President Donald Trump plans to create a new political action committee that could allow him to retain influence over the party he subsumed even after leaving office. The New York Timesreports Trump will create a so-called leadership PAC, which can accept contributions of as much as $5,000 per donor and distribute the funds to political allies. Trump’s campaign insists that he planned to form the group whether or not he was re-elected. But with his defeat by President-elect Joe Biden, the yet-unnamed PAC will provide a vehicle for Trump to stay relevant in national politics and even mount another presidential run in 2024. The PAC could also be used to steer donor money to Trump properties in lieu of the campaign committee that the president has used to funnel money to his businesses since 2015. Leadership PACs are notorious for their use by ex-officeholders to pay expenses that are only superficially political in nature, and have been criticized as “slush funds” for those officials’ personal expenses.
