WASHINGTON D.C., DC — More than a year after it was published, a conservative policy document called Project 2025 has reemerged in the public sphere with months to go until the presidential election.
"A lot of constituents are going to hear some of these things and say well, wait a minute I don’t want that," said Chris Beem, managing director of the McCourtney Institute for Democracy at Penn State University.
"The whole hullabaloo over this is kind of strange. Yeah, a public policy group puts out a list of policy recommendations," said Nathan Benefield, senior vice president of the Commonwealth Foundation, a conservative think tank. "That happens all the time."
What is Project 2025?
It’s a 900-page book released last year by the Heritage Foundation, a top conservative think tank.
Dozens of former Trump administration officials either contributed to or authored entire sections of the book and dozens more conservative groups are listed as supporters.
It’s designed to be a game plan for the next conservative president, introducing policy initiatives to “lay the groundwork for a White House more friendly to the right.”
The plan falls in line with many Republican stances, suggesting investments in the wall at the southern border, loosening climate change restrictions, reversing the FDA’s approval of the chemical abortion drug mifepristone and combatting what the report refers to as the “woke agenda.”
It would roll back protections for LGBTQ+ individuals, changing Title IX to define “sex” to mean only “biological sex recognized at birth” and removing references to terms like “gender equality” and “sexual orientation” from federal language.
Project 2025 suggests barring transgender individuals from military service and outlawing pornography, saying “people who produce and distribute it should be imprisoned.”
But, the biggest proposed change would be to the executive branch.
It would reintroduce Former President Trump’s schedule F proposal, removing some 50,000 formerly non-partisan employees in federal agencies in favor of “political appointees who are answerable to the President.”
The Heritage Foundation has been compiling a database of perspective political appointees in the event the former president returns to the White House, planning to install them before they’re confirmed by congress.
It states, “the next Administration must not cede such authority to non-partisan ‘experts,’ who pursue their own ends while engaging in groupthink, insulated from American voters.”
Benefield said the plan would help return decision-making power to the states.
"I think there is a huge concern about the power of the bureaucrats in Washington D.C. Certainly there’s a concern on the other side that if the president can come in and fire everyone, there’s no continuity," Benefield said.
Beem said the proposal would undermine the integrity of federal agencies, making them a political tool for any administration.
"These individuals who normally were working to tell you the most accurate information will suddenly be working for the president and at the president’s pleasure," he said.
Project 2025 suggests dismantling the Department of Homeland Security and eliminating the Department of Education.
The document refers to the FBI as “A bloated, arrogant, increasingly lawless organization,” and proposes the next administration “eliminate any offices within the FBI that it has the power to eliminate without any action from Congress.”
Under the plan, the FBI would answer more closely to the Department of Justice, a wing of the executive branch which would also be overhauled on day one.
It states, “Considering all of the many challenges facing the DOJ, the next conservative Administration should terminate and recall all details of DOJ personnel shortly after the President’s inauguration.”
"I think there is concern of the current administration and potentially the next administration of weaponizing the justice department to go after political opponents," Benefield said.
While the document claims as Biden Administration has weaponized the justice department, it also suggests the DOJ is completely under the president’s control.
Project 2025 said the next conservative administration should “Issue guidance to ensure that litigation decisions are consistent with the President’s agenda and the rule of law” and “Ensure that, consistent with this principle, the department’s leadership is prepared to impose appropriate disciplinary action as circumstances arise.”
"If you institute these kinds of changes, you clearly have a presidency with significantly less checks," Beem said.
President Biden has called out the document’s agenda, saying, “Project 2025 should scare every single American.”
Meanwhile, Former President Trump claims to be unaware of the document, saying in a post to Truth Social “I know nothing about Project 2025. I have no idea who is behind it. I disagree with some of the things they’re saying and some of the things they’re saying are absolutely ridiculous and abysmal. Anything they do, I wish them luck, but I have nothing to do with them.”
"I think this is a blueprint. Obviously, it’s different than what the Republican party platform is," Benefield said of Project 2025. "I suspect should President Trump win, he would take some of the recommendations from this."
"I don’t see any argument as to how that would be not only a distinctive moment in American history, but also an extremely dangerous moment for American Democracy," Beem added.
Though the plan has received praise from some Republicans, Project 2025 is not an official party proposal.
Much of what’s contained in the document would likely face significant legal challenges if enacted by a future conservative administration.