National

Michael Bloomberg to spend $80 million to help Democrats seize House

WASHINGTON — Former New York mayor Michael Bloomberg announced plans Wednesday to plow tens of millions of dollars into helping Democrats take control of the House and end what he called Republicans' "absolutely feckless" approach to governing.

Bloomberg, a political independent who has focused his political activism on gun safety and climate change, is expected to spend at least $80 million on the midterm races, much of it on House contests, his aides said.

The billionaire's political investment, first reported by The New York Times, gives Democrats a massive financial boost as they look to win 24 Republican-held seats they must flip to seize the majority.

Bloomberg, in a statement explaining his move, did not identify the races he plans to target but denounced Republicans, saying they had failed to provide oversight of the Trump administration or work to craft bipartisan laws.

"Republicans in Congress have had almost two years to prove they could govern responsibly. They failed," he wrote. "As we approach the 2018 midterms, it's critical that we elect people who will lead in ways that this Congress won’t — both by seeking to legislate in a bipartisan way, and by upholding the checks and balances that the Founding Fathers set up to safeguard ethics, prevent the abuse of power, and preserve the rule of law."

Bloomberg said he has "plenty of disagreements with some Democrats, especially those who seek to make this election about impeachment." But he said the country "cannot afford to elect another Congress that lacks the courage to reach across the aisle and the independence to assert its constitutional authority."

On Twitter, a top Bloomberg lieutenant Howard Wolfson, alluded to the crisis of migrant children separated from their parents on the U.S. border with Mexico. He said Bloomberg's political team would "make sure that voters in November remember which members of Congress allowed the president to separate children from their parents."

Bloomberg's 2018 midterm plan amounts to nearly triple the $28.4 million he spent to influence congressional races in 2014, the last midterm election.