Jim DeMint ousted as head of Heritage Foundation amid criticism he politicized the conservative think tank

Jim DeMint, the president of the Heritage Foundation, was ousted from his position on Friday by the board members of the conservative think tank.

The acerbic former senator from South Carolina lasted less than 5 years in his position which he assumed in 2013. Ed Feulner, the retired, previous president of the non-profit organization, is a likely interim successor.

Head Of Top Conservative Think Tank Makes Spectacularly Uninformed Statement About Slavery

Jim DeMint, the former U.S. senator from South Carolina who now leads the conservative Heritage Foundation, went on a Christian radio show last week where he discussed the topic of slavery. He offered some rather unusual views on the subject of slavery while he was a guest on this show.

Well the reason that the slaves were eventually freed was the Constitution, it was like the conscience of the American people. Unfortunately there were some court decisions like Dred Scott and others that defined some people as property, but the Constitution kept calling us back to ‘all men are created equal and we have inalienable rights’ in the minds of God. But a lot of the move to free the slaves came from the people, it did not come from the federal government. It came from a growing movement among the people, particularly people of faith, that this was wrong. People like Wilberforce who persisted for years because of his faith and because of his love for people. So no liberal is going to win a debate that big government freed the slaves. In fact, it was Abraham Lincoln, the very first Republican, who took this on as a cause and a lot of it was based on a love in his heart that comes from God.

Jim DeMint: '69.5 Million Americans' Are Dependent On Government

Former Sen. Jim DeMint, the new president of the Heritage Foundation, began work there Thursday with a letter to the group's staff outlining his vision for the organization. Mitt Romney would find much to admire in it.

Though he adjusted the former GOP presidential candidate's estimate that 47 percent of the voting population is "dependent upon government," DeMint doesn't stray far from the underlying message.