US EditionTop Heritage Officials Flee to Mike Pence’s Nonprofit as Think Tank Fractures: Report
About 15 senior Heritage Foundation officials resigned due to ideological disputes and joined Mike Pence's Advancing American Freedom, which raised $13 million to fund new hires.
- Advancing American Freedom , nonprofit founded in 2021 by former Vice President Mike Pence, is absorbing large parts of The Heritage Foundation's legal and economic policy staff, nearly all departing.
- Heritage's exits stem from an internal revolt after Kevin Roberts, Heritage Foundation President, refused to retract an October video defending Tucker Carlson's interview with Nick Fuentes, amid disputes over 'legacy' versus 'heritage' Americans.
- Pence framed departures as driven by Heritage's embrace of populism, while AAF said it raised more than $10 million to hire staff, including Amy Swearer and John Malcolm.
- More than 30 employees at Heritage centers have resigned or been fired recently, following trustee resignations and philanthropist Abby Spencer Moffat's withdrawal of millions, while Heritage leadership downplays the turmoil.
- The departures add to a pattern of instability in the New Right and reflect a broader internal realignment as Republicans debate the party's future and policy at conservative gatherings such as 'AmericaFest'.
16 Articles
16 Articles
Heritage Foundation Scholars Jump to Mike Pence’s Group in ‘Reorganization of the Conservative Movement’
Leaders of Advancing American Freedom (AAF), the nonprofit led by former vice president Mike Pence, said that their move to hire more than a dozen former Heritage Foundation employees represents a significant shift within the American right.AAF president Tim Chapman described the organization’s addition of Heritage Foundation’s legal, data, and economics centers, a move that doubles its size, as a "reorganization of the conservative movement.""P…
RINOs Flee Heritage for Mike Pence Org.
PULSE POINTSWHAT HAPPENED: Liberal and neoconservative Heritage Foundation staffers are exiting the nonprofit for former Vice President Mike Pence’s organization, Advancing American Freedom (AAF).WHO WAS INVOLVED: Mike Pence, Advancing American Freedom, and the Heritage Foundation.WHEN & WHERE: December 22, 2025, Washington, D.C.KEY QUOTE: “Why these people are coming our way is that Heritage and some other voices and commentators have embraced …
Mike Pence's think tank lures top Heritage Foundation staffers ...
Heritage Foundation rocked as massive number of workers suddenly quit
As offices close for the Christmas holidays, the conservative Heritage Foundation faces a significant staff exodus with the prospect that many departing employees have no plans to return.According to the Washington Post, Heritage President Kevin Roberts, a principal architect of Project 2025, the bl...
Heritage ousts two staffers as more scholars flee to Mike Pence’s group: ‘Brain drain’
The largest conservative think tank in DC dismissed two staffers this past Friday while at least a dozen left voluntarily for an advocacy group led by former Vice President Mike Pence, creating a "brain drain" of right-wing legal scholars and other top employees, The Post has learned.
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