Republican Kevin McCarthy has made history as the first House Speaker to be removed from power, and by a narrow vote – 216 to 210. This unprecedented event demands a closer examination of the corporate donors who have been investing in McCarthy over the past few election cycles. Now, with McCarthy’s removal from office confirmed, the question arises: what becomes of the corporate investments that fueled his political ascent?

Since 2017, McCarthy has amassed over $14 million in political donations from a multitude of Political Action Committees (PACs), each representing various corporate interests. These PACs placed their bets on McCarthy, expecting that his influential position as House Speaker would translate into legislative favors, favorable policies, or other means of advancing their bottom lines.

However, now that McCarthy has been stripped of his House Speaker role, it’s worth exploring the identities of these major contributors. Who are the corporations behind the man no longer running the House of Representatives?

Valero Energy ($VLO) emerges as the leading contributor among PACs in the last three election cycles. Among the top 20 donors, a pattern emerges, with sectors like travel, healthcare, and energy overrepresented.

McCarthy’s removal has greatly devalued these corporate political investments, making them quite literally bad bets. This raises a question: Will the corporations that supported him during his tenure as House Speaker still contribute to his campaigns post-removal, or will they perceive his diminished influence as an insufficient return on their legislative investments?