Jan 11 (Reuters) - A private equity lobbying group that represents some of biggest buyout firms, including Blackstone Group Inc and KKR & Co Inc, said on Monday it has paused all political donations following the storming of the U.S. Capitol last week. “Our country faces enormous health, economic, and social challenges that take precedent over politics. In this environment, the American Investment Council is pausing all political contributions to candidates from the AIC PAC,” a spokeswoman for the Washington-based American Investment Council said in a statement. Many U.S. companies, from big banks such as J.P. Morgan Chase & Co and Goldman Sachs Group Inc to tech giants like Microsoft Corp and Facebook Inc, have announced they will halt political donations after supporters of Republican President Donald Trump stormed the U.S. Capitol just before lawmakers voted to certify Democrat Joe Biden’s victory in the Nov. 3 presidential election. At least five people, including a U.S. Capitol Police officer, were killed in the attack. The AIC PAC spent about $330,000 in the 2020 election cycle, with about 47% of its donations going to Republican candidates and about 25% to Democrats, according to data from the Center for Responsive Politics.