{"id":2609993,"date":"2026-06-03T08:33:58","date_gmt":"2026-06-03T12:33:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/america250-run-like-a-slush-fund-for-democrat-consulting-firms-during-biden-years\/"},"modified":"2026-06-03T08:38:52","modified_gmt":"2026-06-03T12:38:52","slug":"america250-run-like-a-slush-fund-for-democrat-consulting-firms-during-biden-years","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/america250-run-like-a-slush-fund-for-democrat-consulting-firms-during-biden-years\/","title":{"rendered":"America250 Run Like &#8216;Slush Fund&#8217; For Dems During Biden Years"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">20<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Famerica250-run-like-a-slush-fund-for-democrat-consulting-firms-during-biden-years%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2609993&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>America250, a U.S. commission created by Congress to plan the nationwide 250th-anniversary celebrations, is alleged in tax filings to have directed millions of dollars to left-leaning communications and consulting firms during the Biden years. The article points to America250\u2019s 2023 form 990 disclosures showing that two contractors-Precision Strategies and SKDKnickerbocker-received the largest payments (millions each), accounting for more than half of the commission\u2019s total 2023 spending and far exceeding other listed firms.<\/p>\n<p>It also claims America250\u2019s public mission language shifted around the time these firms were brought in. The piece argues that this <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >contract-based influence helped shape programming<\/a> and messaging in ways some readers view as politically biased or \u201canti-American,\u201d contributing to a muted or underwhelming build-up to the semiquincentennial events expected to peak in 2026.<\/p>\n<p>The article further describes the two firms\u2019 prior work and clients as aligned with progressive causes-such as criminal justice reform, amnesty\/open-borders advocacy, LGBTQ-focused messaging, and Democratic-aligned political efforts-and notes that an America250 spokesman said Precision and SKDK are no longer working with the commission, though details about timing are unclear. Despite that claimed change, the article suggests earlier hiring could have already harmed the quality or focus of the planned celebrations.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<div>\n<p>America250, the commission created by Congress to plan and execute nationwide celebrations for the 250th anniversary of the founding of the United States of America, funneled millions to leftist groups during the Biden years, according to the tax filings for the group\u2019s supporting nonprofit organization.<\/p>\n<p>The group has been ten years in the making, with President Barack Obama signing the commission for the group in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.congress.gov\/bill\/114th-congress\/house-bill\/4875\/all-actions?overview=closed#tabs\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">2016<\/a> and President Donald Trump doing so again in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.congress.gov\/bill\/116th-congress\/senate-bill\/3989\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">2020<\/a>. But, from 2022 to 2023, the congressionally created commission and its supporting nonprofit shuttled enormous sums of money to at least two far-left communications consulting firms as the semiquincentennial narrative seemingly succumbed to a hostile takeover.<\/p>\n<p>According to America250\u2019s 990 <a href=\"https:\/\/manage.america250.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/AMERICA250.ORG_INC_2023_990_-Public-Disclosure-Copy-Signed.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">financial disclosure filings from 2023<\/a>, the most recent available on the <a href=\"https:\/\/america250.org\/reports\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">nonprofit\u2019s website<\/a>, SKDKnickerbocker and Precision Strategies, firms that advance left-wing policy positions of some of America\u2019s most unsavory special interest groups, received millions each.<\/p>\n<p>Precision Strategies received more money from America250 than any other independent contractor that year, raking in $3,667,828, while SKDKnickerbocker received the second most at $2,664,095. Those dollar amounts are exponentially higher than the next three firms listed, which average about $300,000. Those sums also account for more than half of America250\u2019s entire expenditures for 2023. SKDKnickerbocker also <a href=\"https:\/\/drive.google.com\/file\/d\/15d1EIg3rBX3IcnDs5Yp-ZS0UO9216SPh\/view\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">received<\/a> 178,500 in 2022.<\/p>\n<p>Around the time the two firms came into the fold, the mission statement of America250 on the 990s also changed. In <a href=\"https:\/\/manage.america250.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/FY-20-IRS-Form-990-Public-Inspection-Copy-1.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">2019<\/a> the organization\u2019s stated purpose was \u201cto engage all Americans in what will be the largest and most inclusive celebration and commemoration in our nation\u2019s history, this four-part visionary framework encourages and guides the creative programming that will shape America 250 and the future of the United States.\u201d In <a href=\"https:\/\/manage.america250.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/AMERICA250.ORG_INC_2023_990_-Public-Disclosure-Copy-Signed.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">2023<\/a> America250 said that it sought to \u201cdeepen understanding of America\u2019s complicated past\u201d \u2014 the kind of phrasing that is typically a euphemism for for anti-America propaganda.<\/p>\n<p>America250 for a time was a \u201ccongressionally controlled group paying large sums to consulting firms that also happen to do work for multiple members of Congress on the Democrat side\u201d and appeared to be \u201ca slush fund for very powerful Democrat consulting firms,\u201d Parker Thayer, investigative researcher at the Capital Research Center, told The Federalist.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt seems as if they went and found the two communication firms that are best at selling anti-American messages to run the American campaign,\u201d he continued, adding it would be like hiring Democrat funding platform ActBlue to do the job. \u201cThey can\u2019t be faulted for saying that they\u2019re not good at doing consulting \u2014 they are \u2014 they have led some very successful left-wing campaigns over the years, but not anything that really screams \u2018I love America.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n<p>It is now one month away from the semiquincentennial celebration of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, and some patriotic Americans are noticing that there has not been much pomp and circumstance around the 250th birthday of the nation. There is a <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/MZHemingway\/status\/2044409029691109844?s=20\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">lack<\/a> of <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2026\/05\/19\/the-ultimate-guide-to-semiquincentennial-merch-for-a-red-white-and-blue-250th\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">patriotic merchandise<\/a>, left-wing <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/seanmdav\/status\/2008624840048021946?s=20\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">propaganda<\/a> from America250 itself pushing Franklin Roosevelt\u2019s socialism as a founding principle, and seemingly a general sense of <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2026\/06\/02\/after-decades-of-anti-america-indoctrination-dont-expect-a-big-250th-celebration\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">disillusion<\/a> after \u201cdecades of anti-America indoctrination.\u201d If one looks back to the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2026\/02\/02\/style\/will-the-spirit-of-1976-come-to-2026.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">bicentennial<\/a> in 1976, it is clear that there is not the same Spirit of \u201976 today.<\/p>\n<p>On July 4, 2023, America250 \u201ckick[ed] off a multi-year effort to engage the public in building the largest, most inclusive commemoration in American history,\u201d <a href=\"https:\/\/drive.google.com\/file\/d\/15d1EIg3rBX3IcnDs5Yp-ZS0UO9216SPh\/view\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">according<\/a> to its 2022 990, which was supposed to culminate in 2026 with the peak focused on July 4.<\/p>\n<p>But given the muted state of celebrations thus far, it is hard not to wonder whether the initiative was tainted by <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/whats-happening-in-afghanistan\/\" title=\"What\u2019s Happening In Afghanistan?\">left-wing leadership<\/a> and the communication firm friends they hired \u2014 not anticipating a Trump win in 2024 \u2014 and therefore expecting to get away with \u201cracial reckoning,\u201d \u201cLGBT pride,\u201d and pro-abortion narratives.<\/p>\n<p>For example, Rosie Rios, chair of America250 and Treasurer of the United States under Obama, in a <a href=\"https:\/\/smry.ai\/twitter.com\/RosieRios\/status\/1797966106897895536?smryFrom=home\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">since-deleted post from June 4, 2024<\/a>, gave a snapshot of what America250 might have been like under a Kamala Harris presidency: \u201cHappy #PrideMonth, America! As we acknowledge the vibrant history and significant contributions of the LGBTQIA+ community, I\u2019m honored to highlight their resilience and our nation\u2019s ongoing journey toward equality.\u201d Rios went on to post about \u201ctrailblazers\u201d most people do not associate with the American founding and likely have never heard of (except, perhaps, <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2025\/06\/05\/media-democrats-breathlessly-defend-having-naval-ship-named-after-gay-pederast\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Harvey Milk<\/a>, a pedophile).<\/p>\n<p>But the decision to hire SKDKnickerbocker and Precision Strategies suggests this kind of messaging could have been widespread, and that with a Trump win, programming that may have been prepared was no longer viable.<\/p>\n<p>Precision\u2019s clients include Mark Zuckerberg\u2019s FWD.us, a group <a href=\"https:\/\/www.fwd.us\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">focused<\/a> primarily on amnesty, open borders policies, and \u201ccriminal justice reform.\u201d The firm boasts about its work in Oklahoma, where it led a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.precisionstrategies.com\/case-studies\/turning-the-page-2\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">soft-on-crime campaign<\/a> \u201cto make a complex report engaging and digestible to conservative policymakers, justice-minded reformers, and people affected by the criminal justice system.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>In other words, they are \u201cfooling Republicans into voting for soft on crime bills,\u201d Thayer said.<\/p>\n<p>Another client of Precision\u2019s is <a href=\"https:\/\/www.influencewatch.org\/non-profit\/the-newsroom\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">States Newsroom<\/a>, which is a project of the left-wing dark money group Arabella Advisors and operates propaganda outlets that <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2024\/10\/17\/how-democrat-activists-buy-elections-by-taking-over-local-news\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">masquerade<\/a> as local newsrooms.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.influencewatch.org\/for-profit\/precision-strategy\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Precision<\/a>\u2018s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.fec.gov\/data\/disbursements\/?data_type=processed&#038;recipient_name=PRECISION+STRATEGIES&#038;two_year_transaction_period=2024&#038;two_year_transaction_period=2026\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">clients<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.precisionstrategies.com\/team\/amber-shephard\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">have<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.precisionstrategies.com\/work\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">also<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/projects.propublica.org\/nonprofits\/full_text_search?sort=best&#038;year%5B%5D=2023&#038;year%5B%5D=2024&#038;q=%22PRECISION+STRATEGIES%22&#038;submit=Apply\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">included<\/a> Planned Parenthood Votes, the Democratic National Committee, Kamala Harris for President, the William J. Brennan Jr., Center for Justice, Vote.org, Voto Latino Foundation, the Human Rights Campaign, March for Our Lives, SEIU, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), and Earth Justice. Online records appear to indicate that Precision\u2019s only Republican client in recent years was Steve Daines for Montana.<\/p>\n<p>SKDKnickerbocker was <a href=\"https:\/\/www.influencewatch.org\/for-profit\/skdknickerbocker\/#history\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">instrumental<\/a> in President Joe Biden\u2019s presidential campaign, and it gave \u201cmisinformation briefings\u201d to officials in California, which were then fed to the leadership of Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and Google in order to censor conservative speech online. The firm\u2019s leadership includes former Obama White House Communications Director and Biden Senior Advisor Anita Dunn, former DNC spokesman Doug Thornell, and Hilary Rosen, founder of Time\u2019s Up Legal Defense Fund.<\/p>\n<p>During the Obama administration, SKDK orchestrated public relations efforts against the Defense of Marriage Act, which aimed to protect the sanctity of marriage between one man and one woman. It also handled public relations for Planned Parenthood and the Human Rights Campaign. It has also done work for numerous Democrat campaigns and PACs, the DNC, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC), and the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC).<\/p>\n<p>Responding to a request for comment from The Federalist, an America250 spokesman said that Precision and SKDK are no longer working with the commission, though the timing of the break and the circumstances around the removal are unclear.<\/p>\n<p>Stating that America250 uses a \u201cProfessional Services Team composed of multiple organizations and vendors that specialize in public initiatives to allow us to reach 350 million Americans,\u201d the spokesman said that \u201cwe have since worked with additional communications consulting firms such as Narrative Strategies, PLUS Communications, and others.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Narrative Strategies was founded by former Republican staffers and a journalist, and its leadership team includes former Democrat staffers.<\/p>\n<p>PLUS Communications, on the other hand, has done work for FWD.us <a href=\"https:\/\/pluspr.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/FWD-PR2018.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">pursuing<\/a> \u201ccriminal justice reform\u201d in Louisiana and \u201cmobilized a broad bipartisan coalition of support\u201d that included the ACLU and Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC). PLUS also worked on <a href=\"https:\/\/pluspr.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/FWD-PR2018-2.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">another FWD.us project<\/a> seeking a \u201cpermanent solution to protect DREAMers,\u201d that is, illegal aliens who were brought to the U.S. as young people. They credit their work for bringing multiple amnesty bills to Congress and appear to take credit for changing Trump\u2019s tune on amnesty as well.<\/p>\n<p>PLUS has also done work for two groups pushing <a href=\"https:\/\/pluspr.com\/case-studies\/razom-for-ukraine\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Ukraine<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/pluspr.com\/case-studies\/ukrainian-pr-army\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">aid<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cUltimately, we always seek to be responsible stewards of our funding and over the past several years, America250 has implemented significant cost-saving measures that have resulted in substantial savings for the organization,\u201d the spokesman concluded. \u201cAs America250 continues its work, it remains focused on delivering a world-class commemoration of the nation\u2019s 250th anniversary while operating as efficiently and fiscally responsibly as possible.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>America250 may no longer pay these <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/georgia-republicans-draft-legal-giveaways-to-illegals\/\" title=\"Georgia Republicans Draft Legal Giveaways to Illegals\">left wing groups<\/a> to run communications for the festivities that are supposed to take place in 2026, but there is no telling how much damage was done to the celebration by putting them in charge in the years leading up to it.<\/p>\n<hr>\n<p>      Breccan F. Thies is the White House correspondent for The Federalist. He is a co-recipient of the 2025 Dao Prize for Excellence in Investigative Journalism. As an investigative journalist, he previously covered education and culture issues for the Washington Examiner and Breitbart News. He holds a degree from the University of Virginia and is a 2022 Claremont Institute Publius Fellow. You can follow him on X: @BreccanFThies.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>America250 funneled millions to leftist groups during Biden years, per tax filings<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":179,"featured_media":2609994,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/IMG_3208-scaled.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33651],"tags":[33926,32923,6571,5894],"class_list":["post-2609993","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-western-journal","tag-campaign-finance","tag-democratic-party","tag-elections","tag-politics"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/IMG_3208-scaled.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2609993","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/179"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2609993"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2609993\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2610001,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2609993\/revisions\/2610001"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2609994"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2609993"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2609993"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2609993"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}