More than 60 senior staff members, fellows, and trustees have departed the Heritage Foundation in the wake of the crisis ignited by President Kevin Roberts' support for Nick Fuentes and Tucker Carlson, Newsmax has learned.

The departures signal deepening turmoil at one of Washington's most influential conservative think tanks.

In the past week, Andrew Hale, a senior Heritage policy analyst, exited the foundation.

"I can roll with policy changes, but what I can't roll with is a tolerance or an overlooking of antisemitism or any form of bigotry," Hale told Jewish Insider. 

When reached for comment by Newsmax, a Heritage spokesperson declined to confirm the number of departures since October.

In late October 2025, Roberts posted a video statement on X defending commentator Tucker Carlson after Carlson aired a widely criticized interview with Nick Fuentes, a far-right figure known for white nationalist and Holocaust-denying views.

In the video, Roberts said the think tank would not "cancel" Carlson for the interview, framed Carlson's critics as part of a "venomous coalition" trying to silence him, and stressed that Heritage would stand by its friends even amid backlash.

Roberts has said he is a close friend of Carlson's, and it was later disclosed that Heritage had sponsored the host's podcasts for nearly $1 million.

The video rapidly sparked internal and external backlash: senior staff, fellows, and Jewish partners criticized the refrain that Carlson should not be distanced and flagged the "venomous coalition" phrase as especially harmful given concerns about antisemitism.

Within days, Roberts apologized in a follow-up video and at an all-staff meeting, saying he "made a mistake" and regretted his choice of words. But he never clearly explained what he was apologizing for or criticized Carlson for his antisemitic statements.

Others have noted that the controversial video produced by Roberts backing Fuentes and Carlson remains posted on Roberts' X account.

The departures of senior people from Heritage span multiple departments and include longtime policy experts, senior leadership figures and prominent fellows, and prominent fellows, according to people familiar with the organization's internal operations.

The wave of departures has coincided with growing unease among major donors.

Several longtime financial backers have scaled back or halted contributions, citing concerns about governance, strategic direction, and reputational risk.

As donor support has thinned, the organization has increasingly relied on its endowment, said to be worth more than $300 million, to cover operating expenses, a shift that insiders describe as unsustainable over the long term.

Heritage, founded in 1973, has historically wielded significant influence over Republican policymaking and conservative intellectual life.

But many believe its reputation may not return any time soon.

Already five members of its board of trustees have resigned over Roberts' leadership, including Darryle Owens, Price Harding, Robert P. George, Abby Moffat, and Shane McCullar.

Many prominent scholars and fellows have also defected, including economist Stephen Moore and legal scholars Chris DeMuth and Hans von Spakovsky, further hollowing out Heritage's intellectual bench.

Despite the departures, a Heritage spokesperson has claimed the resignations were part of a broader internal "realignment" aimed at increasing the organization's impact and implied they were part of the organization's plan.

But former trustees Owens and Harding issued a joint statement to Newsmax making clear they were not asked to leave, saying, "We each chose to resign," directly contradicting Heritage's public explanation.

Still, the current Heritage board of trustees led by Chairwoman Barb Van Andel-Gaby, who also sits on the board of Alticor, the owner of Amway, has declined to remove Roberts or distance the organization from Carlson's antisemitism.

One beneficiary of the Heritage crack-up appears to be Advancing American Freedom (AAF), a new think tank founded by former Vice President Mike Pence.

AAF has already hired more than 20 former Heritage employees in recent months, and former Attorney General Edwin Meese III has backed a new legal center at AAF, directly competing with one at Heritage that bears his name.