MPR News: Pence to Mpls. Crowd: Past Year Has Been 'Promises Made and Promises Kept'
'America First Policies' has been organizing and paying for each event on Pence's tax tour. The group is organized as a non-profit with a focus on promoting social welfare. Unlike political action committees and campaigns, it is not required to report who gives it money and how much they give. It is prohibited from coordinating with politicians or political parties, but campaign finance watchdogs says it's unquestionably a political arm of the Trump White House.
"America First Policies is a group that is very closely tied to the White House, stacked with former campaign or White House officials," said Brendan Fischer, who follows America First Policies at the non-profit, non-partisan Campaign Legal Center in Washington.
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"We don't know where any of this money is coming from. We don't even know if America First Policies is funded by foreign interests — all of their donors are kept secret and, given the close relationship between the White House and this group, that presents very concerning problems for democracy and transparency."
Fischer acknowledged the irony that the people funding the effort to promote the new tax law are likely among those who benefit the most from it.
Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party Chairman Ken Martin called the GOP's tax bill "Robin Hood in reverse."