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Edwin Feulner speaking at the Conservative Political Action Conference in National Harbor, Maryland, 2013
The Heritage Foundation announced cofounder Edwin Feulner's passing Friday, though it did not reveal the time or cause of death.
Edwin J. Feulner Jr., cofounder of the Heritage Foundation, has died at the age of 83.
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Heritage announced Feulner's passing in a statement Friday, though it did not reveal the time or cause of death. He leaves behind his wife, their two children, and grandchildren.
Feulner founded Heritage in 1973 with his friend Paul Weyrich while working as an executive assistant to Illinois Republican Congressman Phil Crane. He is the longest-serving president in the organization's history to date, leading the group from 1977 to 2013, and again in 2017 and 2018.
The Heritage Foundation is a conservative think tank that seeks to “to formulate and promote public policies based on the principles of free enterprise, limited government, individual freedom, traditional American values, and a strong national defense,” according to its website. Its current president is Kevin Roberts, the architect of Project 2025.
Related: What is the Heritage Foundation, the group behind the terrifying Republican Project 2025 agenda?
Heritage is the group spearheading Project 2025 — the far-right playbook to reshape the federal government by overhauling federal agencies, purging career civil servants, and replacing them with loyalists. It also seeks to limit abortion access, restrict LGBTQ+ rights, dismantle the Department of Education, end diversity programs, and promote “fertility awareness” programs over contraception. Many of its objectives have already been completed or are currently in progress.
Heritage has a long history of opposing LGBTQ+ rights, including by fighting against marriage equality, protections for LGBTQ+ workers, and health care for transgender youth. The foundation has supported groups such as Moms For Liberty, which seeks to ban books and overturn students' rights, as well as practices that harm queer youth like so-called conversion therapy. It has also criticized corporations honoring Pride Month and supported state bills targeting trans youth participation in sports.
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