The Heritage Foundation released an 800-page ‘Guide to the Constitution’ featuring contributions from Trump appointees and prefaced by Justice Samuel Alito, serving as Trump’s blueprint for Supreme Court nominations and legal interpretation. The guide promotes an originalist …
Heritage FoundationJustice Samuel AlitoDonald TrumpSupreme Courtjudicial-captureinstitutional-captureconstitutional-subversionproject-2025
On September 1, 2025, President Trump initiated a massive purge of federal Inspectors General, firing approximately 17 independent watchdogs across multiple agencies. These dismissals, explicitly outlined in the Heritage Foundation’s Project 2025 blueprint, violated federal law requiring …
Donald TrumpChuck GrassleyChuck SchumerElizabeth WarrenRobert Storch+2 moreinspector-general-purgeoversight-eliminationexecutive-poweraccountability-removalproject-2025+2 more
In February 2025, the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) published its ‘Essential Policy Solutions’ playbook for 2025, doubling down on its decades-long campaign to eliminate state corporate and individual income taxes and replace them with higher sales taxes—a regressive shift …
American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC)Lisa NelsonArthur LafferState Policy NetworkHeritage Foundation+4 morealectax-policystate-legislationcorporate-corruptionregressive-taxation+6 more
Vice President-elect JD Vance writes the foreword to “Dawn’s Early Light” by Kevin Roberts, the architect of Project 2025. In the foreword, Vance calls for “offensive conservatism” and “rebuild[ing]” government, endorsing the Heritage Foundation’s …
J.D. VanceKevin RobertsHeritage FoundationPaul DansSteven Grovessuccession-riskjd-vanceproject-2025authoritarian-consolidationgovernment-purge+2 more
Paul Dans departed as Project 2025 director on July 30, 2024, amid Trump campaign pressure to distance from the Heritage Foundation blueprint. The departure followed campaign concerns about the project becoming a political liability, though Russell Vought later claimed Trump privately supports the …
Paul DansKevin RobertsHeritage FoundationDonald TrumpRussell Voughtproject-2025heritage-foundationcampaign-strategypolitical-distancing
Heritage Foundation launched $22 million “2025 Presidential Transition Project” published April 2023, bringing together 140+ former Trump staffers and 100+ conservative organizations. Created 920-page “Mandate for Leadership” blueprint, LinkedIn-style personnel database, …
A leaked video obtained by the watchdog group Documented and shared with Mother Jones revealed that Heritage Action for America, the advocacy arm of the Heritage Foundation, was orchestrating a coordinated $24 million campaign to push voter restriction legislation across eight key battleground …
Heritage ActionJessica AndersonHeritage FoundationHans von SpakovskyBrian Kemp+4 moreheritage-foundationvoter-suppressionelectoral-manipulationdark-moneyalec+4 more
Throughout 2021, at least 440 bills containing voter restriction provisions were introduced across 49 states, representing the largest coordinated assault on voting rights since Jim Crow and demonstrating ALEC’s systematic model legislation deployment at unprecedented scale. The Brennan Center …
American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC)Heritage FoundationHeritage ActionRepublican state legislatorsState Policy Networkalecvoter-suppressionelectoral-manipulationbig-lievoting-rights+3 more
In April 2020, CNP Action (the 501(c)(4) affiliate of the Council for National Policy) began hosting weekly conference calls to coordinate conservative response tactics to the COVID-19 pandemic, mobilizing Tea Party-like protests against virus-related public safety lockdowns in swing states.
The …
Council for National PolicyCNP ActionStephen MooreHeritage FoundationFreedomWorks+3 morecnpconservative-movementcoordinationcovid-19astroturfing+1 more
On December 22, 2017, President Donald Trump signed the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) into law, enacting the most sweeping tax reform package in 30 years and permanently slashing the corporate tax rate from 35% to a flat 21%—a 40% reduction representing the largest corporate tax cut in American …
Donald TrumpPaul RyanMitch McConnellKevin BradyOrrin Hatch+5 moretax-policytrump-administrationcorporate-corruptionwealth-transferdeficit-spending+5 more
Ed Feulner, who had retired as Heritage Foundation president in 2013 after 36 years of leadership, returned as interim president and CEO on May 2, 2017, after Heritage’s Board of Trustees unanimously forced out Jim DeMint due to “significant and worsening management issues” that …
Edwin FeulnerJim DeMintHeritage FoundationHeritage Foundation Board of TrusteesKay Coles James+1 moreheritage-foundationconservative-movementinstitutional-transitionleadership-crisistrump-administration+1 more
During the 2016 campaign, Donald Trump made a pivotal strategic commitment to outsource Supreme Court nominee selection entirely to the Federalist Society, a move that would fundamentally reshape the federal judiciary. In March 2016, Trump, campaign lawyer Don McGahn, and Federalist Society …
Donald TrumpLeonard LeoDon McGahnNeil GorsuchBrett Kavanaugh+3 moretrump-judicial-nomineesfederalist-society-vettingleonard-leosupreme-court-outsourcingjudicial-capture+2 more
Richard Mellon Scaife, the billionaire heir to the Mellon banking and aluminum fortune who became the most important financial architect of the modern conservative movement, died on July 4, 2014, one day after his 82nd birthday, after a battle with cancer. Scaife’s death marked the end of a …
Richard ScaifeSarah Scaife FoundationCarthage FoundationAllegheny FoundationHeritage Foundation+5 moredark-moneyconservative-movementheritage-foundationfederalist-societystate-policy-network+5 more
Edwin J. Feulner Jr. retired as president of the Heritage Foundation on April 3, 2013, after an extraordinary 36-year tenure that transformed Heritage from a small Capitol Hill operation with 9 staff members and a $1 million budget into the most influential conservative think tank in Washington, …
Edwin FeulnerHeritage FoundationJim DeMintRichard ScaifeNewt Gingrich+3 moreheritage-foundationconservative-movementthink-tank-influenceinstitutional-capturedark-money+4 more
Comprehensive organizational analysis reveals DonorsTrust and Donors Capital Fund as the central infrastructure for conservative dark money operations, earning designation as ‘Dark Money ATM of The Right.’ Founded in 1999 by Whitney Lynn Ball and Kimberly Dennis (both from Philanthropy …
DonorsTrustDonors Capital FundWhitney Lynn BallKimberly DennisLawson Bader+5 moreorganizational-profiledark-moneydonor-advised-fundanonymity-infrastructurekoch-network+4 more
ALEC’s Public Safety and Elections Task Force approved the “Voter ID Act” model legislation at its July 2009 Atlanta meeting, with final Board of Directors approval on August 27, 2009. The model bill was created in direct response to Barack Obama’s 2008 election victory and …
American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC)Hans von SpakovskyHeritage FoundationALEC Public Safety and Elections Task Forcealecvoter-suppressionelectoral-manipulationcorporate-influencestate-capture+2 more
After the U.S. House of Representatives passed the Waxman-Markey American Clean Energy and Security Act (cap-and-trade climate bill) on June 26, 2009, the Koch brothers’ network immediately launched a massive campaign to kill the legislation in the Senate. Americans for Prosperity, whose top …
Koch brothersCharles KochDavid KochAmericans for ProsperityHeritage Foundation+4 moreclimate-denialregulatory-capturelobbyingenvironmentalcorporate-corruption+1 more
Hurricane Katrina became the largest implementation of ‘disaster capitalism’ in U.S. history, with corporate interests using the crisis to advance privatization agendas previously blocked. Within 10 days of the levees breaking, .4 billion in no-bid contracts were awarded to four major …
Dick CheneyHalliburtonBechtelShaw GroupFluor+1 morehurricane-katrinadisaster-capitalismno-bid-contractsprivatizationdisplacement
On January 22, 2004, President George W. Bush signed the DC School Choice Incentive Act, creating the DC Opportunity Scholarship Program (OSP)—the first federally-funded private school voucher program in American history. Congress used its constitutional authority over the District of Columbia to …
President George W. BushSpeaker Dennis HastertSenator Judd GreggDC Public SchoolsHeritage Foundation+1 moreeducationvouchersprivatizationfederal-policywashington-dc
On May 28, 2003, President George W. Bush signed the Jobs and Growth Tax Relief Reconciliation Act (JGTRRA) into law, completing the second phase of the Bush tax cuts and fundamentally restructuring taxation to favor investment income over wages. The legislation reduced the long-term capital gains …
George W. BushDick CheneyBill ThomasCharles GrassleyAmericans for Tax Reform+3 moretax-policybush-administrationsupply-side-economicscapital-gainsdividend-taxation+4 more
The Heritage Foundation, cornerstone institution of the Powell Memorandum corporate capture strategy, establishes systematic coordination with the White House Iraq Group to exploit the 9/11 crisis for accelerated implementation of long-term institutional capture objectives. This coordination …
Heritage FoundationWhite House Iraq GroupEdwin FeulnerPaul WeyrichLewis Powell Network+5 morepowell-memorandum-accelerationheritage-foundationwhig-coordinationcrisis-exploitation-templateinstitutional-capture-acceleration+4 more
On June 7, 2001, President George W. Bush signed the Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act (EGTRRA) into law, enacting the first wave of the ‘Bush tax cuts’ that would add approximately $1.5 trillion to the national debt over the 2002-2011 decade, excluding interest. The …
George W. BushDick CheneyPaul O'NeillDennis HastertTrent Lott+3 moretax-policybush-administrationsupply-side-economicswealth-transferdeficit-spending+4 more
In 1986, the Madison Group was established as an informal confederation of state-level think tanks and their supporters, named after the Madison Hotel in Washington, DC where they first met. This network, which would be formalized as the State Policy Network (SPN) in 1992, represented the extension …
Thomas A. RoeAmerican Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC)Heritage FoundationSouth Carolina Policy CouncilHeartland Institutethink-tank-infrastructurestate-capturealec-coordinationpowell-memo-implementationcoordinated-networks
On April 26, 1983, the National Commission on Excellence in Education released “A Nation at Risk: The Imperative for Educational Reform,” a report that fundamentally reshaped American education discourse and laid the ideological groundwork for decades of privatization efforts. The …
National Commission on Excellence in EducationSecretary of Education Terrel BellRonald ReaganHeritage Foundationeducationprivatizationreagan-eramanufactured-crisisschool-choice+1 more
The Heritage Foundation reached over 100 staff members and a $10 million annual budget by 1983, representing explosive growth during the Reagan administration’s implementation of Heritage policy recommendations. In just six years since Ed Feulner became president in 1977, Heritage had grown …
Heritage FoundationEdwin FeulnerRonald ReaganRichard ScaifeState Policy Network+1 moreheritage-foundationconservative-movementthink-tank-influenceinstitutional-capturedark-money+3 more
By the end of 1981, Paul Weyrich had established the three core institutions that would serve as the infrastructure for conservative movement coordination for the next four decades: Heritage Foundation (policy research), ALEC (state legislation), and CNP (coordination hub).
Weyrich co-founded …
Council for National PolicyHeritage FoundationALECPaul Weyrichcnpconservative-movementheritage-foundationaleccoordination+2 more
On August 13, 1981, President Ronald Reagan signed the Economic Recovery Tax Act (ERTA) into law, enacting one of the largest tax cuts in American history. The Act reduced the highest marginal individual income tax rate from 70% to 50% and the lowest rate from 14% to 11%, implementing an …
Ronald ReaganJack KempWilliam RothDavid StockmanHeritage Foundation+3 moretax-policyreagan-administrationsupply-side-economicscorporate-corruptionwealth-transfer+4 more
Ronald Reagan wins the presidency in a 44-state Electoral College landslide, marking the triumph of the conservative infrastructure deliberately built over nine years in response to the Powell Memo blueprint. Reagan’s victory demonstrates the effectiveness of coordinated institutional power …
Ronald ReaganHeritage FoundationPaul WeyrichEdwin FeulnerEdwin Meese III+2 morereagan-presidencyconservative-movementheritage-foundationpowell-memoelectoral-victory+1 more
Edwin Meese III, senior aide to Ronald Reagan’s presidential campaign, makes a surprise appearance at a Heritage Foundation dinner honoring the team chairmen and co-chairmen working on the “Mandate for Leadership” project, demonstrating direct coordination between the Reagan …
Edwin J. Feulner Jr., co-founder of the Heritage Foundation in 1973, assumed the presidency of the conservative think tank in 1977, beginning what would become a transformative 36-year tenure that built Heritage from a modest Capitol Hill operation with 9 staff members into the preeminent …
Edwin FeulnerHeritage FoundationPaul WeyrichRichard ScaifeJoseph Coors+3 moreheritage-foundationconservative-movementthink-tank-influenceinstitutional-capturedark-money+4 more
Billionaire Richard Mellon Scaife emerges as the Heritage Foundation’s largest and most crucial donor, contributing $420,000 in 1976 alone - representing 42 percent of the foundation’s total $1 million annual budget. Scaife’s massive financial commitment transforms Heritage from a …
Richard Mellon ScaifeHeritage FoundationScaife Family Charitable TrustJoseph CoorsEdwin Meese IIIbillionaire-fundingthink-tank-expansionconservative-infrastructurepolitical-influencenarrative-control+2 more
Comprehensive organizational analysis reveals the Heritage Foundation’s structure as a systematic corporate capture mechanism. Founded by Paul Weyrich, Edwin Feulner, and funded with Joseph Coors’ $250,000 seed money, Heritage grew from startup to $100M+ annual revenue by 2010s, reaching …
Heritage FoundationPaul WeyrichEdwin FeulnerJoseph CoorsRichard Mellon Scaife+3 moreorganizational-profilethink-tank-infrastructurecorporate-capturerevolving-doordark-money+2 more
Conservative activist Paul Weyrich, with Representatives Henry Hyde and others, founds the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) in Chicago—the same year Weyrich co-founds the Heritage Foundation with financial backing from beer magnate Joseph Coors. ALEC is established specifically to …
Paul WeyrichHenry HydeAmerican Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC)Heritage FoundationJoseph Coors+1 morealecstate-capturemodel-legislationcorporate-lobbyingconservative-movement+1 more