Status: 🔴 A secretive networking organization that connects wealthy conservative donors with far-right activist groups and politicians. Serves as an infrastructure bridge between fossil fuel billionaires like Phil Anschutz and the anti-trans organizations they fund.
The Council for National Policy (CNP) is an umbrella organization and networking group that advocates for conservative and Republican Party initiatives in the United States. It was launched in 1981 during the Reagan administration by Tim LaHaye — author of the Left Behind book series, co-founder of the Moral Majority, and a leading figure in the Christian right — to “bring more focus and force to conservative advocacy.”[1][2] LaHaye was also a major figure in anti-LGBTQ+ organizing through his involvement with the Moral Majority and his writings describing homosexuality as a sin.[1:1]
The New York Times has described the CNP as “a little-known club of a few hundred of the most powerful conservatives in the country,” who meet three times yearly behind closed doors at undisclosed locations for confidential conferences.[3] Members are instructed not to reveal their membership or even name the group.[4]
The CNP has been described by ABC News as “the conservative version of the Council on Foreign Relations” and by journalist Max Blumenthal as an organization that “networks wealthy right-wing donors together with top conservative operatives to plan long-term movement strategy.”[5][6]
Fossil fuel billionaire Phil Anschutz — worth $16.9 billion from oil and gas — is a member of the CNP.[7] Anschutz has funded at least nine conservative transphobic entities, many of which are also connected to the CNP network, including Alliance Defending Freedom, Family Research Council, Colorado Christian University, Movieguide, Dare 2 Share Ministries, and Sky Ranch.[7:1]
Anschutz’s membership in the CNP places him at the center of a network that connects donor money directly to anti-trans activism, alongside other powerful conservative figures and organizations.[7:2]
The CNP functions as an infrastructure hub for the anti-LGBTQ+ movement:
The leaked September 2020 membership list included:[4:1]
Other notable CNP figures connected to the anti-LGBTQ+ movement include:
Multiple CNP members serve on the advisory board of Project 2025, the Heritage Foundation-led conservative blueprint for restructuring the federal government. Project 2025 proposals include rolling back protections for transgender people.[8] The CNP’s networking infrastructure has been instrumental in coordinating the coalition behind Project 2025, which brings together many of the same organizations and donors.[8:1]
The CNP is not itself a funder — it is a networking and coordination body that facilitates connections between funders and activists. Its importance to the fossil fuel-to-anti-trans funding pipeline lies in its role as the clearinghouse where oil and gas money flows through strategic planning before reaching front-line anti-trans organizations.
The 2025 investigation by Atmos and HEATED documented how fossil fuel billionaires are bankrolling the anti-trans movement through entities like ADF, FRC, and CCU.[7:3] The CNP is the infrastructure that connects these dots — the room where donor strategies are planned and coordinated.
The CNP was founded in 1981 by Tim LaHaye — author of the Left Behind series and co-founder of the Moral Majority — along with:[1:2][8:2]
The Southern Poverty Law Center obtained a nearly complete CNP member directory for 2014. Documented members from that leak include:
| Name | Connection | Relevance |
|---|---|---|
| Edwin Feulner | President, The Heritage Foundation | Heritage co-leads the anti-trans “Promise to America’s Children” campaign and Project 2025 |
| Pat Robertson | Founder, Christian Broadcasting Network / The 700 Club | Viral anti-LGBTQ+ comments, shaped decades of Christian right messaging |
| Jerry Falwell | Founder, Moral Majority / Liberty University | Early Christian right leader |
| Leonard Leo | Co-chair, Federalist Society | Engineered conservative Supreme Court majority; rulings against LGBTQ+ rights |
| James Dobson | Founder, Focus on the Family | Decades of anti-LGBTQ+ advocacy |
| Paul Pressler | Texas Court of Appeals judge (ret.) / Southern Baptist Convention | Key figure in SBC’s conservative takeover, anti-LGBTQ+ resolutions |
| Larry Pratt | President, Gun Owners of America | Anti-LGBTQ+ gun rights figure |
| Oliver North | Former NRA president / Iran–Contra figure | Mixed conservative career |
| Edwin Meese | U.S. Attorney General (Reagan) | Connected to Heritage, CNP, Reagan-era conservative coalition |
| John Ashcroft | U.S. Attorney General (Bush) | Anti-LGBTQ+ record in office |
| Elsa Prince | Philanthropist / DeVos family | Mother of Betsy DeVos and Erik Prince; DeVos family funded anti-LGBTQ+ causes |
| Virginia Thomas | Supreme Court spouse / conservative activist | Wife of Clarence Thomas; political network connecting CNP to judicial advocacy |
| Cleta Mitchell | Conservative attorney / CNP Board of Governors | Election integrity, conservative legal network |
A September 2020 member directory leaked in 2021 included additional members from the current wave of anti-LGBTQ+ activism:
| Name | Organization | Anti-Trans Connection |
|---|---|---|
| Phil Anschutz | Anschutz Corporation | Funds ADF, FRC, CCU, Movieguide, and nine+ anti-trans entities |
| Michael Farris | President, Alliance Defending Freedom | ADF is the leading anti-trans legal organization in the US |
| Tony Perkins | President, Family Research Council | SPLC-designated anti-LGBTQ+ hate group |
| Charlie Kirk | Founder, Turning Point USA | Campus-based anti-trans activism |
| Mathew Staver | Founder, Liberty Counsel | Anti-LGBTQ+ legal organization |
| Frank Gaffney | Founder, Center for Security Policy | Anti-LGBTQ+ conspiracy theories about “gender ideology” |
| Brigitte Gabriel | Founder, ACT for America | Far-right anti-Muslim group that also opposes LGBTQ+ rights |
| Jerome Corsi | Conspiracy theorist / InfoWars contributor | Far-right media |
| Kellyanne Conway | Former Trump White House counselor | Conservative politics, connected to Project 2025 orbit |
| Steve Bannon | Former Trump strategist | Project 2025 architect, far-right media empire |
| Sen. Don Nickles | Former U.S. Senator (R-OK) | Longtime conservative legislator |
| Sen. Trent Lott | Former Senate Majority Leader (R-MS) | Conservative leadership |
| Michael Peroutka | Paleoconservative activist / “Institute on the Constitution” | Far-right constitutional theory |
The Washington Post — How a secretive Council for National Policy brings together conservatives ↩︎
The New York Times — A little-known club of a few hundred of the most powerful conservatives ↩︎
2014 CNP member directory leaked via SPLC Hatwatch / 2020 list leaked to journalists ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎
ABC News — Conservative group wants to be the conservative version of the Council on Foreign Relations ↩︎
Max Blumenthal — Republican Gomorrah ↩︎
Atmos/HEATED — Fossil Fuel Billionaires Are Bankrolling the Anti-Trans Movement (June 2025) ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎
The Guardian — Revealed: Shell oil non-profit donated to anti-climate groups behind Project 2025 ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎