CRC Advisors
| CRC Advisors | |
 | |
| Basic facts | |
| Location: | Arlington, Virginia |
| Top official: | Leonard Leo, chairman |
| Founder(s): | Leonard Leo and Greg Mueller |
| Year founded: | 2020 |
| Website: | Official website |
CRC Advisors is a company located in Arlington, Virginia. It describes itself as a public relations and project incubation firm.[1] The group was founded in 2020 by Greg Mueller, communications executive of CRC Strategies, and Leonard Leo, co-chair of the Federalist Society.[2]
Mission
As of September 2025, CRC Advisors' website stated:
| “ | We strengthen our clients by helping them identify and bring together the capabilities they need to win, whether in public policy or private enterprise.[1][3] | ” |
Background
CRC Advisors was founded in 2020 by Leonard Leo and Greg Mueller. At the time of CRC Advisors' founding, Leo had worked for 25 years at the Federalist Society, including as co-chairman and executive vice president. As of March 2020, the Federalist Society described itself as "a group of conservatives and libertarians interested in the current state of the legal order," that was "founded on the principles that the state exists to preserve freedom, that the separation of governmental powers is central to our Constitution, and that it is emphatically the province and duty of the judiciary to say what the law is, not what it should be."[4] Leo remained co-chair of the Federalist Society's board after CRC Advisors' founding.[5]
Before forming CRC Advisors, Mueller was a communications executive for CRC Strategies and a former President of CRC Public Relations. He also worked as an aide for the presidential campaigns of Pat Buchanan (R) and Steve Forbes (R).[6][7] CRC Advisors grew out of Mueller's previous communications firm, CRC Strategies, Axios reported.[2]
According to Axios, Leo and Mueller "studied tax filings that led them to Arabella, a little-known yet powerful consulting firm that advises liberal donors and nonprofits about where to spend their money."[8] The two indicated that they were influenced by the business structure of Arabella Advisors "and saw the opportunity to build a replica on the right."[8]
In a joint statement, Leo and Mueller said, "We have both worked for over three decades to build winning ventures, and our many partnerships have brought success across a wide range of challenges, most notably the many judicial confirmation battles undertaken as part of a broad effort to reshape the federal judiciary, reform our legal system, advance the rule of law, and protect our country’s freedoms."[7] The Washington Times reported that the two "worked together in support of the Senate confirmations of Supreme Court Justices Brett M. Kavanaugh and Neil M. Gorsuch."[9]
Leadership
As of September 2025, the following individuals held leadership positions at CRC Advisors:
Work
Electoral activities and influence
In an interview, Leo said CRC Advisors would spend a "minimum of $10 million issue advocacy campaign focusing on judges in the 2020 cycle."[8] Leo and Mueller released a joint statement that said the following:
| “ |
CRC Advisors will leverage the combined experience, expertise, resources, and networks of our merged teams to create a new model for identifying and solving problems, whether in public policy or private enterprise. CRC Advisors will strengthen our clients by providing strategic guidance and bring together the capabilities they need to win—whether that means shaping public policy, defending reputations, promoting their mission and brands, or any other public-affairs challenge. We will also incubate public-policy projects, coalitions, and groups which are mission-driven, focused, and results-oriented. And we will connect best-in-class professionals, successful nonprofits, and savvy philanthropists, forging partnerships among them that are tailored for success.[7][3] |
” |
In 2025, Politico reported that CRC Advisors' clients have included The 85 Fund, the Concord Fund, Heritage Action for America, and Susan B. Anthony List.[13]
Journalist pitch on environmental policy and minority impact
CRC Advisors account executive John Gage sent an email to journalists in July 2020 with the subject line, "Environmentalists push policies which hurt minorities while claiming solidarity." The email said, "Despite this claimed solidarity, environmental organizations, composed of predominantly white members, are backing radical policies like the Green New Deal which would bring particular harm to minority communities."
The email featured quotes from two Black conservatives. Ken Blackwell, an adviser to President Donald Trump's 2020 re-election campaign and former Ohio secretary of state, said, "Radical policies like the green new deal that raise the cost of driving to work and heating our homes would target the African-American community and ... would make us even more vulnerable and marginalized than we already are."
Researching America President Derrek Hollie said, "With black communities ablaze, the same nearly uniformly white environmental extremists assure us of their solidarity while at the same time trying to kill high-paying oil and gas jobs that have been the cornerstones of progress in lifting up working-class minority communities. ... Any program such as their Green New Deal that makes energy more expensive or jeopardizes jobs is counter-productive, reckless, and wrong."[14]
Notable endorsements
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Recent news
The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for "CRC+ Advisors"
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 CRC Advisors, "Main page," accessed August 4, 2025
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Axios, "Leonard Leo to shape new conservative network," January 7, 2020
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ The Federalist Society, "About Us," accessed August 4, 2025
- ↑ The Federalist Society , "Board of Directors," accessed August 4, 2025
- ↑ Politico , "The Republican riddle," September 26, 2007
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 The Daily Signal , "Trump Judicial Adviser Teams Up With Conservative PR Executive in New Initiative," January 7, 2020
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 Axios, "CRC Advisors," accessed March 9, 2020
- ↑ The Washington Times, "Trump judicial adviser forming new conservative advocacy group CRC Advisors," accessed March 12, 2020
- ↑ Napa Legal Institute , "Leonard Leo," accessed August 4, 2025
- ↑ X.com , "Greg Mueller," accessed August 4, 2025
- ↑ LinkedIn , "Jonathan Bunch," accessed August 4, 2025
- ↑ Politico , "Leo’s consultancy raked in millions from affiliated nonprofits," January 13, 2025
- ↑ E&E News, "Slip-up reveals Chevron ties to architect of climate attack," June 18, 2020
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