Heritage Foundation restocks after wave of scholars defect to Pence-led group

The Heritage Foundation wasted no time filling some of the vacancies left by its departing scholars and staffers, taking an upbeat tone despite the recent defections to a rival conservative organization led by former Vice President Mike Pence.

The foundation said it has promoted Jay Richards to vice president of Social and Domestic Policy; brought on Stewart Whitson as chief of staff to Heritage President Kevin Roberts, and welcomed back Peter St. Onge as senior economist.

In addition, Allen Mendenhall will do double duty as a research fellow at the Thomas A. Roe Institute for Economic Policy Studies while continuing his work at the foundation’s Capital Markets Initiative.

Roger Severino, formerly a visiting fellow at the DeVos Center for Religion and Civil Society, will serve as vice president of Economic and Domestic Policy as well as “handle all legal policy issues in the interim as recruiting continues for a new vice president for the Institute for Constitutional Government,” the foundation said Wednesday.

Heritage also promised a “dynamic year ahead” despite the rash of departures driven by a rift over Mr. Roberts’ leadership.

“We are proud to welcome Stewart Whitson and excited to have Jay Richards, Roger Severino, Peter St. Onge and Allen Mendenhall enter new eras in their Heritage tenure,” Mr. Roberts said in a statement. “Heritage is looking ahead to an important 2026, preparing to launch a string of landmark policy initiatives while advancing our conservative mission through a critical year for the country.”

He added that “Heritage is the place for conservatives who want influence and impact — because we know what time it is. We’re rooted in principle, responsive to reality and committed to winning the fight for America’s future.”

The personnel moves were announced Christmas Eve, two days after the stunning departures of 13 scholars and staffers, including the heads of three major policy shops. Two of the employees were terminated beforehand for “conduct inconsistent with Heritage’s mission and standards,” the foundation said.

Advancing American Freedom, the conservative group founded in 2021 by Mr. Pence, announced Monday that it had hired the 13 ex-Heritage hands.

Before the announcement, Mr. Roberts reportedly sent a staff email saying that senior legal fellow Cully Stimson would temporarily lead the Meese Center for Legal and Judicial Studies, with assistance from Hans von Spakovsky, but both scholars tendered their resignations Monday.

“I just spoke with Cully, who told me that both he and Hans resigned from the Heritage Foundation,” said Josh Blackman, who resigned Monday as senior editor of the Heritage Foundation Guide to the Constitution, in a Monday post on the Volokh Conspiracy.

“At this point, there are only a few people left at the Meese Center. It exists in name only,” Mr. Blackman said.

The high-profile defections and resignations threw Heritage into the media spotlight, and not in a good way.

“The Heritage Foundation Blows Up,” said the Tuesday headline on a Wall Street Journal staff editorial.

National Review ran a staff editorial called “The Heritage Foundation Implodes.”

Mr. Pence’s organization raised $13 million to bring on the former Heritage employees, according to a source, positioning itself as the conservative standard-bearer as Heritage recalibrates toward a more isolationist, populist mission in keeping with the Make America Great Again movement.

“Why these people are coming our way is that Heritage and some other voices and commentators have embraced big-government populism and have been willing to tolerate antisemitism,” Mr. Pence told the Journal.

Heritage’s ideological shift began drawing notice after Mr. Roberts took over in 2021, but the issue erupted after his Oct. 30 video defending Tucker Carlson’s friendly interview with pro-Hitler podcaster Nick Fuentes.

Mr. Roberts responded by condemning antisemitism and Mr. Fuentes, but continued to stand behind Mr. Carlson. The Oct. 30 video remains posted on Mr. Roberts’ account on X.

Cornell Law School professor William Jacobson called Heritage’s decision to replace the departing scholars “not surprising.”

“While its reputation has suffered due to the embrace of Tucker Carlson, it’s still a large and formidable institution with a lot of money,” Mr. Jacobson said in an email. “But an institution’s influence is more than head count. The open question is whether Heritage can restore the respect and leadership position it once held, and that will depend on whether it continues down the path of aligning with what is commonly referred to as the ‘Woke Right.’”

Those defecting to Mr. Pence’s organization were not the first to cut ties with Heritage in protest.

The foundation lost several big names, including distinguished fellow Chris DeMuth and senior visiting fellow Stephen Moore, in the weeks after the video was posted.

In addition, the Heritage-led National Task Force to Combat Antisemitism separated itself from the foundation last month after its members began resigning in protest.