A new conservative nonprofit focused on tackling the cost-of-living crisis is already generating buzz across Washington ahead of its official debut next week.
Axios first reported on the effort, the Coalition for Affordability & Prosperity (CAP), which is set to formally launch Thursday, March 12 with a policy agenda aimed at shaping the debate over affordability in Congress and the White House.
The group will be led by Chuck Flint, the longtime Capitol Hill strategist and former chief of staff to Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R., Tenn.). Flint brings deep ties across both Congress and the administration, positioning the organization to quickly become an influential player in the policy conversation around rising prices and economic growth.
Flint has also led the Alliance for IRS Accountability, a group that drew extensive national media attention for its work scrutinizing the IRS’s policies and enforcement practices. That effort generated significant coverage in outlets including The New York Times, Bloomberg, and Politico, raising Flint’s profile as a conservative policy strategist capable of driving national debate on complex economic issues.
CAP plans to push what it calls a comprehensive “Affordability Agenda,” a five-point platform designed to promote free-market solutions to lower costs for American families while avoiding what the group describes as heavy-handed government interventions.
“Families across the country are being squeezed by higher prices, rising energy costs, and years of broken Washington promises,” Flint said in a statement announcing the launch. “The Coalition for Affordability & Prosperity is launching to give lawmakers real free-enterprise solutions that focus on Main Street, not Big Government.”
Even before its official launch, the effort is already drawing attention from lawmakers and staff on Capitol Hill.
One Republican Senate aide familiar with Flint’s work told the Washington Reporter the new group is expected to quickly become a major voice in economic policy debates.
“Chuck’s a killer,” the aide said on background. “He’s one of the most effective operators on the Hill. When he decides to push something, people listen.”
Alongside the launch, CAP will release national polling showing the depth of voter concern over the cost of living. According to the survey, 61 percent of voters say a cost-of-living issue should be Congress’s top priority, with lowering grocery prices ranking as the single biggest concern among respondents.
CAP plans to combine policy research, polling, media outreach, and direct engagement with lawmakers to drive its agenda — a strategy allies say could quickly put the organization at the center of the affordability debate in Washington.
With inflation and household costs expected to remain a dominant political issue heading into the 2026 election cycle, CAP’s backers believe the group could help define how Republicans talk about affordability — and what solutions they put forward.
