A former top White House economic adviser in President Donald Trump's first term, Stephen Moore, opted not to join the Trump administration for a second go-round, and instead returned to the senior position he's held at the conservative Heritage Foundation for more than a decade.

Moore's tenure at Heritage just concluded, however, as the ex-Trump adviser was reportedly pressured to resign from the think tank in protest of its leader, Kevin Roberts, according to the New York Post.

Roberts has come under fierce criticism for his principled defense of Tucker Carlson's recent interview with Nick Fuentes, an influential young right-wing commentator accused by some conservatives of expressing antisemitic and white supremacist rhetoric.

Resignation revealed

Stephen Moore announced his departure from Heritage in a Thursday afternoon X post, but gave no indications that his exit was extraordinary in any way.

"After 12 happy and productive years," the economist wrote, "I have decided to resign my position as senior visiting fellow at the Heritage Foundation in order to concentrate my work load on continuing to build up @Comm4Prosperity and the mounting influence of our daily Hotline."

Quoting the former president of Heritage, Moore added, "As Ed Feulner would say: 'onward.'"

In response, per the Post, Heritage Executive Vice President Derrick Morgan heralded Moore as "a gifted communicator for free markets," as well as "an important partner to Heritage as a visiting fellow," and added, "We look forward to other opportunities to work with Steve in the future."

Moore was pressured to leave Heritage

At a glance, it would appear that Moore decided to leave Heritage to focus on his Committee to Unleash Prosperity, but according to unnamed sources cited by the Post, his departure came under pressure from donors and, potentially, even his own spouse.

Committee donors reportedly urged Moore to cut ties with Heritage and its current President, Roberts, while in a since-deleted X post, Moore's wife, Anne, signaled that her husband "will be submitting his resignation."

That message came in response to sharp criticism of Roberts from former "The View" co-host Meghan McCain, which Anne seemingly agreed with, as she seemingly opined that Roberts had failed to "do the right thing" and no longer deserved a "second chance" to address his purported mistakes.

Heritage president defended Carlson's interview with Fuentes

At issue here, according to the Post, is the controversy that erupted among some conservatives in reaction to Tucker Carlson's interview last month with Nick Fuentes, which Heritage President Roberts initially defended on the principles of free speech and anti-cancel culture.

"We will always defend our friends against the slander of bad actors who serve someone else’s agenda. That includes Tucker Carlson, who remains, and as I have said before, always will be a close friend of the Heritage Foundation," Roberts said. "The venomous coalition attacking him are sowing division. Their attempt to cancel him will fail. I disagree with and even abhor things that Nick Fuentes said … but canceling him is not the answer either."

Roberts has since posted additional statements that more firmly condemned Fuentes for his controversial positions, and even apologized for his own sharp rhetoric against Carlson's critics, but his initial defense has not been taken down, even as he faces unrelenting pressure to back down from that stance.

Meanwhile, the Post noted that Moore was not alone in appearing to cut ties with Heritage, as several other staffers have similarly resigned in protest -- though some have also reportedly continued to support Roberts remaining in his leadership position.