A George Mason University law professor has cut ties with the Heritage Foundation as the conservative think tank continues to lose scholars and allies over the leadership’s support for podcast host Tucker Carlson.
Adam Mossoff, professor at GMU’s Antonin Scalia Law School, has resigned after six years as a visiting fellow at Heritage’s Edwin Meese III Center for Legal and Judicial Studies, citing Heritage President Kevin Roberts’ Oct. 30 video defending Mr. Carlson after his friendly interview with Hitler-praising influencer Nick Fuentes.
Mr. Mossoff said in a Thursday letter to Mr. Roberts that he leaves the conservative institution with a “heavy heart,” but that he found his Oct. 30 video and subsequent explanations “indefensible.”
“Even with your mixed messages, one thing is clear: By your words and actions, Heritage is wedded to Tucker and everything he has come to represent on the periphery of the Groyper movement created by Fuentes,” Mr. Mossoff said in the letter shared with The Washington Times. “Instead of the truth, you have chosen a false friend of the American ideals that Heritage has represented.”
Mr. Roberts has resisted calls to resign, saying at a Nov. 5 town hall that he wants to stay and clean up “the mess” he made, but his efforts have failed to stanch the drip of conservative organizations and thinkers severing their Heritage connections.
Bryan Leib, a conservative and pro-Israel activist who stepped down from the task force last week, followed up on Mr. Mossoff’s resignation by asking how long Heritage would be willing to watch its ranks deplete.
“How many more good people is the Heritage Foundation prepared to lose to defend Dr. Roberts and ’his friend’, the biggest Jew hater in America right now, Tucker Carlson?” said Mr. Leib, CEO of Henry Public Relations, in a Friday post on X.
Other individuals who have disassociated from Heritage over Mr. Roberts’ support for Mr. Carlson include former Rep. Michele Bachmann, author David Bernstein, evangelical leader Laurie Cardoza-Moore, longtime Heritage fellow Chris DeMuth and economist Stephen Moore.
“Kevin Roberts needs to step down. He is not suitable for this position any longer,” said Ms. Cardoza-Moore in a Monday interview on “CNN This Morning.” “He did not clearly articulate what is happening with Tucker Carlson with these lies. The fact that he would blow off Nick Fuentes’ interview by Tucker Carlson — are you kidding me?”
She added that “we can’t even get Roberts to clearly articulate that this is not the Heritage Foundation. This is why I stepped down.”
How many more good people is the Heritage Foundation prepared to lose to defend Dr. Roberts and “his friend”, the biggest Jew hater in America right now, Tucker Carlson? https://t.co/wxcA5aMNBZ
— Bryan E. Leib (@BryanLeibFL) November 14, 2025
In his Oct. 30 video, Mr. Roberts decried the “venomous coalition” attacking Mr. Carlson over his softball interview with Mr. Fuentes, a 27-year-old podcaster with 1 million followers on X known for praising Hitler and attacking Israel.
Mr. Roberts acknowledged that “venomous coalition” was a “terrible choice of words” in a subsequent video, but also made it clear he has no intention of cutting ties with Mr. Carlson, who has platformed far-right fringe figures on his podcast since being fired from the Fox News Channel in 2023.
“Everyone has the responsibility to speak up against the scourge of antisemitism, no matter the messenger,” Mr. Roberts said. “Heritage and I will do so, even when my friend Tucker Carlson needs challenging.”
Organizations that have left the antisemitism task force include the Coalition for Jewish Values, the Combat Antisemitism Movement, the Israel Innovation Fund, the National Jewish Advocacy Center, Israel Forever Foundation, Young Jewish Conservatives, and the Zionist Organization of America.
Some of the departures came even after the task force’s four co-chairs announced on Nov. 6 that the panel would split off from Heritage “for a season” and expand its mission to include fighting the “rising scourge” of antisemitism on the right.
The task force plans to co-host a conference titled “Exposing & Countering Extremism and Antisemitism on the Right” on Nov. 18 in partnership with the Conference of Christian Presidents for Israel.
