Which members of Congress have AIPAC listed as their top donor, according to TrackAIPAC’s Hall of Shame?
This fact-check may be outdated. Consider refreshing it to get the most current information.
Executive summary
TrackAIPAC’s “Hall of Shame” identifies 81 current members of the U.S. Congress for whom AIPAC is the all-time top contributor, a roster the site says includes eight senators and 73 representatives and spans both parties — 37 Republicans and 44 Democrats [1]. The TrackAIPAC project hosts searchable profiles and downloadable graphics for each lawmaker, but the excerpts provided here do not include the full name-by-name list, so this report confines itself to what TrackAIPAC publicly asserts in its summary and describes where to find the detailed roster [1] [2].
1. What TrackAIPAC claims — the headline numbers
TrackAIPAC presents a single headline statistic: 81 members of the current Congress — about 15% of the chamber — have AIPAC listed as their all-time top contributor, and the site breaks that total into eight senators and 73 House members, with a bipartisan composition of 37 Republicans and 44 Democrats [1]. That aggregate framing is how TrackAIPAC packages its “Hall of Shame,” a curated subset of profiles the project says highlight the most significant financial ties between members of Congress and AIPAC-backed giving [3].
2. What the site offers beyond the totals
Beyond the summary count, TrackAIPAC’s platform advertises a searchable database where users can pull up individual Congressmember profiles, download graphics, and inspect donation histories tied to AIPAC and allied pro-Israel PACs — tools the project markets as transparency resources to track influence and donor networks [2] [4]. The site also publishes donor profiles and analysis about the corporate and executive-class composition of AIPAC’s funding base, asserting that many major contributors are CEOs and corporate leaders [5].
3. Limits of the available reporting: why a name-by-name list is not reproduced here
The current source excerpts do not provide the explicit, complete roster of the 81 members by name; they only supply the summary totals and describe the site’s searchable features, meaning a definitive, inline list of names cannot be reconstructed from these snippets alone without accessing TrackAIPAC’s full pages [1] [2]. TrackAIPAC’s FAQ also notes methodological constraints — it tracks campaign contributions and independent expenditures by Israel-lobby groups but does not cover funds to non-elected officials — underscoring the project’s defined scope and the need to consult the site directly for granular records [6].
4. How to verify individual entries and why verification matters
To confirm whether a specific member of Congress appears on TrackAIPAC’s Hall of Shame, the site’s “congress” search and individual profile pages are the primary sources TrackAIPAC points to, which include downloadable graphics and donation breakdowns for each lawmaker [2] [4]. Independent cross-checks with campaign‑finance databases such as OpenSecrets are prudent because TrackAIPAC aggregates and interprets contribution histories; OpenSecrets maintains raw contribution data for PACs and interest groups that can corroborate whether AIPAC (or AIPAC‑linked entities) are a member’s top donor [7] [8].
5. Context and competing interpretations
TrackAIPAC frames this roster as an accountability tool aimed at “making the money toxic,” a strategic move to pressure politicians to reject AIPAC funding, and the site has attracted commentary that its work reflects changing public attitudes toward Israel lobbying [3] [9]. Supporters of AIPAC and some scholars argue the organization operates as a bipartisan advocate for U.S.–Israel relations and emphasize AIPAC’s public-facing mission statements; critics counter that independent political spending by AIPAC‑linked PACs and donors exerts outsized influence — a debate that TrackAIPAC’s Hall of Shame is designed to foreground [10] [5].
6. Bottom line and path forward for readers
The direct answer supported by the provided reporting: TrackAIPAC’s Hall of Shame lists 81 members of Congress with AIPAC as their all‑time top contributor — eight senators and 73 representatives, split 37 Republicans and 44 Democrats — but the excerpts supplied do not include the detailed, name-by-name roster, which TrackAIPAC hosts on its searchable site and in individual profile pages for further verification [1] [2] [4] [6]. For anyone seeking the specific members, consult TrackAIPAC’s Hall of Shame page and cross-reference entries with primary campaign‑finance records on databases like OpenSecrets [1] [7].