A newly formed political action committee, The Fellowship PAC, has made its first major expenditure, spending $300,000 on advertising for Georgia Republican Clay Fuller through Nxum Group, a firm co-founded by Tether US CEO Bo Hines. The PAC, which claims to be rooted in transparency, has ties to Tether and has named Tether US executive Jesse Spiro as its chairman. According to campaign finance expert Michael Beckel, setting up a super PAC and paying for services is not against US campaign finance rules as long as the services are provided at fair market value. The PAC's advertising effort for Fuller is its first major expenditure, and it is unclear what other candidates the PAC will support in the upcoming elections.
The Fellowship PAC was announced last year with pledges of $100 million, but its current accounts show no contributions, raising questions about the source of its funding. Tether has denied any affiliation or oversight of the PAC, but the connection between the two has raised concerns about potential self-dealing.
The PAC's first recipient of financial support, Fuller, is an incoming Republican member of the House of Representatives and has the backing of President Trump. The money spent by the Fellowship super PAC was an independent expenditure, meaning it had to be handled without strategizing with Fuller's campaign. The firm paid by the Fellowship PAC, Nxum, has contributed to other political efforts in the past, including a $1 million billboard advertising campaign for MAGA Inc. in support of Trump in 2024.
The PAC's treasurer, Mitchell Nobel, is an executive at Cantor Fitzgerald, a firm that manages assets for Tether's global operation. The Fellowship PAC's activities have raised questions about the role of cryptocurrency in US politics and the potential for self-dealing in campaign finance.