US business leaders condemn violence on Capitol Hill: 'This is sedition'

Business groups and leaders of large corporations condemned the violence on Capitol Hill that disrupted efforts to certify the election of President-elect Joe Biden on Wednesday.

Hours after supporters of President Donald Trump forced lawmakers from the floors of the Senate and House of Representatives, the Business Roundtable, a group of CEOs from some of the nation’s largest companies, called on the president and other officials to "put an end to the chaos and facilitate the peaceful transition of power."

"The chaos unfolding in the nation's capital is the result of unlawful efforts to overturn the legitimate results of a democratic election," the organization posted on Twitter.

The National Association of Manufacturers, one of the country’s largest lobbying groups, suggested that Vice President Mike Pence should consider invoking a provision of the 25th Amendment that allows members of the president’s Cabinet to temporarily remove him from power.

“Anyone indulging conspiracy theories to raise campaign dollars is complicit,” the association said. “Vice President Pence, who was evacuated from the Capitol, should seriously consider working with the Cabinet to invoke the 25th Amendment to preserve democracy.”

“This is sedition,” the group said of the actions of the mob, and said Trump had incited the violence.

The chief executive of the US Chamber of Commerce, Thomas Donohue, called the events an attack on democracy, and Matthew Shay, president and CEO of the National Retail Federation, said, "Today's riots are repugnant and fly in the face of the most basic tenets of our Constitution."

The research group High Frequency Economics suspended regular publication of its research notes for the first time since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.

"We at High Frequency Economics are disgusted by the role of the president of the United States in inciting this riot, and we are saddened that he cannot find the character to stand up in front of the mob he has created, quell the violence and send everyone home," the group wrote to its clients. "Responsibility for this outrage rests securely on his shoulders."

Many business leaders spoke out individually, although many avoided calling out the president and other politicians by name. “I strongly condemn the violence in our nation’s capital,” Jamie Dimon, CEO of JPMorgan Chase, said in a statement Wednesday afternoon.

"Our elected leaders have a responsibility to call for an end to the violence, accept the results and, as our democracy has for hundreds of years, support the peaceful transition of power," he said.

The CEO of Wells Fargo, Charles Scharf, called on leaders to"come together to address the divisions in our society" and complete the "peaceful transition of power" to Biden. The CEO of Bank of America, Brian Moynihan, called the events "appalling," and Michael Corbat, CEO of Citigroup, said he was "disgusted."

Sundar Pichai, CEO of Alphabet, Google’s parent company, said the events were “shocking and scary for all of us” in an email to employees that was obtained by The New York Times.

"The lawlessness and violence occurring on Capitol Hill today is the antithesis of democracy and we strongly condemn it," Pichai said.

Tim Ryan, CEO of the accounting firm PwC, formerly known as PricewaterhouseCoopers, was addressing staff during a previously planned webcast as the Capitol was stormed, prompting him to tell employees what was happening.

“Our Capitol building has been stormed by protesters that are resisting our democratic process and are threatening violence,” Ryan said, according to the company. “I think it is safe to say that this is a surreal day that will go down in our country’s history, and it is devastating to watch these events unfold right before our eyes.”

Dan Schulman, president and CEO of PayPal, called the events “shocking and disturbing.” Arvind Krishna, IBM’s chairman and CEO, called it "unprecedented lawlessness."

Labor unions also denounced the violence.

Mary Kay Henry, head of the Service Employees International Union, said the violence was about “wielding the power of whiteness to threaten what we hold dear — the chance for families of every race to thrive.”

Richard Trumka, president of the AFL-CIO, posting on Twitter, called the actions an "attempted coup."

"We are witnessing one of the greatest assaults on our democracy since the Civil War," he said.

By Emily Flitter, Gillian Friedman, Kellen Browning and David Gelles

c.2021 The New York Times Company