The Bulwark is a right-leaning political commentary website hosted by the Defending Democracy Together Institute (DDTI). The Bulwark was created from the remnants of the now-defunct magazine the Weekly Standard and primarily caters to liberal Republicans and NeverTrump conservatives.
Leadership
Charlie Sykes, a Republican political commentator, is founder and editor-in-chief of the Bulwark. Sykes is a board member of the NeverTrump advocacy group Stand Up Republic and a national advisory board member of the center-left Democracy Fund, created and funded by Pierre Omidyar. [1] [2]
Bill Kristol, a former Republican strategist and vitriolic Trump critic, is editor-in-large of the Bulwark and founder of DDTI.
Sarah Longwell is publisher of the Bulwark.
Funding
The Bulwark is a project of the Defending Democracy Together Institute (DDTI), so donations to the group benefit its parent nonprofit, DDTI.
Because Kristol formed DDTI in mid-2018, public tax returns are unavailable for DDTI as of early 2019. The left-wing William and Flora Hewlett Foundation reported making a contribution to DDTI in September 2018; the grant was paid to the Institute through DonorsTrust, a conservative donor-advised fund provider.[3]
The organization’s 501(c)(4) advocacy counterpart, Defending Democracy Together, has been criticized for accepting at least $600,000 in two grants from Democracy Fund Voice, a 501(c)(4) group created and funded by left-wing mega-donor Pierre Omidyar.[4] According to Democracy Fund Voice’s website, in May 2018 it “approved two grants to Defending Democracy Together: first in the amount of up to $100,000 over one year and then in the amount of up to $500,000 over one year,” with specific mention of DDT’s Republicans for the Rule of Law project.[5]