Trump aides create loyalty list ranking corporations by support

(Bloomberg) — President Donald Trump’s aides have created a scorecard ranking hundreds of companies based on their efforts to support his signature tax cut law, a White House official said Friday.

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The list ranks 553 different businesses as either “strong, moderate, or low” partners on the megabill, which extended and expanded tax cuts from the president’s first term and provided billions of dollars in additional funding for immigration enforcement.

It’s not clear how the scores will affect the way the federal government deals with the firms, but the official, speaking on the condition of anonymity, suggested that companies’ rankings could change based on present and future support for presidential initiatives.

Trump has made unusual, high-profile interventions in the business world since returning to the White House in ways that critics have said run counter to the Republican Party’s traditional commitment to free-market capitalism. The president has defended himself as a pro-business leader.

Recently, the Trump administration has considered taking an equity stake in Intel Corp. (INTC) and got Nvidia Corp (NVDA). and Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (AMD) to pay the government 15% of revenues from chip sales to China.

The creation of the list comes as Trump has struggled to sell the public on the benefits of the legislation. Just 32% of Americans say they approve of the tax and spending bill versus 46% who disapprove, according to a Pew Research poll released this week. The president’s job approval sat at just 38% in the same survey.

But the administration is ratcheting up efforts to sell the benefits of the legislation, with Trump on Thursday holding an event at the White House to tout a new $6,000 deduction for seniors on Social Security benefits. Cabinet officials have scheduled events across the country in support of the legislation.

Companies favorably ranked by the White House included DoorDash Inc. (DASH) and Uber Technologies Inc. (UBER), according to Axios, which first reported the existence of the list.

The rideshare companies have touted a provision that allows some taxpayers to deduct as much as $25,000 in reported cash tips from their income taxes. Airlines including United Airlines Inc. (UAL) and Delta Air Lines Inc. (DAL) were credited for their efforts supporting the bill’s $12.5 billion allocation for new air traffic control infrastructure.

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