Jim DeMint to exit Senate to chair Heritage Foundation
Senator Jim DeMint, the conservative Republican from South Carolina who helped invigorate the Tea Party movement, will leave the Senate to become president of the Heritage Foundation, a conservative research group.
“It’s been an honor to serve the people of South Carolina in United States Senate for the past eight years,” said Mr. DeMint in a statement. “But now it’s time for me to pass the torch to someone else and take on a new role in the fight for America’s future.
“I’m leaving the Senate now, but I’m not leaving the fight,” he said. “I’ve decided to join The Heritage Foundation at a time when the conservative movement needs strong leadership in the battle of ideas. No organization is better equipped to lead this fight, and I believe my experience in public office as well as in the private sector as a business owner will help Heritage become even more effective in the years to come.”
Gov. Nikki Haley of South Carolina, also a Republican, will name a successor to replace DeMint and then a special election will be held in 2014.
Heritage Chairman of the Board Thomas A. Saunders, in a statement, praised DeMint’s “passion for rigorous research, his dedication to the principles of our nation’s founding, and his ability to translate policy ideas into action.”
DeMint will take over from Ed Fuelner, who helped found the Heritage Foundation in 1973 and has been its president since 1977.
[…] In the Senate, Vice President Joe Biden swore in 12 new members elected in November, lawmakers who won another term and South Carolina Republican Tim Scott (who replaces Jim DeMint). […]