Friday, March 9, 2018

New Study: At least 125 Trump Staffers Came from Think Tanks

A new study by ProPublica found that at least 125 Trump Administration cabinet members, staffers, and political appointees have come from think tanks and other policy-focused nonprofits.  Here is a breakdown of the more well-known think tanks and number of staffers who now work for Trump:

  • Heritage Foundation: 25
  • American Enterprise Institute (AEI): 11
  • Hudson Institute: 4
  • Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI): 3
  • Hoover Institution: 3
  • Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS): 3
  • Bipartisan Policy Center (BPC): 3
  • Brookings Institution: 2
  • Manhattan Institute: 2
  • Cato Institute: 1
  • R Street Institute: 1
  • Carnegie Endowment for International Peace: 1
  • Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments (CSBA): 1

Think Tank Watch keeps its own internal list which shows that there are even more think tankers than the ones listed who have helped the Trump team.  ["Only" around 60 people total have come from more well-known, "traditional" think tanks, based on our analysis of ProPublica's count.]

In January, the Heritage Foundation said that approximately 70 of its former employees have worked for the Trump transition team or as part of the administration.

Here is a previous Think Tank Watch piece about the influence of the Heritage Foundation on President Trump, whose administration has adopted 64 percent of the think tank's recommended agenda.