The flagship investigative and oversight department of The Heritage Foundation is breaking off from the conservative think tank to become its own entity.  

With “strong support, partnership, and backing of The Heritage Foundation,” The Oversight Project will now be its own 501(c)(4) organization, according to a statement Monday from the Washington-based think tank.

“The Oversight Project has done more to expose the corruption and weaponization of our institutions in just three short years than most organizations achieve in a lifetime,” Heritage Foundation President Kevin Roberts said in a statement.  

HUGE NEWS

We are taking the Oversight Project to the next level.

The “Resistance” now has its counter-resistance.

We will meet them in court rooms across the country; continue our world-class investigations; and turn big data into big impact. https://t.co/p96W6YKAFw pic.twitter.com/jCJ7ChBzfE

— Oversight Project (@ItsYourGov) March 31, 2025

Since first launching in 2022, The Oversight Project team has filed more than 100,000 Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests and about 100 lawsuits, all aimed at restoring transparency and accountability to the government, according to The Heritage Foundation. 

“Through rigorous lawsuits and investigations, they’ve pulled back the curtain on the mass weaponization of our government against everyday Americans,” Roberts added. “Now, as the project enters its Golden Age, it is taking the fight to new arenas. Heritage is proud of their growth—and trust me, the best is yet to come.” 

One such Oversight Project investigation uncovered critical emails in 2022 involving the purported “whipping” incident at the southern border, mainly that then-Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas knew Border Patrol agents didn’t whip illegal immigrants before he publicly spoke as if they did. 

The project also fought for the release of the audio from then-President Joe Biden’s interview with special counsel Robert Hur; recently released information regarding “President Biden’s use of the autopen during his presidency”; and uncovered “election integrity-related issues, including releasing video footage of noncitizens in multiple swing states admitting they were registered to vote.”   

The project even used cellphone data to track the movement of gunman Thomas Matthew Crooks following the July 13 assassination attempt on then-presidential candidate Donald Trump in Butler, Pennsylvania.  

“The Heritage Foundation incubated The Oversight Project to meet the dramatic and urgent need to consistently deliver original information to the American people about the failures of the Biden administration,” said Mike Howell, president of The Oversight Project. 

“Now is the moment to evolve to win the next battle,” he added. “We are expanding the battlefield to the states to ensure that the ‘resistance’ is not unopposed. We intend to obtain as much information as possible to directly inform Americans about the health of their country and the operations of their government.” 

The Daily Signal was also founded by The Heritage Foundation, but separated from the think tank to become its own entity in June 2024.  

Howell thanked Heritage and Roberts for “having the vision and courage to help us embark on our mission.”

“We look forward to the continued partnership with the Heritage enterprise to meet the needs of today,” he said.