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You're Hired: Tracking the Trump Administration Transition - June 28, 2017

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President Donald Trump
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This is the June 28, 2017, edition of an email sent from November 2016 to September 2017 that covered Donald Trump's presidential transition, cabinet appointees, and the different policy positions of those individuals who may have had an effect on the new administration. Previous editions of "You're Hired" can be found here.

Last week, we looked at three types of opposition to the Trump administration and its policy agenda: emoluments lawsuits against President Donald Trump, efforts to rebuild the Democratic Party, and sanctuary cities. Today, we will look at the advocacy organizations backing the Trump administration, and the actions they have taken to promote Trump’s policies and allies.

America First Policies

Formation

America First Policies was started by six former Trump and Pence campaign aides in January 2017 to support the policy agenda of the Trump administration. Brad Parscale, the Trump campaign's digital director and one of the original founders of America First Policies, described the organization's beginnings to NPR, saying, "Some of the same like-minded individuals who put their energy into getting Mr. Trump elected are now going to be part of a grass-roots group to go out there and help with the agenda, help the White House to be successful."

Actions to support the Trump administration

  • In April 2017, the organization launched a $3 million advertising campaign in support of 12 House members who publicly approved of the American Health Care Act of 2017, the White House-backed plan to replace the Affordable Care Act. The group's leaders told The Washington Post that the ads aimed to "show House Republicans that there are benefits to standing with Trump on tricky issues, in particular on health care." The ads supported the following members:
  • In June 2017, the group began a $400,000 campaign to run an advertisement called "Safe Again." According to Axios, the ad aimed to promote the administration’s work abroad in the Middle East and Europe, particularly its counterterrorism efforts. Senior advisor Katie Walsh explained the purpose of the ads, saying, "This is about collecting information and mobilization. ... We strongly believe that for us to get the President's policy agenda passed we need to harness millions of voices."
  • Last Friday, after Sen. Dean Heller (R-Nev.) announced he did not support the Republican Senate replacement for the Affordable Care Act, America First Policies launched a $1 million ad campaign against Heller, saying, "Unacceptable. ... If you’re opposed to this bill, we’re opposed to you." According to Politico, the group began its campaign against Heller 90 minutes after Heller announced his opposition to the bill with digital director Brad Parscale starting a Twitter campaign directed at Heller. Commenting on the ads, America First president Brian Walsh said, "For the greater part of a decade, the GOP has promised to repeal and replace Obamacare, taken dozens of votes to do so; now, with the ability to keep that promise on the horizon, legislators are wavering. ... Sen. Heller's decision to walk away is unacceptable and sends the wrong message to the rest of the senators who are still working to get to ‘yes.’" The group pulled the ads on Tuesday after Senate Republicans delayed a vote on the bill. The organization said its decision came after Heller appeared at the White House with Republican senators, which indicated to them his openness to negotiations concerning the bill.

Great America

Formation

Initially formed in early February 2016 under the name TrumPAC, the Great America PAC was founded by Jewelry Exchange CEO William Doddridge and former Tea Party Express chairwoman Amy Kremer. The organization’s agenda is listed on its website: “We have been and continue to be President Donald Trump’s strongest and most active independent ally, and we’re determined to see the America First Agenda succeed. We strive to advance President Trump’s agenda day in and day out: repealing and replacing Obamacare, filling Supreme Court vacancies with rock-solid conservatives, protecting the 2nd Amendment, securing our borders, repealing the Iran Deal, and restoring the American economy.”

Actions to support the Trump administration

  • In June 2017, Great America PAC's affiliated nonprofit, Great America Alliance, ran ads on CNN and Fox News attacking former FBI Director James Comey during Comey’s testimony before the Senate Intelligence Committee. The ad, called “Showboat,” accused Comey of “putting politics over protecting America.”
  • In the final days leading to the special election in Georgia's 6th Congressional District, Great America Alliance ran ads to encourage black voter turnout for Republican Karen Handel. The ad used audio from Barack Obama reading his 1995 memoir, Dreams From My Father, where Obama quotes a black barber speaking about politics. The super PAC’s ad did not explain where the clip came from. A spokesperson for the group said, ”The clip of President Obama was absolutely in context on this issue and helps make our point in the ad, which is why we used it.”

Other organizations supporting the Trump administration’s agenda

  • Making America Great: Founded by Rebekah Mercer, the director of the Mercer Family Foundation, Making America Great made a $1 million ad buy in March for markets in Florida, Indiana, Missouri, Michigan, North Dakota, Ohio, Montana, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and Wisconsin—all states where a Democratic senator is up for re-election in 2018—to promote Trump’s policy actions. Chief operating officer Emily Cornell said, “Our group will be a conduit to highlight President Trump’s achievement to the rest of the country. We are here to promote successes and hold accountable broken promises—not just to those who voted for Trump, but to all Americans.”
  • 45 Committee: This advocacy organization, which was formed by Sheldon Adelson and Todd Ricketts, spent $1 million to support Gorsuch’s nomination to the Supreme Court. It also became involved in Georgia 6th’s special election when it released an ad in April criticizing the conservative Club for Growth, which opposed Trump during the Republican presidential primary last year, and the Republican candidate Club for Growth endorsed in the House race, Bob Gray.

See also

v • e
President Donald Trump's policies (first term)
OverviewsUS-WhiteHouse-Logo.svg
Domestic policy
Economic affairs and regulations
Foreign affairs and national security
Trump's second term overviews


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