Conservative think tank’s exclusive gathering will include Biden official — but not Trump

A private, unregistered gathering of Conservative leaders and wealthy donors will meet this week in Sea Island, Georgia, with appearances by a Biden White House official and several critics of former President Donald Trump.

Trump was not invited to the exclusive event, which will be attended by some of the main Republican Party donors, according to two people familiar with the event who were not authorized to speak.

This year’s annual Conservative American Enterprise Institute World Forum will be held at The Cloister, a high-end resort on Sea Island, and will feature discussions, meals and miles of private beach access by invitation only. This year’s forum calendar has been obtained by CBS News.

The Center for Public Integrity, a nonprofit monitoring body that focuses on corruption and abuse of power, described the meeting as a “secret” event “where industry titans and GOP mega-donors.” [mingle] with mostly Republican power players in an exclusive, “off-record” retirement. ”Among the previous attendees were billionaire executives from global manufacturing, energy, and financial companies.

The composition of this year’s conference reflects the drift of the AEI in recent years. Although the non-partisan but historically conservative group has previously backed aspects of Trump’s agenda, many of his scholars have become critics of the former president, especially after he refused to grant defeat to the 2020 presidential election.

This year’s guest list also highlights how some Republican Party wing wing leaders and their right-wing allies are increasingly eager to step away from Trump and let go of control of the Conservative movement.

One of the keynote speakers at this week’s meeting will be Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, who has been working behind the scenes to recruit candidates from a more traditional Republican mold, both in terms of political positions. as in rhetoric, while working to vindicate. a majority in the Senate later this year in the midterm elections.

Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey, whom Trump has harshly criticized for refusing to endorse his efforts to decertify President Joe Biden’s 2020 victory in the state, will also speak at the forum, according to the calendar. McConnell repeatedly tried to recruit Ducey to run for the Arizona Senate, but the governor he refused to do so.

And instead of celebrating Trump, like the Conservative Political Action Conference in Orlando last month, this year’s AEI World Forum will feature Democrats alongside Republican congressional officials and possible candidates for the party’s 2024 presidential nomination.

One such Democrat is Brian Deese, Mr. Biden’s top economic adviser. Deese is scheduled to appear before the World Forum audience on Friday, March 11, giving the White House a rare private platform in the face of influential Republican donors and business leaders. Deese will talk to James Pethokoukis of the AEI for breakfast, “An Interview with the Director of the National Economic Council.”

The two acquaintances at the event noted that the AEI has previously hosted Democrats at the World Forum, including economic officials from the Obama White House.

Jesse Lee, a senior communications adviser to the National Economic Council, said in a statement on Sunday: “We continue to talk to anyone who is interested in collaborating with our goal of building long-term growth that benefits all Americans.”

An AEI spokesman declined to comment. A Trump spokesman did not respond to a request for comment.

The AEI is currently led by Robert Doar, a soft-spoken Republican political expert who has worked for Republicans, as well as Michael Bloomberg, who is currently a Democrat but has been a registered and independent Republican in the past. . Doar worked in the Bloomberg administration when Bloomberg was an independent and mayor of New York.

In 2019, the IAEA World Forum drew attention when it was reported that then-Vice President Mike Pence was harshly questioned by former Vice President Dick Cheney about the Trump administration’s foreign policy, highlighting how various actors of the AEI’s orbit have long been uncomfortable with elements of Trump’s populist and nationalist policies.

It is unclear whether Pence was invited to the 2022 event.

Conservative critics of Trump will also appear during several Sea Island sessions this week. Jonah Goldberg, an AEI colleague and veteran columnist who recently left Fox News, is listed several times on the schedule. Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan, a vocal critic of Trump who has warned his fellow Republicans against “laundering” last year’s Capitol attack, will speak Thursday. Hogan has expressed interest in running for the 2024 GOP presidential nomination.

But Trump’s allies will also be present. Representative Elise Stefanik of New York, who has openly expressed her support for the former president, and Senator Rick Scott of Florida, who chairs the National Republican Senator Committee and has he remained politically close in Trump, they will both appear.

Also appearing are Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina, another potential candidate for the 2024 presidency, Sen. Susan Collins of Maine, and retired Sen. Rob Portman of Ohio.

People familiar with the event warned that some scheduled speakers may leave in the coming days due to the invasion of Ukraine by Russia. British Foreign Secretary Liz Truss, an ally of British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, is scheduled to attend and speak, according to the schedule. But it is unknown at this time what he will do after leaving the post.

Trump, meanwhile, is scheduled to hold a rally in Florence, South Carolina, about 250 miles north of Sea Island on March 12.