Conservative think tank emerges as force behind DeSantis campaign
Send a link to a friend
[August 18, 2023]
By Gram Slattery
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - In mid-March, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis
described the Ukraine war as a "territorial dispute" that was not of
vital strategic interest to the United States, in a written reply to a
questionnaire from Fox News host Tucker Carlson.
His comment dismayed allies and drew fierce rebukes from many
Republicans who favor a more active role for the U.S. in Ukraine,
including some who are challenging him for the 2024 presidential
nomination.
Playing a quiet but important role in shaping the governor's remarks was
the Washington-based Heritage Foundation, America's top conservative
think tank, according to two people with knowledge of their
interactions.
Senior Heritage officials had advocated for months in conversations with
DeSantis' team that he oppose policies that could move the U.S. toward
direct confrontation with Russia, the people said.
While officials at Heritage have been in contact with almost every 2024
Republican presidential campaign, including that of former President
Donald Trump, the think tank's proximity to DeSantis is unique, eight
people involved in the discussions said.
Heritage personnel have held near-daily conversations with DeSantis
officials in recent months about key issues, including downsizing
federal agencies, reorienting U.S. foreign policy to better prepare for
confrontation with China, and lowering hurdles to domestic energy
production, the eight people said.
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2023/Aug/18/images/ads/current/danieleeten_sda_FAIR_2023.png)
The range and frequency of those discussions with DeSantis' campaign
have not been previously reported.
"It just makes sense. He's such a policy mind," said one Heritage
official who, like the other people, asked not to be identified so he
could speak freely about the private conversations.
DeSantis' aides and allies say next week's Republican presidential
debate in Milwaukee will be an opportunity for the governor to show that
he is better versed in policy than his opponents. They portray it as a
pivotal moment as DeSantis tries to regain momentum following a summer
slide in the polls.
Bryan Griffin, DeSantis' press secretary, said the candidate had
received "a wide variety of input" when formulating his proposals. He
did not elaborate on what role Heritage had played regarding specific
policies.
"The Heritage Foundation is a principled conservative organization and
we are grateful for their contributions and suggestions," Griffin said
in response to Reuters' detailed questions for this story.
Although the news agency was unable to pinpoint every policy DeSantis
has adopted due to his campaign's relationship with Heritage, many of
his preferences mirror the think tank's deep skepticism of the federal
government, corporate elites and foreign entanglements.
Several days after DeSantis' March comments on Ukraine, his top aides
met privately with Heritage President Kevin Roberts and other officials
of the think tank at an office building near the Governor's Mansion in
Tallahassee, Florida.
During that meeting, Generra Peck, who would later serve as DeSantis'
first campaign manager, thanked the Heritage officials for helping lay
the groundwork for the governor's position on the conflict, according to
one person with direct knowledge of that conversation.
Publicly, Heritage is taking pains not to take sides, in a bid to
position itself as the pre-eminent conservative think tank no matter who
wins the Republican nomination.
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2023/Aug/18/images/ads/current/culligan_sda_FAIR_2023.png)
During Trump's presidency, Heritage developed a close working
relationship with him. With the former president holding a formidable
34-point lead in polls, the think tank could again find itself working
with a Trump administration should he win the 2024 election.
"We are happy to provide policy recommendations to any lawmaker or
candidate who asks," said Noah Weinrich, a Heritage spokesperson, in
response to detailed questions about this story.
Weinrich said Heritage has 'hosted' all major Republican candidates, but
he did not comment on the contents of any policy discussions held
between the think tank and any of the presidential contenders.
TALLAHASSEE VISITS
Either Roberts himself or other top Heritage officials have traveled to
DeSantis' home base in Tallahassee about once a month this year, people
with knowledge of the trips said. Roberts has also traveled to Mar-a-Lago,
the Florida resort owned by Trump, but the last visit was more than six
months ago, those people added.
The Trump campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
DeSantis' policy chief, Dustin Carmack, who was a Heritage research
fellow before joining the campaign, talks with officials at the think
tank almost daily, according to two of the people, an unusual level of
contact for a policy chief at this early stage of a campaign.
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2023/Aug/18/images/ads/current/charrons_bch_2022.png)
[to top of second column]
|
![](../images/081823PIX/news_s26.jpg)
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and Kevin
Roberts, President of The Heritage Foundation, participate in a
discussion at The Heritage Foundation's 50th anniversary Leadership
Summit at Gaylord National Resort and Convention Center in National
Harbor, M.D., U.S., April 21, 2023. REUTERS/Sarah Silbiger/File
Photo
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2017/Jul/22/images/ads/current/rohlfs_lda_072017.png)
Heritage officials have held in-depth discussions with DeSantis'
team about restructuring the Justice Department, abolishing the
Department of Education, firing thousands of mid-level bureaucrats
and disentangling the U.S. from Ukraine, according to those people.
While Heritage officials have also held talks with all other major
Republican presidential campaigns, those discussions have not been
as frequent or in-depth, those people said.
Some of those conversations have included DeSantis himself as well
as Roberts, those people added.
In addition to Carmack, the policy director, at least seven other
Heritage staffers have taken positions in the DeSantis campaign.
Among the policy areas in which discussions have taken place is the
need to reform federal law enforcement, according to a DeSantis
campaign official.
DeSantis, like other Republican presidential contenders, has accused
the Justice Department and the FBI in particular of bias against
conservatives, accusations that law enforcement officials deny.
Steve Bradbury, the general counsel for the Department of
Transportation under Trump and a Heritage scholar, has talked with
DeSantis about the need to relocate the FBI outside of Washington
and empower its field offices, according to the DeSantis campaign
official. Bradbury did not respond to interview requests.
DeSantis appears to have embraced that view in part, saying on the
campaign trail he would move much of the agency's functions outside
the capital.
The governor, as well as many senior Heritage officials, holds the
view that the concentration of federal employees in Washington leads
to anti-conservative bias, as the city and its suburbs vote
overwhelmingly for the Democratic Party.
Top Heritage officials, one person familiar with the think tank's
operations said, were among a small cadre of policy experts who saw
an advance draft of DeSantis' "Declaration of Economic
Independence," which condemned the effects China and large
corporations were having on everyday Americans.
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2023/Aug/18/images/ads/current/goodman_sda_FAIR_2022.png)
While Reuters could not determine if Heritage staff suggested
changes to the speech, the sharing of the document was a sign of the
trust, that person said. The speech, which called for a decoupling
of the U.S. economy from China and railed against President Joe
Biden's recent bank bailouts, was consistent with Heritage's
institutional policies, the person added.
PROJECT 2025
The Florida governor has also embraced Heritage's "Project 2025." In
addition to a 920-page book that contains policy suggestions for
every federal department, the think tank is assembling a vast list
of hires that would staff the next administration in 2025 should a
Republican win - even for positions that have in the past been seen
as nonpartisan.
In June, DeSantis dispatched a senior adviser, David Dewhirst, to
work on the project. On the trail, the governor makes frequent
references to firing mid-level bureaucrats, which two senior
Heritage officials said they considered lightly veiled references to
the project.
Whether DeSantis' connection to the think tank has been helpful for
his campaign is an open question. In recent weeks, the governor has
unveiled a number of policies from immigration and the military to
the economy. He has yet to see a bump in the polls.
DeSantis' decision in March to characterize the Ukraine war as a
"territorial dispute" was consistent with the views of about half
the Republican Party, surveys show. But some donors and many
Republican voters vigorously disagree.
Following the controversial March 13 statement, Heritage officials
had a suggestion for the campaign, according to one person with
knowledge of the discussions.
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2023/Aug/18/images/ads/current/heritagepackaging_sda_FAIR_2023.png)
Perhaps, they said, DeSantis' message on Ukraine could be delivered
with more nuance. He could acknowledge the unjustness of the Russian
invasion, while insisting the U.S. needed to limit its involvement
and keep its attention on China.
It is unclear if DeSantis took that advice to heart. But the
governor's message subtly shifted. DeSantis told Fox Nation in an
interview on March 23 his remarks had been "mischaracterized."
"Obviously, Russia invaded," he said, "and that was wrong."
(Reporting by Gram Slattery, editing by Ross Colvin and Daniel
Flynn)
[© 2023 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.]This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Thompson Reuters is solely responsible for this content. |