The U.S. Army announced last year that it had enough of a specific model of armored vehicle and that any more deliveries would be “excess.”
asserted
deliveries → announce → vehicle
But even so, Congress found a way to keep funding alive for the vehicle — and executives at the company that produces the vehicle found a way to flood key members of Congress with campaign donations.
asserted
that → find → donations
In the weeks after this year’s appropriations bill passed, employees of AM General or its parent company donated tens of thousands to key appropriations committee members in both chambers, Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, and Rep. Ken Calvert, R-Calif.
Collins is separately facing scrutiny over a report from ProPublica that the FBI investigated an alleged pay-to-play scheme involving a major donor, an ex-defense contractor.
asserted
FBI → pass → donor
Collins’ office denied that there was any kind of pay-to-play arrangement and said she fully cooperated with the FBI.
asserted
she → deny → FBI
There is no indication that AM General’s donations were part of such a scheme, but
asserted
donations → be → scheme
the giving nonetheless demonstrates how Collins’s campaign account has grown with help from employees at defense contractors doing business with the government.
asserted
account → demonstrate → government
Before the Army put the future of the vehicle in jeopardy, Collins was not a frequent beneficiary of contributions from the company’s workers.
asserted
Collins → put → workers
She last received campaign funds from AM General or its parent company’s employees more than a decade ago.
asserted
She → receive → General
But after the Army’s “excess” announcement last year, employees and the company’s PAC donated over $58,000 to committees associated with Collins.
asserted
employees → donate → Collins
One observer of money in politics said that appropriators receiving money from government contractors is a long-standing problem.
asserted
appropriators → say → contractors
These lawmakers can steer huge sums of money to private companies.
asserted
lawmakers → steer → companies
Government contractors today routinely try to leverage a broken campaign finance system to their advantage,” said Michael Beckel, money in politics reform director at Issue One.
asserted
Beckel → try → Issue
The revival of the Army’s order was supported by lawmakers in both parties, including the top Democrat on the House Appropriations defense subcommittee, Rep. Betty McCollum, D-Minn.
asserted
revival → support → subcommittee
Collins’s office said that in the Senate, decisions on the program were made not by her but by defense subcommittee chair Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., and vice chair Sen. Chris Coons, D-Del.
asserted
decisions → say → McConnell
McConnell did not receive donations from employees at AM General or its parent company this election cycle.
asserted
McConnell → receive → General
Coons received $2,500 from its employee PAC.
asserted
Coons → receive → PAC
“Sen. Collins was not involved in this decision.
asserted
Collins → involve → decision
The final decision was made by the Chairs and Ranking Members of the House and Senate Defense Appropriations Subcommittees,” said a Collins spokesperson, Phoebe Keller.
asserted
spokesperson → make → Subcommittees
AM General’s CEO, John Chadbourne, said in an email that the company does not comment on campaign donations, “all of which fully comply with FEC rules and regulations.”
asserted
all → say → rules
He added, “AM General’s focus is on the Warfighter and providing the best light tactical vehicle capabilities to the Joint Forces.”
Congress Steps In
AM General is most famous for producing the Humvee, the iconic military vehicle that trawled the streets of Baghdad during the Iraq War.
asserted
that → add → War
In 2023, the Army selected the company to produce 20,000 units of a more heavily armored successor known as the Joint Light Tactical Vehicle.
asserted
Army → select → Vehicle
The company was ramping up its production line in Indiana when then-Army Secretary Dan Driscoll announced in May 2025 that he would cancel its order, saying the additional deliveries would result in an “excess.”
uncertain
deliveries → ramp → excess
Driscoll’s announcement was part of a larger effort to “eliminate waste and obsolete programs.”
asserted
announcement → eliminate → waste
“Yesterday’s weapons will not win tomorrow’s wars,” he said.
asserted
he → win → wars
The military does not always have the last say on its contracts, however.
asserted
military → have → contracts
Congress has for decades swooped in to save pricey programs with political appeal.
asserted
Congress → swoop → appeal
Soon after the Army moved to kill the vehicle contract, Congress mobilized to save it.
asserted
Congress → move → it
AM General had backing from members of Congress in Indiana, thanks to the jobs on its production line there.
asserted
General → have → line
It also found backing from legislators in states far from its home.
asserted
It → find → home
The House moved first: In June 2025, the House Appropriations Committee’s subcommittee on defense proposed spending hundreds of millions on the vehicle for the Army.
asserted
subcommittee → move → Army
By the time the final version of the defense spending bill passed this February, the Army had been provided with $345 million for procurement of a vehicle it said it did not need.
asserted
it → pass → vehicle
A joint statement from the House and Senate, which Collins’ office said was produced by the defense subcommittees, sounded a skeptical note about the Army’s decision to cancel further orders of the vehicle.
asserted
office → say → vehicle
The statement said that the Army had provided “inadequate supporting analysis.”
asserted
Army → say → analysis
One concern was that without the efficiencies from a larger order that included the Army, the cost-per-unit price of vehicles that the Marines still wanted would rise.
asserted
Marines → include → that
McCollum, the House Democrat with an influential role in the process, said in a statement that she was one of numerous members of Congress to question the Army’s decision.
“Appropriators felt the Army failed to do adequate due diligence to justify their rash budget decision to cut the JLTV program and explain the full impacts on the Army, and especially the Marine Corps, which had not been consulted,” she said.
asserted
she → say → Army
By the time the final version of the defense spending bill passed this February, the Army had been provided with $345 million for procurement of a vehicle it said it did not need.
asserted
it → pass → vehicle
Collins’s campaign committees had received some money after the Army announced that it wanted to cancel the project.
asserted
it → receive → project
In the weeks after Congress passed the appropriations bill on February 3, Collins and one of her counterparts in the House, Rep. Ken Calvert, both received a burst of donations from AM General employees and the company’s political action committee.
asserted
Collins → pass → employees
After the appropriations bill went through, donors associated with AM General gave a total of $50,000 to Collins’s fundraising committees.
asserted
donors → go → committees
The donors included Chadbourne, the company’s CEO, and two of KPS Capital’s managing partners.
asserted
donors → include → partners
…and 69 more, not listed.
The Aporia
