On the first night of the Democratic National Convention in Chicago on Monday, Michigan State Senator Mallory McMorrow released an oversized copy of a Project 2025 brochure.
“They wrote down all the extreme things Donald Trump wants to do in the next four years,” McMorrow told the audience. “We read it.”
Project 2025 is a 922-page blueprint for the next Republican administration from the Heritage Foundation and other conservative groups that would radically reshape the way American government works. DNC officials say Project 2025 will be discussed every night of the convention this week.
Critics call the plan an “authoritarian takeover of the United States,” while supporters call it a plan to “return our federal government to a government ‘of the people, by the people, and for the people.'”
Vice President Kamala Harris has tirelessly tried to draw a connection between Trump and Project 2025 in her campaign speeches. The former president then condemned many of the project’s goals while declaring that he had nothing to do with its creation.
What is Project 2025 and what does it demand?
Project 2025 describes itself as “a policy agenda, personnel, training and 180-day playbook” to be implemented by the next Republican president “on day one.” It outlines various agenda items, including which bills should be proposed, which laws should be repealed and which government agencies should be restructured.
Although the project is merely a proposal and does not relate to a specific campaign, supporters hope that Donald Trump will consider their recommendations if he wins the election in November.
Its guidelines include:
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An overhaul of the Justice Department and the FBI. The FBI is described as a “bloated bureaucracy” whose employees are “obsessed with advancing a radical liberal agenda.”
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Implement Schedule F, a Trump-era executive order repealed by the Biden administration that would allow for the reclassification – and possible replacement – of thousands of government employees.
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Abolish the Ministry of Education.
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Close EPA’s Office of Environmental Justice and External Civil Rights.
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Impose sweeping restrictions on access to abortion, including revoking federal approval of the abortion pill mifepristone.
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Allocate funds for the “construction of additional border wall systems.”
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Prohibit pornography and imprison anyone who produces or distributes pornography.
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Promote “Sabbath rest” by calling on Congress to amend the Fair Labor Standards Act to pay people who work on those days 15 times their normal wage.
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The federal government should promote heterosexual marriages that are “based on the Bible and underpinned by the social sciences.”
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Call on the new Health Secretary to “reverse the Biden administration’s focus on ‘LGBTQ+ equality’” and “subsidize single mothers.”
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Sexual orientation, gender identity, diversity, equity, inclusion and gender equality will be removed from all federal rules, regulations and laws.
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Revive Trump’s plan to open most of the National Petroleum Reserve of Alaska to leasing and development.
Read more from the BBC: Project 2025: A wish list for a Trump presidency, explained
Who is behind Project 2025?
Founded in 1973, the Heritage Foundation rose to prominence in Washington during the presidency of Ronald Reagan, whose administration implemented the think tank’s policies. Since then, the group has been ranked by the University of Pennsylvania as one of the most influential political organizations in the United States. Heritage also advised the administrations of George W. Bush and Trump.
Project 2025 is not officially affiliated with Trump’s campaign – or any other – although Trump’s name is mentioned over 300 times throughout the document. In November, Axios reported that Heritage officials told the newspaper they had briefed all of the Republican campaigns then running – Trump, Ron DeSantis and Nikki Haley.
Trump’s own political agenda is called “Agenda47,” since the next president will be the country’s 47th. The former president has publicly stated that he does not know who is behind Project 2025.
However, many people involved in Project 2025 worked in the Trump administration or supported Trump’s re-election campaign. Dans, the former director of the Heritage Foundation, was chief of staff in the Office of Personnel Management under Trump. Deputy directors Spencer Chretien and Troup Hemenway also worked for the Trump administration.
Of the 34 authors and two editors listed in the project, at least 25 have served Trump in some capacity, some in senior positions in his presidential administration.
In a podcast interview in April, John McEntee, a senior adviser to the project and a former Trump aide, said, “We will be integrating a lot of our work into the Trump campaign.”
What does Trump say about Project 2025?
Trump has publicly distanced himself from the project several times in the past month and most recently on July 30.
“I have no idea who is behind this,” Trump wrote on social media in early July. “I disagree with some of what they’re saying and some of what they’re saying is absolutely ridiculous and abysmal. Whatever they do, I wish them luck, but I have nothing to do with them.”
On July 30, Trump campaign managers Chris LaCivita and Susie Wiles issued a statement reiterating previous claims that Trump had no connection to Project 2025.
“President Trump’s campaign has been very clear for over a year that Project 2025 has nothing to do with the campaign, does not speak for the campaign, and should not be associated with the campaign or the President in any way,” the campaign said, according to the AP. “Reports of Project 2025 ending would be very welcome and should serve as a warning to anyone or any group seeking to misrepresent their influence on President Trump and his campaign – this will not end well for you.”
The Washington Post also reported that LaCivita allegedly warned people involved in Project 2025 that they would be banned from working for the government if Trump won the election.
Trump’s campaign website also does not explicitly support Project 2025, but instead refers to Agenda 47 for its policy positions. There is some overlap in the ideas of Project 2025 and Trump’s campaign – both involve, in some way, shutting down the Department of Education, cracking down on gender-inclusive care, ending subsidies for electric vehicles, and continuing to build the wall on the US-Mexico border.
Has JD Vance said anything about Project 2025?
Vance, Trump’s running mate, has not explicitly mentioned Project 2025. However, his views overlap with some of Project 2025’s ideas, particularly regarding abortion and the centralization of presidential power.
Vance wrote the foreword to Heritage Foundation President Kevin Roberts’ upcoming book. Dawn’s Early Light: Reclaiming Washington to Save America. Vance does not mention Project 2025 in the foreword, although Roberts is one of the key architects behind it.
What do critics say about Project 2025?
Critics call it a “real threat to democracy,” a “far-right attack on America,” and a “dystopian plot.” Institutions like Georgetown University call elements like the Medicaid cuts “draconian.” Sasha Buchert, director of the Non-Binary and Transgender Rights Project, calls the language “dehumanizing.” Immigration groups call it an “authoritarian, often illegal agenda that would tear apart nearly every aspect of American life.”
Many Democrats have pushed back against it, including President Biden, who said it “should scare every single American.” Some conservatives have even made their concerns public. Robert Shea, a senior official under former President George W. Bush, said Schedule F would create “an army of sycophants.”
What do supporters say about Project 2025?
Roberts, who wrote the foreword to Project 2025, says the current political system is stacked against Republicans and Project 2025 will work to “free the next Republican president.”
“It’s about accelerating the hiring of the right people and the implementation of conservative policies,” Roberts told the New York Times in January. “That includes overturning what we believe are the wrong policies of the current administration by executive order.”
Conservatives outside the organization have also pledged their support. Senator Mike Lee called Project 2025 a plan to “return power to the states and the American people.” Mollie Hemingway, editor-in-chief of the conservative website The Federalist, described it as “a comprehensive plan to end the use of government against Americans.”
Why is Project 2025 currently receiving so much attention?
Harris has made Project 2025 a talking point since launching her presidential campaign. Various speakers at the DNC will also address various issues in the conservative playbook.
“Donald Trump wants to set our country back,” Harris said at a campaign rally on July 23, referring to Project 2025. “Can you believe they put that in writing?”
Dans’ resignation from the Heritage Foundation, which will be official in August, also made headlines as it was announced that Roberts would succeed him. Roberts made headlines for his July 2 interview on Steve Bannon’s podcast. Speaking to former Rep. Dave Brat, Roberts spoke of an impending “second American revolution” as Bannon is currently in prison for his contempt of Congress conviction.
In the days following Roberts’ comments, Google searches for “Project 2025” reached record highs.
Read more at Politico: Head of pro-Trump Project 2025 proposes a new American revolution
