The Guardian, January 2025
Despite disavowing Project 2025 on the campaign trail and the people involved with creating it, Donald Trump has now tapped numerous people tied to the project for key roles in his administration as he prepares to advance some of its main goals. He acknowledged in December that he agreed with some parts of the project, but didn’t say which, claiming he didn’t read it and didn’t have any part in it. “They have some things that are very conservative and very good. They have other things that I don’t like,” he told Time magazine. He also said he thought it was “inappropriate” that the project was released ahead of the election and could have derailed his win because “they had some pretty ridiculous things in there”.
The project is an effort by the Heritage Foundation, a prominent rightwing thinktank, and more than 100 other conservative organizations. It constitutes a 900-plus page manifesto that details how an incoming president should dismantle features of the government it believes conflict with conservative ideology. The people behind it also put together a database of thousands of potential employees who could staff the next Trump administration and a training program that taught these staffers how to work in the federal government. The first steps of the plan involve amassing more power for the top executive, driving out dissenting voices and stretching the law to favor Trump. Those plans are expected to begin immediately and Trump will also use the justice department to go after his enemies soon after taking office.
