Mike Pence’s Nonprofit Poaches Dozens of Heritage Foundation Staff Amid Major Conservative Split
More than a dozen top staffers at the conservative Heritage Foundation are departing for a nonprofit linked to former Vice President Mike Pence, signaling sharp fractures in the conservative policy world.
Staff departures have accelerated in recent days amid internal turmoil at Heritage, where leadership’s defense of a controversial interview by Tucker Carlson with far-right figure Nick Fuentes ignited accusations of tolerating antisemitism and ideological drift. The shake-up matters because Heritage long led Republican policy circles, and these defections mark a public split over the movement’s future.
According to reporting by The Wall Street Journal and Reuters, more than a dozen employees, including heads of legal, economic and data teams, have resigned or been fired and will now join Advancing American Freedom, a policy nonprofit founded by Pence. Leaders such as John Malcolm and Kevin Dayaratna are among those moving.
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The departures follow a backlash within Heritage over President Kevin Roberts’ response to the Carlson interview, which many inside and outside the organization saw as tacit approval of extremist rhetoric. Competing accounts of loyalty and principle now drive staff exits.
“A group of principled conservative scholars joining our team will strengthen the cause of liberty,” Pence’s group said, emphasizing commitment to traditional conservative principles.
This matters because it reflects a growing rift within the Republican policy establishment between traditional conservative factions and more populist or nationalist elements, especially as the GOP charts its path after the Trump era.
Advancing American Freedom has reportedly raised millions to support the new hires and expand its operations in Washington.
What happens next will test whether Pence’s network can become a long-term conservative policy hub or if broader fractures deepen across the movement.
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