It&#8217;s official: Jim DeMint has officially been ousted from his position as president of The Heritage Foundation.
The Heritage board asked for DeMint&#8217;s resignation on Tuesday and DeMint complied. The chairman of the board, Thomas Saunders, released a <a href="http://www.npr.org/2017/05/02/526617944/jim-demint-ousted-from-heritage-foundation-in-major-shake-up">statement</a> that read:
<blockquote>
After a comprehensive and independent review of the entire Heritage organization, the Board determined there were significant and worsening management issues that led to a breakdown of internal communications and cooperation. While the organization has seen many successes, Jim DeMint and a handful of his closest advisers failed to resolve these problems.
</blockquote>
DeMint released his own statement on the matter:
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NEWS: Statement from Jim DeMint: &#8220;We&#8217;ve accomplished what we set out to do.&#8221; Says he finds Heritage Fdtn board statement &#8220;puzzling.&#8221;
&#8212; Stephen Hayes (@stephenfhayes) <a href="https://twitter.com/stephenfhayes/status/859537588658425856">May 2, 2017</a></blockquote>
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Here are five things you need to know about DeMint&#8217;s ouster and its aftermath.
1. DeMint reportedly clashed with Heritage Action CEO Michael Needham. Needham&#8217;s beef with DeMint stems from his feeling that Heritage lacked &#8220;alternative policy proposals.&#8221; He was irked that DeMint didn&#8217;t vocally support Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) over Donald Trump in the Republican presidential primary, according to <a href="http://www.politico.com/story/2017/05/02/why-jim-demint-was-ousted-from-heritage-237876">Politico</a>. Mollie Hemingway at The Federalist also <a href="https://thefederalist.com/2017/05/02/the-coup-against-jim-demint-threatens-to-tear-apart-the-heritage-foundation/">reports</a> that contrary to <a href="http://www.dailywire.com/news/15856/jim-demint-will-be-ousted-heritage-foundation-here-aaron-bandler">prior reports</a> that DeMint had made Heritage too political, &#8220;DeMint actually tried to rein in Heritage Action in recent years, as the 501(c)(4) group began racking up enemy after enemy on Capitol Hill without actually putting any congressional policy points on the board.&#8221;
&#8220;Multiple sources told The Federalist that Needham bristled at DeMint&#8217;s repeated attempts to assert control over the splinter organization and began plotting to overthrow DeMint once it became clear that the former South Carolina senator had no desire to outsource control of the think tank to the 30-something political operative with no policy background,&#8221; wrote Hemingway. &#8220;At one point, a high-placed source told The Federalist, Needham personally confronted DeMint and his team and told them that DeMint was done, that Needham himself would be taking over the organization.&#8221;
Needham&#8217;s dislike for DeMint grew to the point where after DeMint announced he wanted to have his contract extended rather than retire, Needham threw &#8220;a chair across the room&#8221; in anger, per Politico.
2. There are disputed reports about Needham&#8217;s role in DeMint&#8217;s ouster. Needham reportedly spoken out of both sides of his mouth to convince Heritage board members to oust DeMint, according to <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2017/05/the-fight-for-control-of-the-heritage-foundation/525033/">The Atlantic</a>:
<blockquote>
To the Trump-averse elements on the board, Needham has pointed to DeMint&#8217;s growing coziness with the new administration as evidence that the think tank, a beacon of movement conservatism, needs a new steward. At the same time, Needham has been telling pro-Trump board members like Rebekah Mercer that Heritage needs a leader who will follow the president&#8217;s lead &#8212; even going so far as to float White House chief strategist Steve Bannon, a key Mercer ally, as a potential future president, according to one source.
</blockquote>
The Atlantic quoted sources describing the situation as Needham committing a &#8220;coup&#8221; against DeMint, although <a href="http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/heritage-foundation-sources-say-mike-needham-didnt-want-jim-demints-throne/article/2621831">The Washington Examiner</a> quoted sources that disputed reports Needham was behind DeMint&#8217;s ouster and said that the Heritage board had simply grown tired of DeMint supposedly turning Heritage into &#8220;a personal Senate office.&#8221;
Regardless, according to Hemingway, Heritage board members actually planted Friday&#8217;s media buzz signaling DeMint&#8217;s ouster in order &#8220;to give fence-sitters on the board the impression that the momentum was all in one direction.&#8221;
3. DeMint loyalists are being purged from Heritage. The Atlantic reported that there are up to five members of the Heritage team who are being let go, with two of them being &#8220;group vice president of communications Wesley Denton and group vice president for policy promotion Ed Corrigan.&#8221; Both Hemingway and The Washington Examiner have reported that James Wallner, the leader of research at Heritage, was placed on administrative leave after he defended Heritage&#8217;s research in a tweet storm.
4. Heritage is already experiencing fallout from conservative lawmakers and donors. According to The Atlantic, the situation with DeMint has created some friction between Congress and Heritage:
<blockquote>
One prominent conservative senator, worried about Heritage&#8217;s new direction, is cutting ties with the think tank for the foreseeable future, according to an aide. Another Senate source said Heritage staff are no longer welcome at Senate Steering Committee meetings or in several members&#8217; offices as a result of DeMint&#8217;s ouster. Amid the upheaval, Heritage abruptly cancelled Monday&#8217;s installment of a weekly meeting between conservative Congressional aides and Heritage staffers &#8212; a sign that the internal turmoil is already producing uncertainty.
Forty-eight congressional Republicans signed a letter in support of DeMint that was released on Monday night. The letter praises DeMint as a &#8220;leading advocate for America at its best&#8221; and laments that DeMint being &#8220;confronted by overwhelming opposition, bitter criticism, and nagging skepticism &#8212; not only from those who openly oppose your philosophical worldview, but occasionally (and quite painfully) from those who purport to embrace it.&#8221; The letter treats DeMint&#8217;s ouster as a fait accompli.
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Additionally, Hemingway was told that &#8220;millions of dollars in previous pledges and commitments have been rescinded&#8221; after the original reports of DeMint&#8217;s ouster broke.
5. DeMint did improve Heritage&#8217;s standing as a think-tank. Gaston Mooney, himself a former DeMint Senate aide, noted in <a href="https://www.conservativereview.com/articles/how-jim-demint-inspired-a-comeback-for-conservatism">Conservative Review</a> that under DeMint, Heritage improved its ranking in the University of Pennsylvania&#8217;s list of the best worldwide think tanks from 18th to 12th in a span of four years; the organization is close with the Trump administration, providing conservatives with a voice in the new administration.
&#8220;Removing DeMint will weaken Heritage as an institution and will be to the detriment of the conservative movement and our nation,&#8221; wrote Mooney.
Former Heritage president Ed Feulner will be leading the search for DeMint&#8217;s replacement; it&#8217;s clear that he will have to orchestrate a home-run hire to ease the minds of conservatives who are worried about the direction of Heritage following DeMint&#8217;s ouster.
<a href="https://twitter.com/bandlersbanter">Follow Aaron Bandler on Twitter.</a>

Jim DeMint Is OUT At Heritage. The Firefight Has Begun. Here Are 5 Things You Need To Know.

Heritage Action for America

<a href="http://www.foxnews.com/transcript/2017/04/30/lt-gen-h-r-mcmaster-on-foreign-policy-sen-schumer-on-president-trumps-first-100-days.html">On Sunday</a>, Fox News Channel&#8217;s Chris Wallace relayed rumors that Stephen Bannon might become the Heritage Foundation&#8217;s next president following a vacancy resulting from <a href="http://www.dailywire.com/news/15856/jim-demint-will-be-ousted-heritage-foundation-here-aaron-bandler">Jim DeMint&#8217;s departure</a>.

Wallace asked <a href="https://twitter.com/MikeNeedham">Michael Needham</a> &#8211; who currently heads the Heritage Foundation&#8217;s overtly activist arm &#8211; about Bannon&#8217;s possible securing of the Heritage Foundation&#8217;s presidency:

<blockquote>
WALLACE: &#8220;Michael, I have to ask you about one other subject before we end this segment. I want to ask about the Heritage Foundation, that you&#8217;re associated with. There are a lot of stories out that Jim DeMint, the head of the Heritage Foundation, is going to be out and that Steve Bannon may become the new head, that this is going to be his safety net as he is forced out of the White House. What can you tell us?&#8221;
NEEDHAM: &#8220;That there&#8217;s a lot of speculation and rumor in the media that never misses a chance to divide and attack conservatives. Jim DeMint is a patriot. He has had a courageous career in Washington and the country and the conservative movement are far better because of that. And The Heritage Foundation is an institution that is committed to formulating and promoting conservative policies. And &#8211; and that is not going to change.&#8221;
WALLACE: &#8220;But is he &#8211; is &#8211; is DeMint out? I mean the story that the board wants him out.&#8221;
NEEDHAM: &#8220;I don&#8217;t know. There&#8217;s a lot of speculation and rumor, and I&#8217;m not going to add to the speculation and rumor.&#8221;
WALLACE: &#8220;And Steve Bannon?&#8221;
NEEDHAM: &#8220;There&#8217;s a lot of speculation and rumor, and I&#8217;m not going to add to the speculation and rumor.&#8221;
</blockquote>
Watch the brief exchange below:
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Politico&#8217;s Eliana Johnson <a href="https://twitter.com/elianayjohnson/status/858003180218703872">reported</a> that &#8220;people with knowledge of the situation&#8221; at the Heritage Foundation believe Needham is being transitioned into the role of the conservative organization&#8217;s presidency.
Bannon currently operates as President Donald Trump&#8217;s senior strategist. He formerly worked as Trump presidential campaign chair after departing from his chairmanship at Breitbart News.

Follow Robert Kraychik on <a href="https://twitter.com/kr3ch3k">Twitter</a>.

Chris Wallace: Will Bannon Be Heritage’s Next President?

Chris Wallace

Fox News

Fox News Sunday

Steve Bannon

Trump Administration

Politico dropped <a href="http://www.politico.com/story/2017/04/28/demint-set-to-be-ousted-from-heritage-foundation-237754">a bombshell report</a> on Friday that Jim DeMint is going to be ousted from his position as president of The Heritage Foundation. DeMint has been in that position since 2012, when he stepped down from the Senate to take over Heritage from the then-outgoing president Ed Feulner. The news of DeMint&#8217;s ouster has been a shock to the conservative movement at large.
Here are five things you need to know about DeMint&#8217;s ouster.
1. The report states that Heritage is in &#8220;massive turmoil.&#8221; That is not a good sign for the premiere conservative think-tank on the Right.
2. Heritage board members were irked that DeMint &#8220;made the think tank too bombastic and political.&#8221; The report quotes an anonymous Heritage board member stating, &#8220;He has been a congressman and senator. They are solo performers. When you are in the Senate, life is all about the senators. CEO skills are different than senator skills. I think it boils down to attributes. I don&#8217;t think it is particularly personal.&#8221;
Another board member said, &#8220;Jim brought everyone in from the Senate to Heritage and made it hyper-political. Heritage is also about civil society and culture. He&#8217;s taken that off of the table.&#8221;
The report points out that DeMint inserted Heritage into various policy battles thus far in the Trump administration by scathingly attacking Congress for backing a bill that didn&#8217;t repeal Obamacare. Heritage also attacked the border-adjustment tax proposal made by Paul Ryan.
3. The beginning of the end for DeMint was when the Republican Study Committee severed its alliance with Heritage. Political reporter Tim Alberta revealed the following on Twitter:
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Lots of buzz last fall he&#8217;d worn out his welcome and contract wouldn&#8217;t be renewed. But then Trump won and the waters seemed to calm. <a href="https://t.co/hJLFmVAMbw">https://t.co/hJLFmVAMbw</a>
&#8212; Tim Alberta (@TimAlberta) <a href="https://twitter.com/TimAlberta/status/858004922046062592">April 28, 2017</a></blockquote>
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Heritage &amp; Repub Study Cmte created as sister groups in &#8217;73; RSC booted Heritage from weekly meeting in &#8217;13 when members turned on Action&#8230;
&#8212; Tim Alberta (@TimAlberta) <a href="https://twitter.com/TimAlberta/status/858010149813964802">April 28, 2017</a></blockquote>
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Feulner was devastated. That divorce represented the dissolution of all he&#8217;d worked toward: scholars working hand-in-hand w/ legislators&#8230;
&#8212; Tim Alberta (@TimAlberta) <a href="https://twitter.com/TimAlberta/status/858010754238349313">April 28, 2017</a></blockquote>
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Ever since, the tension &#8211; over tactics, identity &#8211; has been constant. Add to that: DeMint not viewed internally as an effective executive.
&#8212; Tim Alberta (@TimAlberta) <a href="https://twitter.com/TimAlberta/status/858012105118711808">April 28, 2017</a></blockquote>
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The &#8220;Action&#8221; that Alberta is referring to is <a href="http://heritageaction.com/">Heritage Action</a>, which DeMint utilized as an attack dog against establishment Republicans.
4. A number of conservatives are not happy with DeMint&#8217;s ouster. An unnamed conservative operative was quoted in the report as saying, &#8220;If Heritage pushes Jim DeMint out, it was because a few board members, who are close to the Republican establishment, never wanted him to be president and have been working to push him out ever since. DeMint is one of the most respected and selfless conservative leaders in the country and pushing him out would be a big mistake.&#8221;
A number of conservatives seem to agree:
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The complaint seems to be that it&#8217;s better to publish white papers nobody reads than to implement actual policy. <a href="https://t.co/XEnUCxVvEU">https://t.co/XEnUCxVvEU</a>
&#8212; Sean Davis (@seanmdav) <a href="https://twitter.com/seanmdav/status/858018471296290816">April 28, 2017</a></blockquote>
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This is everything that is wrong with not just the GOP establishment, but the conservative establishment <a href="https://t.co/eUwdpiq0Yx">https://t.co/eUwdpiq0Yx</a>
&#8212; Daniel Horowitz (@RMConservative) <a href="https://twitter.com/RMConservative/status/858002317257449475">April 28, 2017</a></blockquote>
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You are allowed to hold conservative beliefs in theory, in a think tank, but not in practice. Which is why im backing Roy Moore.
&#8212; Daniel Horowitz (@RMConservative) <a href="https://twitter.com/RMConservative/status/858002432877580288">April 28, 2017</a></blockquote>
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DeMint has unexpectedly made Heritage more relevant than ever. Pushing him out now would be a classic think tank move. <a href="https://t.co/SpmMjmXEMx">https://t.co/SpmMjmXEMx</a>
&#8212; Ben Domenech (@bdomenech) <a href="https://twitter.com/bdomenech/status/858001108018581506">April 28, 2017</a></blockquote>
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Additional thought &#8211; other than DeMint, is there any think tank head in Washington who actually has a relationship with Trump?
&#8212; Ben Domenech (@bdomenech) <a href="https://twitter.com/bdomenech/status/858003021929762817">April 28, 2017</a></blockquote>
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The irony here is that Heritage donors are even further right. DeMint helped calm them down.
&#8212; Ben Domenech (@bdomenech) <a href="https://twitter.com/bdomenech/status/858004274730684416">April 28, 2017</a></blockquote>
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5. It is believed that Heritage Action CEO Michael Needham will eventually be DeMint&#8217;s replacement. 
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I&#8217;m also told that the long-term plan is for Heritage Action CEO Mike Needham to take over for DeMint &#8211; eventually.
&#8212; Eliana Johnson (@elianayjohnson) <a href="https://twitter.com/elianayjohnson/status/858003180218703872">April 28, 2017</a></blockquote>
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This struck a number of people as odd given that Needham played the role of DeMint&#8217;s political attack dog well. In fact <a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2458372/Michael-Needham-The-31-year-old-Stanford-grad-planned-government-shutdown.html">he was one of the key figures behind the 2013 government shutdown</a>. Johnson explained further:
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<a href="https://twitter.com/timkmak">@timkmak</a> Needham is/was a Feulner guy. Feulner launched HA (<a href="https://t.co/8RmjwAsLS8">https://t.co/8RmjwAsLS8</a>) 1/2
&#8212; Eliana Johnson (@elianayjohnson) <a href="https://twitter.com/elianayjohnson/status/858009613362397186">April 28, 2017</a></blockquote>
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<a href="https://twitter.com/timkmak">@timkmak</a> This is speculative, but they&#8217;d have to have reached agreement w/him and have confidence in his ability to re-orient the institution 2/2
&#8212; Eliana Johnson (@elianayjohnson) <a href="https://twitter.com/elianayjohnson/status/858010123071082496">April 28, 2017</a></blockquote>
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In the meantime, Feulner will serve as Heritage&#8217;s interim president.
<a href="https://twitter.com/bandlersbanter">Follow Aaron Bandler on Twitter.</a>

Jim DeMint Will Be Ousted From The Heritage Foundation. Here Are 5 Things You Need To Know.

Three powerful conservative groups have condemned the House Republicans&#8217; Obamacare replacement bill: Club for Growth, Freedomworks, and Heritage Action for America.
Club for Growth, calling the bill “RyanCare,” <a href="http://www.politico.com/story/2017/03/club-for-growth-opposes-gop-obamacare-replacement-235772">stated</a> it would &#8220;key vote&#8221; the bill, which it dubbed “RyanCare.” Club for Growth president David McIntosh stated:
<blockquote>The problems with this bill are not just what’s in it, but also what’s missing: namely, the critical free-market solution of selling health insurance across state lines. Such an injection of competition would lead to hundreds of billions of dollars in savings, nullifying any argument by Congressional Republicans that this provision cannot be included in the current bill. If this warmed-over substitute for government-run health care remains unchanged, the Club for Growth will key vote against it.</blockquote>
He added: “Republicans should be offering a full and immediate repeal of Obamacare’s taxes, regulations, and mandates, an end to the Medicaid expansion, and inclusion of free-market reforms, like interstate competition.”
Michael Needham, the president of Heritage Action for America, the sister organization to The Heritage Foundation, <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/powerpost/wp/2017/03/07/obamacare-lite-rinocare-conservatives-rebel-against-gops-aca-bill/?utm_term=.a5a8a807feed">echoed</a>, “The House Republican proposal released last night not only accepts the flawed progressive premises of Obamacare but expands upon them. Ronald Reagan once said, ‘Government’s view of the economy could be summed up in a few short phrases: If it moves, tax it. If it keeps moving, regulate it. And if it stops moving, subsidize it.’ The AHCA does all three.” He added, “Many Americans seeking health insurance on the individual market will notice no significant difference between the Affordable Care Act (i.e., Obamacare) and the American Health Care Act. That is bad politics and, more importantly, bad policy.”
FreedomWorks, which has called for a March 15 “day of action” on the ACA, condemned the bill as “Obamacare-lite” and restated its support for a replacement bill introduced by Sen. Rand Paul and backed by the House Freedom Caucus.
FreedomWorks policy analyst Jason Pye slammed the House GOP bill, pointing out, “It creates a new entitlement through the refundable tax credits.It allows insurance companies to assess a 30 percent penalty on those who don’t keep continuous coverage for 63 days, which is an individual mandate by another name.”
<blockquote>“Republicans should be offering a full and immediate repeal of Obamacare’s taxes, regulations, and mandates, an end to the Medicaid expansion, and inclusion of free-market reforms, like interstate competition.”
Club for Growth president David McIntosh</blockquote>
Michael Cannon, from the libertarian Cato Institute, <a href="https://www.cato.org/blog/house-gop-leaderships-health-care-bill-obamacare-lite-or-worse">warned:</a>
<blockquote>Flubbing ObamaCare would at once united and embolden Democrats while dividing the GOP base, driving the former to the polls in 2018 and 2020 while causing the latter to stay home. If ObamaCare is not doing well, and Republicans take the blame, it will create the potential for the sort of wave election Democrats experienced in 2008, when they captured not just the House and the presidency, but a filibuster-proof, 60-vote supermajority in the Senate. If that happens, and ObamaCare is not doing well, Democrats will be less interested in rescuing ObamaCare than repealing and replacing it themselves—with a single-payer system.</blockquote>

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Heritage Action for America

Jim DeMint Is OUT At Heritage. The Firefight Has Begun. Here Are 5 Things You Need To Know.

Chris Wallace: Will Bannon Be Heritage’s Next President?

Jim DeMint Will Be Ousted From The Heritage Foundation. Here Are 5 Things You Need To Know.

Three Top Conservative Groups Condemn GOP Obamacare Replacement Bill