# Neil Patel Co-founder and publisher of [[Daily Caller]], the conservative news and commentary website launched in 2010. Patel brought operational and policy credibility to the venture — he had served as a policy adviser in the [[George W. Bush]] administration, including time as chief policy adviser to Vice President [[Dick Cheney]]. ## Background Patel's path to conservative media ran through Republican policy circles rather than journalism. His time in the Cheney office gave him deep connections in the GOP establishment and firsthand experience with the machinery of conservative governance. That background informed The Daily Caller's early orientation as a politically sophisticated conservative outlet rather than a purely grassroots blog. ## The Daily Caller Partnership Patel co-founded The Daily Caller with [[Tucker Carlson]], a partnership that combined Carlson's media profile and audience recognition with Patel's operational experience and policy network. As Carlson's television career (particularly at [[Fox News]]) grew, Patel took on increasing day-to-day responsibility for running the organization, effectively becoming the operational anchor of the enterprise. ## Role as Publisher As publisher, Patel has overseen The Daily Caller's business development, its nonprofit arm (the Daily Caller News Foundation), and its editorial direction. His background in Republican policy circles has shaped the site's orientation — more focused on policy and political strategy than some right-wing outlets, though the site has also published sensationalized and misleading content. ## Tucker Carlson Network After Fox fired Carlson in 2023, Patel co-founded the [[Tucker Carlson Network]] with him through a Nevada company, Last Country Inc. The October 2023 seed round of about $15 million was led by [[1789 Capital]]. In 2025 the two bought out every outside investor at a profit. TCN's April 2026 press release lists Patel as CEO. ## Position in the Ecosystem Patel represents the GOP establishment-to-conservative-media pipeline — credentialed Republican operatives who leverage their political connections and policy expertise to build media properties that serve the movement's information needs. His profile is lower than Carlson's, but his operational role has been central to [[Daily Caller]]'s longevity. In the broader ecosystem, Patel occupies a similar lane to [[Alexander Marlow]] at [[Breitbart News]] — the operational behind-the-scenes figure who keeps the machinery running while a more recognizable personality serves as the public face.