US Chamber CEO says businesses are 'fed up' with Washington despite recent support for Democrats

U.S. Chamber of Commerce CEO Suzanne Clark delivered an address at the State of American Business 2023 forum in which she criticized the federal government for being ineffective and hampering private sector success through excessive regulation.

"Business cannot be the only thing that works in this country. We need a government that also works. A government that rejects gridlock and chooses governing. A government that can partner with the private sector on our biggest challenges and engage globally to advance America's interests and the world. A government that limits itself to the work only it can do - no more and no less," Clark said on Thursday. "Because when it comes to Washington, the state of American business is fed up."

Clark criticized the federal government's failed response to the crisis at the southern border, but did not mention President Biden by name.

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"But today, there are too many instances where government just isn't working. When a border crisis allows millions to cross illegally into this country, but we can't get visas processed for engineers and nurses that businesses are desperate to hire and communities need, government isn't working," she continued. "When you've got the most significant new investment in infrastructure in a generation and businesses ready to build but projects can't get approved, government isn't working. When energy policy is reduced to a false binary choice between energy security and energy transition, one or the other, government isn't working. When regulations are driven by ideological agendas and imposed on business without transparency, accountability, or clarity, government isn't working," she continued.

Clark also criticized what she described as a lack of American leadership abroad.

"When Washington disfunction allows foreign countries to write rules for the global economy that discriminate against American companies, government isn't working," she said.

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Clark also took aim at what she described as an overly partisan political environment that hinders national success. 

"We're locked in this cycle of hyper partisanship and political power swings. Ten of the past 12 elections have been change elections. Both political parties promise they'll do the big hard things when they gain full control and can do it their way without the give and take that comes from working across the isle. The other party promises to undue those things when they get a majority in Congress which often turns out to be the very next election," she said. 

The Chamber of Commerce has recently embarked on a new political strategy. Prior to the Trump administration, the organization was reliable ally to Republicans in Washington, often times being in lock-step with the positions of the GOP. However, during the Trump era, the organization began to endorse more Democratic candidates for office. Throughout the Biden administration, the Chamber worked with the Democrat president on passing the trillion dollar infrastructure bill. They also praised the Biden administration's COVID-19 workplace actions that included a vaccine mandate for members of the military. The Pentagon recently dropped their COVID-19 vaccine mandate. 

 In 2020, the Chamber endorsed 23 House Democratic freshmen.  The move angered Republicans with many seeing it as an act of betrayal. Then-Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy rejected the support of the Chamber of Commerce.

"I don’t want the US Chamber’s endorsement because they have sold out," McCarthy said at the time. "It is hypocrisy that the U.S. Chamber of Commerce would endorse the Democrats that are part of this socialist agenda that is driving this country out, and it's fighting this president."

Shortly after the 2020 election, many of the Democrats that the group endorsed voted for the pro-labor union bill the PRO Act, which the Chamber opposed. Sen. Tom Cotton said it was proof that the group was a "front service for woke corporations." 

"The Chamber endorsed several liberal Democrats for Congress, and all those liberal Democrats turned around last week, and every single one of them voted for Nancy Pelosi’s radical union bill," he said. "They often serve, too, as just a front service for woke corporations who are trying to peddle anti-American theories and demanding that their employees get reeducated and indoctrinated on anti-American ideas, like the fact that somehow we’re all terribly racist, or every one of our institutions is racist, and we all need to go to reeducation camps,"

Prior to the midterm elections, the Chamber of Commerce faced criticism by some for endorsing 30 Democrats who were running for Congress. At the time, the leadership of the Chamber penned a letter to the editor in the Wall Street Journal to defend the group's decision.

"The Chamber’s endorsements in the last election cycle included 193 Republican candidates and 30 Democratic candidates, both graded on the same scorecard. The scorecard includes positions on a range of important issues," they wrote. "Many members of Congress earned an endorsement because of their actions working to, among other things, secure passage of USMCA, President Trump’s top legislative priority last Congress."

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"The Chamber’s call for a more productive government stems from the dysfunction of partisanship and a lack of accomplishments," the Chamber of Commerce told Fox News Digital. "This applies to the executive and legislative branches, as well as federal agencies. The Chamber supports pro-business legislators and government leaders regardless of party who achieve results for the American people and economy. For instance, the historic passage of the infrastructure bill – a 25-year priority for the Chamber – and slashing billions of dollars of tax increases out of the budget reconciliation bill hinged on the efforts of a handful of pro-business leaders in each party. We will remain focused on supporting pro-business members who will deliver wins for the country."

This article was updated with comment from the Chamber of Commerce.