Sen. DeMint resigning to head Heritage Foundation; Left giddy with hate, Conservatives speculate on replacement; Update: Pics from Heritage, Tim Scott speculation grows

Wow. The Wall Street Journal broke the news that Senator DeMint is resigning in order to head up The Heritage Foundation.

Whoa! Sen DeMint is leaving the Senate to head up Heritage.

— Justin Hart (@justin_hart) December 6, 2012

Twitter is buzzing with the news.

Wow, Jim DeMint and Heritage Foundation are trending nationwide on Twitter. Would've expected this to be more of a niche story.

— Alicia M. Cohn (@aliciacohn) December 6, 2012

Wow. Jim DeMint (R-SC) resigning from the Senate next month to head up Heritage Foundation. Never saw that coming.

— Ken Rudin (@kenrudin) December 6, 2012

RT @ethanklapper: News: Jim DeMint is leaving the Senate to lead the Heritage Foundation http://t.co/agAO5ILg / Whoa, now.

— Jason Linkins (@dceiver) December 6, 2012

More from Senator DeMint:

https://twitter.com/llerer/status/276712575184539648

RT @amandacarpenter: Here's a link to the official DeMint release announcing his resignation http://t.co/Z3QiK2C0

— Brian Faughnan (@BrianFaughnan) December 6, 2012

The press release from his office:

December 6, 2012

DeMint to Leave Senate to Lead the Heritage Foundation

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, U.S. Senator Jim DeMint (R-South Carolina) announced that he will leave the Senate at the beginning of January to become the next president of The Heritage Foundation, the largest and most respected conservative think tank in America.

“It’s been an honor to serve the people of South Carolina in United States Senate for the past eight years, but now it’s time for me to pass the torch to someone else and take on a new role in the fight for America’s future.

“I’m leaving the Senate now, but I’m not leaving the fight. I’ve decided to join The Heritage Foundation at a time when the conservative movement needs strong leadership in the battle of ideas. No organization is better equipped to lead this fight and I believe my experience in public office as well as in the private sector as a business owner will help Heritage become even more effective in the years to come.

“I’m humbled to follow in the footsteps of Ed Feulner, who built the most important conservative institution in the nation. He has been a friend and mentor for years and I am honored to carry on his legacy of fighting for freedom.

“My constituents know that being a Senator was never going to be my career. I came to Congress as a citizen legislator and I’ve always been determined to leave it as citizen legislator. South Carolina has a deep bench of conservative leaders and I know Governor Haley will select a great replacement.

“One of the most rewarding things I’ve done in the Senate is work with the grassroots to help elect a new generation of leaders who have the courage to fight for the principles of freedom that make this country so great. I’m confident these senators will continue the legacy of conservative leaders before them.”

Jim DeMint was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1998 after owning a successful advertising and market research company for twenty years. DeMint left the House after limiting himself to three terms and then was elected to the U.S. Senate in 2004 and re-elected in 2010.

During his time in office, DeMint has been tireless advocate for Americans taxpayers. His goal has been to support and defend the Constitution, which was written to preserve liberty by restraining the federal government. Toward that end, he authored legislation to balance the budget, ban earmarks, replace the tax code, and reform our entitlement programs. He also led the fight against unconstitutional power grabs like the Wall Street bailout and Obamacare.

Sen. DeMint resigning to head Heritage Foundation; Left giddy with hate, Conservatives speculate on replacement; Update: Pics from Heritage, Tim Scott speculation grows

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