Former Vice President Mike Pence is expanding his nonprofit thanks to a mass exodus from the Heritage Foundation, putting on public display the growing chasm between populist right-wing influencers and traditional conservatives.
Pence's Washington, D.C.-based think tank, Advancing American Freedom, announced the hires of more than a dozen Heritage Foundation staffers Dec. 22, including three of its top leaders.
The departures represent the latest bout of turmoil facing the Heritage Foundation, a long-established right-leaning think tank that spearheaded Project 2025, a policy guidebook for President Donald Trump's administration. Foundation President Kevin Roberts faced criticism from conservatives and staffers after he defended former Fox News host Tucker Carlson's interview with the white nationalist influencer Nick Fuentes.
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"Their attempt to cancel [Carlson] will fail," Roberts said in an Oct. 30 video posted to X. "I disagree with and even abhor things that Nick Fuentes says, but canceling him is not the answer either."
