The Home Depot

Quick Take

Home Depot is a company whose political reputation was largely built by men who left it years ago. Co-founder Bernie Marcus was one of Donald Trump's earliest and biggest financial backers, and that association has shaped how shoppers see the orange-aproned chain ever since.[2] The company itself takes pains to separate its brand from Marcus, saying his views do not represent it and that it does not endorse presidential candidates.[5] Its corporate PAC, meanwhile, gives money to candidates in both parties but tilts toward Republicans, and the founders' personal giving and the company's official posture do not always tell the same story.

Following the Money

Home Depot operates a corporate PAC that contributes to federal candidates and committees of both parties. According to OpenSecrets' organization-level tallies for the 2023-2024 cycle, contributions associated with Home Depot, its PAC, and its employees totaled about $5.4 million, and the company reported roughly $3.4 million in federal lobbying for the cycle.[3] The corporate PAC gave about $2.03 million directly to federal candidates in the cycle, with the recipient mix tilting Republican while still including Democratic candidates and committees.[3]

The company describes its PAC as funded by voluntary contributions from salaried associates, who can direct their money to either party, and says it gives to candidates of both parties based on business issues that drive its policy priorities, including tax policy, supply chain and infrastructure, trade, and a level competitive playing field for retailers.[5] The result is a corporate PAC that leans right in its overall distribution without being one-sided, paired with a company that publicly maintains it does not endorse presidential candidates.

The Marcus Legacy

The single largest driver of Home Depot's conservative reputation is co-founder Bernie Marcus. Across decades of federal campaign-finance records reviewed by reporters, Marcus gave roughly $64 million in political contributions, the bulk of it to Republicans, including about $7 million to pro-Trump super PACs during the 2016 general election and further millions supporting Trump in 2020.[2][10] He retired from the company in 2002 and died in November 2024 at the age of 95. His decades-long status as a Republican mega-donor sparked boycott calls over the years and continues to shape perceptions of the company well after his departure from any operating role.

Marcus's giving was substantial and direct. Federal filings show he personally contributed $1 million to the School Freedom Fund, a conservative super PAC affiliated with Club for Growth Action that backs school-choice candidates, in October 2023.[6] This was Marcus's own money, not a company or corporate-PAC contribution; federal law bars a traditional corporate PAC from giving at that scale to a super PAC. His giving did not always run along simple partisan lines either: in the 2024 cycle he also donated a total of $3 million to the United Democracy Project, a pro-Israel super PAC that spent heavily in Democratic House primaries.[4]

Fellow co-founder Ken Langone is also a major Republican donor, having given to the Republican National Committee and to GOP-aligned outside groups such as the American Crossroads super PAC, and having bundled for Republican presidential campaigns over the years.[11] His giving is not strictly one-directional: in late 2021 he contributed to Senator Joe Manchin's leadership PAC after Manchin broke with his own party to oppose a major spending bill, reportedly the first time Langone had given to a Democrat.[12] Langone has had a more publicly mixed relationship with Trump than Marcus, at times critical and at times supportive, expressing renewed support in 2024.[2]

A Shift in Corporate Language

In early 2025 Home Depot revised how it describes its workforce policies. In its March 2025 annual report, the company replaced a section previously headed Diversity, Equity and Inclusion with one titled Respect For All People, and on its website it retired a standalone DEI page in favor of a page branded WeAreTHD that no longer uses the words diversity, equity, or inclusion.[7][8] The earlier page had stated that the company strove to maintain a diverse, equitable, and inclusive environment; the replacement language centers on a culture that welcomes everyone and frames its workforce investment in terms of competitive wages, benefits, training, and development.[7][8] Asked about the change, a company spokesperson said Home Depot remains proud of a culture that welcomes everyone and pointed to long-standing core values including respect for all people, adding that WeAreTHD is a phrase the company has used for years.[8] The revision placed Home Depot among a number of large retailers that adjusted similar language during the same period.[7]

Where the Company Draws the Line

Home Depot as a corporation has worked to separate itself from its founders' politics. During a 2019 backlash over Marcus's Trump support, a company spokesperson said his views do not represent the company, and the company has emphasized that it does not endorse presidential candidates.[2] This is the recurring tension in any read of Home Depot: the brand is widely perceived through the lens of its founders' politics, while the operating company maintains a posture of official neutrality and points to a PAC that gives to candidates in both parties.[5]

What Home Depot Sells

Home Depot sells to do-it-yourself consumers, home professionals, and contractors through its large-format stores and online. Its assortment spans building materials, hardware, tools, appliances, decor, and lawn and garden products, and it offers installation services and tool rental.[1] The professional contractor segment is a major growth focus, reinforced by its 2024 acquisition of SRS Distribution, a supplier to roofing, landscaping, and pool professionals.[1]

Leadership and Finances

Ted Decker serves as chair, president, and chief executive officer. For fiscal 2024, the company's proxy statement reported his total compensation at about $15.6 million, including a base salary of roughly $1.43 million with the remainder in stock awards, option awards, and performance-based incentives.[9] The company reported about $159.5 billion in net sales and roughly $14.8 billion in net earnings for fiscal 2024.[1]

Where to Find Them

Home Depot sells nationwide through its stores and through homedepot.com, with locations across all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, Canada, and Mexico.[1] Products are available both in-store and for delivery or pickup through its website and app.

Footnotes

[1] The Home Depot, Inc., SEC Form 10-K for Fiscal Year 2024, filed March 2025. https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/354950/000035495025000085/hd-20250202.htm

[2] Billal Rahman, Newsweek, "How Home Depot Got Caught in Trump's Immigration Crackdown," June 12, 2025. https://www.newsweek.com/home-depot-ice-raids-trump-immigration-2084280

[3] OpenSecrets.org, "Home Depot Profile: Summary" and "Home Depot PAC Contributions to Federal Candidates, 2024 cycle," accessed June 2, 2026. https://www.opensecrets.org/orgs/home-depot/summary?id=D000000419

[4] FactCheck.org, "United Democracy Project," September 26, 2024. https://www.factcheck.org/2024/09/united-democracy-project-2/

[5] The Home Depot, Inc., "Political Engagement at The Home Depot," corporate website, accessed June 2, 2026. https://corporate.homedepot.com/page/political-engagement-home-depot

[6] Kentucky Lantern, "Pair of billionaires bankrolled super PACs that spent $10 million trying to defeat Beshear," February 2, 2024 (reporting FEC filings). https://kentuckylantern.com/2024/02/02/pair-of-billionaires-bankrolled-super-pacs-that-spent-10-million-trying-to-defeat-beshear/

[7] The Home Depot, Inc., Fiscal 2024 Annual Report, filed March 2025 (Respect For All People section), as reported by Bloomberg Law and Retail Brew, May 2025. https://news.bloomberglaw.com/esg/home-depot-drops-diversity-language-as-trump-targets-dei-efforts

[8] Andrew Newman, Retail Brew, "Home Depot quietly removes DEI section from website," May 7, 2025 (includes Home Depot statement). https://www.retailbrew.com/stories/2025/05/07/exclusive-home-depot-quietly-removes-dei-section-from-website

[9] The Home Depot, Inc., SEC Form DEF 14A Proxy Statement, filed 2025. https://ir.homedepot.com/financial-reports

[10] Grace Dean, Business Insider, "Home Depot's billionaire co-founder Bernie Marcus has donated tens of millions to Republican causes," December 2022 (citing FEC data). https://www.businessinsider.com/home-depot-bernie-marcus-political-donations-republican-trump-2022-12

[11] Ken Langone donor profile, OpenSecrets.org and FEC filings, accessed June 2, 2026. https://www.opensecrets.org/outside-spending/donor_detail/2024?id=U0000003977&type=I&name=Langone,+Kenneth

[12] Brian Schwartz, CNBC, "Republican billionaire Ken Langone donated to Joe Manchin's PAC after senator opposed Biden's Build Back Better Act," January 27, 2022. https://www.cnbc.com/2022/01/27/ken-langone-donated-to-joe-manchin-pac-after-senator-opposed-build-back-better-act.html