Project 2025 Is Still Active Threat, Despite Trump Falsely Declaring Its "Demise"
Despite Trump’s claims, Project 2025 is still active and remains a significant threat. Project 2025's recruitment of loyalists is ongoing and its policies are already embedded in Trump's Agenda 47.
Thank you for reading! In the face of unrelenting disinformation, clear truth-telling and independent media are a necessity. We have to spread the truth as forcefully as gaslighters spread their lies. If you value in-depth analysis through a pro-democracy lens, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber to my newsletter. Paid subscribers empower this work and gain access to exclusive community features. Your subscription makes a difference.
Donald Trump is still lying about his ties to Project 2025, and he’s now falsely claiming the authoritarian project has met its “demise.” The truth is Project 2025 is still active, and it’s already accomplished some of its key goals.
On Tuesday, Paul Dans, who previously served as the Trump Administration’s Chief of Staff at the Office of Personnel Management, stepped down as Director of Project 2025 at the Heritage Foundation,
The Trump Campaign used this as an opportunity to gaslight the public. Trump Campaign co-managers Chris LaCivita and Susie Wiles released a statement referring to Project 2025 in the past tense and falsely stated that “Project 2025 had nothing to do with the campaign, did not speak for the campaign, and should not be associated with the campaign or the President in any way.”
The statement went on to suggest Project 2025 shut down and threatened others who claim influence over Trump’s agenda:
“Reports of Project 2025’s demise would be greatly welcomed and should serve as notice to anyone or any group trying to misrepresent their influence with President Trump and his campaign — it will not end well for you.”
There’s a lot there to debunk. First off, the Trump Campaign’s continued claim that Project 2025 has nothing to do with Trump and the campaign is absolutely false. As I’ve written about extensively, dozens of former and current Trump officials organized Project 2025 and authored its 922-page playbook, Trump’s own campaign website lists the exact same key plans that define Project 2025, and Trump’s Super PAC was caught boosting Project 2025 with ads.
When it comes to Project 2025’s “demise,” this couldn’t be further from the truth. With Paul Dans stepping down as its director, Project 2025 is simply ending its policy work, which culminated at the RNC - this was always the plan. Also, Trump’s official agenda already aligns with Project 2025, J.D. Vance embodies the Project 2025 agenda, and Project 2025 is still building its personnel database and preparing to staff a second Trump term with loyalists.
Let’s break this down.
After news broke of Paul Dans stepping aside, Heritage Foundation President Kevin Roberts publicly declared that Project 2025 is still ongoing and indicated that they’ve simply concluded the policy portion of their work. From Roberts’s statement posted on Twitter:
“Under Paul Dans’ leadership, Project 2025 has completed exactly what it set out to do... When we began Project 2025 in April 2022, we set a timeline for the project to conclude its policy drafting after the two-party conventions this year, and we are sticking to that timeline…
Project 2025 will continue our efforts to build a personnel apparatus for policymakers of all levels—federal, state, and local. I look forward to leading this team to continued success.”
Roberts, who makes false statements often, is telling the truth here. It makes sense that the policy drafting aspect of Project 2025 is completed. They’ve already written their 922-page “Mandate For Leadership” policy playbook, and Trump’s Agenda 47 now directly aligns with many of its key plans. Not only are Project 2025’s plans integrated into Trump’s official agenda, but one of Project 2025’s key architects, Russell Vought, was policy director of the RNC’s platform writing committee, as I detailed to MSNBC a couple of weeks ago.
Project 2025’s policy agenda remains alive in Trump’s Agenda 47, and within the Republican state legislatures who are pursuing these goals across the country.
As I wrote in my article on Trump’s ties to Project 2025, both Project 2025 and Agenda 47 directly outline the same key agenda items. For example, Trump also explicitly outlines a plan to re-implement his previously attempted Schedule F executive order, which will purge tens of thousands of civil servants and replace them with trained GOP loyalists. The plan to consolidate power in the executive branch by dismantling multiple departments and bringing independent agencies like the FCC and FTC under direct White House control is also on both agendas.
Both Project 2025 and Trump’s official agenda also list plans to roll back environmental regulations, weaponize the DOJ, execute mass deportations, build detention camps for migrants, use the military against civilians, end federal protections for LGBTQ+ people, push “Christian Nationalist” ideals, and undo all progress made in diversity, equity, and inclusion within the federal government under the guise of religious freedom.
Now, although Project 2025 isn’t drafting new policy, their personnel operation is still very much active, according to Kevin Roberts and multiple reports sourced from people involved in the project.
The Heritage Foundation and their 110 right-wing partner organizations are still recruiting, training, and screening ideologically a self-proclaimed “army” of Trump loyalists. These trained loyalists will be waiting at the ready to replace tens of thousands of civil servants after Trump executes his planned Schedule F executive order.
Jonathan Swan of The New York Times, who was among the first journalists to expose Project 2025 to the public, confirmed that Trump doesn’t have an active transition team in place, so he will have to rely heavily on Project 2025’s resources and personnel database to staff his next administration. Swan tweeted:
“Project 2025 has become inconvenient for the Trump campaign but it has produced nearly all the policy it was ever going to & owns the central personnel database in the conservative movement. Trump doesn’t yet have a functioning transition team & will likely need its resources…
There are 3 months until the election. Trump has done no real transition work. How do you think they are going to staff 4,000 political positions. It’s cost free to trash Project 25 now for political reasons & then take their database to pick & choose from after winning election.”
There you have it. Regardless of what Trump may say now, he will almost certainly lean on Project 2025’s trained loyalists.
Speaking of personnel, one of the most important hires in a Trump administration has already been made, and he’s the hand-selected pick of Project 2025: J.D Vance.
As I reported last month, J.D. Vance has advocated key Project 2025 plans and Heritage Foundation President Kevin Roberts straight up said they were "rooting for” Vance to be Trump’s running mate. Vance also wrote the foreword of Roberts’s upcoming book. You can’t get less subtle than that.
Donald Trump and Project 2025 are symbiotic.
Whatever happens next, the damage has already been done. Trump’s Agenda 47 directly aligns with Project 2025. They’re already trained thousands of loyalists eager to be installed in a Trump administration. And Trump’s VP running mate is the Project 2025 pick.
The threat of a second Trump term remains, and the ideas in Project 2025 provide the foundation for a second Trump administration and future Republican administrations.
We should continue to spread the word about Project 2025 so Americans can reject this extremism at the ballot box. The Harris Campaign released a statement indicating they won’t stop talking about Project 2025:
“Project 2025 isn’t going anywhere… Project 2025 is on the ballot because Donald Trump is on the ballot. This is his agenda, written by his allies, for Donald Trump to inflict on our country,”
Trump can try and distance himself all he wants, but we know better.