Ryan, Brady, and a couple of White House officials broke bread with Heritage Foundation President Jim DeMint and other key Heritage players on Wednesday to discuss tax reform, Pro’s Transition 2017 team reports. (Sens. Rob Portman of Ohio and Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania were there, too.) The dinner shows that Heritage wants to make sure it can still be a key player on tax reform, and that it wants to help push Republicans away from the House GOP’s border adjustment framework. But: “Former Republican leadership aides and lobbyists don't think Heritage will ultimately have much influence or juice over tax reform, since the group is widely viewed on the Hill as disruptors who tend to complicate legislation rather than create a clear pathway for it, particularly in recent years,” Nancy Cook, Maggie Severns and Kelsey Tamborrino write.
The Heritage Foundation has also been lobbying to defeat the Republican healthcare bill, and has deeply influenced the Trump Administration's budget proposal.
Dozens of scholars from the think tank have either worked on the Trump transition team, advised the White House, or have actually gone on to work in the Trump Administration.
