Mitch McConnell told CEOs to 'stay out of politics' over the Georgia voting law, despite being one of the biggest recipients of corporate cash in Congress

McConnell told CEOs to "stay out of politics" amid a corporate backlash to Georgia's new voting law.

But that stance is at odds with his funding record.

The Senate minority leader is a major recipient of corporate funding himself.

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Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell chastised companies speaking out about Georgia's new voting law, saying they should "stay out of politics."

McConnell is a regular recipient of corporate donations and by some measures outstrips most other members of Congress.

During a news conference on Monday, he told CEOs to avoid getting embroiled in the debate over the sweeping measures signed into law in Georgia at the end of March.

Civil-rights activists have said the Election Integrity Act of 2021 suppresses voters, particularly Black voters. Many corporations have followed suit, including major companies based in Georgia, like Coca-Cola, Delta Air Lines, and Home Depot.

"My advice to the corporate CEOs of America is to stay out of politics. Don't pick sides in these big fights," McConnell said.

The stance against corporate power in politics appears at odds with McConnell's own funding record, however.

According to MarketWatch, he outranked all other candidates in competitive Senate races in 2020 for donations from CEOs of companies in the S&P 500.

McConnell received a total of $258,880 from 37 CEOs whose companies are in the index, and he was one of only two candidates on the list who received more than $200,000 in corporate donations, the outlet reported.

As the Senate minority leader, McConnell maintains an iron grip over the upper chamber's Republicans' voting intentions.

The chamber is controlled by Democrats but by a tiny margin whereby Vice President Kamala Harris casts tiebreaking votes.

The Republican Party has traditionally been favored by big business, but the relationship has soured since the Capitol riot on January 6, Reuters reported in March.

Soon after the riot, donors from dozens of companies vowed to cut off the 147 lawmakers who had voted to overturn the 2020 election result. But that shortfall was more than recouped by a surge in individual donations, according to the outlet.

McConnell's office did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.