# Reynolds American 8M to MAGA Inc Between February 2025 and April 2026, [[Reynolds American]], the maker of Camel cigarettes and Vuse e-cigarettes, gave **$8,000,000** to [[MAGA Inc]], [[Donald Trump]]'s super PAC. The money came through a subsidiary, RAI Services Company. The largest single check, **$5,000,000**, is dated **April 30, 2026**, two days before company representatives had lunch with the President and about a week before the [[FDA]] opened the market to fruit-flavored vapes. ## The record | Date | Amount | Disclosed in | |---|---|---| | 2025-02-05 | $1,000,000 | Form 3X, file 1909741 | | 2025-06-30 | $1,000,000 | Form 3X, file 1909741 | | 2025-12-29 | $1,000,000 | Form 3X, file 1943509 | | 2026-04-30 | **$5,000,000** | Form 3X, file 1978142 | | **Total** | **$8,000,000** | Recipient: MAGA Inc. (FEC **C00892471**) | The same subsidiary gave **$10,000,000** in the 2024 cycle to the super PAC's predecessor committee, Make America Great Again Inc. (FEC C00825851): $1,000,000 in February 2024, $2,500,000 in March, $5,000,000 in June and $1,500,000 in October. Reynolds also wrote checks of $100,000 or more to fourteen other political committees in the 2025–26 cycle, about **$8.2 million** in all. The largest shares went to SLF PAC, the super PAC of the [[Senate Leadership Fund]] ($3.5 million), and to CLF, the [[Congressional Leadership Fund]] ($1.4 million). ## The sequence around the largest check - **April 30, 2026.** RAI Services Company gives $5,000,000 to MAGA Inc. The gift made up more than half of what the committee raised that month. - **May 2.** Trump has lunch at his golf club in Jupiter, Florida, with a Reynolds executive, the company's lobbyists from [[Ballard Partners]], and two executives from [[Altria]]. The *New York Times* reported that the guests complained about FDA regulation and that Trump phoned his health officials during the meal. - **The following week.** The FDA authorizes its first fruit-flavored e-cigarettes and issues guidance that could let large tobacco companies sell their own. - **Days later.** FDA commissioner [[Marty Makary]], who opposed the change, resigns. ## The lobbying side Reynolds has been a Ballard Partners client since February 2017. In the seven quarters from the start of 2025 through September 2026 it paid the firm **$1,110,000**. The quarterly fee rose from $150,000 in the first quarter of 2026 to $190,000 in the second and $210,000 in the third. The second-quarter report is the first of Trump's second term to list the White House Office as a contact for this client. ## What this page does not claim > [!note] Timing is not proof > Nothing in these filings links the contribution to the FDA's decision. The White House has said the donation was unrelated, and MAGA Inc says it accepts lawful contributions from supporters of the President's agenda. Reynolds had not, at the time of the reporting cited here, received authorization for a flavored product of its own. Trump campaigned in 2024 on protecting flavored vapes. The record shows a donor, a meeting and a decision in the space of about ten days. It does not show an agreement. ## See Also - [[MAGA vs. MAHA]] — the November 2026 dispute in which a former administration adviser tied this money to the vape decision - [[Reynolds American]] · [[Altria]] · [[MAGA Inc]] · [[Ballard Partners]] · [[Brian Ballard]] - [[Marty Makary]] · [[FDA]] · [[Juul]] - [[Florida Crystals 3M to MAGA Inc]] · [[Foris DAX 35M to MAGA Inc]] · [[Isaacman 2M to MAGA Inc August 2026]] - [[Super PACs]] · [[Conflict of Interest]] · [[Regulatory Capture]]