Heritage Foundation Faces “Brain Drain” as Key Staff Cut, Move to Pence‑Affiliated Group
WASHINGTON — The Heritage Foundation, the nation’s preeminent conservative think tank, announced on Monday that it had terminated two senior employees, citing “conduct inconsistent” with the organization’s mission.
The firings, reported by the New York Post, came amid a growing exodus of staff who have either departed voluntarily or joined former Vice President Mike Pence’s nonprofit, Advancing American Freedom (AAF).
In a statement released Tuesday, Chief Advancement Officer Andy Olivastro said the former deputy director of programs, Jessica Reinsch, and the Institute for Constitutional Government’s vice president, John Malcolm, were dismissed.
Olivastro explained that “breach of fiduciary duty and intellectual property removal led to immediate actions. Others who departed were closely aligned with them,” adding that the removals would “clear the way for a stronger, more focused team.”
The Heritage leadership has been under scrutiny since President Kevin Roberts defended Fox News host Tucker Carlson’s recent interview with white‑nationalist Nick Fuentes. In a staff letter released on Sunday, Roberts reminded employees that they are expected “to work for and not against Heritage’s interests while on the Heritage payroll.” Sources say the firings followed accusations that Reinsch and Malcolm had leaked confidential information to the media in the wake of the controversy.
At the same time, AAF has welcomed three former Heritage officials. John Malcolm, Richard Stern (the think tank’s former top fiscal scholar), and former data chief Kevin Dayaratna have joined the organization, which has already received at least $13 million in donations to support these hires, according to an insider familiar with the fundraising numbers. A senior editor at The Dispatch confirmed the funding earlier this week.
The Wall Street Journal first reported that a dozen Heritage employees were expected to follow the same path earlier in the month. Additional staffers are anticipated to announce resignations in the near future.
Malcolm is spearheading the relocation of personnel from Heritage’s highly regarded Meese Center—the institute named for former Attorney General Edwin Meese—to AAF, where it will be rebranded as the “Edwin Meese III Institute for the Rule of Law.”
AAF’s press release on Monday noted that Charles “Cully” Stimson, a longtime Heritage staffer and former Assistant U.S. Attorney, would lead the center in its new home.
The exodus has also taken the form of board resignations. Over the weekend, at least three board members stepped down, citing concerns that Heritage had failed to denounce antisemitism and had drifted from its founding principles.
Former senior editor of the Heritage Guide to the Constitution, Josh Blackman, announced his departure in a letter published by Reason magazine. In the letter, Blackman described the collective departure of Meese Center scholars as a “brain drain” that left the center “overnight” devoid of the knowledge it had built over a decade.
Blackman was particularly critical of Roberts’ handling of the Carlson incident. He called Roberts’ remarks a “huge unforced blunder” that provided a “veiled endorsement of antisemitism” on the right.
In a phone interview, Blackman said that Roberts had “had three months to do something” after releasing a statement on the Fuentes interview on October 27 but had not acted. Roberts later issued a video message on X on October 30, in which he condemned those “canceling our own people,” only to be met with backlash from conservatives who felt his comments painted a “venomous coalition” attempting to cancel Carlson.
In his Monday statement, Olivastro emphasized Heritage’s commitment to solidarity and mission alignment, saying “Heritage has always welcomed debate, but alignment on mission and loyalty to the institution are non-negotiable.
A handful of staff chose a different path—some through disruption, others through disloyalty.” He concluded with an optimistic vision: “America is at a turning point. Heritage is building the team that will deliver—not for yesterday’s fights, but for tomorrow’s victories. We are united, disciplined, and ready. Onward and upward.”
The unfolding drama has become a proxy battle over the future of the American conservative movement, and potentially the 2028 Republican presidential primary. Public figures such as Senator Ted Cruz have weighed in, warning that tolerating extremist rhetoric “would make you a coward and complicit in evil.” Meanwhile, other conservatives, including President Roberts, have urged the community not to “cancel each other” and to focus on larger policy battles.
The Heritage Foundation’s trajectory remains uncertain, but analysts say the recent departures and the influx of talent at AAF could signal a significant realignment within the right‑wing intellectual landscape.
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