The Club for Growth is a 501(c)(4) conservative organization active in the United States, with an agenda focused on tax cuts and other economic policy issues.
Club for Growth's largest funders are billionaires Jeff Yass and Richard Uihlein. The club has two political arms: Club for Growth PAC, a traditional political action committee, and Club for Growth Action, an independent-expenditure only committee or super-PAC.
According to its website, the Club for Growth's policy goals include cutting income tax rates, repealing the estate tax, supporting limited government and a balanced budget amendment, entitlement reform (including Social Security reform, Medicare and Medicaid reform), free trade, tort reform, school choice, and deregulation.
In 2003 through 2004, the Club for Growth was the largest single funder for Republican House and Senate candidates, outside of the Republican Party itself.
The group has opposed government action to curb greenhouse gas emissions and called on President Trump to exit the Paris Climate Agreement.
The Club for Growth PAC endorses and raises money for candidates who meet its standards for fiscal conservatism. According to Politico, "The Club for Growth is the pre-eminent institution promoting Republican adherence to a free-market, free-trade, anti-regulation agenda."
The Guardian described the group as "one of the biggest backers" of Republicans who voted to overturn the results of the 2020 United States presidential election, having spent around $20 million on their campaigns in 2018 and 2020.
History
The Club for Growth was founded in 1999 by Stephen Moore, Thomas L. Rhodes, and Richard Gilder. Moore served as the first president of the Club from 1999 until December 2004, when board members voted to remove Moore as president. In 2003 through 2004, the Club for Growth was the largest single fund-raiser for Republican House and Senate candidates, outside of the Republican Party itself, raising nearly $22 million.
Future Pennsylvania United States Senator Pat Toomey served as president from 2005 until his resignation in April 2009. Former Indiana Congressman Chris Chocola succeeded Toomey. Chocola served as president through December 2014. He remains a member of the Club's board. Former Indiana Congressman David McIntosh was named president in January 2015.
On September 19, 2005, the Federal Election Commission (FEC) filed suit against the Club for Growth alleging violations of the Federal Election Campaign Act for failing to register as a political action committee in the 2000, 2002, and 2004 congressional elections. In September 2007, the Citizens Club for Growth (the Club for Growth changed its name) and the FEC agreed to settle the lawsuit. According to their joint filing, Citizens Club for Growth said "that it operated under the good faith belief that it had not triggered political committee status ... [and] [f]or the purposes of this settlement, and in order to avoid protracted litigation costs, without admitting or denying each specific basis for the [FEC's] conclusions," Citizens Club for Growth no longer contested the alleged violations and agreed to pay $350,000 in civil penalties.
According to the Associated Press, the settlement was one of "a series of actions by the FEC to penalize independent political groups that spent money to influence elections but did not register as political committees. The groups, called 527 organizations for the section of the IRS code ... , played a significant role in the 2004 congressional and presidential elections by raising unlimited amounts of money from labor groups, corporations and wealthy individuals." On June 25, 2012, U.S. District Court Judge Robert L. Wilkins issued an order stating that the FEC "is FORMALLY REPRIMANDED as a sanction for violating explicitly clear orders" (emphasis in original text) regarding confidentiality in the 2007 settlement agreement."
In 2010, the Club's political arms spent about $8.6 million directly on candidates and bundled another $6 million from Club members, directing those funds to candidates. In 2012, according to OpenSecrets, Club members donated at least $4 million, and the Club's political arms spent nearly $18 million on elections.