Rep. Ro Khanna defends fundraiser at David Sacks's home after supporting Silicon Valley Bank bailout

[RandySF]

U.S. Rep. Ro Khanna, the Democratic congressman from Silicon Valley, is defending his plans to hold a fundraiser at the home of venture capitalist David Sacks in the wake of advocating for government intervention in Silicon Valley Bank’s collapse.

Sacks, who was PayPal Holdings Inc.’s PYPL, +2.75% founding chief operating officer and often tweets political opinions that mostly differ from Khanna’s, was among the most outspoken of VCs calling for the government to step in after the second-largest bank failure in U.S. history. At one point in the weekend after the bank’s collapse, Sacks tweeted “Where is Powell? Where is Yellen? Stop this crisis NOW,” and has lately been defending the perceived role of venture capitalists in the collapse.

The timing of the fundraiser is coincidental, Khanna told MarketWatch in an interview this week. It was planned last month, before the Silicon Valley Bank failure and Khanna’s advocacy for the bailout that Sacks also sought, he said.

On their opposing political views, Khanna said: “David Sacks knows what my agenda is. He knows I’m a supporter of Bernie Sanders, and of higher taxes on people like him.”

The congressman added that he disagrees with Sacks’s support of Republican politicians such as Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and Ohio Sen. J.D. Vance, but pointed out that Sacks has also donated to Democrats, such as Hillary Clinton.



https://www.marketwatch.com/story/rep-ro-khanna-defends-fundraiser-at-david-sacks-home-after-supporting-silicon-valley-bank-bailout-f6b0f0dc