Progressive Group Demands Removal Of Neal As Top Ways And Means Democrat

A progressive advocacy group is asking Democratic leadership to remove Rep. Richard Neal as the top Democrat on the House Ways and Means Committee over “what appears to be a corrupt influence campaign by corporate interests” through his son Brendan Neal.

Patriotic Millionaires, a coalition of high-net-worth individuals who advocate for progressive tax policies, said in a letter to senior Democrats that recent reporting by POLITICO on Richard Neal and his son’s business practices “brings to mind the Abramoff scandal, and reeks of old-school corruption that the party should not tolerate.”

POLITICO reported that Brendan Neal received $196,340 from his father’s campaign and business contracts from tax lobbyists with interests before the Ways and Means Committee. Those lobbyists had clients that notched legislative wins in Richard Neal’s legislation, including tax deductions for trial lawyers and tax breaks for certain kinds of insurance contracts.

Morris Pearl, chair of Patriotic Millionaires, wrote in an Oct. 28 letter to House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) and four other members of House Democratic leadership that the report is particularly relevant as Democrats head into 2025 negotiations over trillions of dollars in expiring tax cuts.

Though Democrats will likely be sidelined in the tax legislation given that Republicans control both houses of Congress and the White House, Democrats will be looking to portray the GOP's tax policies as giveaways to the wealthy and special interests.

“If the Ways and Means Chair is a poster child for that corruption, and not a champion against it, Democrats will begin that fight on the defensive, and be unable to deliver on a central campaign promise to tax billionaires and corporations,” Pearl wrote.

In an accompanying email sent from Pearl to Jeffries’ office, which was forwarded to POLITICO, Pearl also requested a meeting with Jeffries to discuss his concerns either in New York City or Washington.

Pearl said he has yet to receive a response from the recipients of the letter, including from Jeffries’ office.

Members of House Democratic leadership, including Jeffries, did not respond to requests for comment.

A spokesperson for Neal, an 18-term member of Congress who chaired Ways and Means for four years beginning in 2019, rejected the contention that Brendan Neal’s lobbying and corporate ties present a conflict of interest for his father.

“As our office has repeatedly told POLITICO, Brendan Neal doesn't have any business before the Ways and Means Committee, nor has he,” said Dylan Peachey, a spokesperson for Neal, in response to the letter.

“Ranking Member Neal's focus is squarely on fighting for working families and fighting Republican control and exposing Trump's Billionaire Cabinet for who they are.”

Brendan Neal likewise told POLITICO for its special report that he has always followed ethics rules and doesn’t lobby his father.

In addition to his work for his father’s campaign committee and tax lobbyists with interests before Ways and Means, Brendan Neal also had business dealings with the tax lobbyist for Blackstone, around the same time the private equity giant was lobbying against proposals to end favorable tax treatment of private equity income. Richard Neal chaired Ways and Means then.

“Our tax code is a reflection of our nation’s values, and Democrats need a Chair who will be a champion for working people and the middle class, a barrier to corporate interests carving up our tax code, and free from the appearance of corruption,” wrote Pearl.

“Representative Neal is clearly not that person, and it is your duty, as the leaders of the party, to replace him,” Pearl said.