Republican Party and Conservative Movement

More than a dozen senior staffers have left the Heritage Foundation to join former vice president Mike Pence’s policy group, Advancing American Freedom, a move viewed as evidence of an ideological rift within the conservative movement. AAF, historically small, is aiming to expand under president Tim Chapman to shape the future of conservatism by championing traditional tenets like free trade and a less isolationist foreign policy in contrast to Trump-aligned positions.