Project 2025, a conservative “blueprint” for a second Donald Trump presidency, has taken centre stage in the run up to the US election.
Democrats are wielding it as a political weapon, while the former president is desperate to distance himself from the project.
The 922-page manifesto written by influential thinktank, the Heritage Foundation, with help from more than 100 other conservative groups, aims to remake the federal government and transform the US into a “Christian nationalist state”.
What’s in the plan?
It proposes a restructuring of federal bureaucracy, by creating a LinkedIn-style database – hiring 50,000 “loyal” appointees via the revival of “Schedule F,” an executive order initially signed by Trump in 2020, that would give the president unprecedented control over federal employees to build a “new army of aligned, trained, and weaponised conservatives ready to do battle against the Deep State”.
The plans also include dismantling key agencies like the Departments of Education, Homeland Security, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and the FBI, rolling back LGBTQ+ rights and climate protections, banning pornography, certain books and “critical race theory” being taught in schools, banning abortion as healthcare, and implementing the largest deportation effort in US history.
What are Democrats saying?
It’s been called “dystopian”, and “authoritarian”, and has become a rallying cry for them to warn undecided voters of the potential consequences before the 2024 US presidential election this November.
How has it caught on in popular culture?
Comedians John Oliver and Stephen Colbert devoted entire episodes to it, breaking down what they saw as the most alarming aspects of the project while racking up millions of views. Celebrities including actress Taraji P. Henson and actor Mark Ruffalo have warned about what they say are the dangers of Project 2025. It’s also become the talk of TikTok.
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Is Trump really backing it?
Donald Trump first denied he had any knowledge of the proposals then disavowed them entirely. However, at least 140 people who worked for him are involved in the project, while the ex-president and his running mate, JD Vance, have previously praised Heritage for its policy work.
So, is it going away?
No. The Democrats have made it a key attack on Trump – it was the centrepiece of their national convention and they look set to keep going with it.
