Get to know the leaders of the new conservative economic populism movement during the Trump era.

• Trump's economic populist message has given conservative economic thinkers eight years to develop an intellectual and policy framework.
• The party has developed a set of anti-corporate elite policy proposals that prioritize workers, which are gaining popularity among party members and Trump's economic advisors.
• Corporate elites have benefited greatly from the Reaganite low-tax, low-regulation, free market ideology, while American workers have not seen as much success.

The second part of Eamon Javers' series on the growing conservative economic populism among Republicans close to former President Donald Trump is reported in this column.

In Part One, Javers discusses the growing conservative economic populism among Republicans who were close to former President Donald Trump. Click here to read the full article.

The new conservative economic policy being developed is influenced by a shift in the perception of who conservatives are and the policies they prioritize.

A group of economic populists opposes the political agreement that formed the contemporary Republican Party in the United States, which combines conservative social values that attract rural and evangelical voters with low tax, hands-off economic policies favored by corporate executives.

If successful, this effort has the potential to reshape both the GOP and U.S. electoral politics for a generation.

A new Republican coalition

Sohrab Ahmari, a former Wall Street Journal writer, aims to address the issue of the hollowing out of the American middle class through neopopulist economics, which he believes is the root cause of the pressures on American families that are fueling the anger of today's culture wars.

In the Republican Party, Ahmari believes there is a need to appeal to culturally conservative voters who desire more social stability.

He contends that these voters hold onto traditional gender labels while also reaping the economic benefits of the New Deal. They are ardent supporters of Social Security and unions, especially those they are members of. They seek a secure financial future that cannot be found in a service-based economy.

Ahmari contends that Trump's appeal to lower-income Americans is the reason for his growing popularity among Hispanics and African Americans, which has puzzled pundits in the Beltway for several months.

The Trump coalition in 2024 may be broader than expected.

In order to strengthen the new coalition, Ahmari suggests that conservatives must first accept unions, even if they do not lead the current union movement. He imagines a revised version of the National Labor Relations Act of 1935 that would establish a comprehensive, sector-wide labor bargaining system, similar to the European model.

He wants to increase the minimum wage in non-union sectors by empowering regional wage boards, a revival of a New Deal framework that facilitated pay negotiations between workers and companies.

He advocates for stricter immigration policies, including the closure of H1B visas, which he claims are exploited by corporations to bring in "indentured servants" who are tied to their employers and have limited bargaining power for higher wages.

Tariffs and immigration restrictions are necessary to push back on corporate power that has been used for decades to control the flows of goods and labor, according to Ahmari.

By imposing tariffs, conservatives can regain control over the movement of goods, while limiting immigration can help them reclaim control over the movement of labor, ultimately benefiting American workers.

Ahmari advocates for a national industrial policy to regulate the economy, which is a government initiative that has been opposed by free market conservatives.

"Ahmari emphasizes the importance of manufacturing, stating that "building stuff matters." He argues that the Ukraine war and pandemic have shown that a services economy alone is not sufficient. Manufacturing artillery shells, masks, and ventilators is crucial to ensure resilience and security."

A shifting tide

The GOP is undergoing a significant demographic shift, as evidenced by the new economic policy agenda advocated by Oren Cass, founder of American Compass.

A generational shift is taking place within the Republican party, with a group of young, ambitious senators leading the way: J.D. Vance (Ohio), Marco Rubio (Fla.), Josh Hawley (Mo.), and Tom Cotton (Ark.).

The generational shift among elected officials is mirrored in the congressional staffers, policy experts, and media professionals who make up the conservative movement's foundation in Washington.

Cass stated that the most motivated, competent, and promising individuals aged 25 to 40 are heading in a particular direction.

"If you are at a happy hour in DC, this has already happened, even though it may be invisible to the CNBC audience."

Cass counts among his allies several well respected conservative economic thinkers.

This includes former United States Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer, who joined the board of American Compass in 2021, in the orbit of former President Donald Trump.

If Trump is reelected in November, Lighthizer is likely to play a significant role in shaping his economic policy.

The critics

James Pethokoukis is a senior fellow at the conservative American Enterprise Institute and supports the consensus economic policies of the Reagan era.

Like Cass, he too perceives a Republican party undergoing swift transformation.

Pethokoukis expressed his deep skepticism towards the entire movement, stating that it is fundamentally driven by reacting to voters rather than proactively developing good policies, in a recent interview.

According to him, economic policy is not based on sound economics, but on politics, the culture war, and the desires of one's base.

Traditional conservatives have criticized Trumpian populism for its inflationary policies.

Any effort that could increase costs for consumers is likely to be viewed as politically dangerous, given the high inflation and its impact on the Democratic President Joe Biden's popularity.

Unlikely allies

The political spectrum has been distorted, causing the Trump-inspired populists on the right to unite with the economic populists on the left.

The Biden administration and new conservative economists share common ground on several issues, including the infrastructure bill, the CHIPS act, and other industrial policy efforts.

Recognizing that our 2017 corporate tax cut did not result in a significant increase in investment, Cass suggested that implementing a CHIPS act could lead to $60 billion in investment.

Conservatives are in favor of Biden's antitrust enforcement against Big Tech companies and his move to eliminate private sector non-compete agreements, which they believe are detrimental to workers' job prospects.

Ahmari identifies as a "Kahn-servative" in honor of Lina Kahn, Biden's FTC chair and a prominent figure in the left's antitrust movement.

Populists from both the left and right could collaborate on certain issues, resulting in a Venn Diagram politics.

Many voters express exhaustion with the constant political gridlock in a country where civil society is fragmented by ideological divisions.

A roadmap to gaining legislative traction for bold policy ideas in a Trump administration.

In March, Vance collaborated with liberal Rhode Island Democratic senator Sheldon Whitehouse to propose the "Stop Subsidizing Giant Mergers Act," which aimed to abolish tax-free mergers and taxpayer-funded subsidies that the senators believed were concentrating corporate power.

In the future, the two politicians intend to prevent certain types of tax-free mergers, such as Facebook's $19 billion acquisition of WhatsApp in 2014 and AT&T's $85 billion acquisition of Time Warner in 2018.

In February, Vance praised the FTC's Kahn, saying he was "doing a pretty good job" - a rare compliment from a conservative for the Biden Administration.

The praise is new and different in Washington, and many on Wall Street and in corporate boardrooms don't fully comprehend it yet.