The American Action Network is an advocacy group, incorporated on July 23, 2009,[1] and founded by Fred Malek, founder of Thayer Capital and former Republican National Committee deputy chairman.

[13] In 2011, Brian Walsh, a former political director at the National Republican Congressional Committee, was hired as the group's president, replacing Rob Collins, the former chief of staff to Eric Cantor.

[10][13] Members of the American Action Network also run the Congressional Leadership Fund Super PAC which was formed in October 2011 for the purpose of supporting Republican candidates in House races.

[19] In the 2010 elections the group funded political advertisements in 22 congressional districts nationwide including Colorado, Connecticut, South Dakota, Utah, Washington state and Wisconsin.

[30][12][31][32] In July 2012 Politico reported that the American Action Network planned to spend a minimum of $10 million to establish "a legislation-focused ground game in a number of states".

Senator Warren felt that it made her look like a "Commie dictator", and stated that "Thousands of dollars on a TV ad is nothing compared to the money the big banks save if their GOP buddies go after the CFPB.

"[35] On March 24, 2017 sports blog Deadspin reported that the group had been running local advertising in selected markets congratulating Republican members of Congress for helping pass a bill to repeal the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, despite the fact that the bill had been pulled earlier in the day by Speaker Paul Ryan due to dwindling support among Republicans.

[39] In 2022, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington sued the Federal Election Commission for not pursuing allegations that AAN was required to publicly disclose its donors.

[40] In September 2023, the group announced that it would run $2 million worth of advertisements in 14 districts and Washington, D.C., claiming that Medicare benefits to older citizens were being cut.