WASHINGTON — Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) wrote to key executives from JBS USA and its subsidiary Pilgrim’s Pride, pushing for an explanation of a $5 million donation given to the Trump-Vance Inaugural Committee ahead of approval of the company’s proposed dual listing.

“I am concerned Pilgrim’s Pride may have made its contribution to the inaugural fund to curry favor with the Trump administration,” Warren wrote to Fabio Sandri, chief executive officer of Pilgrim’s, and Wesley Batista Filho, CEO of JBS USA, on May 19.

Warren noted that Pilgrim’s $5 million donation surmounted to more than the contributions from Apple’s CEO, Amazon, Meta and Google combined, leading the processor to be the “single largest donor” to President Donald Trump’s inaugural committee.

For nearly a decade, parent company JBS has sought to be listed on the New York Stock Exchange, and, in April, JBS received approval from the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for a dual listing in both Brazil and New York.

“The SEC’s decision, made just months after the donation from Pilgrim’s Pride, raises questions regarding undue influence,” Warren said. “Your large donations and direct stake in federal policies and enforcement actions, and the Trump administration’s series of actions that benefit your companies, raise serious concerns about a potential quid-pro-quo arrangement. Congress and the public deserve answers.”

The senator detailed a few different ongoing federal investigations into the company that JBS could benefit from “favorable treatment from the current administration.” She mentioned a Department of Justice (DOJ) investigation into human resources antitrust matters as well as an investigation into Pilgrim’s grower contracts and payment practices.  Additionally, the company has been named as an alleged “co-conspirator” in an antitrust lawsuit the DOJ has filed against data company Agri Stats.

JBS did not respond to a request for comment at the time of publication.

Warren has previously been part of an effort to voice concerns of the JBS IPO. In January 2024, she joined a bipartisan group of senators in asking the SEC to closely examine JBS’s draft filing.

JBS shareholders will vote on the proposed dual listing within a few days, on May 23. If approved, JBS has previously suggested its shares could be traded on NYSE as early as June 12.