Michael Bloomberg becomes 2nd largest Harris donor behind George Soros: Report

Bloomberg donated nearly $20 million over the summer to support President Biden's re-election campaign, but he conspicuously held out any donations to Harris after she replaced Biden on the Democratic Party's ticket. However, amid pressure from fellow billionaires, Bloomberg did finally cut a check to support Harris, according to The New York Times, which reportedly spoke with four people who are familiar with the donation. 

Michael Smith, president of House Majority PAC, defended Bloomberg's decision to wait until the final days before the election to donate, calling the move "deliberate" and "sophisticated," according to the Times. "There should be no expectation that any individual donor is just going to give to you," Smith argued. "Mike's not giving money to anyone just to give money."  

Meanwhile, Quentin James, the founder and president of Collective PAC, told The Times that he "very clearly" disagrees with the strategy "because time, not late money, is always our best weapon."

The Times reported that Bloomberg was hesitant to give additional funds to Future Forward beyond his initial $20 million he gave when Biden was running, with the billionaire citing the success the vice president was already having fundraising.

According to The Times, Bloomberg felt spending his money on ballot initiatives and other state initiatives was a bigger priority. Just this week, Bloomberg gave $2.5 million to oppose a ballot measure in Massachusetts that aims to get rid of standardized testing requirements for high school graduates. 

Fox News Digital reached out to Bloomberg Philanthropies, but the group declined to comment.