Is Trump Following Project 2025?

One of the sticking points against Trump during the 2024 election cycle was his connection to Project 2025. Kamala Harris brought it up throughout her campaign. Trump’s attempts to distance himself from the plan were a noted occurrence, but the appointments in the aftermath of his inauguration paint a different picture. Now, we’re three months into his presidency, and is he following the playbook the Heritage Foundation set? Let’s take a closer look at some areas where Project 2025 might have started taking root.

Immigration

One of the bigger sticking points with the Project 2025 plan is immigration. Since Trump took office in January, we’ve seen more deportations in the last few months than we have in the last 4 years of Biden’s presidency. Further, ICE has taken to snatching people from workplaces, schools, and at home.

Deep State Restructuring

The “deep state,” as it were, has been a consistent talking point with Trump’s administrations. While we can sit and argue all day about what the deep state may be, actions have been taken to install federal employees loyal to Trump’s administration. Elon Musk’s DOGE and Trump have been spending the last couple of months firing over 120,000 federal employees. The Department of Defense has also been restructured, so it seems he’s sticking to the plan.

Executive Power

One of the bigger complaints of the previous Trump administration was the checks and balances on the powers of the executive branch. This runs counter to Project 2025’s unitary executive theory, where the president should have unilateral control of the whole of the executive branch. Since taking office, there seems to be little to stop the expanded executive powers. However, some of this has been curtailed in part thanks to recent actions by state and federal judges.

Economic Policies

There is no shortage of questionable economic policies at play with Project 2025. However, just sticking to the facts as they lay, we’re already seeing some of these deregulations taking root. Additionally, we’re seeing the likes of coal returning to the forefront. It doesn’t necessarily bode well for citizens looking to see cleaner energy.

Federal Emergency Management Agency

FEMA, as an organization, exists as a stopgap of sorts for the American population. When natural disasters strike, it is usually up to the states themselves to dispense aid and get things up and running. However, FEMA is instrumental in providing some sense of relief as well as supplies. Under Trump, the Project 2025 mandate to make this agency less effective seems to be up and running. Much of the staff has been gutted, and response times in the wake of things relief efforts for Hurricane Helene seem to be lacking.

Social Policies

There are social safety nets that have been put in place since the Great Depression by the federal government. On paper, these programs might seem antiquated, or at times out of touch with the reality of the American population. However, in practice, they prove to be a crucial lifeline for many households. Programs like SNAP are directly targeted by Project 2025, and proposals have been put forward to cut food assistance drastically across the United States.

The Culture War

The first 100 days of the second Trump presidency have been marked by a noted shift in the dialogue surrounding diversity, equity, and inclusion across the United States. Where we once could easily view the contributions of marginalized communities to the fabric of American society, much of that has been purged away. Further, there have been ultimatums served to elements of private industry to remove the same sort of messaging of inclusion. This has notably seen some steep fall-offs for companies like Target, but everything is still steaming ahead.

Executive Orders

Executive orders aren’t intended to be the law of the land. Instead, they’re intended merely to guide operations for the federal government at large. Trump has issued sweeping executive orders intended to align American policy more closely with the principles behind Project 2025. This falls back in line with the aforementioned unitary executive theory. Under this concept, Trump doesn’t need to wait for legislation to get things done, he can simply sign an executive order.

Political Appointments

A regime isn’t much good without loyalists, at least going by the guidelines set by Project 2025. As such, the Heritage Foundation created a massive database of potential employees and appointees alike who are very much in Trump’s camp. We’ve seen some of these appointments already, with the likes of Pam Bondi in the seat of Attorney General or Russell Vought as the head of the Office of Management and Budget. There have been some divergences, like RFK Jr. as the head of HHS. However, the rest seems to be according to plan.

The Judiciary

The American government functions in close concert with the legislative, executive, and judiciary branches acting as checks on one another. This is intended to uphold the Constitution. However, the provisions seen in Project 2025 aim for replacing key members of the judiciary with Trump loyalists as well. Some of this was done throughout Trump’s first term, with many of the federal judges across red states falling right in line with his aims.

Schedule F

It’s easy to forget, throughout the sheer chaos of the first 100 days, that the federal workforce has been utterly decimated. This is going to be easier in the future with provisions like Schedule F. While Elon Musk likely didn’t factor into Project 2025’s planning when the Heritage Foundation started drafting things out in the early 2020s, it won’t be long until an organization like DOGE is largely redundant for getting rid of federal employees.

Department of Education

Project 2025’s ultimate goal with the Department of Education is to remove any sort of federal guardrails and return educational mandates to the states. By gutting the department, as has been done already, this removes many of the hurdles. Additionally, regulations for inclusion are to be removed. Not much has been said about how student loans are going to be affected by current plans, but future collegiate students are likely to have to contend with private lenders.

Department of Justice

Current plans for the Department of Justice are aimed at politicizing the organization. Traditionally, the DoJ tries to forego partisanship. Project 2025 could set a dangerous precedent where future presidents can target political enemies. We’re already seeing some of this play out with individuals renditioned and sent to El Salvador. Further, even notable individuals like celebrities and journalists are already being targeted and questioned by federal law enforcement.

Future Personnel

While much of Project 2025’s agenda has yet to be implemented, the current plans for the slashed departments are vetted loyalists to Trump’s cause. This falls right in line with the thinking that Project 2025 carries forward. As to how the federal government plans to keep functioning, that is yet to be revealed.

What’s to Come?

There is still quite a bit of Project 2025 that hasn’t come to pass. However, the first 100 days of this administration have been swift in implementing large changes in a short amount of time. One would hope the are some sort of political guardrails in place to make sure things don’t spiral out of control further.