America First Policy Institute (AFPI)

The America First Policy Institute (AFPI)

Background

The America First Policy Institute (AFPI) is a nonprofit group (501(c)(3)1Hailey Fuchs and Meridith McGraw. โ€œMeet the think tank planning a second Trump administration. (Itโ€™s not Project 2025.),โ€ Politico, August 29, 2024. Archived August 30, 2024. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmog.) founded in 2021 by two senior advisors to Donald Trump to promote Donald Trumpโ€˜s ongoing policy agenda following his departure from office.2Alex Isenstadt. โ€œSenior Trump advisers prepare to launch policy group,โ€ Politico, December 22, 2020. Archived December 16, 2021. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmog. The AFPI argues for expanded fossil fuel production by โ€œremoving undue regulatory constraintsโ€3Become Energy Independent to End Americaโ€™s Reliance on Foreign Sources of Oil and Gas,โ€ AFPI, Accessed December 3, 2024. Archived December 3, 2024. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmog. and criticizes the Paris Agreement, describing it as โ€œlopsidedโ€ and โ€œunenforceable.โ€4โ€œProvide Clean Air, Clean Water, and a Clean Environment for All Americans (PDF),โ€ AFPI, December 7, 2022 (document creation date). Archived December 3, 2024. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmog.

It counts among its staff individuals who have expressed doubt about the causes and severity of climate change, including Heritage Foundation senior visiting fellow Stephen Moore,5โ€œStephen Moore,โ€ Heritage Foundation. Archived December 10, 2024. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/iEETg
who once described global warming as โ€œone of the greatest propaganda campaigns in world history,โ€6Michael W. Chapman. โ€œStephen Moore: Climate Change โ€˜One of Greatest Propaganda Campaigns in World Historyโ€™โ€“โ€™Very Stalinisticโ€™,โ€ cnsnews.com, June 9, 2016. Archived November 15, 2016. Archive URL: https://archive.is/DdOe among others.7โ€œAshley Hayek,โ€ AFPI, Accessed December 3, 2024. Archived December 3, 2024. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/YZPlT 8Ashley Hayek. โ€œIf Climate Change Is Real, Why Donโ€™t the Elites Act Like It?โ€‹โ€‹,โ€ Townhall, October 5, 2023. Archived December 3, 2024. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/blwdu 9โ€œSteve Moore,โ€ AFPI, Accessed December 3, 2024. Archived December 3, 2024. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/OWTaK 10โ€œAbout America First Policy Institute โ€“ Chairs,โ€ AFPI, Accessed December 3, 2024. Archived December 3, 2024. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/9jnAr 11Oliver Milman. โ€œTrump picks ally Lee Zeldin as environment chief and vows to roll back rules,โ€ The Guardian, November 11, 2024. Archived December 2, 2024. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmog. 12Dana Drugmand. โ€œWho Is Lee Zeldin?,โ€ Sierra, November 18, 2024. Archived November 24, 2024. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmog. 13โ€œAFW Leadership,โ€ America First Works, Accessed December 6, 2024. Archived December 6, 2024. Archived URL: https://archive.ph/9pqWW 14โ€œTim Dunn,โ€ Linkedin. Archived December 4, 2024. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmog.

White House domestic policy adviser Brooke Rollins and National Economic Council Director Larry Kudlow initially developed AFPI.15Mike Allen. โ€œScoop: Trump alumni launch largest post-administration group,โ€ AXIOS, November 22, 2024. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmog. Rollins and Kudlow had worked together in early 2020 to create a second-term policy agenda for the Trump administration. When Trump lost the election, they continued to work together to develop the AFPI.16Meridith McGraw. โ€œTrump returns to D.C. this week. These former advisors are plotting the comeback,โ€ POLITICO, November 22, 2024. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmog. According to the New York Times, they approached Timothy Dunn, an American billionaire and CEO of an oil and gas company, who Rollins had worked with at the Texas Public Policy Foundation. Dunn and two other Texas Public Policy Foundation directors, Cody Campbell and Tim Lyles, subsequently registered the AFPI in April 2021.17Ken Bensinger and David A. Fahrenthold. โ€œThe Group at the Center of Trumpโ€™s Planning for a Second Term Is One You Havenโ€™t Heard of,โ€ The New York Times, December 1, 2024. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/7JLR7 Kudlow consulted Donald Trump in the development phase for the AFPI and described him as โ€œvery enthusiasticโ€ about the concept.18Alex Isenstadt. โ€œSenior Trump advisers prepare to launch policy group,โ€ POLITICO, December 22, 2020. Archived December 22, 2020. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/5JCWG

After the AFPIโ€™s launch in April 2021, Rollins became the president and CEO, Kudlow vice chair,19Mike Allen. โ€œScoop: Trump alumni launch largest post-administration group,โ€ AXIOS, April 13, 2021. Archived November 22, 2024. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/bACsc
and Tim Dunn, a board member.20America First Policy Institute 990 for the year ending Dec. 2022. ProPublica. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmog. Linda McMahon, a member of Trumpโ€™s Cabinet as the administrator of the Small Business Administration, joined as chair, along with various other individuals affiliated with Trump.21Mike Allen. โ€œScoop: Trump alumni launch largest post-administration group,โ€ AXIOS, April 13, 2021. Archived November 22, 2024. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/bACsc

The AFPI has an โ€œadvocacy arm,โ€ America First Works.โ€œ22America First Policy Institute and America First Works Highlight Disastrous Effect New IRS Enforcement will have on Low-Income Minority Families,โ€ America First Policy Institute, August 10, 2022. Archived December 6, 2023. America First Works is a 501(c)(4) organization, which means that it can engage in some partisan politics.23โ€œAmerica First Works,โ€ Monitoring Influence, Accessed December 4, 2024. Archived December 4, 2024. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/68Fgj
The AFPI itself, by contrast, is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, which by law should be nonpartisan.24Brian Schwartz. โ€œTrump-allied dark money group joins forces with a think tank run by ex-presidentโ€™s former aides,โ€ CNBC, November 22, 2021. Archived December 4, 2024. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/9kHCe The AFPI also has an affiliation with America First Action, a super PAC dedicated to supporting federal candidates who back the policy agenda of Donald Trump.25โ€œAmerica First Action Outside Spending โ€“ 2024,โ€ OpenSecrets, Accessed December 2, 2024. Archived December 4, 2024. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/niJ98 26โ€œAmerica First Action,โ€ Ballotpedia, Accessed December 4, 2024. Archived December 4, 2024. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/CCaM5

2025 Transition Plans

The AFPI has been preparing for a transition to a new Trump administration since June 2022 through its โ€œAmerica First Transition Project.โ€ The America First Transition Project includes developing policy, creating detailed action plans โ€œto gain full operational, management, policy, and financial control of every department and agency,โ€ identifying critical personnel positions that need to be filled, and producing training materials for future staff.27โ€œThe American First Transition Project,โ€ American First Project Institute. Archived September 12, 2024. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/iDYIO

The AFPIโ€™s chair, Linda McMahon, was selected by Trump in August 2024 to co-lead the official transition team. Later that month, Politico reported that they had been informed by an anonymous source โ€œfamiliar with the Trump campaignโ€™s transition prepโ€ that while the AFPI was not going to be an official member of the 2025 transition, โ€œby virtue of how they are situated and that we are in a very late timeline for this work, the AFPI and the transition may be a distinction without a difference.โ€

Source: Facebook.28โ€œCongratulations Donald J. Trump,โ€ Facebook image from America First Policy Institute, November 6, 2024. Archived .png on file at DeSmog.

The AFPIโ€™s โ€œAmerica First Agendaโ€ has ten โ€œpillars,โ€ which are:29โ€œAmerica First Agenda Pillars,โ€ America First Agenda. Archived December 4, 2024. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmog.

  • Pillar I: Make the greatest economy in the world work for all Americans.
  • Pillar II: Put patients and doctors back in charge of healthcare.
  • Pillar III: Restore Americaโ€™s historic commitment to freedom, equality, and self-governance.
  • Pillar IV: Give parents more control over the education of their children.
  • Pillar V: Secure the border, end human trafficking, and defeat the drug cartels. 
  • Pillar VI: Deliver peace through strength and American leadership.
  • Pillar VII: Make America energy independent.
  • Pillar VIII: Make it easy to vote and hard to cheat.
  • Pillar IX: Provide safe and secure communities so all Americans can live their lives in peace.
  • Pillar X: Fight government corruption by draining the swamp.

The AFPI describes the detailed agenda for each pillar in 55 chapters.30โ€œPILLAR X: Fight Government Corruption by Draining the Swamp: America First Agenda,โ€ America First Policy Institute. Archived December 4, 2024. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmog.

Stance on Climate Change

December 7, 2022

The AFPI wrote in its document โ€œPillar VII: Make America energy independent: Provide Clean Air, Clean Water, and a Clean Environment for All Americansโ€:31โ€œProvide Clean Air, Clean Water, and a Clean Environment for All Americansโ€ (PDF), AFPI, December 7, 2022 (document creation date). Archived December 3, 2024. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmog.

โ€œThe central goal of U.S. environmental policy should be to empower human flourishing, all while protecting our land, water, and air and allowing Americans to make the best use of our Nationโ€™s vast natural resources.โ€

[โ€ฆ]

โ€œThe American people deserve a human-centered approach that delivers results, not more apocalyptic rhetoric that prioritizes lofty ambitions over real progress.โ€ 

Discussing actions made during the Biden-Harris administration, the AFPI wrote:32โ€œProvide Clean Air, Clean Water, and a Clean Environment for All Americansโ€ (PDF), AFPI, December 7, 2022 (document creation date). Archived December 3, 2024. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmog.

โ€œRather than produce real environmental results, the current misguided approach uses a myopic focus on climate change as a justification for its sweeping radical agenda and massive government expansion.โ€

The AFPI says that there is โ€œapocalyptic rhetoricโ€ around environmental issues and that climate change the Biden-Harris administration used as โ€œjustification for its sweeping, radical agenda and massive government expansion.โ€

In a chapter under Pillar VII, titled โ€œLower The Price of Gas and Energy By Increasing Production of Americaโ€™s Energy Supplies,โ€ the AFPI wrote:33โ€œPillar VII Make America Energy Independent: Lower The Price of Gas and Energy By Increasing Production of Americaโ€™s Energy Supplies (PDF),โ€ America First Policy Institute, December 7, 2022 (document creation date). Archived June 30, 2024. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/wip/K7p49

โ€œThe policies of climate activists only exacerbate the difficulties of providing affordable and reliable energy. The burdensome regulatory policies pushed by โ€˜build-nothingโ€™ environmentalists mean additional costs for providers of the most affordable and reliable sources of power. These additional costs for providers expose Americans to a greater risk of rolling brownouts and blackouts.โ€

June 13, 2022

The AFPI wrote the following in its critique of a budget released by the Biden Administration, titled โ€œMissed Opportunity to put America Firstโ€:34โ€œFiscal Year 2023 Budget Review: Missed Opportunity to Put America First (PDF),โ€ America First Policy Institute, June 13, 2022 (document creation date). Archived May 11, 2024. Archived URL: https://archive.ph/9p5eZ

โ€œThe Biden Administration seeks to replace fossil fuels with green energy. This would cause a significant number of jobs to be eliminated. To compensate, the Biden Administration would use taxpayer funds to create โ€˜greenโ€™ jobs for those who lost theirs due to the Biden Administrationโ€™s anti-traditional energy policies. Instead of attempting to end fossil fuels, the United States should have a policy that embraces all energy sources and rewards American energy innovation.โ€

The AFPI commented on the cancellation of the Keystone XL Pipeline in a document under โ€œPillar VIIโ€ titled โ€œCreate a Predictable, Transparent, and Efficient Permitting Process and Regulatory Environmentโ€35โ€œPillar VII Make America Energy Independent: Create A Predictable, Transparent, and Efficient Permitting Process and Regulatory Environment (PDF),โ€ America First Policy Institute, December 7, 2022 (document creation date). Archived April 4, 2024. Archived URL: https://archive.ph/sJUDZ

โ€œUnfortunately, the Left is rolling back critical reforms and overregulating our domestic energy industry,โ€ the AFPI wrote in the document, adding:

โ€œThe current administrationโ€™s policies seek to allow government intervention to determine the success of only certain companies, industries, and projects at the expense of others. This approach does not consider the implications for consumer costs, grid resiliency, or energy security. The cancellation of the Keystone XL Pipeline and the threatening of the Dakota Access Pipeline are just two examples of recent actions that have been taken.โ€

The AFPI added:36โ€œPillar VII Make America Energy Independent: Create A Predictable, Transparent, and Efficient Permitting Process and Regulatory Environment (PDF),โ€ America First Policy Institute, December 7, 2022 (document creation date). Archived April 4, 2024. Archived URL: https://archive.ph/sJUDZ

โ€œThe administrationโ€™s flawed goal of cutting emissions in half by 2030 and reaching net zero by 2050 is set to fail because of its own approach to implementation.โ€

In another document under Pillar VII, titled โ€œProvide Clean Air, Clean Water, and a Clean Environment for All Americans,โ€ the AFPI criticized actions taken by the Biden-Harris Administration:37โ€œProvide Clean Air, Clean Water, and a Clean Environment for All Americans (PDF),โ€ AFPI, December 7, 2022 (document creation date). Archived June 30, 2024. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmog.

โ€œThis harmful policy approach includes rejoining the Paris Agreement and reversing modernized regulatory reforms that were undertaken to address decades of accumulated red tape,โ€ the AFPI wrote. Describing the prior Trump Administration, they claimed:

โ€œAs the pro-growth policies of the previous administration drove incredible economic growth, the U.S. improved on environmental measures by providing cleaner air, water, and land, and led the world in reducing greenhouse gas emissions. At the same time, the country became a net energy exporter for the first time in nearly 70 years and rejected lopsided, unenforceable, America- last international agreements such as the Paris Agreement.โ€

March 15, 2022

The following is from an AFPI document titled โ€œThe Need to Refocus International Efforts on Traditional Air Pollutantsโ€:38โ€œThe Need to Refocus International Efforts on Traditional Air Pollutantsโ€ (PDF), America First Policy Institute, March 15, 2022 (document creation date). Archived July 24, 2024. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmog.

โ€œThe ongoing energy and security crisesโ€”that have prompted even Germany to take a critical look at its own climate strategyโ€”serve as a painfully obvious reminder of the danger of an excessive emphasis on climate issues and failure to address other threats. However, the damage that the myopic focus on climate change has done even within the environmental sphere is often overlooked, diverting attention and resources from critical avenues for real progress.โ€

Stance on Energy

One of the AFPIโ€™s ten pillars of its America First Agenda is American energy independence.39โ€œPillar VII: Make America Energy Independent,โ€ America First Policy Institute. Archived November 27, 2024. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/WxfzM The agenda promotes parity amongst all energy sources or for the U.S. to โ€œunapologeticallyโ€ expand fossil fuels, 40โ€œUnleashing American Energyโ€ (PDF), America First Policy Institute, March 10, 2022 (document creation date). Archived June 7, 2022. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmog. stating that fossil fuels are โ€œprojected to remain a dominant player through 2050.โ€41โ€œPillar VII: Make America Energy Independent,โ€ America First Policy Institute. Archived November 27, 2024. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/WxfzM 42โ€œPillar VII: Make America Energy Independent: Become an Energy Superpower by Exporting Americaโ€™s Energy Abundance,โ€ America First Policy Institute. Archived December 11, 2024. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/SikZz (Scientists are clear that there will need to be a โ€˜radicalโ€™ phase-down of fossil fuels to meet climate goals43Beth Walker, Maria Pastukhova. โ€œAn orderly and equitable global transition away from fossil fuels,โ€ E3G, October 14, 2024. Archived December 5, 2024. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/zUNOA). The AFPI argues for less regulation of the energy sector44โ€œPillar VII Make America Energy Independent: Create A Predictable, Transparent, and Efficient Permitting Process and Regulatory Environment (PDF),โ€ America First Policy Institute, December 7, 2022 (document creation date). Archived April 4, 2024. Archived URL: https://archive.ph/sJUDZ and to โ€œend woke climate activism by federal agencies.โ€45โ€œUnleashing American Energyโ€ (PDF), America First Policy Institute, March 10, 2022 (document creation date). Archived June 7, 2022. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmog.

The AFPIโ€™s America First Agenda opposes โ€œrenewable-only energy strategiesโ€ and the canceling of overseas fossil fuel projects, saying that this will lead to U.S. energy dependence and โ€œwould empower China and other foreign adversaries.โ€ It also says this would fail to tackle global energy poverty, calling it โ€œclimate colonialism.โ€ It claims that such an approach would lead to stagnated economic growth for the U.S.46โ€œBecome an Energy Superpower by Exporting Americaโ€™s Energy Abundanceโ€ (PDF), AFPI, December 7, 2022 (document creation date). Archived June 29, 2024. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmog.
The America First Agenda suggests that the U.S. can expand fossil fuels and meet environmental goals. For example, Chapter 32 of the America First Agenda says, โ€œIn 2019, the U.S. became a net energy exporter, while also leading the world in CO2 emissions reductions the same year.โ€47โ€œPillar VII: Make America Energy Independent: Become Energy Independent to End Americaโ€™s Reliance on Foreign Sources of Oil and Gas,โ€ AFPI. Archived December 11, 2024. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/jhLlo(According to a fact check by PolitiFact, this is correct in metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions cut, but this is in the context of the U.S. having very high emissions from which to cut. In terms of percentage improvement, other countries showed more significant progress in 2019.48Jon Greenberg. โ€œDoes the US lead in cutting greenhouse gases? It depends on how you look at it,โ€ PolitiFact, April 6, 2022. Archived December 3, 2024. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/Bhgg1)

Energy policies that the AFPI suggests as part of its America First Agenda include:

Source: Facebook.60โ€œSolution: Cut the Bidenomics red tape and return to America First energy policies,โ€ Facebook image from America First Policy Institute, July 3, 2024. Archived .png on file at DeSmog.

May 2024

The AFPI included the following on its Facebook page:61โ€œMyth: U.S. natural gas is not clean,โ€ Facebook image from America First Policy Institute, May 10, 2024. Archived .png on file at DeSmog.

The text reads:

โ€œMYTH:
U.S. natural gas is not clean.
FACT:
The U.S. is the worldโ€™s cleanest natural gas.โ€

December 7, 2022

The AFPI wrote a chapter under its Pillar VII titled โ€œBecome an Energy Superpower by Exporting Americaโ€™s Energy Abundance,โ€ which included the following statement:62โ€œPillar VII: Make America Energy Independent: Become an Energy Superpower by Exporting Americaโ€™s Energy Abundance,โ€ America First Policy Institute. Archived April 4, 2024. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/wip/1WRly

โ€œThanks to the shale revolution, the removal of the crude oil export ban, and the previous administrationโ€™s pro-liquefied natural gas (LNG) export policies, the U.S. has become a major player in international energy markets. Our Nationโ€™s successes included becoming a net oil exporter in 2019 and becoming the worldโ€™s largest LNG exporter shortly thereafter.โ€

Funding

In November 2021, Donald Trump hosted a fundraiser for the AFPI at Mar-a-Lago, and his PAC, Save America, had donated $1 million to the AFPI by August 2022. 

The AFPI has also received donations from DonorsTrust. This right-wing organization anonymizes contributions and has given grants to groups and projects that are among the most active in questioning the link between fossil fuel emissions and climate change and in attempting to block green legislation.

See the table below for full details of donors or see the attached spreadsheet for additional information on America First Policy Institute funding by year (.xlsx).

AFPI 990 Forms

America First Works 990 Forms

Key People

The following list is from publicly available tax documents combined with the AFPIโ€™s website via the Internet Archive.

For more information, see a spreadsheet of the America First Policy Instituteโ€™s key people year over year (xlsx).

Leadership

Linda McMahon. AFPI chair and America First Works board member.63โ€œAbout America First Policy Institute โ€“ Team,โ€ American First Policy Institute. Archived November 18, 2024. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/8kOGf McMahon is co-leading Donald Trumpโ€™s transition team64Hailey Fuchs and Meridith McGraw. โ€œMeet the think tank planning a second Trump administration. (Itโ€™s not Project 2025.),โ€ Politico, August 29, 2024. Archived August 30, 2024. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmog. and is his nominee for secretary of education.65Guardian staff and agencies. โ€œTrump picks former WWE executive Linda McMahon for education secretary,โ€ The Guardian, November 19, 2024. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/N39ri She is the former Small Business Administration (SBA) administrator under Trump.66โ€œLinda McMahon,โ€ SBA: U.S. Small Business Association. Archived December 2, 2024. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/7OjoY McMahon co-founded the WWE (World Wrestling Entertainment). A lawsuit filed in 2024 alleges that she knowingly enabled the sexual exploitation of children by a WWE employee, charges which she denies.67John Towfighi. โ€œLinda McMahon, Trumpโ€™s Education pick, was sued for allegedly enabling sexual abuse of children,โ€ CNN, November 21, 2024. Archived December 9, 2024. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/YPnZ8

Larry Kudlow is an AFPI co-founder and vice-chair. He is President Donald Trumpโ€™s former Director of the National Economic Council under President Donald Trump.68โ€œThe Honorable Larry Kudlow,โ€ America First Policy Institute, December 3, 2024. Archived URL: https://archive.ph/fJsB2

Brooke Rollins is an AFPI co-founder, president, and CEO of the AFPI69โ€œAbout America First Policy Institute โ€“ Team,โ€ America First Policy Institute. Archived December 4, 2024. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/opfe2โ€‹โ€‹ and a board member of America First Works.70โ€œAFW Leadership,โ€ America First Works, Accessed December 6, 2024. Archived December 6, 2024. Archived URL: https://archive.ph/9pqWW She has held political roles under Donald Trump71Patrick Svitek. โ€œAs Trump Sputters, Texas Republicans Stand by Their Man,โ€ The Texas Tribune, August 19, 2016. Archived December 12, 2024. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/AJzKN and, as of November 2024, has been nominated as Trumpโ€™s agriculture secretary.72Robin Levinson King. โ€œNominee for agriculture secretary completes Trump cabinet,โ€ BBC, November 24, 2024. Archived December 2, 2024. Archived URL: https://archive.ph/TNopk She is the former president and CEO73โ€œBROOKE L. ROLLINS, PRESIDENT AND CEO,โ€ Texas Public Policy Foundation. Archived January 5, 2017. Archive.fo URL: https://archive.fo/3tLXb of the Texas Public Policy Foundation (TPPF), a conservative think tank that has pushed against climate policy in Texas and which has taken donations from major polluters,74โ€œTexas Public Policy Foundation,โ€ Conservative Transparency. August 21, 2018. and Rollins remains a board member and advisor to the group.75โ€œBoard of Directors,โ€ Texas Public Policy Foundation. Archived January 19, 2024. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmog. Her husband is an energy industry executive, and she has previously referred to โ€œthe alarmism and hysteria of the climate change cult.โ€76โ€œAt the Crossroads, Closing Lunch Keynote U.S. Senator & Senate Majority Whip John Cornyn,โ€ YouTube video uploaded by user โ€œTexas Public Policy Foundation,โ€ November 24, 2015. Archived .mp4 on file at DeSmog.

Ashley Hayek. AFPI Chief Engagement Officer77โ€œAshley Hayek,โ€ AFPI, Accessed December 3, 2024. Archived December 3, 2024. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/YZPlT and executive director of America First Works.78โ€œAmerica First Policy Institute and America First Works Highlight Disastrous Effect New IRS Enforcement will have on Low-Income Minority Families,โ€ America First Policy Institute, August 10, 2022. Archived December 6, 2023. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/7fq4u She was National Coalitions Director for the Trump-Pence 2020 presidential campaign.79โ€œAshley Hayek,โ€ American First Policy Institute, Accessed December 3, 2024. Archived December 3, 2024. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/YZPlT Of climate change, she says perhaps โ€œthe threat isnโ€™t so dire after allโ€ and questions whether the actions of the Biden administration suggest that โ€œhuman-caused โ€˜climate changeโ€™ might be a ruse, one that certainly sounds scary but may be more about increasing their power than improving the world we live in.โ€80Ashley Hayek. โ€œIf Climate Change Is Real, Why Donโ€™t the Elites Act Like It?โ€‹โ€‹,โ€ Townhall, October 5, 2023. Archived December 3, 2024. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/blwdu

Chairs

Lee Zeldin. Chair of โ€œPathway to 2025โ€, the AFPIโ€™s transition project, and the AFPIโ€™s China policy initiative.81โ€œAbout America First Policy Institute โ€“ Chairs,โ€ AFPI, Accessed December 3, 2024. Archived December 3, 2024. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/9jnAr Also a board member of America First Works.82โ€œAFW Leadership,โ€ America First Works, Accessed December 6, 2024. Archived December 6, 2024. Archived URL: https://archive.ph/9pqWW Zeldin is a former congressman for New Yorkโ€™s 1st congressional district.83โ€œThe Honorable Lee Zeldin,โ€ America First Policy Institute. Archived November 23, 2024. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/SAysZ Donald Trump has nominated him to lead the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).84Oliver Milman. โ€œTrump picks ally Lee Zeldin as environmental chief and vows to roll back rules,โ€ The Guardian, Novewmber 11, 2024. Archived November 23, 2024. Archived URL: https://archive.ph/SAysZ Regarding climate change, in 2014, he said he was โ€œnot sold yet on the whole argument that we have as serious a problem as other people are.โ€ He also said that he does not support the Paris Agreement.85Oliver Milman. โ€œTrump picks ally Lee Zeldin as environmental chief and vows to roll back rules,โ€ The Guardian, November 11, 2024. Archived November 23, 2024. Archived URL: https://archive.ph/SAysZ He has argued for expanding fossil fuel extraction and against fracking bans and has a primarily anti-environment voting record. He has received over $410,000 from the oil and gas industry during his political career.86Dana Drugmand. โ€œWho Is Lee Zeldin?โ€ Sierra, November 18, 2024. Archived November 24, 2024. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/wuiWK

Carla Sands. Vice Chair, AFPIโ€™s Center for Energy and the Environment.87โ€œAbout America First Policy Institute โ€“ Chairs,โ€ America First Policy Institute, Accessed December 3, 2024. Archived December 3, 2024. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/9jnAr Previously served on President Donald Trumpโ€™s Economic Advisory Council and was Trumpโ€™s Ambassador to Denmark, Greenland, and the Faroe Islands.88โ€œAmbassador Carla Sands,โ€ America First Policy Institute, November 26, 2024. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/2Ey1w At a 2023 AFPI event, she said, โ€œClimate isnโ€™t about climate at all. Itโ€™s Marxism to control humanity,โ€ and made the unfounded claim that โ€œChildren are committing suicide because they donโ€™t want to put out CO2. Thatโ€™s how much theyโ€™ve brainwashed and hurt our children.โ€89Scott Waldman. โ€œShe says โ€˜kids are killing themselvesโ€™ to stop climate change. Meet a potential Trump advisor,โ€ E&ENews by Politico, September 26, 2024. Archived September 26, 2024. Archived URL: https://archive.ph/piocq

David Bernhardt. Chair of the AFPIโ€™s Center for American Freedom.90โ€œAbout America First Policy Institute โ€“ Team,โ€ America First Policy Institute. Archived November 28, 2024. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/aLTpn Previously secretary for the U.S. Interior Department under Donald Trump91Darryl Fears. โ€œSenate confirms former oil and gas lobbyist David Bernhardt as interior secretary,โ€ The Washington Post, April 11, 2019. Archived April 11, 2019. Archive.fo URL: https://archive.fo/3OZDg and a lobbyist and attorney for the oil and gas industry.92โ€œLobbyist Profile: Bernhardt, David L,โ€ OpenSecrets.org. Accessed December 17, 2018.

John Ratcliffe. Co-chair of the AFPIโ€™s Center for America Security and formerly the director of national intelligence under Donald Trump.93โ€œThe Honorable John Ratcliffe,โ€ America First Policy Institute. Archived November 22, 2024. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/V4bDn In November 2024, Trump selected Ratcliffe as CIA director by Trump. He was previously a visiting fellow at the Heritage Foundation, where he was involved in developing Project 2025.94Rachel Leingang. โ€œProject 2025: the Trump picks with ties to ultra-rightwing policy manifesto,โ€ The Guardian, November 26, 2024. Archived November 27, 2024. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/ymCcX

Other

Tim Dunn. Chairman of America First Works95โ€œAmerica First Policy Institute and America First Works Highlight Disastrous Effect New IRS Enforcement will have on Low-Income Minority Families,โ€ America First Policy Institute, August 10, 2022. Archived December 6, 2023. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/7fq4u and sat on the AFPI board of directors until 2022.96โ€œAmerican First Inc: America First Policy Institute,โ€ ProPublica. Archived October 8, 2024. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/wip/pPQdO Tim Dunn is the founder and CEO of the oil and gas company CrownQuest Operating.97โ€œTim Dunn,โ€ Linkedin. Archived December 4, 2024. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmog. He is also on the Texas Public Policy Foundation (TPPF) board of directors.98โ€œBoard of Directors,โ€ Texas Public Policy Foundation. Archived January 19, 2024. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmog. In addition, Dunn is a director of the political nonprofit Convention of States, which describes global heating as a โ€œhoaxโ€ and erroneously states on its website that โ€œthe claim that 97% of scientists agree that climate change is man-made is patently false.โ€99Geoff Dembicki. โ€œTrump Megadonor Tim Dunn Has a Plan More Extreme Than Project 2025,โ€ DeSmog, October 23, 2024. Archived December 9, 2024. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/wip/eT8KQ  

Steve Moore, Senior Fellow and Co-Chair of the Save America Coalition led by the AFPI, was previously a Senior Economic Adviser to Donald Trump.100โ€œSteve Moore,โ€ AFPI, Accessed December 3, 2024. Archived December 3, 2024. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/OWTaK Has worked with conservative organizations such as the Heritage Foundation and the Cato Institute. He has called climate change โ€œclimate improvement.โ€101โ€œDenier Stephen Moore says climate change is โ€˜climate improvementโ€™ and โ€˜the truth is the 1930s was a warmer decade than the last decadeโ€™,โ€ ThinkProgress, June 20, 2009. Archived November 15, 2016. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/t3hNI

Previous Staff

Rick Perry. Was the Chair, Center for Energy & Environment at the AFPI.102โ€œAbout America First Policy Institute โ€“ Team,โ€ About American First Policy Institute. Archived November 20, 2023. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/aLTpn Perry was Energy Secretary during Donald Trumpโ€™s first term,103โ€œOur Mission,โ€ American First Policy Institute.. Archived September 20, 2023. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/wip/zeRHr and is a board member of Energy Transfer Partners, a pipeline company.104โ€œBiography: James R. (Rick) Perry,โ€ Energy Transfer. Archived September 5, 2024. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/wip/2pZPr 

Andrew Wheeler. Former chair of the Center for the Environment at the AFPI.105โ€œOur Mission,โ€ American First Policy Institute.DeSmog. Archived September 20, 2023. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/wip/zeRHr Wheeler was previously a coal industry lobbyist and head of the Environmental Protection Agency during Donald Trumpโ€™s first term in office.106โ€œAndrew Wheeler, former energy lobbyist, confirmed as nationโ€™s top environmental official,โ€ The Washington Post, February 28, 2019. Archived February 28, 2019. Archive.fo URL: https://archive.fo/xWYi6

Actions

November 24, 2024

Brooke Rollins, AFPI co-founder and president and CEO of the AFPI, was nominated by Donald Trump to be secretary for agriculture.107Robin Levinson King. โ€œNominee for agriculture secretary completes Trump cabinet,โ€ BBC, November 24, 2024. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/TNopk Her appointment has been met with enthusiasm from the meat industry, with The National Cattlemenโ€™s Beef Association (NCBA) believing that Rollins could assist the beef industry by reducing regulations.108Rachael Oatman. โ€œMeat industry in favor of nominated ag secretary,โ€ Meat+Poultry, November 26, 2024. Archived December 11, 2024. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmog.

November 20, 2024

Donald Trump named Linda McMahon as his pick for Education secretary.109Kristen Holmes, Kaitlan Collins, and John Towfighi. โ€œTrump names Linda McMahon as his pick for Education secretary,โ€ CNN, November 20, 2024. Archived December 9, 2024. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/hLS1c

Source: Facebook.110โ€œCONGRATULATIONS, AFPI Chair of the Board Linda McMahon,โ€ Facebook image from America First Policy Institute, November 20, 2024. Archived .png on file at DeSmog.

November 11, 2024

Donald Trump picked Lee Zeldin, the chair of the AFPIโ€™s transition project,111โ€œAbout America First Policy Institute โ€“ Chairs,โ€ AFPI, Accessed December 3, 2024. Archived December 3, 2024. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/9jnAr as the nomination to lead the EPA. Trump said that Zeldin โ€œwill ensure fair and swift deregulatory decisions that will be enacted in a way to unleash the power of American businesses while at the same time maintaining the highest environmental standards, including the cleanest air and water on the planet.โ€ Zeldin has said that he โ€œwill restore US energy dominanceโ€ and โ€œrevitalize our auto industry.โ€112Oliver Milman. โ€œTrump picks ally Lee Zeldin as environment Chief and vows to roll back rules,โ€ Guardian, November 11, 2024. Archived December 2, 2024. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/UFwWw

October 2024

The AFPI co-sponsored a series of swing-state rallies called the Courage Tour,113Geoff Dembicki. โ€œTrump Megadonor Tim Dunn Has a Plan More Extreme Than Project 2025,โ€ DeSmog, October 23, 2024. described by investigative journalism non-profit ProPublica as โ€œa far-right Christian revival tour.โ€ Lance Wallnau, a pro-Trump Christian influencer, has said that climate activists are controlled by โ€œdemons,โ€114Gustaf Kilander. โ€œMAGA pastor says climate activists are being controlled by โ€˜demonsโ€™,โ€ Independent, July 14, 2022. Archived September 29, 2024. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/QiN0i hosted the tour.115Andy Kroll, ProPublica; Phoebe Petrovic, Wisconsin Watch; and Nick Surgey, Documented. โ€œJD Vance Campaign Event With Christian Right Leaders May Have Violated Tax and Election Laws, Experts Say,โ€ ProPublica, October 18, 2024. Archived November 28, 2024. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/KRhUL The Courage Tour has also partnered for an event with JD Vance, who has expressed doubt on the human-made nature of climate change.116Andy Kroll, ProPublica; Phoebe Petrovic, Wisconsin Watch; and Nick Surgey, Documented. โ€œJD Vance Campaign Event With Christian Right Leaders May Have Violated Tax and Election Laws, Experts Say,โ€ ProPublica, October 18, 2024. Archived November 28, 2024. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/KRhUL

August 21, 2024

The AFPI published a โ€œfactsheetโ€ called โ€œThe Costs of Banning Fracking,โ€ which says that โ€œbanning fracking would increase the human impact on the environment.โ€117Oliver McPherson-Smith. โ€œThe Costs of Banning Fracking,โ€ AFPI, August 21, 2024. Archived December 13, 2024. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/iSd23

August 2024

Linda McMahon, the AFPI chair, was selected to co-lead the official transition team for the Republicans.118Hailey Fuchs and Meridith McGraw. โ€œMeet the think tank planning a second Trump administration. (Itโ€™s not Project 2025.),โ€ Politico, August 29, 2024. Archived August 30, 2024. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmog. 

May 24, 2024

The AFPI published an op-ed, โ€œCalifornia Has Sacrificed its Energy Stability on the Altar of Green Energy ideology.โ€ This article says Californian politicians โ€œcling stubbornly to their allegiance to costly and unreliable green energy mandates, turning a stubborn blind eye to proven and more affordable alternatives, such as nuclear energy and natural gas.โ€119โ€œCalifornia Has Sacrificed its Energy Stability on the Altar of Green Energy ideology,โ€ American First Policy Institute, May 24, 2024. Archived September 17, 2024. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/mWmeb

April 2, 2024

The AFPI published a โ€œfactsheetโ€ named โ€œThe $1.347 Trillion Green New Steal,โ€ which refers to โ€˜build back betterโ€™ energy policies as โ€œbuild-back-never energy policiesโ€ and says that U.S. green energy policy is โ€œcrippling the health and prosperity of the American economy.โ€120David Vasquez. โ€œFact Sheet: Center for Energy & Environment: The $1.347 Trillion Green New Stealโ€ (PDF), American First Policy Institute, April 2, 2024. Archived April 4, 2024. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/RYESY

January 16, 2024

Carla Sands, Vice Chair of the AFPIโ€™s Center for Energy and the Environment, published an op-ed in The Washington Times, โ€œSEC shows dangerous commitment to ESG agenda.โ€121Ambassador Carla Sands. โ€œSEC shows dangerous commitment to ESG agenda,โ€ America First Policy Institute, January 16, 2024. Archived September 17, 2024. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/711sg In this article, Sands opposes Natural Asset Companies (NACs), an initiative that would list on the New York Stock Exchange companies aiming to improve ecosystems and that would monetize the resulting ecosystem benefits.122Jennifer Yachnin. โ€œInvest in nature? Might be possible with โ€˜natural asset companiesโ€™,โ€ E&ENews by Politico, December 11, 2023. Archived September 12, 2024. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/11fwg Sands says the initiative โ€œweaponizes the financial sector in pursuit of leftist political aimsโ€ and seeks โ€œto advance a radical climate agenda.โ€123Carla Sands. โ€œSEC shows dangerous commitment to ESG agenda,โ€ The Washington Times, January 16, 2024. Archived April 4, 2024. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/jIJe

August 22, 2023

The AFPIโ€™s โ€œMessaging and Data Labโ€ produced a memo, โ€œThe War on American Energy.โ€ This memo described the Biden administrationโ€™s energy policy as a โ€œradical climate agenda.โ€ It said that it had caused โ€œsoaring energy costs, a teetering electricity grid, and the loss of American energy independence at the hands of foreign dictators.โ€124โ€œMessaging & Data Lab: The War on American Energyโ€ (PDF), America First Policy Institute, August 22, 2023. Archived February 24, 2024. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmog. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/ZtLcN

The memo implies that renewable energy is unproven:125โ€œMessaging & Data Lab: The War on American Energyโ€ (PDF), America First Policy Institute, August 22, 2023. Archived February 24, 2024. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmog. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/ZtLcN

โ€œFossil fuels are the most reliable and affordable source of energy in America today. They power almost every aspect of the countryโ€™s transportation system and generate the majority of our electricity. Rather than doubling down on policies with a proven track record, the Biden Administration is forcing a transition to unreliable and weather-dependent sources of energy.โ€

It argues for re-opening federal lands and waters for energy development and increasing the amount of oil stored in the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, the U.S.โ€™s emergency stockpile of petroleum.126โ€œMessaging & Data Lab: The War on American Energyโ€ (PDF), America First Policy Institute, August 22, 2023. Archived February 24, 2024. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmog. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/ZtLcN

The memo says that climate change has the โ€œguise of an emergencyโ€ and expresses doubts over the reliability of climate scientists, โ€œRadical climate activists say we need aggressive climate action now. But for decades, bureaucrats, scientists, and elites have predicted doom and destruction would occur on certain dates, only to have the dates come and go. Their predictions for the environment have always been wrong.โ€127โ€œMessaging & Data Lab: The War on American Energyโ€ (PDF), America First Policy Institute, August 22, 2023. Archived February 24, 2024. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmog. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/ZtLcN

The memo contains a โ€œMythbustersโ€ section. Examples include:128โ€œMessaging & Data Lab: The War on American Energyโ€ (PDF), America First Policy Institute, August 22, 2023. Archived February 24, 2024. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmog. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/ZtLcN

  • โ€œMYTH: Climate change is THE existential threat.

FACT: Even though the Paris Climate Accordsโ€™ most ambitious goal seeks to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius, the UNโ€™s top climate scientist recently admitted that โ€˜The world wonโ€™t end if it warms by more than 1.5 degrees.โ€™โ€

  • โ€œMYTH: Wind and solar energy can power our country.

FACT: This isnโ€™t even close to true. The wind doesnโ€™t always blow, and the sun doesnโ€™t always shine. Only 10.2% of our energy comes from wind, and only 3.4% comes from solar.โ€

  • โ€œMYTH: The Biden Administrationโ€™s push to encourage more use of electric vehicles will make us less dependent on fossil fuels.

FACT: Where do you think the electricity to charge those EVโ€™s comes from? Almost 60% of Americaโ€™s electricity is produced by power plants fueled by natural gas and coal. Media bias is real.โ€

2023

Carla Sands and Tim Dunn spoke on an AFPI-sponsored panel, โ€œFighting Climate Extremism & Keeping the Lights On.โ€129โ€œFighting Climate Extremism & Keeping the Lights On,โ€ YouTube video uploaded by user Carla Sands on May 30, 2023. Archived December 9, 2024. Archived .mp4 available at DeSmog. During this event, Dunn stated that he hoped a Trump presidency could use executive orders โ€œto curb all this silliness about CO2 emissions.โ€130Geoff Dembicki. โ€œTrump EPA Pick Lee Zeldin Backed by Texas Fracking Billionaire Tim Dunn,โ€ DeSmog, November 13, 2024. Archived November 19, 2024. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/w57G9

2023

The AFPI published a review of the Biden administrationโ€™s 2023 budget. This review opposes increased taxes on the fossil fuel industry and domestic and international spending on climate change. It says that the budgetโ€™s provision of 10 million USD to support small businesses to be more resilient to climate change is a waste of money and that โ€œsmall business owners do not need to be pawns for the climate agenda.โ€ It argues that the transition to renewable energies โ€œwould cause a significant number of jobs to be eliminatedโ€ and instead argues for parity amongst energy sources.131โ€œFiscal Year 2023 Budget Review: Missed Opportunity To Put America Firstโ€ (PDF), America First Policy Institute. Archived May 11, 2024. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmog. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/9p5eZ

December 2022 

America First Works expressed support for a piece of model legislation produced by the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) that would empower state governments to blocklist corporations that advocate for Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) principles or Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) programs.132โ€œAmerica First Works,โ€ The Centre for Media and Democracy, Accessed December 4, 2024. Archived December 4, 2024. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/G8Jiy ALEC is an organization designed to link state legislators with corporations and create templates for state legislation that has worked with companies such as Koch Industries, ExxonMobil, and Peabody Energy.133โ€œALEC Corporations,โ€ SourceWatch. Archive.is URL:https://archive.is/1UBUs

July 26, 2022

Donald Trump delivered the keynote address for the AFPIโ€™s America First Agenda Summit during his first visit to Washington after leaving office.134โ€œPresident Donald J. Trump to Headline the America First Agenda Summit,โ€ America First Policy, July 14, 2022. Archived January 10, 2024. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/wH6dv Within this speech, he said, โ€œWe need to rapidly maximize domestic oil and gas production to restore energy independence and bring the price of gasoline back down to a number that nobody even believes anymore.โ€135โ€œDonald Trump Speaks At America First Agenda Summit In Washington, DC Transcript,โ€ Rev. Archived December 10, 2024. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/PTrOS

July 2022

The AFPI held a โ€œMake America Energy Independent Roundtable,โ€ hosted by the former chair of the AFPIโ€™s Center for Energy & Environment, Rick Perry.136โ€œMake America Energy Independent Roundtable,โ€ YouTube video uploaded by user America First Policy Institute on July 25, 2022. Archived December 9, 2024. Archived .mp4 available at DeSmog. 137โ€œAbout America First Policy Institute โ€“ Team,โ€ About American First Policy Institute. Archived November 20, 2023. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/aLTpn During this roundtable, Perry said, โ€œWe donโ€™t need to apologise to anybody for being for fossil fuelsโ€ and claimed that the U.S. is the cleanest producer of fossil fuels138โ€œMake America Energy Independent Roundtable,โ€ YouTube video uploaded by user America First Policy Institute on July 25, 2022. Archived December 9, 2024. Archived .mp4 available at DeSmog. (a 2023 report from the International Energy Agency found that Norway, Saudi Arabia, and Qatar had the lowest emissions intensity).139โ€œThe Oil and Gas Industry in Net Zero Transitions,โ€ International Energy Agency, World Energy Outlook Special Report, Revised version December 2023 and February 2024. Archived November 18, 2024. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/ve5Rt

Perry also referred to โ€œthe altar of the religion of environmentalismโ€ and said, โ€œIf you are an individual who stands up and says we need to be net zero by 2050, you need to go ahead and stand up and say, oh by the way, if youโ€™re one of those billions of people around the world that donโ€™t have access to energy today, youโ€™re just going to die. Because thatโ€™s basically what it means.โ€140โ€œMake America Energy Independent Roundtable,โ€ YouTube video uploaded by user America First Policy Institute on July 25, 2022. Archived December 9, 2024. Archived .mp4 available at DeSmog.

October 29, 2021

The AFPI, in collaboration with the Texas Public Policy Foundation, released a paper opposing the Build Back Better bill, which it says โ€œis about forcing big-government socialism on the American people using climate change as a cover.โ€141โ€œSave America (and American Energy), Kill the Billโ€ (PDF), America First Policy Institute and the Texas Public Policy Foundationโ€™s Life:Powered initiative. Archived October 21, 2022. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmog.

The paper also criticized the Civilian Climate Corps, saying that it would โ€œserve as a slush fund for progressive groups, with unelected bureaucrats empowered to send taxpayer dollars to political organizations and prioritize racially oriented decision-making.โ€142โ€œSave America (and American Energy), Kill the Billโ€ (PDF), America First Policy Institute and the Texas Public Policy Foundationโ€™s Life:Powered initiative. Archived October 21, 2022. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmog.

The AFPI has twenty โ€œcentersโ€ to focus on different action areas, for example, the Center for Energy and Environment, the Center for Litigation, the Center for Media Accountability,143โ€œAbout America First Policy Institute,โ€ America First Policy Institute. Archived November 29, 2024. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/9xOtg and the Center for American Freedom.144โ€œCenter for American Freedom,โ€ America First Policy Institute. Archived December 16, 2024. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/xEmNqThese centers include a โ€œMessaging and Data Labโ€ that aims โ€œto empower conservatives with the tools needed to win the argument against the Far-Left ideologyโ€”once and for all.โ€ It produces memos offering advice on framing issues, including top lines and counterarguments to common rebuttals.145โ€œMessaging and Data Lab: Quick Resources,โ€ America First Policy Institute. Archived September 17, 2024. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/wip/K62Nt

As of November 2024, the states of Arizona, California, Florida, Georgia, and Pennsylvania each have Chapters with their policy priorities.146โ€œAbout America First Policy Institute: State Chapters,โ€ America First Policy Institute. Archived November 27, 2024. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/wip/0qtqq For example, a policy priority for Pennsylvania is to โ€œoppose tax and regulatory proposals that favor some energy sources over others, encourage infrastructure projects that expand production, and push back against harmful ESG policies.โ€147โ€œAmerica First Pennsylvania: Quick Resources,โ€ America First Policy Institute. Archived December 5, 2024. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/zfKcc

The AFPI also has various initiatives. These include the America First Transition Project, along with initiatives such as โ€œWeaponization of Governmentโ€ (which focuses on justice and national security reform148โ€œWeaponization of Government: Quick Resources,โ€ America First Policy Institute. Archived September 17, 2024. Archived URL: https://archive.ph/wip/c7JcR), a โ€œHigher Education Reform Initiative,โ€ and โ€œWomenโ€™s Agenda.โ€149โ€œAbout America First Policy Institute: Initiatives,โ€ America First Policy Institute. Archived December 3, 2024. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/EYRre

America First Works 

America First Works (also known as America First Works, Inc.150America First Works Homepage. Archived December 4, 2024. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmog.) is a nonprofit organization that is โ€œthe advocacy arm of AFPI.โ€151โ€œAmerica First Policy Institute and America First Works Highlight Disastrous Effect New IRS Enforcement will have on Low-Income Minority Families,โ€ America First Policy Institute, August 10, 2022. Archived December 6, 2023. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/7fq4u America First Works launched after the 2016 election as America First Policies. It was renamed America First Works in November 2021 after Trumpโ€™s election loss, when it began working closely with the AFPI.152Brian Schwartz. โ€œTrump-allied dark money group joins forces with a think tank run by ex-presidentโ€™s former aides,โ€ CNBC, November 22, 2021. Archived December 4, 2024. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/9kHCe Brooke Rollins is now the CEO of both organizations. 153โ€œAbout America First Policy Institute โ€“ Team,โ€ America First Policy Institute. Archived December 4, 2024. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/opfe2 154AFW Leadership,โ€ America First Works, Accessed December 6, 2024. Archived December 6, 2024. Archived URL: https://archive.ph/9pqWW

America First Works is a 501(c)(4) organization,155โ€œAmerica First Works,โ€ Monitoring Influence, Accessed December 4, 2024. Archived December 4, 2024. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/68Fgj which means that it can accept unlimited donations from corporations and individuals, which it need not disclose.156Ki P. Hong Charles M. Ricciardelli Matthew Bobys Melissa L. Miles Tyler Rosen Karina Bakhshi-Azar Theodore R. Grodek Olivia N. Marshall Sam Rothbloom. โ€œComplying With the Rules of Governing 501(c)(4) Organizations: Key Issues,โ€ Skadden, March 20, 2023. Archived September 14, 2024. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/M1aTK

America First Works is known to have accepted 1 million USD from Southern Company, a utility company that has opposed green energy policy after its founding.157Andrew Perez. โ€œSouthern Co., CVS, Dow Chemical Funding Trump Dark Money Group Tied to Racist, Anti-Semitic Views,โ€ MapLight News Archive, May 31, 2018. Archived November 11, 2024. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/eCUon It has given millions of dollars to groups allied with Trumpโ€™s agenda, including in 2020 nearly $4.8 million to the right-wing dark money group DonorsTrust.158Carrie Levine. โ€œPro-Trump nonprofit gives millions to groups boosting his agenda,โ€ Center for Public Integrity, November 20, 2021. Archived July 4, 2024. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/wip/gzBFR

One of the various causes supported by America First Works is opposition to ESG policies, which it calls โ€œenergy discriminators.โ€159โ€œAmerica First Works,โ€ The Center for Media and Democracy: State Financial Officers Foundation Exposed project, Accessed December 4, 2024. Archived December 4, 2024. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/G8Jiy For example, America First Works is part of a right-wing coalition that promotes the Heritage Foundationโ€™s proposal for legislation that would ban consideration of ESG factors managing public pensions.160โ€œAmerica First Works,โ€ The Center for Media and Democracy: State Financial Officers Foundation Exposed project, Accessed December 4, 2024. Archived December 4, 2024. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/G8Jiy 

America First Action

America First Action is a super PAC supporting federal candidates backing Donald Trumpโ€™s policy agenda.161โ€œAmerica First Action Outside Spending โ€“ 2024,โ€ OpenSecrets, Accessed December 2, 2024. Archived December 4, 2024. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/niJ98 162โ€œAmerica First Action,โ€ Ballotpedia, Accessed December 4, 2024. Archived December 4, 2024. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/CCaM5
Founded in April 2017, America First Action is affiliated with America First Policies, now known as America First Works, which has become the advocacy arm of the AFPI (see above).163โ€œAmerica First Action,โ€ Ballotpedia, Accessed December 4, 2024. Archived December 4, 2024. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/CCaM5

A super PAC is a political committee that can accept unlimited contributions from individuals and organizations and spend unlimited sums of money to support a candidate (distinct from a PAC, which has caps on the amounts it can give and receive). Laws prohibit a super PAC from donating directly to a politician or political party; however, it can independently spend funds to support or oppose political candidates.164โ€œAmerica First Action,โ€ Ballotpedia, Accessed December 4, 2024. Archived December 4, 2024. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/CCaM5 165โ€œWhat is a PAC,โ€ OpenSecrets, Accessed December 4, 2024. Archived December 2, 2024. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/vyJQo

In the 2020 election cycle, America First Action raised and spent around 150,000,000 USD, but subsequently, this has tailed off, with 1,186,932 USD spent in the 2024 election cycle and only 36 USD raised.166โ€œPAC Profile: America First Action,โ€ OpenSecrets, Accessed December 10, 2024. Archived November 26, 2024. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/ueU9p

Texas Public Policy Foundation

The AFPI has collaborated with the TPPF,167โ€œUnleashing American Energy,โ€ America First Policy Institute, and the Texas Public Policy Foundationโ€™s Life:Powered initiative. Archived June 7, 2022. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/UhYf9 168โ€œSave America (and American Energy), Kill the Bill,โ€ America First Policy Institute and the Texas Public Policy Foundationโ€™s Life:Powered initiative. Archived October 21, 2022. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmog. and the two organizations have staff in common.169โ€œAmerica First Policy Institute and America First Works Highlight Disastrous Effect New IRS Enforcement will have on Low-Income Minority Families,โ€ America First Policy Institute, August 10, 2022. Archived December 6, 2023. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/7fq4u 170โ€œBoard of Directors,โ€ Texas Public Policy Foundation. Archived January 19, 2024. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmog. 171โ€œAbout America First Policy Institute โ€“ Team,โ€ About American First Policy Institute. Archived November 20, 2023. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/aLTpn 172โ€œBoard of Directors,โ€ Texas Public Policy Foundation. Archived January 19, 2024. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmog.

Ziklag

Ziklag, a conservative Christian charity, paid for a series of swing-state rallies called the Courage Tour, which was co-sponsored by the AFPI.173Andy Kroll, ProPublica; Phoebe Petrovic, Wisconsin Watch; and Nick Surgey, Documented. โ€œJD Vance Campaign Event With Christian Right Leaders May Have Violated Tax and Election Laws, Experts Say,โ€ ProPublica, October 18, 2024. Archived November 28, 2024. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/KRhUL

Contact & Address

America First Policy Institute
1001 Pennsylvania Ave NW, Suite 530
Washington, D.C. 20004174โ€œRe: RIN 1235-AA39, Proposed Rule, Defining and Delimiting the Exemptions for Executive, Administrative, Professional, Outside Sales, and Computer Employees, 88 FR 62125 (September 8, 2023),โ€ America First Policy Institute, November 7, 2023. Archived November 16, 2023. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/PasCE

Hilton Beckhamhbeckham@americafirstpolicy.com175โ€œCommunication Team Contact Page,โ€ America First Policy Institute. Archived November 23, 2024. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/xKDAV

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