New York (CNN) A handful of writers and editors who worked at The Weekly Standard, the now-defunct conservative magazine that was deeply critical of President Donald Trump until its sudden demise in December, have a new home.

Starting Monday, Bill Kristol, a co-founder of The Weekly Standard, and Charlie Sykes, the former talk radio host and conservative commentator, will beef up The Bulwark, a conservative website that has until now served as an aggregator for Kristol's non-profit group, the Defending Democracy Together Institute.

"The Bulwark was an aggregator," Sykes told CNN in a phone interview Friday. "We are going to turn it into a full-fledged opinion news website, with really the core digital staff of The Weekly Standard."

"I think the need for a rational, non-Trumpist forum was more urgent than ever," Sykes added. "And I do think that contrary to some of the conventional wisdom, there is a market for center-right commentary that pushes back against Trumpism."

Sykes will serve as editor-in-chief, and Kristol will be an editor-at-large.

Read More