Major Influence Groups in Trump’s Inner Circle and Their Impact on U.S. Domestic and Foreign Policy
- EESF
- Apr 29
- 16 min read
1. Trump’s Elite Revolution: The New Right-Wing Power
Donald Trump’s ascent to power was primarily enabled by profound changes within the Republican Party. During his first presidential term, this transformation was only beginning to gain momentum. As a result, the emerging alt-right political elites became mired in fierce opposition from ideological adversaries within the party and from Democrats, preventing them from fully implementing their agenda. By Trump’s second term, the Make America Great Again (MAGA) movement had not only fully crystallised conceptually and secured a dominant position within the Republican Party but also succeeded in indoctrinating a portion of the “old” political elites, including Reaganites and moderates. This development, which Trump’s inner circle describes as nothing less than the “Second American Revolution”,[1] marks a pivotal power shift.
A second critical outcome of this revolution was the alliance between the MAGA movement and Silicon Valley’s tech leaders. Before 2024, most of them limited their political engagement to financial contributions, with figures like Peter Thiel and David Sacks primarily supporting Republicans, Mark Zuckerberg backing Democrats, and Elon Musk providing relatively balanced support to both parties. In 2024, however, these individuals coalesced into a distinct and formidable influence group that played a decisive role in securing Trump’s electoral victory and subsequently joined the U.S. government.
This marks the fundamental distinction between Trump’s first and second administrations. During his first term, the Trump administration was a compromise, and, like any compromise, its effectiveness was constrained. In 2025, the majority of administration members have been carefully selected to advance the new political agenda.
The table below provides an overview of the factional affiliations of the most influential Cabinet members during Trump’s first and second terms, underscoring the clear trend towards greater alignment with the MAGA agenda.
Table 1. Comparative Analysis of the Composition of Trump’s First and Second Administrations (based on the 10 Most Influential Figures)
Administration | Name | Position | Primary Affiliation |
First (2017-2021) | Jared Kushner | Senior Advisor | Business Elites |
| Reince Priebus | Chief of Staff | Moderate Republican |
| Gary Cohn | Chief Economic Advisor | Moderate Republican |
| Stephen Miller | Senior Advisor | MAGA |
| Rex Tillerson | Secretary of State | Business Elites |
| Mike Pence | Vice President | Reaganist |
| Mike Pompeo | Secretary of State / CIA Director | Reaganist |
| Steven Mnuchin | Secretary of the Treasury | Business Elites |
| James Mattis | Secretary of Defense | Moderate Republican |
| Steve Bannon | Chief Strategist | MAGA |
| |||
Second (2025-present) | JD Vance | Vice President | MAGA |
| Susie Wiles | Chief of Staff | MAGA |
| Russell Vought | Head of the office of management and budget (OMB) | MAGA |
| Marco Rubio | Secretary of State | Reaganist |
| Pete Hegseth | Secretary of Defense | MAGA |
| Pam Bondi | Attorney General | MAGA |
| Scott Bessent | Secretary of the Treasury | Business Elites |
| Stephen Miller | Deputy chief of Staff for Policy | MAGA |
| Elon Musk | Co-Head, Department of Government Efficiency | Tech Oligarchs |
| Michael Waltz | National Security Advisor | MAGA |
As evident from the table, alongside the dominant MAGA movement, the following groups retain influence within Trump’s inner circle:
Tech Oligarchs: Leaders of major tech industries who supported Trump by leveraging their wealth, technological expertise, and influence to shape domestic policy. They possess a clear, futuristic vision for the United States and the technological reforms required to realise it. Key figures in the administration include Elon Musk, Vivek Ramaswamy, and David Sacks.
Business Elites: Trusted figures from Trump’s business circle, present in both administrations. They undertake delicate, personal assignments for Trump but are characterized by opportunism and a lack of clear political principles, limiting their influence. They typically align with either the Tech Oligarchs or MAGA without forming their own agenda.
Reaganists: Representing the last bastion of “classic Republicans”, the Reaganists unite several smaller groups too weak to stand independently. Trump openly distances himself from the Reaganists but remains dependent on their support in the Senate and Congress, where Republicans hold only a slim majority of a few seats. Even a small Reaganist faction could disrupt Trump’s plans. Marco Rubio represents this group, alongside Keith Kellogg, but Rubio’s influence within the administration is notably weak and his personality has become the subject of jokes and memes on social media[2].
2. Influence Rankings in Trump’s Inner Circle
Of course, not all influential actors are represented within the Administration. Some, like MAGA’s ideologue Stephen Bannon and Tech Oligarchs’ informal leader Peter Thiel, prefer to operate outside the government’s hierarchical structure, focusing on global issues or informal leadership. To account for this, the following ranking of influence groups in Trump’s inner circle, encompassing both official and unofficial actors, was prepared using the methodology below:
Scoring Methodology for Influence in Trump Administration (2025)
Influence scores were calculated using four criteria, each with a distinct maximum score:
Proximity to Trump (Max 10 points)
High (8–10): Direct and frequent access to Trump
Medium (5–7): Regular but less frequent contact
Low (1–4): Occasional access or communication through intermediaries
Hierarchy Position (Max 8 points)
High (7–8): Direct influence on decision-making without intermediaries
Medium (4–6): Influence exerted through others or limited by higher-ranking figures
Low (1–3): Minimal influence or dependent on others
Official Cabinet or Government Position (Max 5 points)
High (5): Top-level positions (e.g., Vice President, Secretary of State, Senior Advisor)
Medium (3–4): Significant but secondary roles
Low (1–2): Informal advisors or external figures without formal posts
Public Recognition & Media Influence (Max 5 points)
High (5): High visibility and significant media impact
Medium (3–4): Moderate visibility, influential in niche areas
Low (1–2): Low public profile and minimal media presence
Example Scoring (MAGA group):
Steve Bannon:
Proximity (8), Hierarchy (7), Position (3), Public Influence (5) → 23 points
Stephen Miller:
Proximity (8), Hierarchy (6), Position (4), Public Influence (3) → 21 points
As the analysis shows, only two groups of influence in Trump's inner circle—MAGA and Tech Oligarchs—possess the necessary leaders, intellectual and financial resources, and political weight to realistically vie for leadership. Therefore, we will focus our attention on them, analyzing their goals, representatives, tools of influence, and potential contradictions.
3. The Three Faces of MAGA: Intellectuals, Administrators, Ideologues
When analyzing the structure and capabilities of MAGA, it is crucial to recognize its multifaceted nature. It is far more complex than the grassroots movement of nationalist “rednecks” often depicted in the media. Our analysis identifies three primary vectors of MAGA’s influence, which ensure its leadership within Trump’s inner circle. These vectors are interconnected, and their separation is somewhat conditional.
3.1. Intellectual Vector: “Project 2025” and “A User’s Guide to Restructuring the Global Trading System”
In 2016, Trump’s team lacked a strategic plan for wielding their newfound power or securing a second term. By 2024, MAGA prepared systematically, supported by a network of competent experts in governance and macroeconomics. This effort produced two foundational projects that serve as direct action guides for the Trump administration: Project 2025 and A User’s Guide to Restructuring the Global Trading System. The former focuses primarily on domestic policy, while the latter addresses economic policy.
Overview of Project 2025
Project 2025, led by the Heritage Foundation in collaboration with over 100 conservative organizations, is a comprehensive policy agenda designed to prepare for a Republican administration in 2025. Its stated goal is to provide a detailed blueprint for governance, focusing on dismantling the "administrative state," promoting conservative values, and implementing a nationalist, America First agenda. It offers the following key advantages:
From Rhetoric to Policy: MAGA’s big ideas—like "draining the swamp," securing the border, and countering China—are often expressed in Trump’s speeches as slogans or general goals. Project 2025 distills these into specific policies, put together in a 900-page policy document titled Mandate for Leadership 2025: The Conservative Promise.
Policy Specificity: The project provides detailed plans, such as a 180-day playbook for the first six months of a new administration, ensuring that MAGA’s ideological goals are executable.
Training and Personnel: Beyond policy, Project 2025 prepares a cadre of loyalists through its Presidential Administration Academy, ensuring that MAGA’s ideas are implemented by ideologically aligned appointees. This addresses a key MAGA frustration from Trump’s first term: resistance from the “deep state” (e.g., career bureaucrats opposing Trump’s policies).
The extent to which Project 2025 shapes the Trump administration’s views is evident in a tracking website monitoring the implementation of its recommendations[3] (see also Figure 1 below).
As shown, Project 2025 ideas guide major U.S. government structures, including personnel purges, simplifying the dismissal of federal employees, repealing climate protections, tightening control over government spending, and more.
Overview of A User’s Guide to Restructuring the Global Trading System
Another critical area of U.S. policy requiring comprehensive and rapid solutions is the economy. Trump came to power with an ambitious program of domestic and international economic reforms, which, contrary to popular belief, are not products of his imagination or hastily drafted. The theoretical foundation for initiatives like the “Day of Liberation” and other economic policies, whether already implemented or planned, is credited to Stephen Miran, an influential economist and theorist of reindustrialization and tariffs.
Stephen Miran’s 2024 guidebook, A User’s Guide to Restructuring the Global Trading System, shapes Trump’s second-term economic vision, emphasizing tariffs, dollar policy shifts, deregulation, and a manufacturing revival. This vision is executed by a brain trust where Stephen Miran provides strategic ideas, Scott Bessent approves and oversees initiatives, and Howard Lutnick implements policies. Peter Navarro, once a key co-thinker, seems to have been sidelined to the “advocate” position following the recent internal conflict over tariffs.
The entire economic group aligns with MAGA’s positions. However, Bessent, an influential businessman and “moderate”, serves as a liaison between the financial world and Trump’s team, acting as a “spokesperson of the market”.[4]
Miran’s influence and agenda are evidenced by the fact that, since Trump’s inauguration on January 20, 2025, and Miran’s confirmation as CEA Chairman on March 12, 2025, several aspects of his guidebook have begun to take shape:
Tariff Implementation,
Focus on Manufacturing (boosting domestic manufacturing,
Deregulation Initiatives (as a counterbalance to tariff-induced price pressures).
3.2. Administrative Vector: Trump’s Power Vertical
Project 2025 translates MAGA’s ideological tenets into concrete policy recommendations. Many authors of Mandate for Leadership 2025: The Conservative Promise have joined the second Trump administration. Among them is a core group forming Trump’s administrative vertical, which is responsible for implementing its key domestic policy recommendations (see Figure 3).
3.3. Ideological Vector
The ideological vector of the MAGA movement is directly tied to Stephen Bannon.
In 2016, Stephen Bannon managed Donald Trump’s election campaign and, following the victory, became his senior advisor and chief White House strategist, often dubbed the second most powerful person in the world. He formulated the overarching strategy for Trump’s first term, aimed at revising foreign policy principles and combating domestic political adversaries. This strategy has remained consistent over the years and now shapes the perspectives of Washington’s new political elites, even after Bannon left the first Trump Administration and became, as „New Statesman” puts it, “the godfather of the MAGA right”.[5]
Bannon did not join the new Trump administration, likely due to his reluctance to adhere to a strict bureaucratic hierarchy. However, his ideas remain highly influential despite his lack of an official title. The administration is stocked with Bannon allies, including:
Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller: Once a “runner” for Bannon[6], who called him “my typist”, Miller is now one of Trump’s most influential advisors and administration officials.
Vice President J.D. Vance: Bannon supported Vance’s 2022 Senate run in Ohio, frequently hosting him on his War Room podcast, which reaches millions of MAGA adherents. Bannon saw Vance as a potential torchbearer for Trumpism, famously likening him to “St. Paul to Trump’s Jesus”—a zealous convert who could spread the gospel of populism further than Trump himself. Bannon’s media influence helped Vance pivot from his earlier anti-Trump image to a MAGA-aligned candidate, securing Trump’s endorsement. Bannon’s promotion of Vance on War Room amplified his appeal to the GOP base, framing him as a fighter against the “deep state” and liberal establishment—themes central to Bannon’s ideology.
Secretary of Defence Pete Hegseth: Bannon played a crucial role during Hegseth’s contentious confirmation process for Secretary of Defense in late 2024 and early 2025. Trump nominated Hegseth in November 2024, thrusting him into a firestorm of allegations—from a 2017 sexual assault settlement to claims of financial mismanagement and alcohol abuse. As rumors swirled that Trump might replace Hegseth with Ron DeSantis, Bannon rallied his audience, insisting, “We have to go all-in on Pete”, and criticizing Mar-a-Lago advisors for wavering. He framed Hegseth as a vital “hammer” against the Pentagon establishment, despite acknowledging his lack of experience running large organizations. Bannon’s grassroots mobilization proved pivotal. His War Room listeners pressured Republican senators to push Hegseth’s nomination through committee, culminating in a 51-50 Senate confirmation vote on January 24, 2025, with Vice President J.D. Vance casting the tiebreaker.
Bannon is not shy about publicly reprimanding officials who are not formally subordinate to him. He recently yelled down the phone at the Office of Management and Budget director, Russ Vought: “You’re [Elon Musk’s] boss,” he told Vought, urging for even deeper cuts to government spending than those the Tesla CEO and Trump adviser was pushing for. “Tell him to go f**k himself. We look like idiots."[7]
4. Tech Oligarchs: Deregulation, Efficient Government, and the Dark Enlightenment
4.1. Dark Horses of the Right-Wing Elite
In 2025, the Tech Oligarchs are primarily leaders of the tech industry supporting Trump. This group, also known as the “PayPal Mafia”, includes Silicon Valley billionaires specializing in artificial intelligence, internet, and computer technologies. Typically, they operate in the shadows, except for their “official representative” in the Trump administration, Elon Musk, and “crypto czar” David Sacks. However, their influence is significant due to Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), their control over social media platforms, and direct access to the president. Key figures include:
Peter Thiel: the informal leader of the group[8] and a billionaire venture capitalist. His company, Palantir, has secured government contracts for data analytics, and Thiel’s protégés, like JD Vance, hold significant positions. As a co-founder of Palantir, Thiel advocates for bolstering U.S. technological sovereignty, notably by restricting technology transfers to China. His investments in defense startups and support for Trump in 2016 and 2024 underscore a focus on policies that protect American tech supremacy.
Vivek Ramaswamy: As a biotech entrepreneur, Ramaswamy emphasizes deregulation and economic protectionism. During the 2023 presidential debates, he criticized U.S. reliance on China for supply chains, but his foreign policy lacks a broader strategic framework, remaining tied to immediate economic concerns.
Elon Musk: Musk’s foreign policy interests are centered on securing global markets and resources for SpaceX and Tesla. His criticism of Chinese electric vehicle tariffs and consistent calls for peace in Ukraine and Gaza emphasize a pragmatic stance to secure operational benefits for his corporations while achieving peace. Musk’s particular interest in Russia is also noteworthy, primarily related to securing access to rare earth elements essential to the aerospace industry, as well as technical cooperation with Russia in this central area of his business.
Palantir CEO Alex Karp and SpaceX Executives: Managers from these companies have been appointed to key government roles under DOGE’s initiative to modernize federal operations. For example, Palantir’s data analytics experts have been tasked with identifying inefficiencies in government spending, while SpaceX executives oversee technological upgrades in agencies.
4.2. Tech Oligarchs’ Influence on U.S. Domestic Policy
Tech Oligarchs, particularly Elon Musk, have significantly reshaped U.S. domestic policy under the Trump administration in 2025, leveraging their expertise in technology, business, and efficiency-driven governance. Their influence is most evident through the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), established by Trump’s executive order on January 20, 2025, with Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy as co-chairs. DOGE has become a vehicle for the Tech Oligarchs to implement rapid, transformative changes across the federal government, aligning with the broader goals of the MAGA movement but introducing a distinct technocratic approach, including:
Dismantling the Federal Bureaucracy: Tech Oligarchs have targeted the federal bureaucracy for drastic reductions to streamline operations and cut overhead. Musk’s team has gained access to sensitive government systems, such as the Treasury Department’s payment systems, and side-lined career officials in favour of tech-savvy appointees to swiftly reduce bloated HR budgets. This mirrors Project 2025’s objective to “dismantle the deep state,” as outlined in Mandate for Leadership 2025, which proposes eliminating agencies like the Department of Education and implementing “Schedule F” to reclassify federal employees for easier dismissal[9].
Deregulation: This aligns with Project 2025’s vision of a government prioritizing corporate interests, advocating for the rollback of labour protections, environmental regulations, and cybersecurity standards—policies benefiting tech moguls like Musk. Investigations into Tesla, SpaceX, and Neuralink, initiated under the Biden administration, have been stalled or dropped since Trump took office, with reports suggesting Musk’s influence played a key role.
4.3. Tech Oligarchs’ Vision of an Efficient State
However, the ambitions of Tech Oligarchs extend beyond purging and optimizing the federal bureaucracy. A defining feature of Thiel and his allies’ state philosophy is a fundamental distrust in the efficacy of democratic governance. In his 2009 manifesto, The Education of a Libertarian[10], Thiel disavowed electoral politics as a means of reshaping society, concluding that the public cannot be trusted with important decisions: “I no longer believe that freedom and democracy are compatible”.[11] Since then, the Tech Oligarchs’ goal has shifted toward not only advancing progress but also controlling its infrastructure, including the state. From their perspective, optimizing governance is only possible through the fusion of the state and technological giants.
Thus, two additional, less publicized goals of the Tech Oligarchs are:
Better Policy Through Efficiency and Innovation: Tech Oligarchs adopt a “move fast and break things” approach, inspired by Silicon Valley’s start-up culture, to enact rapid policy changes. Musk’s interventions have included proposals to slash the Pentagon’s $886 billion budget, identifying inefficiencies through data-driven analysis. Musk has also pushed for the replacement of agency chief information officers with Silicon Valley executives from companies like Palantir and SpaceX, aiming to modernize government operations with cutting-edge technology[12]. This technocratic governance model prioritizes efficiency over traditional bureaucratic processes, often at the expense of accountability and democratic norms.
Fusion of Corporate and Government Power: A hallmark of the Tech Oligarchs’ influence is the blurring of lines between corporate and government interests. This fusion involves adopting corporate management practices and unrestricted data sharing between the state and private corporations. It also enables Tech Oligarchs to swiftly integrate new control technologies into the state system[13], for security purposes but also to monitor workforces and information flows[14].
4.4. A Tilt Toward Technocratic Dictatorship: The Dark Enlightenment
Whenever Big Tech’s role in government becomes leading rather than supportive, it risks evolving into a technocratic dictatorship. Its concept is based on neoreactionary philosophy which rejects democracy and egalitarianism in favor of a hierarchical, tech-driven governance model led by a “CEO-king” or elite technocrats. It advocates for a return to monarchical or feudal structures, where power is concentrated in the hands of a technological aristocracy, and markets replace democratic institutions. Interestingly, such foundation, called Dark Enlightenment, is already well established within the Tech Oligarch group. Its author is Curtis Yarvin, a software developer, blogger and philosopher. Peter Thiel, the unofficial leader of Tech Oligarchs, is described as a his friend[15], investor and follower[16].
Musk’s actions—e.g., centralizing power through DOGE, prioritizing corporate interests, and envisioning a society dominated by automation—echo Dark Enlightenment ideals, particularly its anti-democratic stance and belief in technocratic rule.
In fact, the ideology of the Dark Enlightenment has become such a resonant topic that it has triggered sharp attacks on Musk from Stephen Bannon, despite the fact that Tech Oligarchs, led by Musk, have successfully advanced Project 2025’s agenda by reshaping U.S. interior policy, focusing on efficiency, deregulation, and corporate empowerment.
Bannon’s attacks on Musk—accusing him of „technofeudalism” and labelling him “a trophy”—highlight significant tensions within the MAGA movement that could impact domestic policy implementation and underscores Bannon’s fear that Musk’s technocratic vision could lead to an anti-democratic, hierarchical system where tech elites rule, undermining the populist values Bannon champions.
This internal conflict could complicate the execution of Project 2025’s policies, as Bannon’s push for populist radicalism clashes with Musk’s technocratic pragmatism, creating a fragmented approach to governance within the Trump administration. Trump's recent statements that Musk will soon leave the administration[17] and that he likes Musk, but doesn’t really need him[18], are an obvious consequence of these internal disagreements.
Overall, a trend is emerging within Trump’s inner circle to limit the influence of Tech Oligarchs. While this group will not lose its influence entirely—given Trump’s need for their support and resources—efforts are underway to sideline its members from domestic policy decision-making.
The situation is somewhat different in the area of foreign policy.
Both MAGA and Tech Oligarchs seek to undermine international organizations that impose restrictions on American interests. A key target is the EU, particularly its stringent data privacy regulations, which Tech Oligarchs view as a barrier to their business models, while MAGA sees the EU as a symbol of globalism that undermines U.S. sovereignty. Their shared strategy is to use economic pressure, such as U.S. tariffs, to force the EU to relax its data privacy norms, particularly GDPR’s consent and data transfer restrictions, or to weaken the EU to the point where its norms become unenforceable, potentially through a fragmented EU or a U.S.-led alternative regulatory framework.
However, MAGA and Tech Oligarchs have one important contradiction in broader foreign policy approaches. MAGA prioritizes unilateral action, focusing on withdrawing from multilateral agreements and reducing international commitments. Tech Oligarchs like Musk and Thiel, while critical of the EU’s regulations, favor a more interconnected global framework to secure technological dominance. Musk’s businesses (Tesla, SpaceX, X Corp) rely on global supply chains and markets, requiring strategic international engagement. For instance, Tesla’s Shanghai Gigafactory generates significant revenue, and Musk has lobbied against Trump’s 104% tariffs on Chinese goods, arguing they disrupt his operations[19]. The situation is complicated by the fact that it is impossible to simply ignore the opinion of Tech Oligarchs, since high-tech services are one of the main drivers of the American economy, and financial support from Big Tech is directly linked to their income levels.
5. Conclusions and Future Outlook
Our analysis identifies MAGA and Tech Oligarchs as the only two influence groups in Trump’s inner circle with the resources and ambition to compete for leadership. Leveraging asymmetric strengths—MAGA’s populist base and Tech Oligarchs’ wealth and technology—they are likely to establish distinct governance roles, such as trade policy for MAGA and technological innovation for Tech Oligarchs, minimizing direct conflict where possible.
In domestic policy, their aligned interests foster synergies, supporting initiatives like streamlining governance through corporate practices, securing defense contracts, advancing infrastructure projects, and leveraging social media and AI to amplify MAGA’s political messaging. These efforts, rooted in Project 2025’s deregulatory agenda, strengthen Trump’s administrative framework.
Despite these synergies, at least two areas signal likely conflict between MAGA and Tech Oligarchs.
First, MAGA’s dominance in shaping U.S. trade and foreign policy, driven by its isolationist stance, threatens Tech Oligarchs’ profitability. High tariffs risk disrupting global supply chains for companies like Tesla and SpaceX and restricting access to skilled tech talent through tightened immigration policies. Consequently, Tech Oligarchs, led by Elon Musk and Peter Thiel, are poised to challenge MAGA’s control over international trade, creating potential for latent conflict within Trump’s inner circle that could disrupt policy coherence.
A second potential source of conflict is ideology. Stephen Bannon’s public attacks on Elon Musk, accusing him of promoting “technofeudalism” tied to the Dark Enlightenment, underscore MAGA’s populist resistance to the Tech Oligarchs’ technocratic vision. Led by Musk and Thiel, Tech Oligarchs seek to reshape right-wing elites’ views, advocating for a highly efficient, technocratic state—an approach that directly conflicts with MAGA’s traditionalist ideology.
These ideological divides, likely to intensify, could fracture Trump’s coalition, potentially causing policy gridlock or alienating key voter groups, such as populist supporters or tech-aligned moderates. Such disruptions could undermine Republican performance in midterm congressional and Senate elections and the next presidential race.
[1] https://www.politico.com/news/2024/07/04/leader-of-the-pro-trump-project-2025-suggests-there-will-be-a-new-american-revolution-00166583
[2] https://www.newsweek.com/internet-reacts-marco-rubio-body-language-trump-zelensky-meeting-2038065
[4] https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2025-04-10/bessent-emerges-as-wall-street-man-of-the-hour-trade-negotiator
[5] https://www.newstatesman.com/international-politics/2025/02/steve-bannon-interview-godfather-of-maga-right
[6] Fire and Fury. Inside the Trump White House. Palgrave MacMillan, 2018. – P. 325.
[7] https://www.newstatesman.com/international-politics/2025/02/steve-bannon-interview-godfather-of-maga-right
[8] https://www.bloomberg.com/features/2025-peter-thiel-trump-administration-connections/?itm_source=record&itm_campaign=Trump%27s_First_100_Days&itm_content=Peter_Thiel%27s_Influence-4#connection-highlights
[9] https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/01/restoring-accountability-to-policy-influencing-positions-within-the-federal-workforce/
[11] https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2023/11/peter-thiel-2024-election-politics-investing-life-views/675946/
[13] https://www.anduril.com/article/anduril-and-palantir-to-accelerate-ai-capabilities-for-national-security/
[15] https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2022/04/inside-the-new-right-where-peter-thiel-is-placing-his-biggest-bets?srsltid=AfmBOoo9QDTLFheQv0xdaSpRjL-o0P_AyxUWDuXhh6j5k9R3_ayFYKJq
[17] https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2025/04/02/trump-musk-leaving-political-liability-00265784
