Bradley Foundation Awards $300,000 Prize to Three Scholars and Former Senator

The Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation is awarding its $300,000 Bradley Prize to three conservative leaders chosen from among 60 nominees. Former Texas Sen. Phil Gramm, University of Florida professor James Hankins and Rabbi Meir Soloveichik were named the 2026 winners of the prize, whose recipients' accomplishments reflect the organization's mission to restore, strengthen and protect the principles and institutions of American exceptionalism.

Rick Graber, president and CEO of the Milwaukee-based foundation, hailed Gramm’s illustrious career as having been defined by a relentless dedication to promoting economic freedom. Graber praised Gramm’s commitment to evangelizing for the causes of free enterprise and fiscal responsibility. Gramm made the case for these ideals in Congress, the public square, media and the academy.

“I am honored to receive a prize from The Bradley Foundation because they are committed to limited government, free enterprise, economic and political freedom, and broad-based opportunity,” Gramm said in a statement. ” Hankins received the award after publishing his two-volume book series The Golden Thread: A History of the Western Tradition.

The historian, who specializes in the Renaissance, taught at Harvard University for four decades until leaving last year in protest of the school’s political environment.

Graber said that through his scholarship and teaching Hankins has illuminated the enduring relevance of classical learning, the humanistic tradition and the principles of ordered liberty. Rabbi Meir Soloveichik serves as the only non-Christian founding member of President Donald Trump’s Religious Liberty Commission. ’s oldest Jewish congregation.

Graber called him one of the most thoughtful and compelling voices on the roles of faith and tradition in America’s founding. “At a moment when our culture often rejects faith or stigmatizes those who uphold it, Rabbi Soloveichik reminds us that religious freedom is not merely tolerated in America but is essential to the nation’s character and constitutional order,” Graber said.

Soloveichik said he was profoundly grateful for the honor.

“It is humbling to be linked to the brilliant scholars and courageous leaders that have been recipients of the Bradley Prize,” he said. The awards will be presented at a ceremony Thursday evening in Washington. Christopher Rufo was named a 2025 Bradley Prize winner.

The Bradley Foundation was founded in 1985 and is based in Milwaukee.