Two additional senior staffers at the Heritage Foundation have resigned, adding to the exodus of employees who have left the think tank in recent days over accusations it no longer embraces traditional conservative principles.
Former senior legal fellows Charles “Cully” Stimson and Hans von Spakovsky publicly announced their departures Tuesday via social media.
“Resigned from Heritage,” posted Stimson, who served as the deputy director of the organization’s Edwin Meese III Center legal center. “Worked for 17 years w/ the most talented attorneys, friends and colleagues ever; Legal Center created by the titan of originalism and the freedom based public interest law movement, Ed Meese III, the finest man I ever met; stay tuned for next steps.”
Von Spakovsky, who also worked with the group’s legal center, posted a similar statement hours earlier.
“Resigned from Heritage; worked w/best minds & genuinely good people; Legal Center formed by best AG ever, Ed Meese, w/terrific lawyers,” von Spakovsky said. “I’ll continue work for rule of law, protecting Constitution, enforcement of immigration laws, stopping illegal discrimination, secure elections.”
Neither could be reached for comment. The Heritage Foundation did not respond to a request for comment.
It was unclear whether the pair would follow in the footsteps of more than a dozen others who left in recent days to join rival Washington-based advocacy group Advancing American Freedom, founded by former Vice President Mike Pence.
While neither gave an indication of the reason for stepping down in their announcement, Stimson suggested it had to do with antisemitism in a response on X.
Stimson responded, “Thank you,” to a post from the Auschwitz Jewish Center Foundation reacting to his resignation.
“The Auschwitz Jewish Center Foundation acknowledges Cully Stimson for standing against antisemitism with moral courage, choosing principle even at personal cost,” the post reads.
The defections come amid simmering tensions over Heritage’s mission and values, as critics say it has abandoned more traditional and conservative principles to better align with President Donald Trump. Concerns over alleged antisemitism at the organization have led to several departures, with another breaking point in October after Heritage President Kevin Roberts defended former Fox News host Tucker Carlson for interviewing Nick Fuentes, a Holocaust denier and white supremacist, on his independent show.
HERITAGE FOUNDATION STAFFERS QUIT AND JOIN MIKE PENCE FOUNDATION
Following the initial round of resignations, Roberts criticized them by saying the “manner of their departures speaks volumes.”
Following backlash to his comments on Fuentes and Carlson, a foundation spokesman told the Washington Examiner earlier this month that “Heritage has been fighting this scourge for years — work that’s only grown under Dr. Roberts, who condemned Nick Fuentes’ remarks as ‘grotesque’ and urged conservatives to confront antisemites’ poisonous ideas.”