More than a dozen staffers at The Heritage Foundation are leaving the conservative think tank to join a nonprofit led by former Vice President Mike Pence as the embattled organization continues to reel from ongoing turmoil.
Advancing American Freedom — founded by Pence in 2021 “to defend liberty and advance policies that build a stronger America” — announced Monday that three senior officials who led the legal, economic and data teams at Heritage would be joining the group next year, along with several members of their teams.
The departures, first reported by The Wall Street Journal, mark the latest sign of upheaval at Heritage, which has seen dozens of staffers flee the organization since it became engulfed in a scandal involving Holocaust denier Nick Fuentes and the ongoing debate within the conservative movement over antisemitism.
Heritage Foundation President Kevin Roberts, the architect behind the “Project 2025” blueprint for President Donald Trump’s second administration, drew sharp rebukes from conservative voices, including commentator Ben Shapiro, after standing by conservative commentator Tucker Carlson’s friendly interview with Fuentes in October.
In the wake of the initial backlash, Roberts told staffers he’d make a “mistake,” but asked for the chance to “clean it up” during a November all-staff meeting, according to a leaked video first published by the Washington Free Beacon.
The hires by Advancing American Freedom signal that the organization is looking to position itself as a key player within the broader conservative movement.
“AAF is honored to welcome these principled conservative scholars to the team,” Pence, who has been the target of Trump’s ire since the former vice president certified the 2020 election results, said in a statement. “They bring a wealth of experience, a love of country, and a deep commitment to the Constitution and Conservative Movement that will further the cause of liberty.”
Andrew Olivastro, chief advancement officer at The Heritage Foundation, said in a Monday statement that the think tank’s “mission is unchanged, and our leadership is strong and decisive.”
“Heritage has always welcomed debate, but alignment on mission and loyalty to the institution are non-negotiable. A handful of staff chose a different path — some through disruption, others through disloyalty,” Olivastro said.
In his statement, Olivastro said several of the departing staffers were “terminated for conduct inconsistent with Heritage’s mission and standards” last week, adding that “Their departures clear the way for a stronger, more focused team.”
Former Heritage Vice President John Malcolm is slated to lead AAF’s new Edwin Meese III Institute for the Rule of Law, which is being relocated from Heritage. Jessica Reinsch, formerly deputy director of programs at the Meese Center, will serve as director of programs, and five other former employees at Heritage will also join AAF’s Meese Institute.
Five staffers from Heritage’s economic policy institute and its federal budget center will join AAF’s Plymouth Institute for Free Enterprise, and former Heritage’s Chief Statistician Kevin Dayaratna will lead its Center for Statistical Modeling & Scientific Analysis.
Josh Blackman, a legal scholar who contributed to Project 2025, also resigned his post as senior editor of the Heritage Guide to the Constitution on Sunday. In his resignation letter, Blackman wrote that Roberts’ remarks “were a huge unforced blunder, and gave aid and comfort to the rising tide of antisemitism on the right,” in addition to undermining the work of the Meese Center.
“Your initial remarks were indefensible. Your apology was underwhelming. And the lack of any meaningful followup over the past three months has been telling,” Blackman wrote in his letter to Roberts.
Still, some Heritage staffers have remained loyal to the organization, with conservative activist Robby Starbuck sharing Monday that he would be extending his stay as a visiting fellow at the think tank. Starbuck wrote on social media that “these resignations have a lot more to do with 2028 than it does with anything else,” accusing Blackman and others who stepped down of yearning for “a return to the Pence/Ryan GOP.”
The shock waves from the infighting at Heritage, once a key player in the MAGA coalition, have continued to reverberate throughout the GOP, with Republican firebrands like Carlson, Shapiro, Vivek Ramaswamy and Steve Bannon sparring over Fuentes and whether he had a place in the party this weekend at Turning Point’s AmericaFest in Phoenix.
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