Over the summer, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer convinced his Democratic colleague to back off of Facebook, which faced serious questions about how the world’s largest social media company was influencing politics.

Schumer explained that Sen. Mark Warner, Facebook’s biggest critic in the Senate, should work with the company, not against it, all while keeping Facebook lobbyists up to date on the latest developments, according to The New York Times.

Schumer has also helped Facebook pursue commercial drone regulations and patent reform, all while the company faces heated criticism for mishandling its members’ personal information and censoring conservative voices.

“Facebook is a very powerful force,” Schumer said earlier this year. “I think, overall, it’s been a very positive force.”

Now, Americans are starting to realize why Schumer such a big fan.

In the week since Senate Democrats voted to keep the New York senator as their leader in the upper chamber, several news sites have highlighted his “hinky” relationship with the social media giant.

Records show top Facebook executives have donated about $50,000 to Schumer in recent years, and he’s not the only Schumer benefiting from the senator’s Facebook friends.

“Founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg gave the senator $5,200 in 2013. Sheryl Sandberg, the company’s high-profile chief operating officer, kicked in $5,400 – the maximum legal amount – to Schumer’s 2016 re-election campaign. Facebook general counsel Colin Stretch gave the same sum in 2015,” according to the New York Post.

“Newly appointed board member Kenneth Chenault has been a loyal Schumer supporter since 1995. Most recently, he gave $1,200 to the senator’s 2016 primary election campaign and $2,700 in that year’s general election. Chenault has contributed a total of $6,900.”

In 2016, Schumer raised more money from Facebook than any other member of Congress, according to City & State New York.

You Might Like

• 
• 
• 

Facebook also just happens to employ Schumer’s daughter, Alison Schumer, who first worked for the company between 2011 and 2013, and recently returned last year. She’s currently a product marketing manager in Facebook’s New York office, a position that pays an average of $160,000, the Post reports.

“It sure looks hinky,” political strategist Susan Del Percio told the news site. “This is an industry that’s been trying for years to fend off heavy government regulation by actively cultivating relationships with senators and House members.”

It’s also not the only industry that pours money into Schumer’s coffers.

Politico reported in 2009 that Schumer was also the top recipient of campaign cash from Wall Street following the 2008 economic collapse.

“Schumer’s $1.65 million take from the financial services industry is nearly twice that of any other senator’s — and more than five times what the industry gave to any single Republican senator,” according to the site.