The American Compass think tank, tied to Sens. JD Vance and Marco Rubio, is challenging conservative thinking on free markets.

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A converted yoga studio a few blocks from the Capitol has become ground zero in a fierce conservative clash over Trump-era economics.

It’s the home of American Compass, a right-leaning think tank with eight staff members that’s spent the last four years challenging the GOP intelligentsia’s devotion to free markets and small government. Led for most of its life by former Mitt Romney aide Oren Cass, the group argues that Republicans should focus more on policies that help workers and domestic industry and be more skeptical of globalization and financialization. Among its ideas: Tax cuts don’t always work.

The approach has triggered intense criticism from the “legacy” conservative think tank world, even as the group has cultivated powerful connections on Capitol Hill and in former President Donald Trump’s orbit of economic thinkers.

Amid the resistance, American Compass is having a big moment and is poised to expand its influence. Sen. JD Vance, an ally whose own staff has deep ties to the organization, is indirectly bringing attention to its ideas as Trump’s running mate. The group will also announce Thursday that it has hired Michael Needham, the former chief of staff to Sen. Marco Rubio and the one-time leader of the Heritage Foundation’s advocacy arm, to be its chair and grow its Washington footprint.

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