FreedomWorks, the once influential conservative group that helped spur the tea party movement, is reportedly shutting its doors and blaming the influence of Donald Trump for its demise.
FreedomWorks President Adam Brandon told Politico in an exclusive interview published Wednesday that the group has dissolved, “effective immediately.” Wednesday marked the last day for the organization’s roughly two dozen staff members.
Fox News Digital has reached out to multiple members, including Brandon, but the outlet reported that FreedomWorks’ board of directors had voted unanimously to shut down immediately.
The group laid off just under half of its staff last year, and its revenue has plummeted by almost as much since 2022, according to the report.
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Adam Brandon, president of FreedomWorks, talks with Andrew Wilkow during an episode of The Wilkow Majority on SiriusXM Patriot at Quicken Loans Arena on July 21, 2016, in Cleveland, Ohio. (Ben Jackson/Getty Images for SiriusXM)
Brandon said the ideological upheaval of the Trump era ultimately led to FreedomWorks’ demise. He said Trump’s rise created a rift between libertarian-leaning conservatives and the MAGA-style populism of Trump supporters.
“A lot of our base aged, and so the new activists that have come in [with] Trump, they tend to be much more populist,” Brandon told the outlet. “So, you look at the base that just kind of shifted.”
The shift, he said, was seen even in FreedomWorks’ own members, which divided into MAGA and “Never Trump factions.”
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This impacted the group’s ability to raise money, noting that donors are increasingly asking: “What are you doing for Trump today?” Still, others complained that the group was doing too much to help the former president, putting Brandon in an impossible position.
FreedomWorks Forum for Ohio’s Republican Senate Candidates on March 18, 2022 in Columbus, Ohio. The forum was attended by candidates Matt Dolan, Mike Gibbons, Josh Mandel, Jane Timken and JD Vance. (Andrew Spear/Getty Images)
“[W]e’re not for or against Trump,” said FreedomWorks’ board member Paul Beckner, according to Politico. “We’re for Trump if he’s doing what we agree with, and we’re against if he’s not. And I think we’ve seen an erosion of conservative donors.”
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Brandon said he has his eyes set on launching a new libertarian-leaning organization focused on politically independent millennials and Gen Z’ers.