āPeople will lose their jobs,ā the think tankās president says about federal workers. āHopefully their lives are able to flourish in spite of that.ā
Since taking over the Heritage Foundation in 2021, Kevin D. Roberts has been making his mark on an institution that came to prominence during the Reagan years and has long been seen as an incubator of conservative policy and thought.
Roberts, who was not well known outside policy circles when he took over, has pushed the think tank away from its hawkish roots by arguing against funding the war in Ukraine, a turnabout that prompted some of Heritageās policy analysts to leave. Now heās looking ahead, to the 2024 election and beyond.
Roberts told me that he views Heritageās role today as āinstitutionalizing Trumpism.ā This includes leading Project 2025, a transition blueprint that outlines a plan to consolidate power in the executive branch, dismantle federal agencies and recruit and vet government employees to free the next Republican president from a system that Roberts views as stacked against conservative power. The lesson of Trumpās first year in office, Roberts told me, is that āthe Trump administration, with the best of intentions, simply got a slow start. And Heritage and our allies in Project 2025 believe that must never be repeated.ā
The problem I see now is that even if Trump loses, they will still push this vision of America.