What is Project 2025? Trump policy moves bring conservative agenda into spotlight (again)
The first days of President Donald Trump's second administration have been filled with a deluge of executive actions, new federal guidelines and legal pushback.
Already in week two, a memo pausing federal grants and loans saw immediate legal backlash, and a federal judge temporarily blocked the policy Tuesday. Wednesday, the Trump administration rescinded the memo. Still, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., compared the policy to "Project 2025."
Democrats spoke of Project 2025 often in the 2024 election, warning that the radical conservative agenda would become a reality if Trump was re-elected, even as Trump tried to distance himself from it while campaigning.
Here is what you need to know about Project 2025 as Trump's second administration charges forward.
What is Project 2025?
Project 2025, also known as the 2025 Presidential Transition Project, was published by the conservative think tank the Heritage Foundation in April 2023.
It is outlined in the "Mandate for Leadership: The Conservative Promise," more than 900 pages of policy, personnel and playbook recommendations to overhaul the government under an incoming conservative president taking office on January 20, 2025.
The mandate attacks policies implemented by former President Joe Biden and former President Barack Obama, including student loan forgiveness and Obamacare. It also suggests overhauling federal agencies like the FBI, abolishing the Department of Education, reversing federal approval of abortion pills and bolstering powers for immigration officials to deport undocumented immigrants.
Trump and Project 2025
Throughout the 2024 presidential campaign, Trump attempted to distance himself from Project 2025.
"I know nothing about Project 2025. I have no idea who is behind it," Trump said in a July Truth Social post. "Anything they do, I wish them luck, but I have nothing to do with them."
But a Paste BN analysis showed at least 31 of Project 2025's 38 authors or editors had connections to Trump or his first administration.
After winning the election, Trump named a few people with ties to Project 2025 to his incoming administration, including co-author Russell Vought as his Office of Management and Budget nominee.
Heritage Foundation Project 2025 PDF
This story has been updated with new information.
Kinsey Crowley is a trending news reporter at Paste BN. Reach her at kcrowley@gannett.com, and follow her on X and TikTok @kinseycrowley.