GOOGL Alphabet Inc

By Emily Glazer, Chip Cutter and Lauren Weber 

Business leaders and trade groups called Wednesday for an end to the violence in Washington, D.C. and a peaceful transfer of power after supporters of President Trump stormed the Capitol where legislators were meeting to certify President-elect Joe Biden's Electoral College win.

The reactions came in a week of statements and meetings involving corporate executives who have publicly urged a smooth transfer of power while Mr. Trump and others have disputed his election defeat.

Chief executives, including the leaders of Alphabet Inc.'s Google and Bank of America Corp., condemned the violence.

"The insurrection that followed the president's remarks today is appalling and an affront to the democratic values we hold dear as Americans," said Blackstone Group Inc. Chief Executive Stephen Schwarzman. Mr. Schwarzman, one of Mr. Trump's most loyal allies on Wall Street and a major Republican fundraiser who acknowledged in November that Mr. Trump lost the election, added, "There must be a peaceful transition of power."

James Dimon, chairman and chief executive of JPMorgan Chase & Co., the country's largest bank, said the violence doesn't represent the U.S. "Our elected leaders have a responsibility to call for an end to the violence, accept the results, and, as our democracy has for hundreds of years, support the peaceful transition of power," Mr. Dimon said in a statement.

Apple CEO Tim Cook said today marked a "sad and shameful chapter" and called for those responsible to be held to account. "It's especially when they are challenged that our ideals matter most," he tweeted.

Larry Fink, head of asset-management giant BlackRock Inc., called the violence "an assault on our nation, our democracy, and the will of the American people." Brad Karp, chairman of law firm Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP, said Mr. Trump was aided by a "complicit group of senators and congressmen" to undermine democracy.

Others in the business community called for further steps. Jay Timmons, president and chief executive of the National Association of Manufacturers, said Mr. Pence should consider invoking the 25th amendment, which allows for a transfer of power when a president is unable to fulfill his duties.

"This is not the vision of America that manufacturers believe in and work so hard to defend," Mr. Timmons said in a statement. "Across America today, millions of manufacturing workers are helping our nation fight the deadly pandemic that has already taken hundreds of thousands of lives. We are trying to rebuild an economy and save and rebuild lives. But none of that will matter if our leaders refuse to fend off this attack on America and our democracy."

Sean McGarvey, president of North America's Building Trades Unions, which represents more than three million workers in construction, called on President Trump and Sens. Ted Cruz and Josh Hawley, along with the other lawmakers who had said they would object to certifying some states' Electoral College votes, to immediately step down.

"We call on a bipartisan commission to investigate and identify all planners, funders and coordinators of this attempted coup and refer them to prosecution by the U.S. Justice Department," he said in a statement. "If these actions are not taken immediately, in anticipation of what is already one of the worst domestic episodes in our country's history, things could get much worse over the next 14 days very quickly."

The National Farmers Union, which represents family farmers, fishers and ranchers, said, "This event demonstrates just how fragile democracy truly is. It doesn't exist simply because it is written in the Constitution; it requires action of the part of every American. Every day, we must commit anew to upholding its core tenets of social equality, personal liberty, sovereignty, and a peaceful transfer of power."

Thomas J. Donohue, CEO of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, which represents more than three million businesses across the country, called for an end to the violence and for Congress to regroup in the evening to certify the Electoral College results. Congressional leaders said Wednesday evening they were preparing to do so.

The Business Roundtable, a bipartisan group that counts among its members the CEOs of dozens of major U.S. companies, urged Mr. Trump and other officials to "put an end to the chaos and to facilitate the peaceful transition of power." Executives, including Microsoft Corp. President Brad Smith, tweeted the statement and reiterated their support for a peaceful transition. "This is a day to speak up for our Constitution and its values," Mr. Smith tweeted.

As the chaos unfolded, some CEOs addressed their employees directly. In a letter to employees, Alfred F. Kelly Jr., the chairman and CEO of Visa Inc., called Wednesday's events "one of the lowest points in our 245-year history as a nation."

Tim Ryan, the U.S. chairman of consulting and accounting giant PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, had expected to talk to employees about normal business matters during a webcast scheduled for Wednesday. Instead, after seeing the Capitol breached by rioters shortly before the call, he told them, "It is safe to say that this is a surreal day that will go down in our country's history and it is devastating to watch these events unfold right before our eyes."

The chaos interrupted workdays as many employees stopped what they were doing to follow the coverage. At Progressive Stamping & Fabrication LLC, a 28-person manufacturer in Oklahoma City, people -- including some who were disappointed with the election outcome -- monitored developments online and on an office television, said Dave Younge, an owner of the company.

Mr. Younge, a Republican, said he was busy with work and unaware of what was unfolding when he started receiving news alerts. "I thought holy cow, this is going on?" he said. "This is very disappointing."

--Alison Sider, Khadeeja Safdar and Miriam Gottfried contributed to this article.

Write to Emily Glazer at emily.glazer@wsj.com, Chip Cutter at chip.cutter@wsj.com and Lauren Weber at lauren.weber@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

January 06, 2021 22:22 ET (03:22 GMT)

Copyright (c) 2021 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.