A legal scholar who contributed to Project 2025 has resigned from the Heritage Foundation, citing what he called “indefensible” remarks by the organization’s president about Tucker Carlson and far-right commentator Nick Fuentes.
Kevin Roberts, the president of the Heritage Foundation, faced backlash in October after defending Carlson—who previously hosted on Fox News—following Carlson’s interview with Fuentes. Fuentes has denied the Holocaust, praised Adolf Hitler, and in the interview blamed “organized Jewry” for undermining American unity.
At the time, Roberts said Carlson “will always be a close friend of the Heritage Foundation” and dismissed critics as “the globalist class” and a “venomous coalition.” Although Roberts later apologized, he faced calls to step down and continued criticism from Jewish faith leaders.
In a newly published resignation letter addressed to Roberts, Josh Blackman, a constitutional law professor at South Texas College of Law Houston and a Project 2025 contributor, said he could no longer remain affiliated with the think tank.
“Your initial remarks were indefensible. Your apology was underwhelming. And the lack of any meaningful follow-up over the past three months has been telling,” Blackman wrote.
Why It Matters
Blackman’s departure underscores ongoing divisions within one of the most influential conservative policy organizations in Washington. The Heritage Foundation spearheaded Project 2025, a sweeping policy blueprint—about 900 pages—advocating a smaller federal government, stricter border enforcement, and tougher immigration laws, among other proposals. The project has been widely viewed as an effort to shape priorities for a potential future conservative administration and has been linked by critics and supporters alike to policy debates during President Donald Trump’s second term.
Trump previously called parts of Project 2025 “ridiculous and abysmal” before the election. After his electoral victory, he told Time he disagreed with some portions of the document, though not all of it, and he later brought several contributors into roles within his second administration. Observers say reputational damage to Heritage could weaken its ability to drive policy ideas within Republican circles.
What To Know
In his letter—published by libertarian magazine Reason—Blackman said he had long valued his relationship with the organization but felt forced to resign because Roberts’ actions made continued ties “untenable.”
He described the controversy as “a huge unforced blunder” that, in his view, bolstered “the rising tide of antisemitism on the right.” He added that the fallout had discouraged people from working with the foundation and damaged its reputation.
Blackman also argued that Roberts had harmed the organization’s “moral standing,” prompted contributors to withdraw from Heritage-related work, and made the Heritage brand “toxic.” He said his resignation was effective immediately.
Blackman is not the only prominent figure to step away. In November, Robert P. George, a Princeton University professor who had served with the think tank since 2019, resigned as well, saying on Facebook that he could not remain without a full retraction of Roberts’ video comments about Carlson and Fuentes.
What People Are Saying
Jill Geisler, a journalism and ethics professor at Loyola University of Chicago, called Blackman’s statement “powerful” in a post on X.
David M. Friedman, who served as U.S. ambassador to Israel during Trump’s first term, also condemned Roberts’ October comments on X, warning that the conservative movement had a serious problem and urging swift corrective action.
What Happens Next
The Heritage Foundation had not publicly responded to Blackman’s resignation letter at the time of publication.
