Paul Dans, the director of the Heritage Foundation's Project 2025 vision for a complete overhaul of the federal government, did not step down in July as initially reported, but was fired for "dismissive and unprofessional" workplace behavior, the Heritage Foundation said Friday.
"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."
The Heritage Foundation previously in July announced that Dans had resigned from his post.
Media reports attributed his departure to unrelenting criticism of Project 2025 from former President Donald Trump and Democrats' efforts to link the Republican nominee's campaign to the project.
Dans told Real Clear Politics the characterization by the Heritage Foundation was incorrect.
"I was made a scapegoat by The Heritage Foundation to cover up for their own mishandling of the public relations fiasco over Project 2025," he said in an email to the outlet. "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."
Solange Reyner ✉
Solange Reyner is a writer and editor for Newsmax. She has more than 15 years in the journalism industry reporting and covering news, sports and politics.
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