Founded in 1938, for decades the AEI viewed its role as an objective “research adjunct” to policymakers. By the time Lyndon Johnson’s “Great Society” had come and gone, it sought instead to counter liberal influence in the “marketplace of ideas.” The think tank soon began receiving millions of dollars from conservative foundations and business interests. Paul Ryan has called the think tank “one of the beachheads of the modern conservative movement.”

While the AEI has been far from complimentary towards him, Trump has admitted that he seeks out AEI Senior Fellow John Bolton for foreign policy advice. Besty DeVos, Trump’s choice for education secretary, is on the think tank’s Board of Trustees, and ExxonMobil — whose CEO Rex Tillerson is Trump’s pick for secretary of state — has provided it $1.9 million since 2007. The AEI quickly declared Tillerson “the right choice” for the position. It has laid out a range of policy recommendations for 2017, including boosting charter schools, rolling back fuel efficiency regulations and “reforming” entitlements.