Inside American Moment, the MAGA Pipeline Training a New Generation of Hill Staffers
On a recent Friday morning, the Capitol Hill restaurant and conservative gathering spot Butterworth’s sat closed to the general public, allowing visitors in through a side entrance. Upstairs, an organization known as American Moment was conducting a training session for a cohort of young right-wing political staffers, consisting of 17 men and one woman. Attendees listened as a heterodox economist aligned with the Trump administration analyzed free trade and its traditional doctrines.
Founded in 2021 by Nick Solheim, Jake Mercier, and Saurabh Sharma—who later moved to a senior role in Trump’s presidential personnel office—American Moment represents a shift in the recruitment of conservative Washington talent. While ambitious young conservatives during previous administrations typically emerged from elite institutions like Dartmouth or the University of Pennsylvania, this new vanguard is more frequently drawn from state schools, Christian colleges, and smaller towns outside major urban centers like Columbus, Ohio.
Solheim, the group’s 29-year-old CEO, notes that the organization has never admitted an Ivy League alumnus. American Moment operated with a $2 million budget in 2024 and has largely avoided broad publicity, with Sharma previously describing the effort as a project where only a small fraction is visible while the bulk of the work proceeds without outside attention. From an initial output of roughly 1,500 young conservatives, leaders report that the network has grown to several thousand participants.
The group runs an intensive semester program admitting 15 to 30 paid fellows, combining professional etiquette instruction—such as daily grooming, shirt-tucking, and networking strategies—with ideological screening. Applicants must oppose free trade, immigration, and foreign military interventions. Solheim has stated that the ultimate objective is to cultivate thousands of figures modeled after hardline Trump aide Stephen Miller, citing his trajectory from junior Senate staffer to presidential assistant as the ideal career path.
Backing and institutional ties span influential conservative infrastructure. Vice President JD Vance served as an early adviser to the group, and Andy Baker, Vance’s former national security adviser, is joining American Moment as a senior adviser. Rachel Bovard, vice president of programs at the Conservative Partnership Institute and a board member, emphasized that hiring managers know fellows from the program share both ideological formation and behavioral standards.
Critics from both the political left and right have accused the organization of proximity to extremist elements of the online right, noting podcast appearances by figures whose controversial views have hindered official confirmations. However, organization leaders maintain strict boundaries against fringe elements. Representatives state that applicants are actively screened for extreme social media activity, and white supremacist Nick Fuentes has placed the group on an adversaries list, once targeting Sharma with public attacks. Bovard noted that the initiative aims to offer purpose to young men who might otherwise be drawn toward online nihilism.
Current participants and alumni occupy junior positions across federal agencies and congressional offices, handling duties ranging from constituent phone calls to defending hardline immigration enforcement measures. Yet internal challenges persist. According to administration officials, some junior staffers have experienced demoralization over foreign policy developments, such as the war with Iran, leading mentors to counsel younger workers to focus on long-term institutional goals despite individual policy disagreements.
