In the past few months and throughout his bid for reelection, president-elect Donald Trump has been unclear about his intentions to implement Project 2025 (or parts of it). Here is what you need to know about the most talked about parts of the 920 page document.
Trump won the 2024 election by 86 electoral votes. His plans to implement Project 2025 are unclear.
By Sofia Timpone
Nov. 13, 2024
In the early hours of Nov. 6, 2024, it was announced that president-elect Donald Trump had defeated Vice President Kamala Harris in an intense bid for presidency. In the past few months, Trump's campaign has been characterized by the possibility of the implementation of Project 2025.
Also known as the 2025 Presidential Transition project, Project 2025 has been in the works for two years, having been originally proposed in 2022 and then officially drafted in 2023. The 920 page proposal was written by more than 140 conservatives, two-thirds of whom had previously worked under the Trump administration. The proposal was drafted in an effort to provide guidance to the next conservative presidential candidate, who, in this case, was Trump.
Though there has been much conversation surrounding Project 2025 and its content, Mr. Trump and his administration have been unclear on whether or not they plan to implement a part or parts of it come his inauguration in January of 2025.
With a Republican sweep of all three branches of the government, Trump is expected to be able to act on much of the project if he chooses to do so. His first term as president saw the implementation of 64% of what was written in the “Mandate for Leadership," a similar document drafted by the Heritage Foundation in 2015.
Immigration
Immigration was one of the topics that Mr. Trump embraced throughout his campaign, threatening to tighten border security and carry out the largest mass deportation in American history.
According to CNN, the deportation of undocumented criminals is likely to be a priority for Mr. Trump early in his presidency. Advocates fear that the infiltration of immigrant communities will follow soon after.
The plan also encourages increased funding for "the wall," which defined Mr. Trump's 2016 presidential campaign, and whose construction was halted by President Joe Biden in 2021. The writers of Project 2025 hope that the construction will continue.
Another significant change outlined in the document is the dismantling of the US Department of Homeland Security. The project suggests combining other immigration and security agencies to create a 100,000 employee system, the "third largest department measured by man power."
Abortion
While Project 2025 does not advocate for a nation wide abortion ban, it encourages the removal of the abortion pill mifepristone from the market, and the usage of existing laws to severely limit its entrance to the United States through postage.
Trump and the Republican party have not expressed their wants to enforce these restrictions. Instead, Trump has openly expressed his wish to reverse the Roe v. Wade decision made by the Supreme Court in 2022. This would allow states to once again create their own abortion laws.
Education
Project 2025 plans on dismantling the Department of Education, which manages funding surrounding US public schools. Instead of being used to fund public schools, money would be given directly to families through Education Savings Accounts (ESAs), allowing them to use the money to fund their children's education however they'd like. Families might choose to spend the money on private school tuition, tutoring, therapy, or homeschooling services. Education and funding decisions will be controlled by individual states.
The authors of Project 2025 have also raised concerns about racism and how it is handled in schools. In an attempt to mitigate any potential bias raised towards white people, the document has outlined a plan to prevent the teaching of racism in classrooms.
The document also details a belief about a strong correlation between a two-parent, heterosexual household and high academic performance. The document elaborates a plan to track students' academic ability, race, gender, and whether or not they belong to two-parent, heterosexual households.
LGBTQ+ Community
The document mentions its wish to implement policies that would severely restrict LGBTQ+ rights. If Project 2025 were to be implemented, it would repeal protective measures such as DEI (diversity, equity, and inclusion) programs, jeopardizing the opportunities and potential safety of LGBTQ+ members, women, and other minorities in the workplace.
Most notably, however, Project 2025 would rescind transgender rights, like their ability to serve in the military. Additionally, the proposal plans to cut funding for gender-affirming care, making it harder to access. These restrictions may enter the classroom, with the document explicitly stating that educators may only refer to students by their biological pronouns unless stated otherwise by a guardian.
Federal Agencies
Many federal agencies such as the Department of Homeland Security, the Department of Education, and the Federal Emergency Management Agency will be disbanded, and others will be combined in an effort to cut spending and improve decision making efficiency, according to the document.
Some agencies, such as the Department of Justice, will be altered to perform under more direct control of Trump. Others, like the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), will see different types of changes. According to Project 2025, the CDC should be split into two sectors: one to gather data and another to provide health recommendations to the public.
Climate Change
In regards to climate change, the conservative document expresses its plan to cut funding for research into renewable energy, and instead lean into the usage of oil and other nonrenewable resources.
There is little to know about Trump's current stance on the project, as him and his team have attempted to distance themselves from it throughout his campaign. What we do know, however, is that there is a possibility of its implementation, given the Republican dominance in all three branches of the government.
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