Former President Donald Trump has yet to say whether or not he will run for president in 2024. Regardless, his stranglehold on the Republican Party remains. And 14 months after Trump left the White House, his political action committee, Save America, is still raising a fortune.

Journalist Edward Helmore, in an article published by The Guardian on March 27, observes, “As of this month, Trump has $108,046,100 saved in his Save America political fund, more than the Republican and Democratic National Committees combined, and 12 times as much as the fund — PAC for the Future — for the Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. And all of that has been raised while Trump’s own ambitions remain unclear. Though his grip on the Republican Party remains tight — and he has waged an endorsement war against his opponents — the big question over whether Trump will run again for the White House remains unanswered.”

Save America, Helmore notes, is “registered as a leadership PAC,” meaning that if Trump runs for president in 2024, he “cannot easily spend the money on himself.” But Trump hasn’t been quick to spend Save America’s money on other Republicans.

“Since Trump founded Save America in November 2020,” Helmore observes, “the group has raised $124m — the largest war chest ever built by an ex-president — but spent only about $14m, or around 11 percent. In contrast, the main fund for supporting Senate Republican candidates has spent about 80 percent of the $135m it raised since the start of 2021, while its main fund for congressional candidates has spent half of the $162m it has raised in the same period.”

Democratic consultant Carly Cooperman wonders if Trump will spend more of Save America’s money as the November 2022 election draws closer.

“It’s consistent with Trump’s political priorities — Trump first above everything else — and makes him well-positioned for a presidential run in 2024,” Cooperman told The Guardian. “It’s possible he decides to make a big splash in competitive races as we get closer to the midterm elections, but above all, Trump’s immense popularity and ability to raise large sums of money makes him even more powerful in the Republican Party.”

Reprinted with permission from Alternet