 | |
| Founded | January 27, 2017 |
|---|---|
| Founded at | Arlington, VA |
| 81-5137380 | |
| Legal status | 501(c)(4) |
Budget | $20 m |
Revenue (2019) | $30,895,344 [1] |
| Expenses (2019) | $14,235,607 [1] |
Employees (2021) | 35 |
| Website | www |
America First Policies is an organization created following the inauguration of Donald Trump in 2017 to promote the America First policy agenda of his administration. [2] [3] [4] It was founded by Trump campaign people including Nick Ayers, Rick Gates, and Brad Parscale.
America First Policies was founded by several people, including Nick Ayers, a Republican consultant who is regarded as Mike Pence's top political adviser; [5] Rick Gates; and Brad Parscale. [6]
In 2017, Brian O. Walsh was hired to oversee the group's day-to-day operations after the group experienced high staff turnover. [7] [8]
Trump presidential campaign donor Rebekah Mercer disagreed with Parscale about the direction of America First Policies. According to investigative journalist Vicky Ward, Mercer wanted America First Policies' data engine to be Cambridge Analytica, which would have effectively given her organizational control and potentially influence over the Republican Party. According to Ward, if Mercer had control over the organization's database and the money, Mercer could have theoretically led the organization to sway the president's supporters against the president. [9] Parscale aggressively sought to establish himself as leader of the group and commented in an early meeting that although he meant "no disrespect" to the Mercer family, the focus of America First Policies ought to be on Donald Trump and his political movement, rather than on the Mercers. [10] [11]
In June 2017, Republican Senator Dean Heller was targeted by the America First Policy Institute with an advertising campaign over his opposition to the Obamacare repeal bill. Heller was considered to be vulnerable in the 2018 election, which he ultimately lost to Democratic challenger Jacky Rosen. [12]
In May 2018, a CNN review of his Twitter account found that John Loudon, a former Missouri State Senator who briefly served as a policy advisor for America First Policies, [13] had used inflammatory and derogatory language against women, Muslims, and Democrats. [14]
In June 2018, Juan Pablo Andrade, a policy advisor for America First Policies and America First Action PAC, was fired from both groups after a video surfaced of him praising Nazis. [15]
After its founding, America First Policies sought but failed to receive seed funding from American heiress and Republican donor Rebekah Mercer. [16]
In May 2018, MapLight reported that CVS Health, Dow Chemical, and the Southern Company had donated a combined $1.6 million (~$1.85 million in 2022) to America First Policies. [17] [18] After MapLight's report was published, CVS Health and Dow Chemical announced that they would not contribute more money to America First Policies, citing racist comments by the organization's staff. [18] In March 2018, Carl Higbie had become the director of advocacy for America First Policies. He resigned from his position in June 2018 after CVS Health and Dow Chemical announced they would no longer contribute to the group in part due to Higbie's past comments. [19] [20]
| Founded | April 12, 2017 |
|---|---|
| Type | Super PAC |
| 82-1167449 | |
| Legal status | 527 organization |
| Linda McMahon | |
| Brian O. Walsh | |
| Website | www |
In the 2016 and 2018 elections, four Trump-related Super PACs received donations from 38 people who gave over $500,000 each. To consolidate these efforts, America First Action was created for 2020. It is the only Trump-related group permitted to collect unlimited donations in 2020. However, as of August 2020, only six of the previous 38 top donors contributed to America First. [21]
The legally separate America First Action (as opposed to "Policies") Super PAC serves a similar function of promoting Trump's policies under the "America First" theme, but due to its legal status may expressly advocate for the election or defeat of particular candidates (rather than only advocating for policies), and must disclose its donors. Some staff members work for both organizations, such as the chair, president, and communications director, and the two organizations share space and equipment. [1]
In the 2018 midterm election cycle, the Super PAC spent $29 million. [22] As of the end of March 2020, it had reported spending $9 million during the 2020 election cycle. [23]
In 2019, $910,000 (~$1.03 million in 2022) of America First Action's spending went to a company owned by Parscale and his wife. [24] [25]
In the United States, a political action committee (PAC) is a tax-exempt 527 organization that pools campaign contributions from members and donates those funds to campaigns for or against candidates, ballot initiatives, or legislation. The legal term PAC was created in pursuit of campaign finance reform in the United States. Democracies of other countries use different terms for the units of campaign spending or spending on political competition. At the U.S. federal level, an organization becomes a PAC when it receives or spends more than $1,000 for the purpose of influencing a federal election, and registers with the Federal Election Commission (FEC), according to the Federal Election Campaign Act as amended by the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002. At the state level, an organization becomes a PAC according to the state's election laws.
American Crossroads is a US Super PAC that raises funds from donors to advocate for certain candidates of the Republican Party. It has pioneered many of the new methods of fundraising opened up by the Supreme Court's ruling in Citizens United. Its president is Steven J. Law, a former United States Deputy Secretary of Labor for President George W. Bush and the Chairman of the Board of Directors is former Republican National Committee chairman Mike Duncan. Advisers to the group include Senior Advisor and former White House Deputy Chief of Staff Karl Rove and former Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour.
Corey Alan Stewart is an American retired politician who served four terms as at-large chair of the Board of Supervisors of Prince William County, Virginia from December 2006 to December 2019.
In politics, particularly the politics of the United States, dark money refers to spending to influence elections, public policy, and political discourse, where the source of the money is not disclosed to the public.
Andrew Kaczynski is an American journalist and a political reporter for CNN. He became well known in 2011 by posting old video clips of politicians, often of them making statements contrary to their current political positions, to YouTube. He was described as "the [2012] Republican primaries' most influential amateur opposition researcher".
Robert Leroy Mercer is an American hedge fund manager, computer scientist, and political donor. Mercer was an early artificial intelligence researcher and developer and is the former co-CEO of the hedge fund company Renaissance Technologies.
Richard Ellis Uihlein and Elizabeth Uihlein are American billionaire businesspeople, founders of Uline and conservative donors. Richard is also an heir to the Schlitz brewing fortune.
Hillary Clinton is an American politician from the state of New York who was the Democratic Party's 2016 nominee for president of the United States. Clinton is the first woman in U.S. history to be nominated for president of the United States by a major political party. She was defeated in the 2016 general election by Republican Donald Trump.
Carlton Milo Higbie IV is an American conservative political activist, author, and former U.S. Navy SEAL. He was director of advocacy for America First Policies, a group that promotes Donald Trump's policy agenda. In August 2017, Higbie was selected to serve as the chief of external affairs for the Corporation for National and Community Service, resigning several months later after his comments denigrating minorities were discovered by media. He served as a spokesperson for Great America PAC, which supported Trump's presidential candidacy and assisted his transition info office.
Great America PAC is a Super PAC that supported Donald Trump in the 2016 presidential election. It was founded in 2016 by Eric Beach, a political strategist and veteran of presidential campaigns. Beach soon brought on Ed Rollins, a long time Republican campaign consultant and strategist who served as the campaign manager for Ronald Reagan's 1984 presidential campaign.
Rebekah Mercer is an American heiress, Republican political donor, and director of the Mercer Family Foundation.
Then-incumbent president of the United States Donald Trump, a member of the Republican Party, unsuccessfully sought reelection in the 2020 United States presidential election. He had been inaugurated for his first term on January 20, 2017, and officially announced his re-election campaign on June 18, 2019.
Brad Parscale is an American digital consultant and political advisor who served as the senior adviser for data and digital operations for Donald Trump's 2020 presidential campaign. He previously served as the digital media director for Donald Trump's 2016 presidential campaign and as campaign manager for Donald Trump's 2020 presidential campaign from February 2018 to July 2020, being replaced by Bill Stepien. In September 2020, he stepped away from his company and the Trump campaign.
The America First Policies Institute (AFPI) is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) think tank that was founded in 2021 to promote former U.S. President Donald Trump's public policy agenda. The organization was founded by Brooke Rollins, who serves as president and CEO and was formerly the acting director of the United States Domestic Policy Council under Trump, and Larry Kudlow, who serves as vice chair and formerly served as the Director of the National Economic Council under Trump. Linda McMahon, who formerly served as Administrator of the Small Business Administration under Trump and then as chairwoman of America First Action, a pro-Trump Super PAC, is the organization's chairperson. Trump's Save America PAC has donated $1 million to the institute.
Frank Edward Wuco is a United States government official and former conservative talk radio host. He has served in multiple positions in the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump. Wuco has been criticized for spreading conspiracy theories, including through a fictional character who supposedly is a former jihadist who now exposes aspects of Islam-inspired terrorism.
The Democratic Coalition, formerly known as the Democratic Coalition Against Trump, is an American Super PAC founded in 2016 by Nathan Lerner, Scott Dworkin, and Jon Cooper for the purpose of opposing Donald Trump, with a fundraising goal of $20 million by Election Day. It was originally known as the Keep America Great PAC.
Women for Trump is a political group in the United States who have supported the presidency of former U.S. president Donald Trump.
Arabella Advisors is a Washington, D.C.-based for-profit consulting company that advises left-leaning donors and nonprofits about where to give money and serves as the hub of a politically liberal "dark money" network. It was founded by former Clinton administration appointee Eric Kessler. The Arabella network spent nearly $1.2 billion in 2020 and raised $1.35 billion in 2022.
The Sixteen Thirty Fund is a hub of undisclosed political spending on the American Left. The group serves as a fiscal sponsor for other organizations, incubating and financing various progressive projects. According to The New York Times, "The Sixteen Thirty is part of a broader network of progressive nonprofits that donors use to fill specific spaces on the political chessboard." The Sixteen Thirty Fund is administered by Arabella Advisors, a for-profit consulting firm.
