Sen. Jim DeMint has announced that he’s stepping down from the Senate to head the Heritage Foundation. DeMint’s official statement is here.
It’s big news when a Senator steps down to head a think tank, especially the granddaddy of all conservative think tanks, where founder Ed Feulner is stepping down at age 71.
It will be tough to lose DeMint from the Senate, where he’s done so much to further the cause of limited government and recruited stalwart conservatives like Ted Cruz and Rand Paul to join him. But hopefully he can awaken a sleeping giant at Heritage, an enormously important institution before and during the Reagan Revolution, but almost invisible in the Internet era.
Erick Erickson likes the move. “Jim DeMint’s power in the conservative movement just grew exponentially. A man who was going to retire in four years anyway, will now be leading the conservative movement from its base of operations for years to come.”
Edited to Add: Ted Cruz joins the chorus of congratulations.
Tags: Ed Feulner, Erick Erickson, Heritage Foundation, Jim DeMint