President Donald Trump took a number of executive actions during his first few days in business, including a slew of military moves, including a deployment of National Guard troops and military personnel to the US-Mexico borders.
Many of these activities are extraordinary. Some appear to be illegal and unconstitutional, according to constitutional professionals and judges. However, not all of them may shock you because Project 2025, which was developed in 2022, contained nearly all of them.
In order to enhance traditional plans in the federal government, Project 2025 uses a variety of strategies. The” Mandate for Leadership,” a 922-page report released in April 2023 that lists a number of proposed administrative policy changes, is a key component of this work.
The Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank and lobbying group, organized the creative energy. Parents for Liberty and Turning Point USA are two different right-leaning research institutions and interest groups that took part in Project 2025.
Participants in Project 2025 wrote on the policy’s website that they would “need both a guiding plan and the right people in place, ready to carry this agenda out on day one of the following conservative administration, to save the country from the grip of the extreme Left.”
In my investigation into think vehicles, I’ve looked at how these studies organizations can influence public policy. The most effective approach is to help a democratic party’s goals through advocacy and research. The Heritage Foundation has done precisely this through Project 2025.
Proof of Project 2025’s plan can be seen throughout his second term, as well as in his second administration, despite Trump declaring during his campaign in 2024 that he was not associated with the project.
For instance, on January 20, 2025, Trump echoed the plan’s statement that “men and women are natural realities” when he signed an executive order that, in part, recognizes” two sexes, male and female” that are” no variable and are grounded in underlying and undeniable reality”. Trans recommendations from government websites were removed as a result of this decree.
Project 2025 is also aligned with different orders. Consider Trump’s executive order, which partially abolished the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs, a government agency that was formerly charged with ensuring that businesses working with the authorities did not discriminate against any people. Project 2025 recommended, very simply, to “eliminate OFCCP”.
According to some news accounts, there are already numerous different instances of executive orders and policy decisions that appear to be in line with Project 2025 tips.
One CNN study from Jan. 31 found that more than two-thirds of the 53 professional orders Trump issued during his first year in business “evoked ideas outlined in]the ] ‘ Mission for Leadership.'”
Decades of engagement
Project 2025’s effect on Trump reflects the Heritage Foundation’s growing relevance to the Republican Party.
In my upcoming book, I describe how think tanks like the Heritage Foundation have become deeply attached to politicians and have polarized and politicized coverage research organizations.
Increasingly, Heritage and another partisan-aligned think tanks, including liberal groups like the Center for American Progress, use their study to continuously support political agendas that coincide with their plan goals.
The relationship between the GOP and the Heritage Foundation is the most extreme instance of this dynamic. The think tank has backed Republican presidents as far back as Ronald Reagan, using a different policy document, also known as the” Mandate for Leadership” to achieve significant policy gains through his administration. However, the symbiosis between the GOP and the Heritage Foundation has grown more significant as Trump has seized more of his position of influence in the party.
As a Heritage Foundation researcher pointed out to me in 2017 that the think tank was aware that the “administration didn’t have much policy depth, so when they won the election they were sort of like,” Now what do we do?” at the beginning of Trump’s first term. And that’s where Heritage comes in. … We work on these issues year-round, so we’ll stand by your side”.
The Heritage Foundation also screened potential employees for positions in the federal government. By the middle of 2018, more than 66 Heritage employees or former employees had started working for the Trump administration.
But Heritage has not entirely dictated Trump’s agenda. By the end of 2017, the think tank has also updated its agenda to reflect Trump on the issues he cared most about, such as trade and culture wars.
As the think tank’s president, Kevin Roberts, said in 2024, Heritage views its job as “institutionalizing Trumpism“.
Trump and Project 2025 are connected by whom?
Many of the people who contributed to the” Mandate for Leadership” were members of the Trump administration, including former Office of Management and Budget director Russ Vought, who is currently the nominee for the same position.
Additionally on this list are Tom Homan, the current border czar, and John Ratcliffe, the former director of National Intelligence and the incoming CIA director.
In all, more than half of the plan’s 312 authors, editors and contributors previously worked in the first Trump administration.
The coalition’s staffing effort identified, vetted, and trained potential staffers and appointees who are currently entering the Trump administration and executive agencies, which is an extremely significant but frequently underappreciated aspect of Project 2025.
What Project 2025 is covered by the law
A majority of Americans have opposed many of Trump’s policies since taking office, sometimes by a sizable margin, according to polls from January 2025.
Even during the presidential campaign, both Project 2025 itself and the policy ideas it advocated were unpopular-voters-rcna172660″>broadly unpopular. Democrats have repeatedly criticized Republicans for their attacks on the plan.
The Heritage Foundation has historically invested time and money into gaining public support for its work, which is notable because Project 2025 and its proposals have received little public support.
It runs a survey that asks voters to “interpret” their defenses and support for our policy recommendations and how to best gain their understanding and support.
There are also legal considerations. Many of Trump’s statements, such as saying that the government will deny citizenship to children of some immigrant Americans, are based on potentially unconstitutional interpretations and expansions of presidential power.
The think tank has a new face in this, which has historically opposed attempts to give the president more power over the president’s own interests. In fact, the Heritage Foundation was established to work with Congress to accomplish its objectives. But with Project 2025, it seems it is pursuing a new strategy.
The response of the public will largely determine how well the Heritage Foundation will support Trump in implementing the Project 2025 recommendations. Both the decisions made by the American judicial system and how much of the executive branch’s control is exercised by Congress will be affected.
These checks and balances have been essential to maintaining American democracy for nearly 250 years; whether they will continue to do so is yet to be seen.
Zachary Albert is assistant professor of politics, Brandeis University
This article was republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.