---

Your weekly email has an updated look but the same great info. This is your source for what’s going on at Heritage and in Washington this week. According to a new poll, when most Americans hear “think tank,” they think of The Heritage Foundation. Read more below to find out why. Also, Heritage just released a new video breaking down why the welfare trap is a costly disaster. Plus, we’ve been tracking how many of Trump’s nominees to the federal courts are being held up by leftists—and the number will shock you! Finally, read about a first-of-its-kind meeting between Heritage President Kay Coles James and 700 young leaders from Africa. Talk about taking the conservative message far and wide! Get ready for a great week. This is your conservative agenda.

Fixing America’s Welfare System 
“When President Lyndon Johnson launched his War on Poverty in the 1960s, he pledged to eliminate poverty in America. ­­­­­­­But more than five decades, several welfare programs, and $25 trillion later, the welfare system has largely failed the poor,” says Heritage senior advisor and spokesperson Genevieve Wood. “We are clearly spending a lot of money, so why do we still have such a high poverty rate?” As part of Heritage’s video series on “America’s Biggest Issues,” Wood breaks down what’s gone wrong and what Washington can do to fix it. Watch the new video.

Opposition to Judicial Nominees Skyrockets
Last week, the Senate confirmed 13 of President Donald Trump’s judicial nominees before leaving for summer recess. Thomas Jipping, deputy director of Heritage’s Center for Legal and Judicial Studies, says the left has corrupted the entire process. Since Trump took office, “the percentage of judicial nominees facing opposition—even a single vote—to confirmation has skyrocketed from the traditional 3% to more than 70%,” writes Jipping. Read his commentary on how the left is weaponizing the confirmation process.

Heritage President Inspires Young African Leaders
Heritage President Kay Coles James spoke to a group of rising leaders at the U.S. State Department’s Mandela Washington Fellowship Summit last week. After U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson welcomed the group, James took the stage to deliver the keynote address. Her 45-minute speech tied together the principles of liberty and leadership to encourage the audience to aid their countries in the most effective and altruistic ways. “You have an obligation to work for the good of the people, not yourself,” said James. Learn more about James’ speech and Heritage’s influence on the Trump administration’s Africa strategy.

HAPPENING AT HERITAGE

Mongolian President Battulga Khaltmaa met with Heritage President Kay Coles James, Heritage Executive Vice President Kim Holmes, and Heritage experts to discuss important policy priorities before Khaltmaa’s meeting with President Trump. See more.

According to a new report, The Heritage Foundation is the most recognizable think tank in the United States. Learn more about Heritage’s impact.

The U.S. Senate voted to confirm Kim Holmes, Heritage’s executive vice president, as a member of the National Council on the Humanities. Learn more.

The U.S. Senate also voted to confirm John Malcolm, vice president of Heritage’s Institute for Constitutional Government and director of the Meese Center for Legal and Judicial Studies, to serve as a member of the Board of Directors of the Legal Services Corporation. Learn more.

This week on the “Heritage Explains” podcast, Nile Gardiner, director of Heritage’s Margaret Thatcher Center for Freedom, explains where things stand with Brexit and discusses U.K.’s new Prime Minister Boris Johnson. Listen to the podcast.

On the “Millennial Myths” podcast, Heritage Young Leaders Program intern Samantha Renck talks to David Azerrad, director of Heritage’s B. Kenneth Simon Center for Principles and Politics, about identity politics and where it will lead the world. Listen to the podcast.

Tuesday at 11 a.m., Harsh Vardhan Shringla, ambassador of India to the United States, will give remarks about India’s dynamic foreign policy under Prime Minister Narendra Modi and priorities moving forward. Watch the event.

Wednesday, Heritage will host an all-day event about the Japanese-South Korean trade dispute that will address its ramifications and the path forward. Learn more about the event’s speakers and agenda.

HERITAGE IN THE NEWS

Here are the highlights from the dozens of cable news interviews that Heritage experts appeared on last week. They touched on hot topics like the death of Osama bin Laden’s son, the Mueller report, new U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson, and how the left plans to handle immigration reform. Watch the video.

POLICY PICTURE

A new Heritage report finds that carbon taxes, coupled with regulations and mandates, would mean that a typical family of four would lose an average of nearly $8,000 in income every year, or a total of more than $165,000 through 2040. Read the report.

Do you believe the Green New Deal would be too costly?  Email us at [email protected]