Prominent Republican Senator Jim DeMint, R-S.C., announced Thursday that he will be leaving the Senate at the beginning of January to become the next president of the Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank.
"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," DeMint said in a statement.
He added, "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, a favorite of the Tea Party movement, will succeed Ed Feulner, who helped establish the Heritage Foundation and has served as its president since 1977.
The Heritage Foundation said DeMint will serve as President-elect beginning in early January in order to ensure a smooth transition before officially taking over on April 3rd.
Announcing the decision to employees, Heritage Chairman of the Board Thomas A. Saunders said, "Jim DeMint has shown that principled conservatism remains a winning political philosophy."
"His 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," Saunders added.
DeMint was first elected to House of Representatives in 1998 after owning an advertising and market research company. After three terms in the House, he was elected to the Senate in 2004 and re-elected in 2010.
Republican South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley will pick a temporary replacement for DeMint, with a special election for a full term reportedly to be held in 2014.
The South Carolina Senate seat is likely to remain in Republican hands, as the state leans heavily toward the GOP. Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney won the state over President Barack Obama by 55 percent to 44 percent.
DeMint has been a vocal critic of the Obama administration and helped to lead the fight against the healthcare reform law, commonly known as Obamacare.
The South Carolina Republican recently took aim at House Speaker John Boehner's, R-Ohio, plan to increase tax revenues by $800 billion, claiming the proposal would "destroy American jobs and allow politicians in Washington to spend even more, while not reducing our $16 trillion debt by a single penny."
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