The political branch of the powerful Koch network is facing scrutiny as operatives chafe against a decision to endorse Nikki Haley for president that many see as out of step with their values.

The decision by Americans for Prosperity’s super PAC to get behind a candidate with seemingly little chance of prevailing in the GOP primary — and, more critically, one who espouses views contrary to key parts of the Koch network’s well-financed advocacy efforts — has confounded longtime Koch-world operatives alike.

Seven years ago, Republican donors failed to coalesce around an alternative to Donald Trump, allowing a candidate who was under 30% nationally as late as February 2016 to walk away with the nomination as a divided field could never top his celebrity power.

On Jan. 25, 2018, dozens of private jets descended on Palm Springs International Airport. Some of the richest people in the country were arriving for the annual winter donor summit of the Koch network, the political organization founded by libertarian billionaires Charles and David Koch. A long weekend of strategizing, relaxation in the California sun and high-dollar fundraising lay ahead.

Just after 6 p.m., a Gulfstream G200 jet touched down on the tarmac. One of the Koch network’s most powerful allies was on board: Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas.

A new report published by ProPublica on Friday has raised questions about whether Justice Clarence Thomas should recuse himself from deciding Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo this upcoming Supreme Court term.

The case, brought by a family-owned herring fishing company operating in New England waters, is asking the court to overturn its 1984 landmark decision in Chevron v. Natural Resources Defense Council. The court is expected to hear oral arguments in the October 2023-2024 term.

Critics are pushing back against a ProPublica report criticizing Justice Clarence Thomas for two unreported speaking engagements with a Koch philanthropy group, saying claims of illegality or unethical behavior are ‘false’ that don’t ‘hold water.’

On Friday, ProPublica — which purports to be an independent, non-partisan outlet but has received donations from left-leaning entities — published the latest in a series criticizing Justice Thomas for allegedly violating Supreme Court ethics, which Thomas has denied. 

The political network financed largely by billionaire Charles Koch is launching a wave of digital ads targeting former President Donald Trump.

The ads argue that if Trump becomes the Republican nominee next year, it will lead to President Joe Biden winning reelection.

Americans for Prosperity Action, a super PAC that received millions of dollars during the 2022 election cycle from the Charles Koch-chaired Koch Industries and the Koch-backed Stand Together Chamber of Commerce, gave CNBC a first look at some of the new digital ads.

In the days following the fall of Kabul and the collapse of the Afghan government, the Biden administration found itself locking arms with a group that’s long been radioactive in the Democratic Party: the Kochs.

President Biden is getting some unlikely backing for his Afghanistan troop withdrawal from a longtime nemesis: the Koch political network.

Driving the news: Concerned Veterans for America, a foreign policy-focused arm of Charles Koch's Stand Together political and policy apparatus is coming to Biden's defense after the U.S. withdrawal handed control of the country to the Taliban this week.

The Koch political network was one of the foremost antagonists of the Obama administration in which Biden served as vice president.

Conservative billionaire David Koch has died at the age of 79.

“Sources close to the family say David Koch has died,” New Yorker staff writer Jane Mayer tweeted Friday.

A family spokesman confirmed the death to a CBS affiliate in Wichita, Kansas, where Koch was born.

Billionaire conservative icon David Koch has died at age 79, CBS News has confirmed, according to a source close to the Koch family. The New York resident was suffering from deteriorating health as of late, according to a letter Koch's older brother Charles Koch sent to company officials last summer.

He wrote at the time: "We are deeply saddened by this, as we miss David's insightful questions and his many contributions to Koch Industries."