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Updated 12:44 p.m. - South Carolina Sen. Jim DeMint, an influential Republican who has helped prod his party rightward, will step down from his seat in January to become the next director of the Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank.
NBC's Chuck Todd and Kelly O'Donnell discuss the departure of Tea Party favorite from the US Senate, and possible replacements South Carolina Gov. Haley could pick.
DeMint announced Thursday that he planned to succeed Ed Feulner, the longtime head of the Heritage Foundation, next month. The news of his departure was first reported by the Wall Street Journal.
"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," DeMint said in a statement. "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."
The Heritage Foundation said DeMint's "passion for rigorous research, his dedication to the principles of our nation’s founding, and his ability to translate policy ideas into action make him an ideal choice to lead Heritage to even greater success."
Since being elected to the Senate in 2004, DeMint has not-infrequently clashed with Republican leaders on specific pieces of legislation and the overall direction of the party.
His conservative obstinance made him a hero among the party's grassroots. DeMint wielded that influence through his Senate Conservatives Fund, supporting more ideologically pure candidates over candidates deemed more politically-able by Republican Party leaders.
DeMint had even been rumored in 2011 to be thinking of challenging Kentucky Sen. Mitch McConnell for the position of Republican leader, though he eventually declined.
Among DeMint's successes through his Senate Conservatives Fund was the championing of senators like Florida's Marco Rubio, Kentucky's Rand Paul, and Utah's Mike Lee. Among DeMint's failures were the two Senate candidates -- Richard Mourdock in Indiana and Todd Akin in Missouri -- who lost their 2012 bids in the wake of controversial remarks about rape.
"I think if you're interested in having Republicans control the Senate you have to back Republicans who fit their state and who can win in a general election not just in the primary," Maine Sen. Susan Collins, a moderate Republican, told NBC News about whether there were any lessons from DeMint's tenure on Capitol Hill.
J. Scott Applewhite / AP
Sen. Jim DeMint, R-S.C.
DeMint had said he would leave the Senate in 2016, following the completion of his second term, meaning his departure in January will be ahead of schedule.
South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, another conservative Republican who enjoys grassroots support, will be allowed to name a replacement, who would have to face a special election in 2014 to serve out the remaining two years of DeMint's term. A variety of Republicans could jockey to replace DeMint, from Haley herself to a couple of her allies -- Tedd Pitts, her deputy chief of staff, or State Rep. Nathan Ballentine -- to U.S. Rep. Tim Scott or other members of the state's GOP establishment.
"Looking forward, Governor Haley will now appoint a new Senator, and I know she will make the right choice both for South Carolina and the nation," Scott Said in a statement.
South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham, a relatively more moderate Republican who's expected to face a primary challenge, is also up for re-election that fall.
There is also the broader question of who, among the 45 Senate Republicans, will seize the mantle of conservative leadership in the upper chamber. Several of the senators whom DeMint helped elect have modeled their actions after the Palmetto State senator, creating their own political action committees and breaking on occasion with the GOP leadership.
NBC's Tom Curry contributed.
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This is the same A-H who claimed that if "we stop the Presdent" on healthcare it would be his Waterloo. This Tea Party patriot is a stained political flyer on the floor, whirling in the wind of defeat. Another Tea Party giant, Dick Armey quit too. Bye Bye TP. Great Christmas to progressives.
The Tea Baggers seem to have gone from saviors to scapegoats.
That seems to happen when you get crushed in national elections.
duhMint and bailin' palin......the runaway pubs.
Tim Scott is a black man. I think they're going to start practicing diversity right now with him.
I'm glad the nut case is leaving, however, SC Gov. Nikki Haley will just replace him with another idiot.
DeMint, another Legend in his own mind...
A real piece of work. We need another Leader like this like we need a hole in the head!
And they say there's no SANTA CLAUS....HO HO HO................................................................
does the heritage foundation know he's a flat-earther????
hey maybe that's what they're going to research with him at the helm!
Even Nimrata Nikki Randhawa Haley and Piyush "Bobby" Jindal recocgnize the easy pickens and low hanging fruit in the South.
After the last 2 elections I would hope Jim takes some remedial ABC's in politics before he tries any conceptual conservative philosophy heavy brain lifting. Bu then Jim will be earning 5 or 6 times his Senate salary so the heavy brain lifts are not an absolute job requirement to begin with. Now it's much more clear why the no tax increase for the +250 club is so high on Jim's agenda.
It will be interesting to hear the real story about why he got kicked out, who kicked him out, and who gave the order to kick him out.
When these guys bail for a so-called think-tank and say it is a better place for them to effect change we all know its complete BS. How could he possibly say that this is a better venue to make direct change than the senate. Other than president, seems to me a senator is among the most powerful people in the country. In 2 years know one will know who DeMint is other than a refreshing after dinner candy.
As a resident of South Carolina i say thank you mr demint for leaving, you have not done anything for the great state of south carolina other than complain and obstruct. I understand you cant take a brother in the whitehouse but get over it because birth rates are declining and putting america in peril becuase of policies you promote.Now you can be a king maker on your own time and not on that people's time.
Now if the state of south carolina could replace haley we would really be doing something special.
Maybe now he has time to finally look for those pictures of jesus on a Dinosaur.
We hate to see you go
We hate to see you go
We hope to hell you never come back
We hate to see you go
But he will most likely be replaced by someone ever further to the right.
that's ok....they'll self-destruct.
No one in the Senate will miss this Senator which is why he is leaving. His ugly,disrepectful attitude toward the President and African Americans in general was outdated and bigoted. It pulled his peers down,gave his State a bad rap and he disgraced himself. Then, when he did not get his way, he quit. Good. The Senate will be better off with the Senator out of there. Now,watch him destroy the Heritage Foundation by taking it so far right that it will lose its benefactors.
duhMint and palin, quit their elected jobs to go for MONEY.
Surprised much?
This departure is similar to an executive leaving a corporation after a disastrous tenure. During the past election, voters soundly rejected Tea Traitors and their dangerously backward ideas. America has started to wipe the slate clean and will soon flush the TP down the toilet.
This sucks! Nobody here to argue with tonight, just the intelligent Left like our country should be!
I heard Rush might head the Food and Drug administration. Best choice I say. Who else knows more about it?
maybe it's my imagination, but there seems to be fewer pubs on these vines since the election....and there's definitely a few specific people that are gone, i know 'cause I argued with them for months before and havent heard them since...
replied to wrong post...sorry!
His comments only reinforce the fact that the Hertitage Foundation and its members are really the shadow power brokers of the Republican party....Demint isn't really "leaving". And when the Repubs are in power (like they were in the Presidency from 2000-2008 and in the House of Reps from 2000 - 2006 and 2010 till now) they will be the shadow government. THIS and other Conservative and Industry Think Tanks is what you turn the country over to if you vote for Republicans in this day and age.
Rats and sinking ships!
we wil miss u, we the people hoo r teaparties peoples. so mak sur dat u git da govunor to appaoi9nt a new republikin. not a wurman,queer,or arabsaniger. dat covers alls illegals an not amerikan indians. dats mes! so lol/good vibs in wat u do. it muss be abig deal to hav dem kal on youse wen da oder kid retires.
So, does this mean he has to give up his 'stalwart' rank and become a 'quitter'? Maybe he finally realized the lobbyists really have all the money and he wants more for himself.
The chid took his ball and went home, when he and the other Tea Party IDIOTS made complete fools of themselves in 2012.
"Tea parties and for little girls that would love to be a princess"
Gee, just what this country needs......another "deep" thinker from the ME Party working to conjure up more ways to skew, distort and corrupt the political system. UGH!
The Lobbying group he'll be running is mainly funded by the Koch Bros.. He'll get rich sending GOP clowns tons of campaign cash....
hey - I SAID he was a KOCH SUCKER
We, the 99% American People, were just getting ready to say GOOD RIDDANCE, but low and behold the "mint" IS HEADED FOR MORE REPUBLICAN CORRUPTION! A think tank for conservatives! What a bunch of $hit!
We need legislation that doesn't allow any government involvement AFTER A PERSON HAS LEFT OFFICE!
We need to vote Lindsey Graham OUT OF OFFICE THIS COMING ELECTION and get rid of more corruption!