Several months into his father's administration, it seemed as though Donald Trump Jr. was doing his best to shirk the spotlight. Under scrutiny for his e-mail exchanges with a Kremlin-connected lawyer who'd offered him opposition research on Hillary Clinton, the brooding outdoorsman voluntarily gave up his Secret Service detail, disappearing into the Canadian wilderness with two hunting buddies. But according to a new report, the eldest of Donald Trump's large adult sons is ready to re-enter society, this time as a record-smashing rainmaker for the G.O.P.

At a May fundraiser in Indianapolis, for instance, Don Jr. raked in $400,000 for state Republicans, breaking previous fundraising records held by actual politicians Chris Christie and Paul Ryan, Bloomberg reports. This month, he’s scheduled to serve as the main attraction at at least four events across the country, including a pheasant hunt with Iowa Representative Steve King, and a fundraiser at the University of North Texas, where he'll receive a $100,000 speaking fee. Brint Ryan, one of the Texas event's organizers, predicts his investment in Don will pay off. The fundraiser is expected to raise $300,000 for college scholarships—a record draw for the school.

Much like his father, part of Don Jr.'s appeal, as evidenced by his oft-inflammatory Twitter feed, is his willingness to court controversy—a bankable quality, fundraisers told Bloomberg. In Texas, his appearance has already prompted dozens of professors to call for the fundraiser's cancellation, and hundreds of students to organize protests. “He has probably been a little more controversial than I would have thought,” Ryan said. “But everyone is talking about it. For that reason, I think it is an excellent choice.” Nor does it hurt that he’s youthful and telegenic, a quality the G.O.P. apparatus has found to be in short supply since former congressman Aaron Schock, once the party’s hot young fundraising prodigy, was forced out of Congress after he was indicted on charges that he had spent government money on lavish personal perks, including a “Downtown Abbey”-themed office.

For a time, revelations that he had taken a meeting with a Kremlin-connected lawyer promising dirt on Clinton threw Don's future as a G.O.P. cash cow into question. With one typed reply—“If it’s what you say I love it”—he became a legal liability, attracting the notice of special prosecutor Robert Mueller, whose investigation is ongoing. Bizarrely enough, however, rather than repelling potential clients, the Russia affair may have burnished Don Jr.’s hyperpartisan appeal on the fundraising circuit. His own father has called Mueller's investigation a “witch hunt,” and his base seems to agree. And, perhaps to an even greater extent than the election, the probe has also made Don Jr. a household name. “Don Jr. and Ivanka are the two most recognizable members of that family, aside from the president,” Pete Seat, a communications director for the Indiana Republican Party, told Bloomberg. “Put either one of them on your event, and you are going to get people to pay attention and come.”