(RepublicanInformer.com)- This week, a number of officials under the Trump administration formed a nonprofit group that will seek to boost a populist conservative agenda.
The group, called the America First Policy Institute, will look to boost policies that were similar to those trumpeted under former President Donald Trump. The group consists of 35 members and has a first-year budget of $20 million.
There are a lot of familiar names on the group. Its CEO and president is Brooke Rollins, who served as the head of the Domestic Policy Council under Trump. The chair of the board will be Linda McMahon, who was a member of Trump’s cabinet as the head of the Small Business Administration.
The vice chair of the group is Larry Kudlow, a former economic adviser to the Trump White House who hosts his own show on Fox Business. Trump’s daughter Ivanka and son-in-law Jared Kushner will also serve as informal advisers to the group.
The three main people involved in the group discussed creating it first back in December. Last week, Rollins traveled to Mar-a-Lago to discuss the group’s plans with Trump in person. The former president was reportedly “delighted” about America First’s plans and aims.
The initial $20 million in donations came from the leadership working hard to raise funds, a spokesperson for the AFPI said. The nonprofit has plans to double its budget to $40 million next year.
AFPI will have 20 policy focuses, and most of those will be run by alumni of the Trump administration.
For example, Rick Perry will chair the Center for Energy Independence. He served as energy secretary under Trump.
John Ratcliffe and Keith Kellogg will co-chair the National Security arm. Those two men served as director of national intelligence for Trump and national security adviser to Vice President Mike Pence, respectively.
Pam Bondi, who was a defense attorney for Trump in his first impeachment trial, will chair the group’s Center for Law and Justice.
As of now, the group is based out of Arlington, Virginia. Leaders have plans to relocate to Washington, D.C., once they are a little more established.
As Rollins commented to Fox News:
“We know we have to earn our credibility and trust through results. In Washington, D.C., where results are few and credibility is thin, that may seem like scaling an impossible summit. But that’s also our advantage: like the Trump Presidency that brought us together, we were never of Washington, D.C. We are merely in it — and in multiple state capitals, as I write — and so we aren’t beholden to its ways.”
AFPI plans to open offices in Miami, New York and Fort Worth, Texas, as well.
In a statement, Trump praised the new group, saying:
“The patriots assembling the America First Policy Institute (AFPI) are some of the greatest champions for freedom, free enterprise, national greatness and the primacy of American workers, families and communities, that our Nation has ever seen.
“Linda McMahon, Brooke Rollins, Larry Kudkow, Rick Perry, General Kellogg, and the rest of the freedom warriors at AFPI have my full support as they work not only to preserve the historic accomplishments of my Administration, but also to propel the America First Agenda into the future. I look forward to working with them to save America.”
