Joshua Roberts/Reuters
Prominent Republican donor and former Breitbart News investor Robert Mercer significantly toned down his giving game in 2018 and has “retreated from leading the way” in propping up Trump’s agenda, CNBC reports. The hedge-fund billionaire reportedly gave $6.4 million to Republicans this year, the lowest amount he’s given to the GOP since 2012. He also avoided directly funding the Trump campaign or any of the president’s fundraising committees. According to CNBC, this is a stark change from previous years, when Mercer financially backed Trump’s agenda, as well as the data-gathering firm Cambridge Analytica. He reportedly put millions into Trump’s election and invested $15 million into the firm before it was revealed to have harvested the personal data of 50 million Facebook users. Sources told CNBC that Mercer was “tired of the attacks” from Democrats and the press about his donations. “I think they just don’t like being in the spotlight,” one person said.