Donald Trump’s cheerleaders mocked Democrats in the wake of the Republican’s victory over Kamala Harris, gleefully touting the possibility that their extremist policy blueprint, Project 2025, would be implemented by the new administration.
Project 2025, an effort coordinated by the right-wing Heritage Foundation, was presented to the American public in the form of a mandate, a policy plan of more than 900 pages. The second Trump administration’s proposals include political purges of the federal government and attacks on minority rights and environmental protections, among many other far-right policy proposals.
“Now that the election is over, I think we can finally say Project 2025 is on the table,” popular podcaster, commentator and author Matt Walsh told X, adding: “LOL.”
Benny Johnson, an internet firebrand and plagiarist with a track record of plagiarism, chimed in: “It’s my honor to let you all know that Project 2025 was real all along.”
Steve Bannon, President Trump’s former campaign chairman and White House strategist who was recently jailed for contempt of Congress and will soon face fraud charges in New York, used the War Room podcast to talk about Project 2025. He presented a copy of his publication “A Mission to Leadership.”
On Friday, the Guardian reported on an upcoming book introduced by Ohio Sen. and Vice President-elect J.D. Vance. In it, Heritage president Kevin Roberts advocates “burning down” agencies including the FBI and the Department of Education. Part of a campaign against “those who seek to abolish the existing order in the name of liberation, freedom and progress.”
The Democratic Party has made the connection between Project 2025 and President Trump an issue in the election campaign. Such attacks turned out to be effective. Roberts’ book was delayed until after the election, and Paul Dunnes, Trump’s former White House official and head of Project 2025, resigned, despite ample evidence to the contrary. was forced to lie and say he didn’t know about the initiative and wasn’t working with Roberts. .
Now, as President Trump prepares to return to power, Project 2025 is back on the public agenda. There are countless connections to the Trump world.
Authors of the “Leadership Mission” chapter, which are considered candidates for the new administration, include Chris Miller, who served as acting secretary of defense during the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol. Ken Cuccinelli, former Acting Deputy Secretary of Homeland Security; Russell Vought, Director of the Office of Management and Budget in the Trump administration. Peter Navarro is a trade adviser who, like Bannon, was jailed for contempt of Congress in connection with the investigation into Trump’s election destruction. Roger Severino is a former senior official at the Department of Health and Human Services.
Some observers and analysts argue that the ongoing panic surrounding Project 2025 has been exaggerated, and that the Heritage Foundation has been in the midst of a new Republican administration since 1981, with little chance of it being fully implemented. It is pointed out that such a plan has been created for this purpose.
Officials also said more radical plans included in the Project 2025 leadership mandate, such as political purges of federal government departments or complete abolition of the education sector, would surely be embroiled in lengthy legal battles. are.
Additionally, sources say the real driving force behind President Trump’s plans for a second term is not the Heritage Foundation, which is widely expected to be replaced by Trump adviser, speechwriter, and anti-immigrant hawk Stephen Miller. The America First Policy Institute (AFPI) is a nonprofit organization founded by Stephen Miller. A senior position in the new government.
AFPI’s efforts regarding the Trump transition will be led by President Brooke Rollins, who served as acting director of the Domestic Policy Council during the first Trump administration, and AFPI Board Chair, former World Wrestling Entertainment CEO and Small It is run by Linda McMahon, the head of the professional wrestling organization. Business management under the Trump administration.
McMahon is the official co-chair of the Trump transition, along with Cantor Fitzgerald CEO Howard Lutnick.
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Other AFPI members who worked under the Trump administration include Larry Kudlow, a television host turned economic adviser, and Chad Wolf, who served as acting secretary of Homeland Security from 2019 to 2021.
Still, key players in Project 2025 continue to celebrate their victories.
Roberts of the Heritage Foundation said in a statement congratulating President Trump on his election victory. “We look forward to this historic term in which President Trump has the opportunity to make America great, healthy, safe, and prosperous again.
“As we prepare to secure wide open borders, restore the rule of law, put parents back in charge of their children’s education, restore America to its rightful place as a manufacturing leader, and reassure families,” , the entire conservative movement is united behind him.” And Put Children First and Dismantle the Deep State. ”
The “deep state” conspiracy theory holds that there is a permanent government of bureaucrats, intelligence agents and progressives to stop Trump. Mr. Bannon is one of its chief promoters. Nevertheless, he said it was “for nutcases.”
Read more of the Guardian’s 2024 US election coverage
