Project 2025: what is the far-right plan for a Trump government?

Conservatives with Heritage Foundation worked for years to prepare for next administration

An American flag flies upside-down at the conservative Heritage Foundation think tank in Washington. The upside-down flag has become a pro-Trump symbol of protest in the US. AP

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A conservative plan known as Project 2025 is back in mainstream conversation after Republican Donald Trump became president-elect.

Many Democrats, including presidential nominee Kamala Harris, used it on the campaign trail to highlight what could take place under a Trump presidency in January.

Project 2025 includes dismantling and rebuilding departments of the federal government and installing tens of thousands of right-leaning public employees, among other sweeping measures. It was formulated by conservative think tank the Heritage Foundation and is supported by about 100 partners.

While Mr Trump has denied involvement in the plan, it is expected that Project 2025 will be put into action when he begins work as president in January.

What is Project 2025?

The 2025 Presidential Transition Project is an outline for how conservatives can “reclaim” the US through policy, personnel and training when the Trump administration begins work at the White House.

“It is not enough for conservatives to win elections,” the Project 2025 website read before the election. “If we are going to rescue the country from the grip of the radical Left, we need both a governing agenda and the right people in place, ready to carry this agenda out on day one of the next conservative administration.”

The plan has four pillars: a nearly 900-page book detailing how to overhaul and govern federal agencies; a personnel database for candidates to become part of the administration; an online education programme for political appointment training and a 180-day playbook to follow on Inauguration Day.

Who is backing the plan?

Project 2025 is led by the Heritage Foundation, which has been vocal about what it believes is the destruction of the US by the political or cultural “Left”.

An American flag is flown upside down at the conservative Heritage Foundation in Washington, on May 31, 2024. An upside-down flag flown at sea indicated a ship in distress. When Donald Trump was convicted on 34 counts of falsifying business records this spring, his supporters flew flags upside down. AP

The plan details Republicans' frustration and anger over President Joe Biden's attempts to forgive student loans, former president Barack Obama's Affordable Care Act – known as “Obamacare” – and mask and vaccine mandates during the Covid pandemic.

Kevin Roberts, president of the Heritage Foundation and Heritage Action for America, told AP this year that Project 2025 will “not be stopped”.

He also celebrated Mr Trump's win. “This is a victory for every American, and a testament to their indomitable spirit,” he said. “We look forward to this historic term, during which President Trump has an opportunity to make America great, healthy, safe, and prosperous once again.”

What are some actions Project 2025 would take?

The plan suggests that the new Republican president issue an executive order to fire as many as 50,000 federal workers and replace them with appointees friendly to conservatives and their causes.

It also calls for closing the Department of Education and the Federal Reserve, and places several agencies, including the FBI, under the direct control of the presidency.

On climate change, it suggests that federal money for renewable energy research and investment be eliminated, and that the “war on oil and natural gas” be stopped.

It outlines steps for the president to enable the Immigration and Customs Enforcement to deport undocumented immigrants and to complete a US-Mexico border wall.

The plan also calls for eliminating anything related to a “diversity, equity and inclusion agenda” created by previous administrations.

How would it affect the world?

Project 2025 states that international organisations, such as the UN and its agencies, including the World Health Organisation, should stop receiving US support if they do not serve American priorities.

The document outlines many policies emphasising that US foreign policy should focus on countering threats from Russia and China, and Iran's efforts to bolster its nuclear programme.

The plan says it must “not abandon” the Middle East over concerns of “chaos” or being influenced by adversaries.

It suggests that the US should encourage the expansion of the Abraham Accords and defund the Palestinian Authority.

Citing waste and “nefarious” use by governments, it also wants USAid to cut or limit assistance to Syria, Yemen, Afghanistan and Iraq.

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  Rukban residents and Syrian Emergency Task Force aid volunteers begin disbursing the first batch of a landmark aid delivery into the remote camp. Photo: Rukban Camp Residents, courtesy of SETF

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  Additional deliveries in the coming weeks are set to include baby formula, prenatal vitamins, schoolbooks, and food items. Photo: Rukban Camp Residents, courtesy of SETF

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  Credit: Rukban Camp Residents, courtesy of SETF

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  The US-based Syrian Emergency Task Force has worked for years to 'creatively get aid into the Rukban camp amid a regime-led siege that has blocked official aid from entering. Photo: Rukban Camp Residents, courtesy of SETF

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  An aid truck. Photo: Rukban Camp Residents, courtesy of SETF

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  Photo: Rukban Camp Residents, courtesy of SETF

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  The initial delivery includes seeds and irrigation tools, 'which will enable the residents to cultivate their own sustenance,' SETF said. Photo: Rukban Camp Residents, courtesy of SETF

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  The aid delivery included plants so the community could continue to sustain itself. Photo: SETF

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  Volunteers unload the first rounds of official aid. Photo: SETF

Does Donald Trump support Project 2025?

Mr Trump has repeatedly denied knowledge of Project 2025, and has not outright endorsed it.

But he has said he would be a “dictator on day one” and pushed policies that the Heritage Foundation plan includes in its playbook. The plan was also written by many former members of the Trump administration.

Despite Mr Trump's denials, The Washington Post revealed a photo of him with Mr Roberts on a private flight to a Heritage Foundation conference in April 2022.

The newspaper also learnt that Mr Trump said the foundation was “going to lay the groundwork and detail plans for exactly what our movement will do”.

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Vice president-elect JD Vance has written a foreword in Mr Roberts's coming book – which has been shelved until after the election – sparking concerns of direct involvement with the plan.

A representative for Mr Vance told AP that he has no involvement with Project 2025, and the chapter does not relate to the plan's aims. Mr Vance also has “plenty of disagreements with what they're calling for”, the representative said.

What do Trump supporters say about the plan?

Conservatives and Trump supporters celebrated the election and seemed to boost plans for enacting Project 2025.

“Now that the election is over, I think we can finally say that, yeah, actually Project 2025 is the agenda. Lol,” influencer and political commentator Matt Walsh wrote in a post on X.

Another conservative writer and online influencer Benny Johnson posted, “It is my honour to inform you all that Project 2025 was real the whole time”.

The New Republic reported that former Trump adviser Steve Bannon held up a hard copy of the Project 2025 Mandate For Leadership book during a post-election live stream.

A local Republican leader of a Texas county, Bo French, also posted on X, “So can we admit now that we are going to implement Project 2025?”

What do critics say about the plan?

It is not unusual for think tanks to issue road maps for presidencies but some critics suggest this is a playbook for far-right Americans who have dictatorial ambitions.

American Enterprise Institute senior fellow Philip Wallach told AP it featured “authoritarian fantasies” of having a unified government under the presidency, against the US tradition of the separation of powers.

Carlos Lozada, an opinion columnist for The New York Times, wrote that the document made comparisons to authoritarian governments such as Russia and China in its aims for “consolidating authority and eroding accountability for the long haul”.

What did Joe Biden, Kamala Harris and other politicians say about Project 2025?

Before he ended his bid for a second term in the White House, Mr Biden's re-election campaign posted videos about Project 2025, saying that it “deserves more attention”.

Ms Harris made Project 2025 a campaign focus, telling supporters: “We're not going back” – a reference to the perceived regressive nature of the initiative.

Harris for President spokeswoman Sarafina Chitika told AP in August: “Trump, Vance and their Project 2025 allies can try to hide the ball from the American people, but voters know where they stand – and that they’re trying desperately to drag us backward.”

Project 2025 was a major talking point at the Democratic National Convention. It was featured in an enlarged book used as a prop by a Michigan state senator Mallory McMorrow during her address.

Michigan state Senator Mallory McMorrow holds up a Project 2025 book during the Democratic National Convention. Bloomberg

What are opponents doing to prepare?

Several Democratic states, from California to New York, are meeting to discuss contingency plans for protecting rights of their diverse populations and bolster legal defences against possible Trump decisions.

Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey said the state will “have to see if he makes good on what he promised and ran on in terms of Project 2025 or other things”.

The Democracy Forward Foundation has issued warnings about Project 2025, and is preparing to file legal challenges if a conservative president follows the plan's suggestions.

Democratic Representative Jared Huffman in June formed a task force to sound the alarm about the right-wing plan. The task force asked Mr Roberts to speak with them and share the 180-Day Playbook that remains unpublished.