A view of Washington DC, the US Photo: VCG

Editor's Note:

"At Butterworth's, a restaurant on Capitol Hill, a sea of red MAGA hats packed in tight to drink in Trump's swearing-in ceremony." In January, American news outlet Washington Examiner described this scene in an article. The article mentioned that among the guests at this restaurant, in addition to young Republicans and incoming officials, there were also think tanks and organizations such as the American Moment, the Center for Renewing America, and the Conservative Partnership Institute. These right-wing think tanks, which have emerged in the US in recent years, have been referred to by US media as "new conservative think tanks" or "new right-wing think tanks," and even as "MAGA think tanks." 

"An army of MAGA think tanks"- this is how Politico recently described them in an article. The report noted that eight years ago, Trump entered the White House as an "outsider" whose rhetoric was "seldom taken seriously by the policy shops that have long helped administrations transform their agenda into action." But this time, the situation is different - a group of think tanks and other advocacy organizations ideologically aligned with MAGA are now ready to transform his "statements into white papers."

Diverse and specialized

The Global Times has observed that the new conservative think tanks emerging in the US in recent years are diverse and specialized in different areas. The America First Policy Institute (AFPI) and the Center for Renewing America are think tanks dedicated to MAGA ideology. American Moment focuses on recruiting and training the next generation of conservative political elites. The America First Legal primarily takes legal action to challenge Democratic policies. Meanwhile, the Conservative Partnership Institute functions more like an "incubator," which supports the establishment of new conservative groups. From a certain perspective, a new conservative think tank network, or even an "ecosystem," centered on MAGA ideology has begun to take shape.

The AFPI is the most prominent among the new conservative think tanks. Founded in 2021, the AFPI has provided several key figures for the new cabinet. For example, Attorney General Pam Bondi previously served as the Chair for the Center for Litigation, and Co-Chair of the Center for Law and Justice at AFPI. Secretary of Education Linda McMahon was formerly served as Chair of the Board and Chair of the Center for the American Worker for AFPI, according to the official website of the AFPI. The Global Times has observed that several agendas promoted by the AFPI have been swiftly adopted by the US government. These include imposing higher tariffs on imported goods, lowering corporate tax rates, expanding fossil fuel production, withdrawing from the Paris Agreement, and opposing transgender rights.

American Moment is another notable new conservative group. According to its official website, American Moment was founded in 2021 and the organization put an emphasis on identifying and educating young members who places "American first." It also wrote that it is "quietly reshaping the conservative establishment in Washington," and is "replacing mediocre and unfit operatives" in Washington DC. 

The organization's leadership team is also remarkably young. Its two co-founders, Nick Solheim and Saurabh Sharma, are both under 30. Sharma joined the Presidential personnel office in January.

Founded in 2021 by Stephen Miller, the America First Legal functions more like a legal advocacy group dedicated to conservative and MAGA values. Unlike other groups, the Conservative Partnership Institute (CPI), founded in 2017, is not an independent think tank. Instead, it functions more like an incubator or activity center, primarily providing funding and support for other new conservative organizations, including American Moment and the Center for Renewing America.

According to The New Yorker, the CPI was founded by former US senator Jim DeMint. DeMint previously served as the president of The Heritage Foundation but was later dismissed by its board, which believed he had turned the foundation into a "partisan tool." Following his departure, DeMint decided to establish the CPI.

A view of K Street, a major thoroughfare that houses the offices of think tanks, NGOs, and lobbyist groups in Washington DC, the US Photo: AFP

'Loyalty tests' 

Throughout history, the US government and political parties have maintained close ties with think tanks, with a "revolving door" system, referring to the movement of high-level officials from government to business and vice versa. Democrats have traditionally relied on institutions like the Center for American Progress, the Urban Institute, and the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities for policy and academic support. By contrast, Republicans have relied on conservative think tanks such as the Heritage Foundation and the Cato Institute. However, according to Politico, the rise of the MAGA movement has pushed some long-standing conservative think tanks to the sidelines, with the MAGA movement dismissing some of them as liberal.

"During the Tea Party era everyone was like, 'Oh the extreme right-wing Cato,' and now it's 'the extreme left-wing Cato,'" said Alex Nowrasteh, vice president for economic and social policy studies at Cato, according to Politico. Nowrasteh believes that the institute itself hasn't changed its libertarian principles, but the political landscape has changed.

What are the differences between the new conservative think tanks and the traditional ones? The US-based World magazine, citing Sumantra Maitra, a senior fellow at the Center for Renewing America, states that the so-called New Right, or "new conservatism" is actually a throwback to what conservatism looked like until the presidency of Richard Nixon. This is reflected in the opposition to foreign intervention, support for protectionist economic policies, and strict immigration control. By contrast, what is now called the "Old Right" is a product of the Republican Party after Nixon. It advocates for foreign intervention for humanitarian reasons, free trade, and relatively higher levels of legal immigration. The New Right, according to Maitra, "is not your father's conservatism. It's your grandfather's conservatism."

According to some US conservative figures cited by Politico, compared to traditional conservative think tanks that champion "intellectual independence," the core of these new conservative think tanks is loyalty tests. "They're not outside groups. They're all some variation of inside groups," said one former Heritage Foundation official. "The name of the game is enforcement, not influence."

The US Senate Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry Committee holds a confirmation hearing for Brooke Rollins, the President and CEO of the America First Policy Institute, for secretary of Agriculture on January 23, 2025. Photo: AFP

Fleeting phenomenon or long-lasting force?

Although many MAGA-specific think tanks are closely linked to the current US administration and are working to become its largest brain trust, Politico, after interviewing more than a dozen members of these new think tanks and former government officials, believes that the ambitions of these think tanks are not limited to supporting the Trump administration. They have a long-term goal of ensuring the continuity of their cause beyond Trump's presidency.

"The vision is, 'We're not going back to [former president George W.] Bush' ... You have to have a network on the outside that's resisting that effort within the right," said Rachel Bovard, vice president at the Conservative Partnership Institute, in the Politico article. "This is what every lasting movement does. They build the outside brick-and-mortar infrastructure to be able to support what policymakers are doing." 

According to Politico, Eric Teetsel, executive director of the Center for Renewing America, explained the goal and logic of the think tank. "We believe in timeless truths and principles, but we are also not wedded to the same policy prescriptions of a bygone era because we're new. So we're able to apply those timeless truths and principles to the questions of today and be nimble."

However, whether these think tanks can achieve their long-term goals and reshape the political landscape of the American right remains uncertain. Jia Qingguo, professor of the School of International Studies at Peking University, told the Global Times that compared to the "Tea Party" and old conservative think tanks, MAGA-specific think tanks mainly support and coordinate government policies, with limited influence on public and foreign policy.

Jia also pointed out that some ideas from these think tanks are not new but old-fashioned. For example, so-called "reciprocal tariffs" and a lack of interest in international cooperation are old US practices from the 19th century. "Today's global trade patterns and principles are different from the 19th century. Exports are no longer simply goods produced by one country sold to another, but involve more countries in the form of raw materials, technology, and patents," Jia said. 

"The thinking of neoconservative think tanks is stuck in the past. Even if they make these ideas more attractive, it won't help solve America's real problems," he said.