The former director of the Heritage Foundation’s Project 2025 was dismissed from his position earlier this year due to professional misconduct and dismissive interactions with colleagues, the think tank announced on Friday.
Paul Dans, who led the presidential transition framework for the conservative organization, was removed from the top position in July as Project 2025 officials said they were concluding its policy drafting phase of the operation. At the time, Dans’s departure was framed as voluntary, which the Heritage Foundation is now walking back to say it was not.
“Paul Dans was terminated from the Heritage Foundation due to a number of related issues, including his dismissive and unprofessional approach to interacting with a number of his colleagues,” Kelly Adams, director of human resources at Heritage, said in a statement. “After some specific disconcerting interactions were brought to the attention of senior management, an internal review was conducted and a decision was made to separate Mr. Dans’ employment as amicably as possible.”
Two months later, Heritage put out an additional statement on Dans’s departure with a more conciliatory tone, titled: “Both The Heritage Foundation and Paul Dans are Firmly Committed to Saving America.”
“For purposes of clarifying the record, Paul and Heritage decided to part ways over differences in the strategic direction of Project 2025, and Heritage’s previously reported concerns did not involve any issues with his integrity or inappropriate/offensive behavior towards women,” the Nov. 22 statement read. “Despite their differences, Paul and Heritage have agreed to resolve those differences to focus on the vital importance of saving the Republic.”
Shortly after his termination on July 25, the think tank attempted to maintain an amicable relationship with Dans, according to sources familiar with the situation. In a statement on July 30, Heritage President Kevin Roberts said the group was “extremely grateful” for his work and that Dans would be moving “to the front where the fight remains.”
However, Dans accused the think tank of baselessly terminating him from his position, according to sources familiar with the communications issued from the former director to the Heritage Foundation.
After that, the think tank received media requests seeking comment on those accusations, prompting Heritage to go public with its reasoning behind Dans’s termination.
“We are deeply disappointed that Mr. Dans is using the liberal media to attack Heritage’s decision to terminate him, thereby making the rationale behind his dismissal public,” Adams said. “We will not allow him to falsely attack Heritage and its people, without defending the difficult decision to terminate Paul’s employment based on facts. We will continue to defend our staff and our institution from false narratives and disgruntled former employees.”
Dans rebuked Heritage’s framing of his departure in a statement to the Washington Examiner, saying he was made to be a “scapegoat.”
“I was made a scapegoat by The Heritage Foundation to cover up for their own mishandling of the public relations fiasco over Project 2025,” Dans wrote. “The statements that you have provided to me are false and it appears that the Heritage Foundation continues to trash my good name and professional reputation for their benefit.”
Complaints about Dans’s behavior began earlier this summer when Project 2025 came under intense scrutiny as Democrats sought to weaponize the conservative playbook to warn voters about what they say are dangerous changes to the federal government under a possible second Trump administration. After that, former President Donald Trump distanced himself from the organization, and Project 2025 was heavily criticized.
More than half a dozen Heritage staffers at various levels reported feeling fearful of interacting with Dans after he allegedly reacted emotionally to that criticism and began acting in a demanding and pejorative manner, according to sources familiar with the situation. This resulted in a pattern of verbally dismissive and abusive behaviors that prompted his involuntary termination, sources said.
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It’s not clear what specific accusations Dans has lobbed against the Heritage Foundation or Project 2025 in private communications that prompted the think tank to reveal his termination publicly. But Dans said his termination was “because I dared to speak out against Kevin Roberts’ violent rhetoric.”
In the November statement issued by Heritage, Dans spoke of unity: “I am proud of the work we accomplished under Project 2025,” Dans said. “To restore our great country, conservatives must stand united rather than divided. I look forward to working alongside Kevin and Heritage in our shared aim to save America.”
Editor’s Note: This story has been updated to reflect the Nov. 22, 2024, statement from Heritage on Dans’s departure.
