A Christian oil billionaire upended Texas politics—and is coming for Washington next

Drilling for oil made Tim Dunn, a self-described activist Christian, into a billionaire. His second act has been pumping money to Texas Republicans intent on pushing their party to the right. His third act, he hopes, will be pulling off something similar on a national level—preferably during a second Trump administration. Brooke Rollins, a former Trump domestic policy adviser, pitched Dunn in 2021 on a new think tank, America First Policy Institute, with a mission to perpetuate Trump-era policies for generations to come. The West Texas oilman, whose efforts in his home state have been both successful and polarizing, responded with both enthusiasm and money. “He’s a visionary,” said Rollins, who previously worked with Dunn building a political think tank in Texas. “His ability to build organizations and structure and culture is so incredible. I’ve relied on him more for that than his funding.”

Conservative operatives regard the new group as one of several organizations attempting to assemble an “administration in waiting.” Rollins’s group boasts an in-house roster of Trump loyalists—including Larry Kudlow, Kevin Hassett and Keith Kellogg—available to fill key administration positions. Dunn is one of many wealthy Republicans jockeying to influence a second Trump administration in accordance with their own political agendas. Besides giving directly to the candidate—Dunn donated about $5 million to Trump’s political-action committee late last year—some of them have funded a handful of new pro-Trump think tanks dedicated to that task. In addition to America First, Dunn has provided funding to the Center for Renewing America, run by former Trump budget director Russell Vought, and America First Legal, led by former Trump senior adviser Stephen Miller. As nonprofits, none of the three groups are required to disclose who is donating to them, and how much. As Dunn sets his sights on Washington, he will be armed with an even bigger bankroll. In December, he agreed to sell the oil company he runs, Midland-based CrownRock, to Occidental Petroleum in a $10.8 billion deal. Dunn owns about 20%. Dunn has said he believes America was founded as a Christian nation. He likes to cite Scripture and has worked for a decade to construct an exact replica of Moses’ Tabernacle in West Texas, using materials imported from the Middle East. Allies say his faith informs his politics, but he is not a theocrat. Dunn calls himself a proponent of self-governance. In addition to property-tax reductions, he supports securing the Texas border and changing the way incentives are provided to solar and wind power companies.