Heritage President Blocked From White House Post by Omarosa

Here is more from Politico:

Heritage Foundation President Kay Coles James says she was “blocked” from serving in President Donald Trump’s administration by Omarosa Manigault Newman, the former White House aide and reality television star.

“It was Omarosa,” James said in an interview with POLITICO’s Women Rule podcast, discussing how she has not managed to land a job in the administration despite her conservative bona fides.

James, the first African-American female president of Heritage, led Trump’s transition team for several offices in the White House. Following the inauguration, James — a longtime conservative who served under Presidents Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush and later as George W. Bush’s Office of Personnel Management director — said she had been excited for a possible spot in the administration.

By being blocked from a White House post, Kay Coles James is arguably in a better position, particularly with her think tank salary, which is likely around four to five times what she would have been making in the Trump Administration.

How the Heritage Foundation is Shaping President Trump

Alex Shephard of the New Republic has a new piece entitled "D.C. Think Tank Behind Donald Trump: How the Heritage Foundation is Shaping the President's Playbook."

Here are some of Think Tank Watch's favorite quotes:

• "No group is more responsible for helping craft Trump's agenda than the Heritage Foundation."

• "The Heritage-Trump alliance is one of the more improbable developments in an election season that was full of them.  A year ago, Heritage’s political arm dismissed Trump as a distraction, with no track record of allegiance to conservative causes. Today the group’s fingerprints are on virtually every policy Trump advocates, from his economic agenda to his Supreme Court nominees."

• "The partnership between Trump and the Heritage Foundation represents a return to prominence for the conservative think tanks."

• "Under George W. Bush Heritage's influence began to wane.  Unlike his father, the younger Bush favored the neoconservative ideas of the Project for the New American Century and the American Enterprise Institute."

• "With the election of Barack Obama, however, Heritage came roaring back. It sprang into action as a prominent supporter of the Tea Party, paying for demonstrations and staging town hall outbursts that fostered an intense anti-Obama mood among Republicans."

• "Although the group initially opposed Trump, [Heritage President Jim] DeMint quietly reached out to the candidate last year, offering his group’s assistance."

• "Now, two decades after it fell from conservative grace, Heritage has regained its standing in the White House."

If you just can't get enough of the Heritage Foundation and President Trump, Think Tank Watch has written numerous pieces about Heritage and the new Trump era, including pieces here, here, here, here, here, here, and here.

Heritage Foundation to Host "Death of Think Tanks" Event

The conservative think tank Heritage Foundation will soon be holding an event on the hottest think tank topic of 2017: the death of think tanks.  Here is a description of the event:

The role of think tanks has risen significantly over the past half century. Increasingly, Washington, D.C.-based think tanks have served as a resource for newly elected politicians, including presidential administrations. These "newcomers" draw on think tanks for potential staff members and policy support.

As President Trump continues to fill his administration with successful businesspeople and military leaders, it seems he is determined to change that narrative. The think tank community must now ask itself what its role will be in this new era. Is this the death of think tanks as we have come to know them? Join us for a discussion on the evolution and future of think tanks in the era of the Trump Administration.

The event, entitled "The Death of Think Tanks in the Trump Era," will take place on February 7.  Speakers include:

• Andrew Selee, Executive Vice President of the Wilson Center
• Josh Rogin, Columnist at The Washington Post
• Rebeccah Heinrichs, National Security Policy Analyst at the Hudson Institute

The event will be hosted by James Jay Carafano, Vice President and Fellow at the Heritage Foundation who served on Donald Trump's transition team.  His recent piece entitled "Think Tanks Aren't Going Extinct.  But They Have to Evolve," can be found here.

Here is some required reading before you attend, including Josh Rogin's recent piece on the death of think tanks.

As Think Tank Watch has just reported, the Trump White House is forming its own internal think tank as it works to bypass the role of traditional think tanks.

Stay tuned for another Think Tank Watch piece tomorrow on how the Washington think tank landscape is quickly changing...