After inauguration gift, Target dials back D.C. lobbying in Trump’s second term

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Federal lobbying disclosures from the past year show Minneapolis-based retail giant Target spent nearly $1 million less in 2025 than the year prior.

In any normal year, it would be considered a remarkable retreat, especially since President Donald Trump’s first year back in the White House shook up global supply lines and affected costs for American shoppers.

But in this new era of political influence, traditional lobbying disclosures don’t always tell the whole story. For example, like several other large companies, the retailer gave $1 million to Trump’s January 2025 inauguration fund.

Such donations are not counted on spending under the Lobbying Disclosure Act, but are reported to the Federal Elections Commission and are influential in Washington, D.C., especially with Trump, lobbying experts said.

“We’re living through a period of unprecedented transactional politics in Washington,” said Daniel Weiner, director of the Elections and Government Program at the Brennan Center for Justice. “That is fundamental to the president’s political brand.”

Target declined to comment on its lobbying strategy.

Other companies with strong Minnesota connections, like Sioux Falls-based ethanol producer Poet and Atlanta-based Delta Airlines, also gave $1 million to Trump’s inaugural fund.

Some spent less, like Cargill, the privately owned Minnetonka-based grain trader, which slightly decreased its spending; and C.H. Robinson, which spent 27% less on lobbying in 2025 compared with the previous year.

Ameriprise spent 25% more in 2025, a bigger increase than most others. However, UnitedHealth Group, the Eden Prairie-based health insurance company, rose to $12.54 million in 2025, a 67% jump, according to registered spending records. This came as health insurers beat back legislation from the federal budget bill, Republicans’ signature 2025 tax law, that might’ve clamped down on profits for private Medicare programs.

None of the companies opted to comment for this story.

Target’s traditional lobbying spending was $1.81 million in 2025, a 34% decrease from the year before.

Nate Garvis, a former Target executive who runs a strategic consultancy for business leaders, said the company had always sought a middle ground between America’s warring political parties, with its PAC sending half of its money to Democrats and half of its money to Republicans.

But what’s changed, Garvis said, is the strength of the division in the broader culture.

“We were so doctrinaire about being purple,” Garvis said. “Being purple is really difficult now.”

Target in the first week of Trump’s second term announced it was winding down some diversity initiatives. Word of the $1 million donation to the inauguration fund came shortly after that.

Since then, the company has come under fire and some customers have boycotted it. In recent weeks, after Target store employees who are U.S. citizens were detained by federal officers, there were renewed calls for Target to lean into social justice messages as it had after the murder of George Floyd in 2020.

That’s different than the years prior, when it was more common to hear Republicans, such as Arkansas Sen. Tom Cotton, criticize Target for perceived “woke” actions. In 2023, after a social media flare-up over Target’s Pride collection, Cotton sent a letter to then-CEO Brian Cornell, calling the company’s diversity, equity and inclusion practices “discriminatory.”

“[Target] was always about discovery. Their stores were beautiful. It was a fun brand,” said Barbara Kahn, a marketing professor at the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. “That’s what they should do. Go back to what they’re good at.”