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The authors of Project 2025 describe it as a presidential transition initiative, while many critics label it a blueprint for a right-wing dictatorship. Regardless of one’s stance, those familiar with the project concur that it would significantly reshape the US political system into a much more conservative state read more
 "What is the controversial Project 2025, dubbed a right-wing doctrine? How is Donald Trump involved?")
Republican presidential candidate former US President Donald Trump speaks at a campaign rally, June 22, 2024, in Philadelphia. File Image/AP
Former United States President Donald Trump recently distanced himself from Project 2025, a comprehensive plan reportedly designed to overhaul the US federal government, developed by his allies and former officials. His decision follows remarks by Kevin Roberts, president of the Heritage Foundation, who suggested that the initiative could lead to a “second American Revolution.”
“I know nothing about Project 2025,” Trump stated on his social media platform. “I have no idea who is behind it. I disagree with some of the things they’re saying and some of the things they’re saying are absolutely ridiculous and abysmal. Anything they do, I wish them luck, but I have nothing to do with them.”
Overview of Project 2025
Project 2025 is a 922-page plan that outlines significant changes to the federal government, including expanding presidential power and firing up to 50,000 government employees to replace them with Trump loyalists.
The Heritage Foundation, a think-tank on the right, spearheads the project, with contributions from over 100 conservative groups. The plan suggests restructuring various government agencies and policies, targeting areas like immigration, LGBTQ+ rights, environmental protections, and financial policy.
Paul Dans, who served as chief of staff at the US Office of Personnel Management under Trump, directs the project. Trump’s campaign spokeswoman, Karoline Leavitt, appeared in one of Project 2025’s videos. John McEntee, a former director of the White House Presidential Personnel Office under Trump, serves as a senior adviser.
The plan’s four pillars
Project 2025 is structured around four main pillars:
Policy guide: The nearly 900-page “Mandate for Leadership: The Conservative Promise” serves as a blueprint for dismantling Biden administration directives and aligning government operations with conservative ideals.
Personnel database: A LinkedIn-style database of potential candidates for an incoming conservative administration.
Training programme: The “Presidential Administration Academy” to train future administration personnel.
Transition playbook: A detailed plan for actions to be taken within the first 180 days of the next administration.
Key policy proposals under Project 2025
Immigration: Project 2025 advocates for an aggressive stance on immigration, including finishing the US-Mexico border wall, using military personnel for border enforcement, and conducting mass deportations.
Abortion and Social issues: The plan calls for reversing the FDA’s approval of the abortion pill mifepristone, enforcing the Comstock Act, and promoting a traditional nuclear family structure.
Federal agencies: Recommendations include downsizing the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), dismantling the Department of Homeland Security, and eliminating the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.
Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) initiatives: The agenda seeks to eliminate DEI-related positions and programmes within federal agencies.
What is Trump’s relationship with Project 2025?
Despite Trump’s recent disavowal, many of his policies align closely with the proposals in Project 2025. The Heritage Foundation, which led the project, played a significant role in shaping Trump’s first-term policies, with 64 per cent of its recommendations implemented or proposed by Trump.
Heritage Foundation President Kevin Roberts has stated that Republicans are “in the process of taking this country back” and described Project 2025 as part of a “second American Revolution.”
Many of the individuals leading and contributing to Project 2025 are former Trump administration officials and allies, indicating a significant ideological alignment. These connections suggest that while Trump may publicly distance himself from the project, the blueprint aligns closely with his vision for a potential second term.
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The involvement of key figures from Trump’s administration, such as former US Office of Personnel Management chief of staff Paul Dans and former White House Presidential Personnel Office director John McEntee, indicates that the project’s strategies are likely to resonate with Trump’s approach to governance.
Furthermore, the project’s ambition to replace up to 50,000 federal employees with individuals loyal to Trump underscores the desire to create a government that is more aligned with Trump’s policies and vision. This aspect of Project 2025 mirrors Trump’s previous efforts to place loyalists in key positions within the federal government during his first term.
Trump’s public disavowal of the project can be seen as a strategic move to distance himself from potential controversies while still benefiting from the groundwork laid by his allies.
By doing so, he can avoid direct criticism while ensuring that his supporters and former officials continue to shape a policy framework that would support his agenda if he were to win the presidency again.
What have Project 2025 officials said?
The Heritage Foundation asserts that Project 2025 is not tied to any specific candidate. “We are a coalition of more than 110 conservative groups advocating policy and personnel recommendations for the next conservative president,” the organisation stated. “But it is ultimately up to that president, who we believe will be President Trump, to decide which recommendations to implement.”
Former Trump administration officials, such as Russ Vought and John McEntee, have contributed to the project and its personnel efforts. McEntee has stated that Project 2025’s team plans to integrate its work with the Trump campaign after the summer, once Trump announces his transition team.
How have Democrats reacted?
US President Joe Biden’s reelection campaign has highlighted Project 2025, warning that it represents an extreme agenda that should concern all Americans. “He’s trying to hide his connections to his allies’ extreme Project 2025 agenda,” Biden said. “The only problem? It was written for him, by those closest to him. Project 2025 should scare every single American.”
Google Project 2025.
— Joe Biden (@JoeBiden) July 9, 2024A Biden campaign spokesperson, Ammar Moussa, described Project 2025 as “the extreme policy and personnel playbook for Trump’s second term that should scare the hell out of the American people.”
“Donald Trump wants to turn our democracy into a dictatorship. And the Supreme Court basically just declared he can get away with it,” US Vice President Kamala Harris said in Las Vegas on Tuesday, as she launched AANHPIs for Biden-Harris, a national organising and engagement programme that will mobilise Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander (AANHPI) voters, communities and leaders across the country.
“Project 2025 outlines a plan to limit access to contraception and for a nationwide abortion ban with or without an act of Congress. If implemented, this plan would be the latest attack in Donald Trump’s full-on assault on reproductive freedom,” she said.
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“Make no mistake, if Trump gets the chance, he will sign a national abortion ban to outlaw abortion in every single state. But we are not going to let that happen. No, we are not. We are not going to let that happen because we trust women. We know women know what is in their own best interest and do not need their government telling them what to do with their body,” she declared.
With inputs from agencies
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English (US) ·