‘Nerve center for the MAGA movement’ gets bulk of its funding from this one secret donor – By Carl Gibson (Alternet) / Nov 24, 2023
The Conservative Partnership Institute (CPI) — a rapidly growing group dedicated to providing infrastructure for the far right — has been described as a “hub” for the MAGA movement. And its largest donor has just been unmasked.
Founded by former Sen. Jim DeMint (R-South Carolina), the CPI has quietly become the media, messaging and staffing hub for the most extreme faction of the Republican Party, particularly the far-right House Freedom Caucus. Former President Donald Trump helped kick it off with a $1 million donation. Reps. Lauren Boebert (R-Colorado) and Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Georgia) have ties to CPI, former Trump immigration adviser Stephen Miller runs one of CPI’s affiliate groups and former White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows is one of its leaders. Its funding has increased exponentially in recent years, and a large portion of that money has come from a single contributor
The Daily Beast reported Friday that, according to 2021 tax documents, Houston, Texas-based businessman Mike Rydin has been quietly funding the group’s sprawling expansion in Capitol Hill, helping it acquire pricey real estate and develop a multimillion-dollar, 2,200-acre retreat center in Maryland. Rydin is a relative unknown in donor circles, and apparently doesn’t even crack the top 100 political donors in the US according to OpenSecrets.
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