Filenews 17 July 2024 - by Alison Durkee
Former U.S. President Donald Trump received the Republican nomination at the Republican National Convention this week, bringing new attention to Project 2025, a conservative think tank's sprawling plan for a possible second term that covers everything from hiring like-minded people to eliminating entire organizations.
Project 2025, led by the Heritage Foundation with the help of more than 100 other conservative groups, is a blueprint for the next conservative administration — that is, a Trump presidency — that includes a LinkedIn-like database of presidential candidates, training programs for executive positions, and a yet-to-be-released "playbook" outlining what Trump should do in his first 180 days.
Although the project was formed by the Heritage Foundation and other private third-party groups and is not officially affiliated with Trump, who has sought to distance himself from the issue, his proposals were developed in part by former members of his administration and other Trump allies, and the former president has previously praised Heritage for its political work.
The plan has drawn the most attention for the "Leadership Mandate," a proposed 900-page policy agenda described as "a plan to unite the conservative movement and the American people against elite rule and woke culture warriors," outlining plans for all aspects of the executive branch.
Staff: Project 2025 generally proposes introducing many more political appointees who are ideologically aligned with the president into the executive branch — replacing many of the impartial public servants currently serving — proposing an executive order that would place political appointees in any "confidential, policy-defining policymaking positions" (something Trump previously did in the end of his presidency, but President Joe Biden subsequently overturned it).
Federal agencies: Proposes a reduced federal government, including the elimination of many agencies — including the Department of Education and the Department of Homeland Security — whose remaining departments would join other agencies or be privatized, including the Transportation Security Administration.
Transgender rights: Transgender rights and gender identity beyond biological sex are categorically rejected, with measures such as reinstating the ban on transgender Americans serving in the military, banning public school teachers from referring to students by anything other than their birth name and pronouns without parental permission, and ensuring that federal funds are not used to providing relevant care.
Diversity, equality and inclusion and LGBTQ rights: Project 2025 seeks to eliminate diversity, equity, and inclusion programs from across the federal government and universities, and while it does not outlaw same-sex marriage, it supports "traditional families" that include "married mother, father, and their children" and calls for restrictive laws prohibiting gender discrimination. to exclude sexual orientation and gender identity.
Climate change: The proposal undoes much of the federal government's climate work, including by withdrawing from the Paris Climate Agreement, overhauling the Department of Energy to promote oil and gas and downgrading green energy sources, removing the Department of Agriculture's focus on sustainability, and limiting climate research.
Abortion: Although Project 2025 does not explicitly call for a ban on abortions, it will take several steps to restrict it, including ordering the Food and Drug Administration to revoke its approval of the drug mifepristone, using the Comstock Act to block the shipment of any equipment or medication for abortions—which, According to abortion rights advocates, it would be a backdoor to banning abortions — banning the use of federal funds to provide health coverage for abortions and requiring states to report all abortions performed to the federal government.
Education: Project 2025 emphasizes a "school choice" policy that directs public funds to be used to enrol students in private or religious schools, bans the teaching of "critical race theory" in federally funded schools, and advocates legislation that would allow parents to sue schools they believe have acted inappropriately — such as teaching controversial topics or requiring them to attend students disclosing information about their religious beliefs.
Student loans: Student loan relief efforts would end — including the loan forgiveness program and income-based repayment plans — as the proposal states that "borrowers should expect to repay their loans."
High-tech: TikTok would be banned, and the proposal calls for reforming the law that protects tech companies and social networks from being sued over the content of their platforms — and allowing laws like those passed in Florida and Texas that seek to punish social media companies that ban or suspend users based on their "opinions."
Department of Justice: Project 2025 calls for a review of the Justice Department and FBI that would get rid of what it calls "an unaccountable bureaucratic management class and ideologues of the radical left," proposing an agency more focused on violent crime and filing lawsuits that would be "consistent with the President's agenda."
Taxes: Project 2025 seeks to get rid of current tax rates and most deductions, proposing instead a rate of 15% for those below the Social Security salary threshold ($168,000 in 2024) and 30% for taxpayers earning more than that threshold — meaning that lower-income taxpayers will now pay more and some higher-earners will pay less.
Federal Reserve: Project 2025 seeks to reform the Fed by "taking the monetary wheel out of its hands and returning it to the people."
Foreign relations: Project 2025 emphasizes opposition to China, which it describes as a "totalitarian enemy of the United States," and calls on the United States to withdraw from international organizations when they do not serve the interests of the government, such as the World Health Organization and various United Nations agencies.
Healthcare: Project 2025 does not seek to overturn the Affordable Care Act, but it will make significant cuts to Medicaid.
Is Trump involved with Project 2025?
Trump has denied any connection to Project 2025, claiming on Truth Social last week that he has "nothing to do with them," has "no idea" who is behind the plan, and finds some of his ideas "absolutely ridiculous." But many don't believe his claims: The team behind Project 2025 includes 140 people who worked for Trump in his administration, according to CNN, including six former cabinet secretaries and four people he appointed as ambassadors. The former president has also ostensibly supported the plan in the past, saying at a 2022 dinner for the Heritage Foundation that the group "is going to lay the groundwork and detail the plans for what exactly our movement will do ... When the American people give us a titanic mandate."
What impact could Project 2025 policies have?
Experts have warned that the Project 2025 proposals could have seismic implications for the way the federal government operates if implemented. In an article for Justia, criminal defense lawyer and former prosecutor John May said Project 2025 language arguing that the executive branch can "curb the excesses" of the judiciary and Congress means that "if the President wants to, the President can defy any Supreme Court decision, any congressional legislation, or maybe even the act of impeachment and removal from office."
Who is behind Project 2025?
The main team behind Project 2025 includes Heritage Foundation director Paul Gans and former Trump White House chief of staff Spencer Chretien (who also served as Trump's special aide) and Troup Hemenway, according to the program's website. Other groups listed as Project participants include former Trump adviser Stephen Miller's America First Legal, Alliance Defending Freedom legal group, Liberty University, Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America and Turning Point USA. The 900-page political agenda was co-signed by a number of conservative figures, with chapters written by Trump allies, including his former adviser Peter Navarro, who went to jail in March for disrespecting Congress.
Will Trump be forced to follow through on Project 2025 plans?
Trump won't be obligated to follow the Project 2025 proposals if he wins the presidency, though history suggests he will listen to at least some of those recommendations. The Heritage Foundation made a similar policy proposal for Trump before his presidency in 2016 and argued two years after his term that Trump had already followed 64 percent of the recommendations, according to CBS News.
Pornography
While much of Project 2025's political agenda involves federal agencies, the proposal has also drawn attention for its call to outlaw all pornography, which it says is associated with "the ubiquitous spread of transgender ideology and the sexualization of children" and is not protected by the First Amendment. Project 2025 calls not only for pornography to be made illegal, but also for those involved in its production and distribution to be jailed, for those who "traffic" it to be registered as sex offenders, and for the closure of telecommunications and technology companies that facilitate its distribution.
