American Moment is a networking and training organization for young right-of-center political staffers and activists. It seeks to train and develop public policy talent ready to occupy positions in future federal administrations. ^{1 2}

It is generally considered to align with the populist or national-conservative faction of the conservative movement. ³ U.S. Senator J.D. Vance (R-OH) sits on the board of advisors of American Moment. ⁴

Background

Formed in 2021, American Moment is a conservative-leaning organization that says it wants to identify, educate, and credential young Americans to implement public policy that “supports strong families, a sovereign nation, and prosperity for all.” It sponsors public policy seminars, training and education, and socializing and networking opportunities for young political activists and operatives. ⁵

American Moment has 10 priorities: the American family is the bedrock of this nation; law and order are essential; immigration must be restricted; military force must be restrained only in the national interest;  China, and the elites who enabled its rise, are generational threats to American prosperity; trade policy must promote American jobs, American industry, and national security; technological advancement is crucial to national prosperity; multinational corporations must be curtailed; government has a moral responsibility to foster public virtue; and every American has the right to equal treatment under the law. ⁶

Building New Elite

American Moment calls for building coalitions, overtaking institutions, and completing the realignment of the conservative movement along populist lines. To do this, it seeks to establish an infrastructure for personnel, training staffers and leaders to work behind the scenes to prioritize national interest. ⁷

Co-founders Saurabh Sharma, Nick Solheim, and Jake Mercier contend that when Donald Trump was elected president in 2016, he did not have experienced staffers to draw from, and that the conservative movement’s national-conservative faction must build an elite bench of policy experts ready to step in to administration positions for future presidents. ⁸

They wrote the Trump administration was “filled with and crippled by saboteurs, grifters, and clueless incompetents who wouldn’t know statecraft if it slapped them across the face.” ⁹

The group’s founders argued that members of other right-leaning factions in think tanks, media, academia, and private industry had stymied President Trump’s agenda. ¹⁰

Despite criticism of the traditional conservative movement, American Moment is among the coalition of conservative organizations on the advisory board of the Heritage Foundation’s Project 2025, which intends to help set the agenda for a future conservative president. ¹¹

Leadership

Saurabh Sharma is the president of American Moment. He is a former chairman of Young Conservatives of Texas. He earned a degree in biochemistry from the University of Texas at Austin in 2019. While in college that year, he was one of ten student activists invited to join then-President Trump in March 2019 when he signed an executive order on the issue of free speech on college campuses. ¹²

Nick Solheim is the chief operations officer of American Moment. ¹³ Solheim also heads an educational non-profit called The Wallace Institute for Arctic Security, which works to educate key players in Washington about the Arctic region on geopolitics. He is an advisor to allied conservative organizations on technology and operations. ¹⁴

Jake Mercier is the chief creative officer of American Moment and Editor-in-Chief of AmCanon, the organization’s online commentary and analysis publication. Mercier was previously an assistant to the authors Krystal Ball and Saagar Enjeti for their book, The Populist’s Guide to 2020. He also aided in the production of The HillTV’s commentary program “Rising.” He has also been an advocate with members of Congress for suicide prevention policies. ¹⁵

Samuel D. Samson is the director of strategic partnerships at American Moment. He has worked in Senate staff jobs and for Catholic nonprofits. Before coming to American Moment, he worked for Thomistic Institute. ¹⁶

1. Sharma, Saurabh; Solheim, Nick and Mercier Jake. “We Must Build an Elite for this American Moment.” The American Conservative. February 24, 2021. Accessed March 16, 2023. https://www.theamericanconservative.com/we-must-build-an-elite-for-this-american-moment/
2. Swan, Jonathan. “Inside Trump ’25: A radical plan for Trump’s second term.” Axios. July 22, 2022. Accessed March 16, 2023. https://www.axios.com/2022/07/22/trump-2025-radical-plan-second-term
3. Swan, Jonathan. “Inside Trump ’25: A radical plan for Trump’s second term.” Axios. July 22, 2022. Accessed March 16, 2023. https://www.axios.com/2022/07/22/trump-2025-radical-plan-second-term
4. “Board of Advisors.” American Moment, February 21, 2023. https://www.americanmoment.org/board-of-advisors/.
5. “American Moment.” LinkedIn. Accessed March 16, 2023. https://www.linkedin.com/company/american-moment/about/
6. “About.” American Moment. Accessed March 16, 2023. https://www.americanmoment.org/about/
7. Sharma, Saurabh; Solheim, Nick and Mercier Jake. “We Must Build an Elite for this American Moment.” The American Conservative. February 24, 2021. Accessed March 16, 2023. https://www.theamericanconservative.com/we-must-build-an-elite-for-this-american-moment/
8. Sharma, Saurabh; Solheim, Nick and Mercier Jake. “We Must Build an Elite for this American Moment.” The American Conservative. February 24, 2021. Accessed March 16, 2023. https://www.theamericanconservative.com/we-must-build-an-elite-for-this-american-moment/
9. Sharma, Saurabh; Solheim, Nick and Mercier Jake. “We Must Build an Elite for this American Moment.” The American Conservative. February 24, 2021. Accessed March 16, 2023. https://www.theamericanconservative.com/we-must-build-an-elite-for-this-american-moment/
10. Sharma, Saurabh; Solheim, Nick and Mercier Jake. “We Must Build an Elite for this American Moment.” The American Conservative. February 24, 2021. Accessed March 16, 2023. https://www.theamericanconservative.com/we-must-build-an-elite-for-this-american-moment/
11. “2025 Presidential Transition Project Forms Advisory Board With Leading Conservative Partners.” The Heritage Foundation. June 24, 2022. Accessed March 16, 2023. https://www.heritage.org/press/2025-presidential-transition-project-forms-advisory-board-leading-conservative-partners
12. “Team.” American Moment. Accessed March 16, 2023. https://www.americanmoment.org/team/
13. “Team.” American Moment. Accessed March 16, 2023. https://www.americanmoment.org/team/
14. “Team.” American Moment. Accessed March 16, 2023. https://www.americanmoment.org/team/
15. “Team.” American Moment. Accessed March 16, 2023. https://www.americanmoment.org/team/
16. “Team.” American Moment. Accessed March 16, 2023. https://www.americanmoment.org/team/