Mr. Vance’s new job is likely to make Rockbridge and its 150 members influential players in pushing the Trump agenda.

In part, that is because Mr. Trump has had a sometimes frosty relationship with traditional Republican donor groups,
including the libertarian Koch Network
and the more hawkish American Opportunity Alliance.

Rockbridge, by contrast, was born in the Trump era and shares his edginess,
if not the wealth of those rival networks.

“There’s a decision that big conservative donors have to make here,” said #Oren #Cass,
an influential conservative economist in Mr. Vance’s orbit
who is close with these major donors.

“Up until the 2024 election, there was at least a colorable case to be made that maybe Trump isn’t going to succeed.”

That case is now no longer colorable, Mr. Cass said.

“Who is stuck in the cargo hold of the old ship and going down with it
— and who actually wants to be relevant to the future of conservatism?” he asked.

Mr. #Buskirk told donors in Las Vegas that during the campaign, Rockbridge had about 3,000 people in the field working on Mr. Trump’s behalf.

Now, after the Republican victory, Mr. Buskirk said, it was time for Rockbridge projects to grow even bigger.

Attendees, with white-and-red gift bags and lanyards, knew to be closelipped when approached by hotel interlopers
or by the Times reporter, who was not invited to the closed-press festivities.

But a copy of the agenda listed remarks by several tech billionaires, including the Anduril co-founder #Palmer #Luckey and the venture capitalist #Marc #Andreessen, who spoke about his support for deregulating technology
and the mixed reaction in Silicon Valley to his endorsement of Mr. Trump, according to attendees.

There were tech up-and-comers, too:
Donald Trump #Jr. announced at the welcome dinner that he was entering venture capital.

And days before the president-elect chose Robert F. #Kennedy Jr. for health and human services secretary,
Mr. Kennedy spoke extensively about his public-health work to a standing ovation.

Ms. #Wiles also led a session on “2024 Election Analysis,” where she gave a preview of Mr. Trump’s first days as president.

“It’s the domestic ‘Davos in the desert,’” said the Rockbridge backer #Omeed #Malik, referring to the annual business conference in Riyadh, and Donald Trump Jr.’s new business partner.

➡️Rockbridge began with more humility.

Back in 2019, Mr. #Vance, then best known as the author of “Hilbilly Elegy,” and a conservative media figure named #Chris #Buskirk began informally hosting a series of small dinners
that would eventually become called Rockbridge.

The group drew early support from the venture capitalist #Peter #Thiel and eventually caught the attention of Donald J. Trump, who spoke at a few meetings.

Once in the fall and once in the spring, Rockbridge began to gather at places like the Four Seasons in Palm Beach, Fla.,
or the Ritz-Carlton in Dallas for three days of political panels and business networking.

Speakers included people like #Tucker #Carlson; the Thiel protégé #Blake #Masters; the casino mogul #Steve #Wynn; the investor #David #Sacks; and #Woody #Johnson, the billionaire owner of the New York Jets.

Not all attendees have politics at the top of their mind.

Some are primarily interested in business, seeing Rockbridge as a conservative-tinged version of the elite Sun Valley conference.

#RockbridgeNetwork #RebekahMercer #ElonMusk #KenHowery #LukeNosek