A center-left nonprofit is quietly assembling the policy blueprint it hopes will guide the next Democratic administration, staking out territory in an intensifying struggle over the party's future direction and personnel.
The Inclusive Abundance Initiative, founded in 2023, plans to commission policy papers this year on housing, health care, energy, immigration for skilled workers, and family issues. The group operates alongside a political action committee and sits at the center of what its backers see as a necessary correction after the Biden years.
Derek Kaufman, a philanthropist and former executive at J.P. Morgan Chase and Citadel who leads the initiative, frames the project as a response to progressive dominance during Biden's tenure. "The next two years will be full of debates about how to put the progress back in progressive," Kaufman said. "But a compelling message isn't enough: Leaders also need a policy plan that won't repeat previous failures."
The initiative has already attracted academic firepower. Nicholas Bagley, former chief legal counsel to Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer and a professor at Michigan Law School, signed on to contribute to the effort.
What's unfolding on the left now mirrors what happened in 2020, but in reverse. Many center-left Democrats believe that although Joe Biden won the presidential nomination and the general election, progressives affiliated with Senators Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders effectively won the policy and staffing battles during his administration. The fear among moderates: it could happen again.
The Abundance movement, which emphasizes removing regulatory barriers to progress, has become a focal point for this rivalry. Several groups have emerged over the past year to shape Democratic thinking, including Project 2029, which Democratic operatives describe as their answer to the conservative Heritage Foundation's Project 2025. That project became a liability for Donald Trump in the 2024 campaign, yet many of its contributors now occupy key positions in his administration, from border czar Tom Homan to FCC chair Brendan Carr to Office of Management and Budget Director Russ Vought, each implementing proposals from the original blueprint.
Not everyone on the left sees the Abundance agenda as benign. Some Democratic critics argue it amounts to corporate-friendly rebranding, a way for big business allies to justify rolling back regulations that protect workers and the environment.
Kaufman pushes back, saying his group's report, titled "The Abundance Agenda," will appeal to both the party's center and its progressive wing. The advisory board includes members from the Roosevelt Institute, a progressive think tank, as well as the Searchlight Institute. "If you're really a progressive and want the government to improve people's lives," Kaufman told Axios, "then you better damn well deliver and not let the government be a source of friction and frustration."
Author James Rodriguez: "The real story isn't regulation versus abundance, it's whether Democrats learn anything from how they got outmaneuvered on personnel and policy last time."
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