A new political action committee, the Fellowship PAC, has made its first major expenditure, spending $300,000 on advertising for a Republican candidate through a firm co-founded by Tether's US CEO, Bo Hines. The PAC, which claims to be rooted in transparency, has ties to Tether, although the company has declined to confirm the connection.
The advertising effort is on behalf of Clay Fuller, a Republican candidate for the House of Representatives, and was made through Nxum Group, a firm co-founded by Hines and his father, Todd Hines. The payment may benefit Hines and his relative, but setting up a super PAC and paying oneself for services is not against US campaign-finance rules, as long as the services are provided at fair-market rates. The Fellowship PAC's disclosures do not yet show a significant stockpile of contributions to back other candidates, despite an announcement last year that it would be established with pledges of $100 million. The PAC's first recipient of financial support, Fuller, is an incoming Republican member of the House of Representatives and will need campaign support for the upcoming primary and general election.
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 no federal record as a regular service provider for additional political efforts, but it did contribute billboard advertising valued at $1 million for MAGA Inc.
in support of Trump in 2024. The PAC's treasurer who signed off on its first spending 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 its formation and funding, as well as its ties to Tether and its executives.