WASHINGTON — A sense of joy, and new effect, oozed at events in Washington, D. C. , on Monday, as the MAGA activity ’s before lines rang in the second inauguration of President Donald Trump.
The event group, enamored by the pinnacle of their friends properly harnessing the valves of authority, roared after each line that Trump delivered from the Capitol Rotunda. Following Trump touting his vision for the “golden years of America, ” in came the newly crowned American Moment CEO Nick Solheim, who grabbed a camera and hopped on an increased surface to make an announcement. His partner in crime, American Moment co-founder Saurabh Sharma, had moved on to fresh levels: As of lunchtime Monday, Sharma had walked through White House protection for his first time in a senior position at its National Personnel Office.
“This is a total unadulterated victory for the mission of American Moment, ” Solheim told the Washington Examiner in an interview. “We have over half of our staff going into the administration in various roles. It’s a vindication of the people that we have selected to staff American Moment. And then we have dozens of our former fellows, and over 100 people in our networks walking into federal buildings on Day One — whether it be the Department of Defense, State Department, Department of Homeland Security. ”
In the telling of Ryan Girdusky, a GOP political consultant who helps advise American Moment, the group has gone from a little-known disruptor to being at the center of the next Trump administration. It does n’t hurt that Vice President J. D. Vance, the former Ohio senator, is a former American Moment board member. The group launched in 2021 to “identify, educate, and credential young Americans who will implement public policy that supports strong families, a sovereign nation, and prosperity for all. ”
In many ways, its vision, along with that of its allies, has come full circle.
“They’re putting their fingerprints on the administration, ” Girdusky said.
For the Center for Renewing America, the change of power brings the prospect of its conservative policy proposals being adopted by the new administration. The think tank was founded by Russell Vought, Trump’s pick to lead the White House’s budget office; one senior fellow, Mark Paoletta, is now a top attorney at the office — called the Office of Management and Budget.
Eric Teetsel, the new president of the CRA, said in an interview that he finds the administration ’s hiring decisions “encouraging. ”
“Suddenly, we’ve broken through, ” Teetsel, a former chief of staff to Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO), said. “This time around, there has been a concerted effort to pick people who will do what the president wants to do, what it is that he promised the American people he would do. ”
Down the street at the Heritage Foundation, the behemoth conservative think tank that earned the wrath of the Trump campaign for its “Project 2025 ,” celebrations were also in full swing. For Heritage, which counts its leader as the Trump-friendly ex-university president Kevin Roberts, the election of Trump has paved the way for its network of current and former fellows to also score posts in the highest levels of government.
Nearby, also on Capitol Hill, following the American Moment-led festivities, Republican congressional staffers, lawmakers, and consultants flooded into the offices of the Conservative Partnership Institute beginning at 4 p. m.
CPI, an influential conservative group that “provides regular training seminars on House and Senate procedure, floor strategy, communications, the federal budget, economics, foreign policy ” to staffers, lawmakers, and other nonprofit organizations, is also helping to facilitate hiring for the new administration. Among its leaders include former Trump chief of staff Mark Meadows.
Attendees at CPI, including the likes of Reps. Chip Roy (R-TX ), Eric Burlison (R-MO), and Alex Mooney (R-WV ), made small-talk with conservative allies enjoying buttered popcorn from an attendant-managed machine, a hot dog station, and cupcakes. There were bacon-wrapped dates.
In the corner was L. Brent Bozell III, the founder of the conservative Media Research Center website. Downstairs at CPI’s office, Matthew Peterson, editor-in-chief at the Blaze, recorded a live show with other conservative journalists, including Julio Rosas.
The CPI gathering, and that of the other conservative organizations, however, was only a warmup.
Now, many attendees at the celebrations are headed for a new shindig Monday evening: sets of lavish High school prom-like “inaugural balls ” featuring performances from famous artists and, for several, remarks from Trump himself.
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The “Swamp, ” Trump’s favorite term for Washington, was hardly drained by Monday. But it certainly had new creatures in power.
“We’re in a much better position, ” said Terry Schilling, president of the conservative American Principles Project group. “There’s a lot of new opportunities. We’ve got to get these policies done. Whatever way we can. ”
