casino mogul and prolific Republican donor, sexually harassed several women.
Wynn, chairman and CEO of Wynn Resorts, has denied the allegations
Wynn’s home-state senator Dean Heller, a Republican who is running for re-election this year, is donating the $5,400 his campaign received last year from the casino mogul to a yet-determined charity, campaign aides said on Monday.
A spokeswoman for Sen. Rob Portman said the Ohio Republican would donate the $5,400 his campaign received from Wynn for his 2016 campaign to charities aimed at stemming human sex-trafficking.
Aides to House Speaker Paul Ryan confirmed he would donate $1,000 from a Wynn-related business group to a Wisconsin homelessness charity.
Rep. Karen Handel, R-Ga., who won a special election last year, was giving the $2,700 her campaign received from Wynn to a Georgia charity for sexual and domestic abuse victims.
Heller’s and Portman’s announcements follow calls on Sunday by Republican Sens. Susan Collins of Maine and Lindsey Graham of South Carolina to return the money.
“I don’t even think it’s a close call to return the money,” Collins said on CNN’s State of the Union.
RNC Chairwoman Ronna Romney McDaniel told committee members on Saturday she had accepted Wynn’s resignation as finance committee chairman. The committee convenes in Washington this week for its annual winter meeting.
The allegations against Wynn are part of a wave of sexual misconduct claims against prominent media, entertainment and political figures that gained momentum last fall after the emergence of detailed allegations of rape and harassment involving movie producer Harvey Weinstein.
During the fall, RNC officials, including McDaniel, noted that Weinstein had been a top donor for Democrats, including 2016 presidential nominee Hillary Clinton.