This article is more than 1 year old

This article is more than 1 year old

A record-breaking number of donors have gathered in the California desert, at a private retreat convened by the conservative billionaire industrialist Charles Koch.

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On Saturday night, Koch told donors attitudes against perceived adversaries and people with different beliefs were tearing the US apart. His network, he said, was in the words of the great 19th-century African American reformer Frederick Douglass working to “unite with anybody to do right”.

“This network has taken its effectiveness to a whole new level,” Koch said.

Koch and his brother David have been open about their strained relationship with Donald Trump and the latest meeting of their network began after the president conceded his immediate border wall demand to reopen the government after the longest shutdown in history. The Koch gathering is also the first since Democrats took control of the House of Representatives.

Despite being a conservative powerhouse that has at times outspent the Republican National Committee, the Koch network is increasingly showing willingness to work with Democrats and investing in non-profit groups to promote “free and open societies”.

The network was influential in the 2018 prison reform signed by Trump.

But Vice-President Mike Pence is a longtime Koch ally and the network was also influential in the 2017 Republican tax cuts.

The meeting at a luxury resort in the California desert caters to donors who have committed to giving at least $100,000 annually to the Kochs’ political, policy, educational and philanthropic organizations. There are 634 donors at the retreat, 181 of them first-timers.

Long seen as GOP kingmakers, David and Charles Koch have made waves by lambasting Trump and his administration.

They refused to back Trump in 2016, vowed to hold him accountable to conservative priorities like free trade, free markets and small government and have been outspoken against the White House on immigration and infrastructure spending.

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Last year, Trump responded by slamming the Kochs as “a total joke in real Republican circles” who “are against strong borders and powerful trade”.

Some donors have expressed disappointment but the network is unfazed. Koch recently announced it will not support Trump’s 2020 re-election bid and instead will back races for the US Senate and House and state legislative seats.

In Indian Wells, prominent donor Doug Deason of Texas said infighting between Koch and Trump was “old news” and conservatives were united, especially after Democrats took the House.

“I just don’t think there was a huge amount of animosity. It was blown out of proportion,” he said.

The weekend will involve elected officials and other influencers. Republican politicians including senators Mike Lee of Utah and Ben Sasse of Nebraska and the Kentucky governor, Matt Bevin, are in attendance.

The Associated Press is among a limited number of media organizations invited to cover parts of the retreat on the condition donors give permission to be identified.