Big Tech dollars may be becoming toxic in Washington.

What’s happening: The once lionized industry finds itself more and more cast as a pariah, with lawmakers comparing Big Tech to Big Tobacco during a hearing with tech CEOs last week and a key House Republican forswearing industry donations.

Yes, but: Plenty of officeholders still welcome tech contributions. And tech companies are doing their own re-assessing of how they give to candidates following the Jan. 6 Capitol riot, after which many paused donations.

The big picture: The strained relationship on both ends represents a shift in Washington, where money previously flowed between tech and lawmakers with little question.

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“Overall, tech money is still pervasive in Washington, so let’s not overstate the trend,” said Sarah Miller, executive director of the anti-monopoly group the American Economic Liberties Project. “But Big Tech doesn’t make investments where it doesn’t feel confident it can secure some degree of influence, so breaking financial relationships is an important way to signal independence and acknowledge conflicts of interest are both real and harmful.”