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| Abbreviation | AAF |
|---|---|
| Formation | April 7, 2021 |
| Type | Nonprofit organization |
| Purpose | Advocacy of conservatism |
Region served | United States |
| Leader | Mike Pence Paul Teller |
| Website | advancingamericanfreedom |
| This article is part of a series on |
| Conservatism in the United States |
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Advancing American Freedom (AAF) is an American nonprofit organization that advocates for conservative politics, it was created in 2021 by Mike Pence. [1]
Advancing American Freedom was launched on April 7, 2021, as the policy and advocacy organization of former Vice President Mike Pence. [2] The stated aim of Advancing American Freedom is to take America back into the traditional foundations of freedom. [3] . [4] In 2024, as a response to the national debt reaching $35 trillion, the organization released a blueprint to cut government spending. [5]
Michael Richard Pence (born June 7, 1959) is an American politician and lawyer who served as the 48th vice president of the United States from 2017 to 2021 under President Donald Trump during his first administration. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as the 50th governor of Indiana from 2013 to 2017, and as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives from 2001 to 2013.
Paul Teller serves as executive director of AAF. He previously served under President Donald Trump as Special Assistant to the President for Legislative Affairs, as well Director of Strategic Affairs for Vice President Mike Pence. Earlier, Teller had been chief of staff for Texas Senator Ted Cruz and executive director of the United States House of Representatives Republican Study Committee.
The Heritage Foundation is an American conservative think tank based in Washington, D.C. Founded in 1973, it took a leading role in the conservative movement in the 1980s during the presidency of Ronald Reagan, whose policies were taken from Heritage Foundation studies, including its Mandate for Leadership.
Michael Richard Pence is an American politician and lawyer who served as the 48th vice president of the United States from 2017 to 2021 under President Donald Trump during his first administration. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as the 50th governor of Indiana from 2013 to 2017, and as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives from 2001 to 2013.
The American Conservative Union (ACU) is an American political organization that advocates for conservative policies, ranks politicians based on their level of conservatism, and organizes the Conservative Political Action Conference. Founded on December 18, 1964, it calls itself the oldest ongoing conservative lobbying organization in the U.S. The ACU is concerned with issues such as personal liberty or freedom, and traditional values, which they define as foundations of conservatism.
The Republican Party in the United States includes several factions, or wings. During the 19th century, Republican factions included the Half-Breeds, who supported civil service reform; the Radical Republicans, who advocated the immediate and total abolition of slavery, and later advocated civil rights for freed slaves during the Reconstruction era; and the Stalwarts, who supported machine politics.
The Claremont Institute is an American conservative think tank based in Upland, California, founded in 1979 by four students of Harry V. Jaffa. It produces the Claremont Review of Books, The American Mind, and other publications.
The Republican Study Committee (RSC) is a congressional caucus of conservative members of the Republican Party in the United States House of Representatives. In November 2022, Representative Kevin Hern of Oklahoma was elected as the chair of the RSC, effective as of January 2023.
Joel David Kaplan is an American political advisor, lobbyist, and attorney. In January 2025, it was announced that Kaplan will become the president of global affairs of Meta Platforms, owner of Facebook, in Spring 2025. He has been the company's vice president of global public policy since 2011.
Paul Scott Teller is the executive director of Advancing American Freedom in Washington DC, Mike Pence's advocacy organization. Teller previously served under President Donald Trump as Special Assistant to the President for Legislative Affairs, as well Director of Strategic Affairs for Vice President Mike Pence. Earlier, Teller had been chief of staff for Texas Senator Ted Cruz and executive director of the United States House of Representatives Republican Study Committee.
James Nicholas Ayers is an American political strategist and consultant who served as Chief of Staff to Vice President Mike Pence between July 2017 and January 2019. He had previously served as national chairman for Pence's vice-presidential campaign in 2016, as well as executive director of the Republican Governors Association from 2007 to 2010.
The Faith and Freedom Coalition (FFC) is a conservative political advocacy 501(c)(4) non-profit organization in the United States.
The first presidential transition of Donald Trump began when he won the United States presidential election on November 8, 2016, and became the president-elect. Trump was formally elected by the Electoral College on December 19, 2016. The transition was formerly led by Chris Christie until he and a number of his supporters were replaced or demoted on November 11. The results were certified by a joint session of Congress on January 6, 2017, and the transition ended when Trump was inaugurated on January 20, 2017.
Marc T. Short is an American political advisor who served as chief of staff to Vice President Mike Pence. Prior to holding this role, Short was the director of legislative affairs at the White House from 2017 to 2018. He became chief of staff for Pence in March 2019. He was a senior fellow at the Miller Center of Public Affairs, a CNN contributor, chief of staff to Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison, and the House Republican Conference. He was president of Freedom Partners Chamber of Commerce from 2011 to 2016. He was a frequent guest on Meet The Press of NBC News.
Russell Thurlow Vought, is an American government official who was the director of the Office of Management and Budget from July 2020 to January 2021. He was previously deputy director of the OMB for part of 2018, and acting director from 2019 to 2020.
Great America Committee is a political action committee (PAC) registered by former Vice President of the United States Mike Pence on May 17, 2017. It is the first example of an active vice president creating such a type of political action committee while serving in office. Fox News noted Pence's action came only one day after reporting on the Comey memos led to the appointment of a special counsel in the investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 United States elections.
Gregory Joseph Pence is an American businessman and politician who served as the U.S. representative for Indiana's 6th congressional district from 2019 to 2025. The district serves much of east-central Indiana, including Pence's hometown of Columbus, as well as Greenfield, Richmond, Shelbyville, and the southern third of Indianapolis. A member of the Republican Party, he is the older brother of former U.S. vice president Mike Pence, who represented the district from 2001 to 2013.
Alyssa Farah Griffin is an American political strategist and television personality. She was the White House director of strategic communications and Assistant to the President in 2020 during the presidency of Donald Trump. In addition to appearing on CNN as a commentator, she is a co-host of the talk show The View, for which she received a nomination for a Daytime Emmy Award.
John Edward Pence is an attorney, American businessman and political advisor who worked as a senior political advisor for President Donald Trump. During Trump's 2016 and 2020 presidential campaigns, Pence engaged with Latino voters and advocated for Trump's policies regarding Latin America. He is the son of Congressman Greg Pence and nephew of former Vice President Mike Pence.
Republican Accountability (RA), formerly Republican Accountability Project (RAP) and, for the current presidential election, Republican Voters Against Trump (RVAT), is a political initiative launched in May 2020 by Defending Democracy Together for the 2020 U.S. presidential election cycle. The project was formed to produce a US$10 million advertising campaign focused on 100 testimonials by Republicans, conservatives, moderates, right-leaning independent voters, and former Trump voters explaining why they would not vote for Donald Trump in 2020. By August 2020, they had collected 500 testimonials.
Olivia Troye is an American national security official who worked on national security and homeland security issues at the National Counterterrorism Center, the United States Department of Energy Office of Intelligence and Counterintelligence, and the DHS Office of Intelligence and Analysis.
The American Accountability Foundation (AAF) is an American conservative opposition research group founded in 2020 that has opposed nominees to the Joe Biden administration.
