A senior aide to House Speaker Mike Johnson decamped with other Capitol Hill staff to Maryland’s Eastern Shore in early April for a weekend hosted by American Compass, a conservative think tank with surprising patrons.
Oren Cass, American Compass’ executive director, gave a talk on tailoring conservative economics to the “economic and cultural concerns of ordinary Americans,” a topic he’s pushed enthusiastically, and increasingly successfully, into the Washington debate in recent years. A former Trump administration aide facilitated a mock legislative negotiation for attendees titled: How hard could it really be?
The agenda for the event did not mention that American Compass has received a substantial amount of its funding from two foundations best known for boosting progressive causes, Hewlett Foundation and the Omidyar Network, the philanthropic firm run by eBay founder Pierre Omidyar.