Ryan Neuhaus, a former congressional staffer and chief of staff to Heritage Foundation president Kevin Roberts, wasted little time after the midterms in announcing his plans for a rebuilt Republican Party for the next generation.
On Nov. 9, six days after the elections swept in a blue tidal wave, Neuhaus launched American Ascent, a 501(c)(4) group aimed at cultivating a new slate of statesmen to serve the GOP ranks in Congress. While the project had been in the works long before election day, its mission became especially critical in the face of a wipeout that took out dozens of incumbents in the Capitol. Neuhaus spoke to Commonplace about his group, its mission, its challenges, and his vision for the future. Our discussion is below, with answers edited for length, flow, and clarity.
Haisten Willis, Commonplace editor: Why did you decide to launch American Ascent, and why now?
Ryan Neuhaus: The American people are telling us that they’re concerned about the state of Congress, not just that it has become stale and stagnant but that it’s not representative of them, the energy that they have, and what they want to see accomplished. And part of that includes age. When you look at the data, the last five congresses have been the oldest five in American history. Almost 70% of the Senate is over the age of 60, and about 47% of the House of Representatives right now is over the age of 60. We are run by a gerontocracy.
When President Trump said in 2016 that we want to make America great again, that [decline] was overseen by this class of political elites, and they just have not left power. Many people have been in power for decades, they’re old, and they’re disconnected, and that has to change.
One of the problems that we have on the Right is building out a bench. Something that people should learn from President Trump’s tenure is that you can get a lot done through the executive branch, but if you want to accomplish things permanently you have to have the legislative branch too. Lyndon B. Johnson understood that. He was the master of the Senate who then went into the presidency and enacted the civil rights regime.
There are some existing organizations that do leadership development, but I’m doing it with a specific eye toward looking at where turnover is going to happen [in Congress], and how I can prepare a bench there so that when the opportunity arises, there’s someone who’s willing, able, and known amongst the American people who can step in and lead.
HW: Your site focuses a lot on the advanced age of many politicians. But is age itself really the root of the problem? And if so, will electing younger politicians solve it on its own?
RN: It’s not about old people being bad. I want to make that very clear. It is legitimately about the fact that people don’t feel like they’re being heard or represented well. This is a nursing home ruling class, and we are concerned about that. But we’re also concerned that the nursing home ruling class is not only failing the younger generation right now, they also failed the boomer generation, and they failed Generation X, and they failed the millennials. They allowed America to fall into a state of decline, and when I say that, I mean industrial, cultural, spiritual, and even physical decline in day-to-day life.
Age isn’t the only problem. But it is a problem, and it’s a problem that the American people care about significantly. If you look at the polling on our website, from CNN to YouGov, people want maximum age limits, people are concerned about the age of Congress, and they would rather pick the younger candidate over the older if given the choice in a head-to-head election. The problem isn’t just that they’re old. The problem is that they’re not necessarily aligned with the interests of the voters. And the voters told us that last week in the election.
This response leads to another question, which is about the connection between age and decline. Is the increasing age of politicians partially responsible for driving decline in the U.S.?
HW: Your group’s tagline says that you are ending American decline. As you see it, what does that decline look like, and can getting better candidates to run really reverse it?
RN: One thing it means is ending industrial decline. We have offshored a lot of our capacity to manufacture things. The American dream has faded. Young people aren’t getting married anymore. I got married when I was 24, had my first child within the first year, and now at age 32 I have four children. But I’m an anomaly in that respect to my age group, because a lot of people are feeling the affordability crunch. They don’t feel like they can actually acquire a home, get a good job, pay for the future, and have children that they can provide for. There’s a loss of hope in that respect, and that’s a form of decline because it will impact the generations to come. If you can’t afford a home and then you decide not to have kids, that leaves less people in the workforce later. There are less people in the pews at church, there are less people who can carry America forward later on. That’s a serious problem. That’s real decline.
And from a foreign policy standpoint, I think there are a lot of people who question whether America is as strong as we once were. Our national stockpile has been depleted in a lot of ways. We’re spread across the globe. We’re constantly caught in conflict. There are a lot of questions about how America can maintain its position and place in the world. Those are just a handful of examples, but I think generally people recognize that there has been a lot of societal decline. And yes, it is tied to leadership and the decisions that they’ve made. It’s never one specific policy choice, but it is reflected in the types of people who lead, their character, and the decisions they make about the future for our country that dictates whether decline continues. Decline is a choice, and ascent is a choice.
I am confident that if the right people are placed in positions of power, with the prudence that we would expect and hope from them, then things can change.
HW: You posted a quote from Vice President JD Vance on X: “We can’t change them. What we can do is replace them with all of you and that’s exactly what we aim to do.” Ideologically speaking, what makes someone an American Ascent candidate?
RN: They have to always put America first—they’re going to be an America First candidate. What that means is economic populism, restrained foreign policy, and I think that they need to be a strong social conservative as well. They need to recognize that, ultimately, what we want are strong families, safe neighborhoods, and a stable nation.
But what I’m looking for isn’t some sort of litmus test on policy questions. The reason why is because when I was legislative director for Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT), one of the things that I would teach my junior staff early on was that you could write the best bill in the world, it could be the best-written policy proposal you’ve ever thought of, but it’s got to go through 534 other people in Congress, plus the president, in order to get signed into law. Policy requires negotiation. It’s pragmatic. But what I do look for and what will be heavily evaluated is the character and instincts of the people. Are you able to work with people?
In politics you can’t only be a bomb thrower. You need to know when to throw bombs, and how to throw bombs, but you can’t only be a bomb thrower. You have to be pragmatic, meet people where they’re at, hear them out, and then work with them. You have to be convicted about what you believe in, and you have to be sure of it. You can’t speak without confidence about the issues of your time. And when you say something, you have to deliver on it. You have to actually take the stand and follow through.
So, we will be evaluating very closely the character, instincts, and potential of the people we speak with, because policies can be learned, policy changes with time, and while policy is important, it’s not the core indicator of what makes someone a successful statesman.
There will be a lot more room for evaluation following the Nov. 3 elections, which wiped out more than two dozen incumbents in the House of Representatives and several incumbent GOP senators as well. The results opened potential opportunities for future Republican Party leaders to emerge, but they also raise questions about intraparty division when the GOP is about to become a minority in Congress.
HW: The Republican Party obviously had a very tough midterm cycle last week. Why is now a good time to be targeting senior GOP leaders who have kept their seats?
RN: Just from a data perspective, generational turnover is going to happen. And the Republican Party has been clearly told by the American people that it has been out of step with what the voters want. There is a glaring opportunity for a younger generation to step in and say, “Hey, I know you’re looking for something different. Here it is.”
HW: How will you recruit new candidates to run for office? And what will you do to support them afterward?
RN: We will announce our fellowship application process on Dec. 1, and we will share programmatic details then.
HW: You’ve already gotten pushback from the establishment wing of the Republican Party, with which past GOP donors tend to be aligned. Do you see that as a danger to your effort?
RN: No. Am I worried about the Old Guard? No. The American people just told them their ideas are out of step and no longer desirable.
So I have no concern.
HW: Among politicians already serving in office, which do you see as being standard bearers for the party’s future? Who is the archetype or mold of what you’re hoping to see more of in Congress?
RN: I really like guys like Reps. Brandon Gill (R-TX) and Riley Moore (R-WV), Sen. Eric Schmitt (R-MO), and Vice President JD Vance. I think there are aspects of a lot of other members you can point to, but there’s a reason why those guys are popular and are ascendant at this moment.
President Trump has signaled some willingness to work with Democrats in 2027 and 2028, particularly on the crucial topic of immigration. American Ascent, however, has made clear that it is not on board for the idea, on this issue or elsewhere. Instead, its view is that the Democratic Party has no interest in bipartisanship and that believing otherwise will hurt the GOP.
HW: American Ascent donor Thomas Klingenstein told Politico that “America needs statesmen who understand we are fighting against an enemy that wants to destroy us” and that “in such a situation reaching across the aisle is a sucker’s game.” Who is the enemy, and will it be possible to get anything done without reaching across the aisle in Congress?
RN: I think the idea that bipartisanship is possible in this political environment is a sucker’s game. Does anyone truly expect the Left over the next two years to work with President Trump on anything serious that is going to benefit the American people? I don’t think so. They’re going to run a charade and do their political theater, putting up bills that try to propose amnesty [for illegal immigrants] or give government welfare to non-citizens. They’re going to try to pin themselves as reasonable while failing to actually engage in any meaningful way that expresses true negotiation. They’re going to do what they did for the last two years. It’s a sucker’s game to think that the Left actually wants to get anything done that is in the interest of the American people as a whole.
HW: Your launch video begins with the question, “What kind of America will your children inherit?” What is your answer to that question, or, what do you hope the answer will be?
RN: A better America than the one I have today, one in which they can get married young, buy a home, have a stable job, have children of their own, and live safely.