One industry suddenly has 'unfettered access' to the White House under Trump - and it's making a killing

Olivier Douliery-Pool/Getty Images

• The National Association of Manufacturers have received unfettered access to the White House and congressional leaders since Republicans gained control of government.
• NAM was crucial in selling the Republican-led tax cuts bill, which they are now touting as a success for Republicans who backed the legislation.
• The US still faces an uphill battle in filling manufacturing jobs and bringing the industry back.

WASHINGTON - Manufacturing in the US is up during the Donald Trump presidency, and as a result, so are their leading advocates in Washington.

The National Association of Manufacturers, or NAM, is quickly becoming a behemoth in the US capital, receiving unfettered access to the White House and top lawmakers on Capitol Hill.

Trump himself delivered an address to NAM's annual conference in Washington, where he said, "For decades, the policy of Washington, DC on the subject of manufacturing was a policy best summarized in one word: surrender. They surrendered."

"Under my administration, the era of economic surrender is over, and the rebirth of American industry is beginning," Trump added.

NAM is playing for the winning team during the first two years of the Trump era. They helped sell the solely GOP-passed tax cuts bill and, now that it is law, are paying back the vulnerable Republicans who made the gutsy call to vote for the legislation.

The association has grown tremendously since Trump took office, increasing their membership numbers significantly and announcing new hires from offices like the White House and House Speaker Paul Ryan's office. And it makes sense that more manufacturers would join in. NAM has received extraordinary access to the Trump White House compared to previous administrations.

A former White House official told Business Insider that when Trump or Vice President Mike Pence would hit the road to pitch the tax bill, their first step would be approaching NAM, who would then set up venues and events to sell the tax cuts.

"We would say, 'Hey we're looking for this kind of company in this state' and they'd say, 'Here's five. Where do you wanna go?'" the official said.

NAM is rewarding Republicans who supported the tax law, which is predominantly helping businesses

Provided by National Association for Manufacturers

House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) and NAM President Jay Timmons

NAM President Jay Timmons is using his sway with the nation's top business leaders to ensure they make good on their promises to use the corporate tax relief from the new law to pump it back into the economy through expansion and investment.

NAM helped Republicans sell the tax cuts bill at the end of 2017. Now law, the tax cuts are a central focus for many of the Republicans facing tough re-election bids. Some of the Republicans who took a risk in supporting the unpopular bill are now getting their reward.

Rep. Barbara Comstock of Virginia voted in favor of the tax cuts. As a result, NAM is bolstering her status back home. NAM put on an event with Comstock last month in a rural part of her district outside Washington, DC. The event featured former Virginia Senator and Governor George Allen praising Comstock's efforts in Congress. Timmons served as Allen's chief of staff for 11 years during his time in Congress and in Richmond.

Party hardliners don't make a good fit for NAM's mission

"Conor Lamb is the future," Timmons said of the moderate Democrat who flipped the Republican-held district in Pennsylvania's March special election. "That type of candidate. That type of candidacy. That type of platform. And I don't care if he's a Republican or a Democrat."

"You better have a manufacturing platform and you better have what I refer to as the four pillars," said Timmons about candidates who might be looking for NAM's support. "The first is free enterprise, the second is competitiveness, the third is individual liberty, and the fourth is equal opportunity."

Few members of Congress embrace all four pillars, according to Timmons, who likes pro-business moderate Republicans such as Rep. Comstock and Sen. Rob Portman - or Democrats like Sens. Heidi Heitkamp and Amy Klobuchar.

"I may not agree with them 100 percent on policy, but they believe in those four principles and they hold those four principles very dear," Timmons added.

NAM maintains a scorecard based on votes for each member of Congress. The scores lean favorably for Republicans over Democrats, as most of the GOP senators and representatives hold 100% ratings.

Democratic Sen. Michael Bennet of Colorado, who often works with NAM, told Business Insider that in a hyper-partisan and politically volatile environment, there is a demand for those who will just stick to policy.

"There are a lot of people in this political moment that are searching to understand how the system is working or not working and what's going on," Bennet said. "And that probably has made them more relevant to people that they might have been before and I think [Timmons] has really been behind that."

Manufacturing in the US still faces an uphill battle

According to a recent survey by NAM, 93.5% of manufacturers hold a positive outlook on the economy. And corporations have already begun to reap the rewards from the new tax law.

According to a recent analysis, 180 S&P 500 companies have saved $13 billion as a result of the new system. Corporate earnings have grown significantly in 2018, with more expected to come.

However, there are significant challenges for manufacturing in the US. There are currently more than 324,000 unfilled manufacturing jobs nationwide, according to government estimates. The industry faces a significant skills gap, which Timmons blames on a change in culture across the country.

"Often times it's their parents who are saying you don't wanna go into manufacturing," Timmons said. "Because their parents have this vision of manufacturing being dirty, dark, and dangerous. And while that may have been true at one point, it's not even remotely true today. Manufacturing toady is very sleek, it's very clean, it's very technology-driven."

Addressing the skills gap may take time or even prove to be unsuccessful in the future, but manufacturing has certainly nudged its way in as a top priority during a Republican-led era in Washington.