Mike Pence Group Poaches Heritage Leaders

Former Vice President Mike Pence's political group reportedly is hiring away top officials from the Heritage Foundation, deepening a simmering power struggle inside the conservative movement as Republicans battle over what comes after the Trump era.

Pence's Washington-based organization, Advancing American Freedom, plans to bring on roughly 15 Heritage employees, including several prominent leaders, The Wall Street Journal reported Monday.

The exodus of top Heritage staff and fellows has gained momentum after the think tank's president, Kevin Roberts, refused to criticize Tucker Carlson's antisemitism or disassociate the organization from the podcaster.

Pence told the Journal he has long respected Heritage but now the organization is "abandoning its principles," citing what he described as an embrace of "big-government populism," tolerance of antisemitism, and a shift toward isolationism, evidenced by pulling back support for Ukraine in its war against Russia.

Pence also objected to Heritage backing some tariffs and supporting Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as Health and Human Services secretary.

Among those joining Pence are John Malcolm, who led Heritage's legal and judicial studies center; Kevin Dayaratna, head of Heritage's data analysis center; and Richard Stern, director of the think tank's economic policy studies institute, according to the Journal.

AAF later announced the addition of Malcolm, Stern, Dayaratna, and 10 others in a Monday press release.

"I am proud to be joining Advancing American Freedom with some terrific colleagues as the head of the Edwin Meese III Institute for the Rule of Law. Exciting times ahead," Malcolm posted on X.

The shakeup comes as conservative institutions and donors jockey for influence heading into the next political cycle, with President Donald Trump's term ending in January 2029.

Heritage, for its part, is pushing back hard against the narrative that it is losing control.

In a statement to Newsmax, Heritage Chief Advancement Officer Andy Olivastro said the organization's "mission is unchanged," and insisted leadership is "strong and decisive."

He also accused departing staff of "disruption" and "disloyalty," saying alignment with Heritage's mission and loyalty to the institution are "non-negotiable."

Olivastro told Newsmax that Malcolm and Jessica Reinsch were terminated "for conduct inconsistent with Heritage's mission and standards," alleging breach of fiduciary duty and "intellectual property removal."

He said the group aims "to strengthen the conservative movement nationwide."

The staffing fight follows recent turmoil at Heritage, including Roberts' defense of Carlson after he conducted a softball interview with white nationalist and Holocaust denier Nick Fuentes.

Carlson has also used his podcast to directly attack Jews, including by using antisemitic tropes that Jews control the banking system, Congress, the Pentagon, and even President Trump.

Two Heritage board members, longtime philanthropist Abby Spencer Moffat and Shane McCullar, resigned Tuesday amid the backlash, citing concerns about the think tank's direction and what they viewed as insufficient condemnation of antisemitism.

These board members joined respected conservative Robert P. George, who quit the board in November.

Senior Heritage fellows have also been quitting, including economist Steve Moore and legal scholar Chris DeMuth.

This week, Heritage's senior editor, Josh Blackman, also resigned.

He wrote a scathing letter to Roberts, condemning his actions in the wake of the Carlson-Fuentes interview.

"Your initial remarks were indefensible," Blackman wrote.

Blackman continued: "Your apology was underwhelming. And the lack of any meaningful followup over the past three months has been telling. For reasons only you know, you aligned the Heritage Foundation with the rising tide of antisemitism on the right."

These significant departures have added to pressure on Heritage leadership and fueled questions about whether the organization is drifting from the principles that once made it a dominant force in conservative policymaking circles.