A pro-Biden group, working with the blessing of the White House, plans to raise unlimited funds – and give donors anonymity – as they prepare to advance and protect the president’s agenda from the outside.
Why it matters: By not limiting anonymous contributions, the group called Building Back Together will more easily raise money ahead of the expected launch next month to defend Biden’s policies, including its $ 1.9 billion aid package.
- “We will work with existing groups working towards the same goals,” reads a statement from the organization.
- “We will also allow individual donors to release their donations in public.”
- The group, organized as a non-profit organization 501 (c) (4), will impose fundraising restrictions: it does not accept contributions from corporations, registered lobbyists or the oil and gas industry.
The big picture: The outreach group is in part a facsimile of a former Democratic organization, The Common Purpose Project, created by allies of President Obama to coordinate the progressive movement early in Obama’s term.
- However, rebuilding together differs from the Obama model in one important aspect: that group limited the $ 50,000 contributions and made their names known.
- But President Trump’s allies did not stick to the conventions when they formed their groups four years ago and raised unlimited funds from anonymous donors.
- Democrats take note.
- “We play by the rules of today’s system and will maintain the same standard as many other outside groups working to influence the direction of this country,” the statement said.
Go deeper: The White House will not have operational control over the new group, which will do paid media, both digitally and broadcast, as it seeks to define the terms of the debate on Biden’s policies.
- “It has a very specific job and a very specific role and cannot do the work that the state parties are doing and cannot coordinate with the state parties,” Jen O’Malley Dillon, deputy chief of staff of the White House, said last told the Wall Street Journal. month, which first reported on the group.
Between the lines door: Building Back Together will be staffed by former Biden campaign aides and longtime Democratic strategists.
- Danielle Melfi, the state director of Wisconsin in the Biden campaign, will serve as executive director.
- Stephanie Cutter, who co-founded O’Malley Dillon with Precision Strategies, played a key role.
- Patrick Bonsignore, who manages paid media for Biden, and Matt Barreto, one of Biden’s polls, will also be involved.
- Addisu Demissie, who helped draft the Democratic National Convention with Cutter, is also part of the team.
Be smart: Democrats are willing to resist criticism for abandoning some of Obama’s transparency standards to ensure their party retains the White House.