Trump-allied dark money group joins forces with a think tank run by ex-president’s former aides

Almost half of the nearly $40 million in grants from America First Works last year went to its affiliated super PAC, America First Action, according to AFW’s most recent 990 filing. America First Works also donated to other conservative organizations that continue to wield influence across the country. The filing was first reported on by the Center for Public Integrity.

Previous tax records show that America First Works, formerly known as America First Policies, never doled out this much cash in one year. The 990 form shows that as of the end of 2020, it was also chaired by McMahon. Longtime Republican operative Brian O. Walsh is listed as the president of the group.

The nonprofit also had a record fundraising year, raking in just over $50 million, with the form listing top individual donations of $5 million. Just like other dark money groups, America First Works is not required to publicly disclose the names of their donors. MapLight reported that previous corporate donors to America First Policies included utilities firm Southern Company, CVS Health and Dow Chemical.

Last year, America First Works donated $994,000 to Heritage Action, a conservative group that works to counter policies often aligned with the Democratic Party.

Heritage Action has also claimed credit for helping create voting laws that advocates say limit access to the ballot box. Mother Jones obtained a video showing Jessica Anderson, the executive director of Heritage Action, speaking to donors about how the group helped craft such laws in Georgia and other states.

“In some cases, we actually draft them for them, or we have a sentinel on our behalf give them the model legislation so it has that grassroots, from-the-bottom-up type of vibe,” Anderson is seen saying on the recording.

Heritage Action’s website takes aim at the “For the People Act,”  also known as H.R. 1, which was introduced by Democrats and passed in the House. Democrats say the legislation would help people have better access to the ballot box. It is unlikely to pass in the Senate since Democrats do not have enough votes to overcome a Republican filibuster. The site features a script for anyone interested in volunteering to call up their House or Senate representative to push back against the Democratic bill.

America First Works also gave $250,000 to a group called the Convention of States Action, which has been pushing state lawmakers to bring together a convention to amend the U.S. Constitution to limit the government’s powers.

“Washington, D.C., is broken. The federal government is spending this country into the ground, seizing power from the states and taking liberty from the people. It’s time for we the people to take a stand against tyranny with a coordinated, nationwide effort to curb the unrestrained and growing power of the federal government,” Convention of States Action’s pocket guide says. The group’s website says that over a dozen states have passed Convention of State resolutions that could lead to an Article V convention.

The New American Populist, a nonprofit group that claims to want to “empower citizens and encourage greater involvement in the government process,” received just over $1 million from America First Works in 2020.

Jeff Webb, the group’s president, has also funded two Republican super PACs, including one with an identical name as the nonprofit he runs, according to data from the nonpartisan Center for Responsive Politics. Webb is the founder of cheerleading company Varsity Spirit and is the president of the International Cheer Union.

Webb, of Tennessee, has ties to Trump ally Charlie Kirk and his own organization, Turning Point USA, a nonprofit that tries to promote conservative voices on high school and college campuses.

Webb was a speaker at Turning Point’s Student Action Summit earlier this year. His speech took aim at progressives, saying they want to alter capitalism.

“The left’s real goal is to reshape American capitalism. To move us to a more socialist model. One where the American economic engine runs more like a European system. They do so in the name of equity,” Webb told the crowd at the time.

Webb joined Kirk on the Turning Point USA’s podcast in March to discuss, among other things, how populism is gaining power in the Republican Party post Trump’s loss.

“I think there’s no doubt that the populist movement within the party is winning. And it’s irreversible,” Webb said then.

Article source: https://www.cnbc.com/2021/11/22/trump-alumni-think-tank-joins-forces-with-america-first-works-dark-money-group.html