afpi trump think-tank project-2025 transition dark-money maga
related: Heritage Foundation Council for National Policy Leonard Leo
Who They Are
America First Policy Institute (AFPI). A conservative think tank founded in 2021 by former Trump administration officials as the policy infrastructure for a second Trump term. AFPI operates with a $30-50 million annual budget, employing 100+ policy staff organized into centers covering economics, energy, education, and national security. Key personnel include Brooke Rollins (former White House Domestic Policy Council director, later Trump’s chief of staff pick), Larry Kudlow (former NEC director), and Kellyanne Conway.
AFPI’s political function: prepare the policy agenda, personnel pipeline, and transition planning for a Trump return to power. While the Heritage Foundation’s Project 2025 received more media attention, AFPI operated as the more Trump-aligned policy shop — staffed by Trump loyalists rather than movement conservatives, and producing policy recommendations calibrated to Trump’s personal priorities rather than conservative ideological purity.
What They Want
Deregulation across all sectors (energy, finance, healthcare), immigration restriction, trade protectionism, reduced federal workforce, education reform (school choice), and an executive power framework that maximizes presidential authority over the administrative state.
What They’ve Gotten
Personnel Pipeline: AFPI’s primary achievement: placing former Trump officials in a holding pattern between administrations, maintaining their policy expertise and government relationships while developing the policy agenda for a return to power. Multiple AFPI personnel transitioned directly into second-term Trump administration positions — the think tank as a government-in-waiting.
Money
AFPI demonstrates how think tanks function as shadow governments: the organization maintained the policy infrastructure and personnel network of the Trump administration during the Biden years, ensuring continuity between the first and second terms. AFPI’s $30-50 million annual budget — funded by corporate donors and conservative foundations — purchased a ready-made government: policy proposals, executive orders, personnel lists, and transition plans prepared years in advance. The investment ensured that the second Trump term could implement policy changes immediately rather than spending months developing them.
Sources
- IRS: AFPI 990 filings (Tier 1)
- ProPublica: Nonprofit Explorer - AFPI (Tier 2)
- Ballotpedia: America First Policy Institute (Tier 3)
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