Heritage scores AFPI aide to work on 2024 transition

The groups planning to staff the next GOP president are competing to staff themselves: The Heritage Foundation recently poached Troup Hemenway from the America First Policy Institute, according to a source familiar with the situation.

Hemenway served in the Trump administration as Associate Director for National Security in the Office of Presidential Personnel. At AFPI, he was a senior advisor for the American Leadership Initiative, the think tank’s effort to help prepare and staff an incoming Republican administration.

Though he’s switching organizations, Hemenway will notably have a similar role at Heritage: He’ll be focusing on all four pillars of Heritage’s “Project 2025,” an effort that also aims to help launch the next Republican administration. As an associate director at Heritage, he’ll help with personnel recruitment, vetting, and placement in addition to being involved in training potential political appointees, according to the source familiar with the situation.

“Troup Hemenway is a conservative fighter, and we are honored to have him join Heritage,” Dr. Kevin Roberts, Heritage’s president, said in a statement. “Troup’s assistance will be invaluable to Project 2025 as conservatives lay the groundwork for the next president to dismantle the administrative state.”

AFPI spokesman Marc Lotter portrayed the move as bringing the two groups closer together. “Troup’s background in presidential HR will link AFPI’s policy and personnel plans with Heritage’s work to collect resumes for the new administration,” he said.

Although AFPI and Heritage have publicly denied any bad blood as they both seek to be the major player in starting up an incoming administration, Heritage’s poaching of one of AFPI’s bigger Trump-era names suggests there’s some quiet drama brewing.

It’s also notable that Heritage seems to be aiming to reassemble some corners of the Trump administration: Hemenway served alongside Spencer Chretien under Johnny McEntee at PPO — the source noted that the trio is excited and and that they’re billing the move as “getting the band back together.”

Heritage is trying to deconstruct the administrative state and has a $22 million, four-pillar project underway to staff, provide executive orders, and more for the next Republican president, Semafor detailed back in May.