¶ Trump’s Ties To Project 2025
Highlights:
- The Heritage Foundation, called a “great group” by Donald Trump, created Project 2025, a lengthy series of recommendations for the next conservative president.
- Trump said the Heritage Foundation would “lay the groundwork and detail plans for exactly what our movement will do.”
- Trump and Heritage Foundation President Kevin Roberts spoke to each other on several occasions.
- JD Vance, Trump’s nominee for vice president, wrote the forward for Roberts’ book.
- The Heritage Foundation sponsored the 2024 Republican National Convention, which nominated Trump for a third time for president.
- Paul Dans, director of Project 2025, donated to Donald Trump’s campaign and said he hoped Trump would be elected president.
- Project 2025 was designed to be a government in waiting for a second Donald Trump administration.
- Policy proposals were inspired by Trump and were to be carried out through a previously issued Trump executive order.
- Over 140 members of the Donald Trump administration were part of Project 2025 in some capacity, including cabinet secretaries, ambassadors, and senior White House advisors.
- Project 2025’s director served in the Trump administration.
- The editors of Project 2025’s “Mandate for Leadership” worked in the Trump administration.
- 28 named authors of Project 2025 were Trump administration officials.
- Two cabinet-level officials, either confirmed or acting, wrote chapters for Project 2025’s “Mandate for Leadership” and another four were listed as contributors.
- Over a dozen Trump administration officials wrote chapters for Project 2025’s “Mandate for Leadership.”
- Senior Trump aides contributed to Project 2025, including Stephen Miller and Peter Navarro.
- Donald Trump administration officials and nominees were responsible for policy recommendations made by Project 2025.
- Federal Trade Commission recommendations were made by acting Assistant Commerce Secretary Adam Candeub.
- Energy Department recommendations were made by Federal Energy Regulatory Commission nominee Bernard McNamee.
- Members of Donald Trump’s 2024 campaign worked with Project 2025.
- Trump national press secretary Karoline Leavitt appeared in a Project 2025 video.
- Trump’s OMB Director was both part of Project 2025 and the head of the Republican National Convention’s platform committee.
- Several members of the RNC platform committee were Project 2025 contributors.
- Hundreds of Project 2025 proposals either matched Donald Trump’s 2024 campaign promises or actions he took as president.
- Donald Trump followed many of the Heritage Foundation’s recommendations during his first term.
¶ Trump Spoke Glowingly Of The Heritage Foundation And Their “Plans For Exactly What Our Movement Will Do” And Maintained Close Ties To The Group
¶ Trump Called The Heritage Foundation A “Great Group” And Said They Would Help With “Plans For Exactly What our Movement Will Do”
April 2022: Trump Said The Heritage Foundation Was A “Great Group” That Would “Lay The Groundwork And Detail Plans For Exactly What Our Movement Will Do.” According to NBC News, “Trump also spoke highly about the group's plans at a dinner sponsored by the Heritage Foundation in April 2022, saying: ‘This is a great group, and they’re going to lay the groundwork and detail plans for exactly what our movement will do and what your movement will do when the American people give us a colossal mandate to save America.’” [NBC News, 7/11/24]
¶ Project 2025 Was The Work Of The Heritage Foundation
Project 2025 Was Created By The Heritage Foundation. According to the BBC, “Project 2025 was created by the Heritage Foundation and runs for more than 900 pages.” [BBC, 7/12/24]
¶ Trump Spoke With The President Of The Heritage Foundation Kevin Roberts Multiple Times
Trump And Heritage Foundation President Kevin Roberts Have Spoken Several Times. According to the Guardian, “Trump well knows the Heritage Foundation and has spoken at their events, and Roberts, Heritage’s leader, has previously said he and Trump have talked several times. Project 2025’s authors and supporters contain a ton of former Trump administration officials.” [Guardian, 5/26/24]
¶ JD Vance, Trump’s Pick For Vice President, Wrote The Foreword For Roberts’ Book
Trump’s Selection For Vice President, JD Vance, Wrote The Foreword For Project 2025 Architect Kevin Roberts’ New Book. According to the New Republic, “But between those two denials, on July 15, Trump made a decision that undercuts his claim to have no knowledge of Project 2025: He picked Senator J.D. Vance as his running mate. Vance has deep ties to the Heritage Foundation, and in particular to Kevin Roberts, who has been president of the right-wing think tank since 2021 and is the architect of Project 2025. Vance has praised Roberts for helping to turn the organization ‘into the de facto institutional home of Trumpism’ and has endorsed elements of Project 2025. Vance is also the author of the foreword to Roberts’s upcoming book, Dawn’s Early Light, which The New Republic has obtained in full even though the book’s publisher, HarperCollins’s Broadside Books, has apparently tried to suppress it amid the scrutiny of Project 2025 and Vance’s ties to Roberts.” [New Republic, 7/30/24]
¶ In The Foreword, Vance Referred To The Heritage Foundation As “The Most Influential Engine Of Ideas For Republicans”
Vance’s Foreword: The Heritage Foundation “Is And Has Been The Most Influential Engine Of Ideas For Republicans From Ronald Reagan To Donald Trump.” According to the Associated Press, “‘Never before has a figure with Roberts’s depth and stature within the American Right tried to articulate a genuinely new future for conservatism,’ Vance writes in his foreword. ‘The Heritage Foundation isn’t some random outpost on Capitol Hill; it is and has been the most influential engine of ideas for Republicans from Ronald Reagan to Donald Trump.’” [Associated Press, 7/30/24]
¶ Vance Praised Roberts’ Book For Trying “To Articulate A Genuinely New Future For Conservatism”
In The Foreword, Vance Praised Roberts’ Book For Trying “To Articulate A Genuinely New Future For Conservatism.” According to the Associated Press, “‘Never before has a figure with Roberts’s depth and stature within the American Right tried to articulate a genuinely new future for conservatism,’ Vance writes in his foreword.” [Associated Press, 7/30/24]
¶ The Heritage Foundation Sponsored The 2024 Republican National Convention
The Heritage Foundation, Producers Of Project 2025, Sponsored The 2024 Republican National Convention. According to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, “As former President Donald Trump distances himself from a conservative group’s blueprint for a future Republican governing agenda, he will have at least one unavoidable connection to it: the Republican National Convention. The Heritage Foundation, the D.C.-based think tank that produced Project 2025 — a series of policy plans to overhaul the federal government — is among the sponsors of the convention in Milwaukee next week. The group is touted as a convention partner on the RNC host committee’s website. And Heritage plans to hold a day-long ‘policy fest’ in downtown Milwaukee on Monday, the opening day of a convention in which Trump will officially receive the Republican nomination for president.” [Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 7/9/24]
¶ Trump Accepted The Republican Nomination For A Third Time At The 2024 Republican National Convention
During The 2024 Republican National Convention, Trump Accepted The Party’s Presidential Nomination For A Third Time. According to Roll Call, “The third Republican coronation of Donald Trump is complete, this time with talk of divine intervention as he was praised as ‘fearless’ and a ‘hero’ by two professional fighters and a ‘badass’ by a rock star. The uncharacteristically mellow 45th president was serenaded Thursday night at the Republican National Convention here with several standing ovations as delegates hailed his potentially script-flipping message of unity, just days after a would-be assassin nearly took his life at a campaign rally in Pennsylvania. Trump accepted the GOP presidential nomination for the third consecutive election cycle, vowing to deliver ‘confidence, strength and hope.’” [Roll Call, 7/19/24]
¶ Project 2025 Director Paul Dans Supported Trump
¶ Dans Was The Director Of Project 2025
Paul Dans Was The Director Of Project 2025. According to the Heritage Foundation, “Paul Dans directs Heritage’s 2025 Presidential Transition Project, organizing policy and personnel recommendations and training for appointees in the next presidential administration.” [Heritage Foundation, 4/3/23]
¶ Dans Hoped Trump Would Be Elected
Project 2025 Director Paul Dans Said They Expected And Hoped Trump Would Be Elected President. According to Semafor, “While Project 2025 bills itself as being ‘candidate agnostic,’ Dans noted that at this point in the primary, they expect ‘and hope’ that Donald Trump will ultimately end up in office again.” [Semafor, 2/20/24]
¶ Dans Donated To Trump’s Campaign
Paul Dans Donated The Legal Maximum To Donald Trump’s 2024 Joint Fundraising Committee. According to a tweet from Axios national politics reporter Sophia Cai, “New: Project 2025 director Paul Dans who stepped down today donated the maximum amount $3,300 to Trump’s joint fundraising committee May this year, per FEC filings.” [Twitter - @SophiaCal99, 7/30/24]
[Twitter - @SophiaCal99, 7/30/24]
¶ Project 2025 Was Inspired By And Designed For Trump
¶ Project 2025 Was To Have A Government In Waiting For A Second Trump Term
Project 2025 Was Created To Have The Infrastructure In Place For A Second Trump Administration Ready On Day One. According to the Associated Press, “With more than a year to go before the 2024 election, a constellation of conservative organizations is preparing for a possible second White House term for Donald Trump, recruiting thousands of Americans to come to Washington on a mission to dismantle the federal government and replace it with a vision closer to his own. Led by the long-established Heritage Foundation think tank and fueled by former Trump administration officials, the far-reaching effort is essentially a government-in-waiting for the former president’s return — or any candidate who aligns with their ideals and can defeat President Joe Biden in 2024. With a nearly 1,000-page ‘Project 2025’ handbook and an ‘army’ of Americans, the idea is to have the civic infrastructure in place on Day One to commandeer, reshape and do away with what Republicans deride as the ‘deep state’ bureaucracy, in part by firing as many as 50,000 federal workers.” [Associated Press, 8/29/23]
¶ Many Project 2025 Proposals Were Inspired By Trump
Many Of Project 2025’s Proposals Were Inspired By Trump. According to the Associated Press, “While many of the Project 2025 proposals are inspired by Trump, they are being echoed by GOP rivals Ron DeSantis and Vivek Ramaswamy and are gaining prominence among other Republicans.” [Associated Press, 8/29/23]
¶ Project 2025’s Approach To Staffing The Executive Branch Was To Institute A Previous Trump Executive Order
Much Of Project 2025 Would Be Accomplished By Reinstating A Trump-Era Executive Order Called Schedule F. According to the Associated Press, “Much of the new president’s agenda would be accomplished by reinstating what’s called Schedule F — a Trump-era executive order that would reclassify tens of thousands of the 2 million federal employees as essentially at-will workers who could more easily be fired. Biden had rescinded the executive order upon taking office in 2021, but Trump — and other presidential hopefuls — now vow to reinstate it.” [Associated Press, 8/29/23]
¶ Over 140 Trump Administration Officials Were Part Of Project 2025
¶ At Least 140 Trump Administration Officials, Including Cabinet Secretaries, Agency Heads, And Senior Advisors Were Part Of Project 2025
At Least 140 Trump Administration Officials, Including Six Cabinet Secretaries, Four Ambassador Nominees, And A Deputy Chief Of Staff Were Part Of Project 2025. According to CNN, “Donald Trump has lately made clear he wants little to do with Project 2025, the conservative blueprint for the next Republican president that has attracted considerable blowback in his race for the White House. ‘I have no idea who is behind it,’ the former president recently claimed on social media. Many people Trump knows quite well are behind it. Six of his former Cabinet secretaries helped write or collaborated on the 900-page playbook for a second Trump term published by the Heritage Foundation. Four individuals Trump nominated as ambassadors were also involved, along with several enforcers of his controversial immigration crackdown. And about 20 pages are credited to his first deputy chief of staff. In fact, at least 140 people who worked in the Trump administration had a hand in Project 2025, a CNN review found, including more than half of the people listed as authors, editors and contributors to ‘Mandate for Leadership,’ the project’s extensive manifesto for overhauling the executive branch. Dozens more who staffed Trump’s government hold positions with conservative groups advising Project 2025, including his former chief of staff Mark Meadows and longtime adviser Stephen Miller. These groups also include several lawyers deeply involved in Trump’s attempts to remain in power, such as his impeachment attorney Jay Sekulow and two of the legal architects of his failed bid to overturn the 2020 presidential election, Cleta Mitchell and John Eastman.” [CNN, 7/11/24]
¶ Top Figures In Project 2025 Were High-Ranking Officials In The Trump Administration
¶ Former Chief Of Staff For OPM Paul Dans Was The Director Of Project 2025
Project 2025 Overseer Paul Dans Was A Top Official In The Trump Administration. According to CNN, “However, Trump’s attempts to distance himself from Project 2025 have already encountered credibility. The person overseeing Project 2025, Paul Dans, was a top official in Trump’s White House who has previously said he hopes to work for his former boss again.” [CNN, 7/11/24]
Dans Served As Chief Of Staff For The Office Of Personnel Management In The Trump Administration. According to the Heritage Foundation, “Prior to joining Heritage, Dans served in the Trump Administration as Chief of Staff at the U.S. Office of Personnel Management where he managed the federal agency in charge of human resources policy for the more than two million federal workers. He also served as OPM’s White House liaison and worked integrally with the White House Office of Presidential Personnel to staff the approximately 4000 presidential appointees across the federal government. In January 2021, President Trump appointed Dans to serve as Chairman of the National Capital Planning Commission.” [Heritage Foundation, 4/3/23]
¶ Former White House Deputy Press Secretary Steven Groves Was An Editor For Project 2025’s “Mandate For Leadership”
White House Deputy Press Secretary And Assistant Special Counsel Steven Groves Was A Co-Editor Of Project 2025’s “Mandate For Leadership.” According to the author’s page for Project 2025’s “Mandate for Leadership,” “Steven Groves is the Margaret Thatcher Fellow in the Margaret Thatcher Center for Freedom at The Heritage Foundation. Groves served in the Trump Administration, first as Ambassador Nikki Haley’s Chief of Staff at the U.S. Mission to the United Nations. He later joined the White House as Assistant Special Counsel, representing the White House in the Mueller investigation. Groves also served as White House Deputy Press Secretary. His prior positions include Senior Counsel for the U.S. Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations and associate at Boies, Schiller & Flexner LLP. Groves holds an LLM from Georgetown University Law Center, a JD from Ohio Northern University's College of Law, and a BA from Florida State University.” [Project 2025, viewed 7/30/24]
¶ Twenty-Eight Of Project 2025’s 38 Named Primary Authors Worked In The Trump Administration
Twenty-Eight Of The 38 Named Primary Authors Of Project 2025 Served In The Trump Administration. According to CBS News, “What's more, CBS News reviewed the work histories of the 38 named primary authors of Project 2025 and found that at least 28 of them worked in Trump's administration.” [CBS News, 8/21/24]
¶ Cabinet Level Officials In The Trump Administration Were Part Of Project 2025
HUD Secretary Ben Carson And Acting Defense Secretary Christopher Miller Wrote Chapters In Project 2025’s “Mandate For Leadership.” According to CNN, “In addition to Vought, two other former Trump Cabinet secretaries wrote chapters for ‘Mandate for Leadership’: Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson and acting Defense Secretary Christopher Miller.” [CNN, 7/11/24]
Director Of National Intelligence John Ratcliffe, Acting Transportation Secretary Steven Bradbury, And Acting Labor Secretary Patrick Pizzella Were Listed As Contributors To Project 2025. According to CNN, “Three more former department heads – National Intelligence Director John Ratcliffe, acting Transportation Secretary Steven Bradbury and acting Labor Secretary Patrick Pizzella – are listed as contributors.” [CNN, 7/11/24]
¶ Senior Trump Aides Were Part Of Project 2025
Trump Trade Advisor Peter Navarro Wrote Project 2025’s Chapter On Trade Policy. According to CNN, “Before Trump adviser Peter Navarro went to prison for refusing to comply with a congressional subpoena as part of the House investigation into the January 6, 2021, US Capitol attack, he wrote a section defending the former president’s trade policies and advocating for punitive tariffs.” [CNN, 7/11/24]
Former Trump White House Advisor John McEntee Was A Senior Advisor To Project 2025 And Worked To Integrate It With The Trump Campaign. According to ABC News, “As recently as April, Project 2025's senior adviser John McEntee -- who was previously a Trump White House adviser -- said he was working to integrate Project 2025 with the Trump campaign while also attempting to create a distinction between the two entities. ‘Obviously, there will need to be coordination and the president and his team will announce an official transition this summer, and we're going to integrate a lot of our work with them. But I think keeping the two separate is actually the most beneficial way to go about it,’ McEntee said on the Daily Wire's Morning Wire.” [ABC News, 7/9/24]
Former Trump Deputy Chief Of Staff Rick Dearborn And DOJ Senior Counsel Gene Hamilton Were Directly Affiliated With Project 2025. According to NBC News, “Former Trump administration officials who have been directly affiliated with Project 2025 include former Office of Management and Budget Director Russ Vought, former acting Defense Secretary Christopher Miller, former Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson, former deputy chief of staff Rick Dearborn and former Justice Department senior counsel Gene Hamilton.” [NBC News, 7/11/24]
¶ Trump Administration Officials Wrote Chapters In Project 2025’s “Mandate For Leadership”
¶ Two Assistant Cabinet Secretaries Wrote Chapters In “Mandate For Leadership”
Assistant Secretary Of Commerce Thomas Gilman Was A Co-Author Of Project 2025’s “Mandate For Leadership.” According to the author’s page for Project 2025’s “Mandate for Leadership,” “Thomas F. Gilman served as Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Administration and Chief Financial Officer of the U.S. Department of Commerce in the Trump Administration.” [Project 2025, viewed 7/30/24]
Assistant Secretary Of Veterans Affairs Brooks Tucker Was A Co-Author Of Project 2025’s “Mandate For Leadership.” According to the author’s page for Project 2025’s “Mandate for Leadership,” “Brooks D. Tucker served in the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs as Assistant Secretary for Congressional and Legislative Affairs from 2017 to 2021 and as Acting Chief of Staff from 2020 to 2021. He helped to craft the policy framework for President-elect Trump’s transition team and served as the Senior Policy Adviser for National Security and Veterans Affairs to Senator Richard Burr from 2010 to 2015.” [Project 2025, viewed 7/30/24]
¶ Two Acting Assistant Department Secretaries Wrote Chapters In “Mandate For Leadership”
Acting Assistant Secretary Of State Mora Namdar Was A Co-Author Of Project 2025’s “Mandate For Leadership.” According to the author’s page for Project 2025’s “Mandate for Leadership,” “Mora Namdar is an attorney and Senior Fellow at the American Foreign Policy Council. She speaks fluent Farsi and is an expert on U.S. national security, human rights, global communications, the Middle East, and international law. Mora served as senior advisor for critical issues at the U.S. State Department and was appointed by President Donald Trump to perform the duties of the Assistant Secretary of State for Consular Affairs.” [Project 2025, viewed 7/30/24]
Acting Assistant Secretary Of Labor Jonathan Barry Was A Co-Author Of Project 2025’s “Mandate For Leadership.” According to the author’s page for Project 2025’s “Mandate for Leadership,” “Jonathan Berry is managing partner at Boyden Gray & Associates PLLC. He served as acting Assistant Secretary for Policy at the U.S. Department of Labor, overseeing all aspects of rulemaking and policy development. At the U.S. Department of Justice, he assisted with the development of regulatory policy and with the nominations of Justice Neil Gorsuch and dozens of other judges. He previously served as Chief Counsel for the Trump transition and earlier clerked for Associate Justice Samuel Alito and Judge Jerry Smith of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit.” [Project 2025, viewed 7/30/24]
¶ Deputy Assistant Secretary Diana Furchtgott-Roth Wrote The Chapter On The Department Of Transportation
Deputy Assistant Secretary Of The Treasury Diana Furchtgott-Roth Was A Co-Author Of Project 2025’s “Mandate For Leadership.” According to the author’s page for Project 2025’s “Mandate for Leadership,” “Diana Furchtgott-Roth, an Oxford-educated economist, directs the Center for Energy, Climate, and Environment at The Heritage Foundation and is adjunct professor of economics at George Washington University. Diana served as Deputy Assistant Secretary for Research and Technology at the U.S. Department of Transportation, where she directed the Department’s $1.2 billion research budget; the Mandate for Leadership: The Conservative Promise Office of Positioning, Navigation and Timing and Spectrum Management; and the University Transportation Center program.” [Project 2025, viewed 7/30/24]
¶ High-Ranking Chiefs Of Staff Wrote Chapters In “Mandate For Leadership”
DNI Chief Of Staff Dustin Carmack Was A Co-Author Of Project 2025’s “Mandate For Leadership.” According to the author’s page for Project 2025’s “Mandate for Leadership,” “Dustin J. Carmack is Research Fellow for Cybersecurity, Intelligence, and Emerging Technologies in the Border Security and Immigration Center at The Heritage Foundation. Previously, he served in the Intelligence Community as Chief of Staff to the Director of National Intelligence, John Ratcliffe.” [Project 2025, viewed 7/30/24]
EPA Chief Of Staff Mandy Gunasekara Gilman Was A Co-Author Of Project 2025’s “Mandate For Leadership.” According to the author’s page for Project 2025’s “Mandate for Leadership,” “Mandy M. Gunasekara of Oxford, Mississippi, is a principal at Section VII Strategies, a Senior Policy Analyst at the Independent Women’s Forum, and Visiting Fellow in the Center for Energy, Climate, and Environment at The Heritage Foundation. During the Trump Administration, Mandy served as the Chief of Staff at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency as well as Principal Deputy Assistant Administrator for the Office of Air and Radiation.” [Project 2025, viewed 7/30/24]
¶ Deputy Assistant To President Trump Paul Winfee Wrote The Chapter On The Federal Reserve
Deputy Assistant To The President Paul Winfree Was A Co-Author Of Project 2025’s “Mandate For Leadership.” According to the author’s page for Project 2025’s “Mandate for Leadership,” “Paul Winfree is Distinguished Fellow in Economic Policy and Public Leadership at The Heritage Foundation. Before rejoining Heritage in 2018, Paul was Deputy Assistant to the President, Deputy Director of the Domestic Policy Council, and Director of Budget Policy at the White House. During the 2016 presidential transition, he led the team responsible for the Office of Management and Budget.” [Project 2025, viewed 7/30/24]
¶ BLM Director William Pendley Wrote The Chapter On The Department Of The Interior
Bureau Of Land Management Director William Pendley Was A Co-Author Of Project 2025’s “Mandate For Leadership.” According to the author’s page for Project 2025’s “Mandate for Leadership,” “William Perry Pendley was born in Cheyenne, Wyoming. He earned a BA and an MA from George Washington University, was a U.S. Marine Corps captain, and earned his JD from the University of Wyoming College of Law. He was an attorney on Capitol Hill, a senior official for President Ronald Reagan, and leader of the Bureau of Land Management for President Donald Trump.” [Project 2025, viewed 7/30/24]
¶ Three Agency Officials Wrote Chapters In “Mandate For Leadership”
Deputy Assistant Administrator For USAID Jennifer Hazelton Was A Co-Author Of Project 2025’s “Mandate For Leadership.” According to the author’s page for Project 2025’s “Mandate for Leadership,” “Jennifer Hazelton has worked as a senior strategic consultant for the Department of Defense in Industrial Base Policy and has held senior positions at USAID, the Export–Import Bank of the United States, and the State Department.” [Project 2025, viewed 7/30/24]
HHS Office For Civil Rights Director Roger Severino Was A Co-Author Of Project 2025’s “Mandate For Leadership.” According to the author’s page for Project 2025’s “Mandate for Leadership,” “Roger Severino is Vice President of Domestic Policy at The Heritage Foundation. As director of the Office for Civil Rights at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) from 2017 to 2021, he led a team of more than 250 staff enforcing civil rights, conscience, and health information privacy laws.” [Project 2025, viewed 7/30/24]
Acting COO At USAID Max Primorac Was A Co-Author Of Project 2025’s “Mandate For Leadership.” According to the author’s page for Project 2025’s “Mandate for Leadership,” “Max Primorac is Director of the Douglas and Sarah Allison Center for Foreign Policy Studies at The Heritage Foundation. He was acting Chief Operating Officer and Assistant to the Administrator, Bureau for Humanitarian Assistance, at the U.S. Agency for International Development.” [Project 2025, viewed 7/30/24]
¶ Senior Agency Advisors Wrote Chapters In “Mandate For Leadership”
CIO Senior Advisor Dennis Kirk Was A Co-Author Of Project 2025’s “Mandate For Leadership.” According to the author’s page for Project 2025’s “Mandate for Leadership,” “Dennis Dean Kirk is Associate Director for Personnel Policy with the 2025 Presidential Transition Project at The Heritage Foundation. Born and raised in Kansas, he graduated with honors from Northern Arizona University and Washburn University Law School. Dennis has over 45 years of experience in private law and public federal government counsel services. He served in President George Bush’s Administration in the U.S. Army’s Office of General Counsel and later as Associate General Counsel for Strategic Integration and Business Transformation, where he was recognized with the Exceptional Civilian and Meritorious Civilian Service Awards and other awards. During the Trump Administration, Dennis served in senior positions at the Office of Personnel Management and was nominated by President Trump to be Chairman of the Merit Systems Protection Board.” [Project 2025, viewed 7/30/24]
State Department Senior Advisor Kiron Skinner Was A Co-Author Of Project 2025’s “Mandate For Leadership.” According to the author’s page for Project 2025’s “Mandate for Leadership,” “Kiron K. Skinner is President and CEO of the Foundation for America and the World, Taube Professor of International Relations and Politics at Pepperdine University’s School of Public Policy, W. Glenn Campbell Research Fellow at the Hoover Institution, and a Visiting Fellow and Senior Advisor at The Heritage Foundation. Skinner served as Director of Policy Planning and Senior Advisor at the U.S. Department of State from 2018 to 2019 and was a member of the Defense Business Board at the U.S. Department of Defense.” [Project 2025, viewed 7/30/24]
¶ A Commissioner On Donald Trump’s Advisory Commission On Election Integrity Hans Von Spakovsky Wrote The Chapter On The Federal Elections Commission
Commissioner On Donald Trump’s Advisory Commission On Election Integrity Hans Von Spakovsky Was A Co-Author Of Project 2025’s “Mandate For Leadership.” According to the author’s page for Project 2025’s “Mandate for Leadership,” “Hans A. von Spakovsky is Senior Legal Fellow and Manager of the Election Law Reform Initiative in the Edwin Meese Center III Center for Legal and Judicial Studies at The Heritage Foundation. He is a former member of President Donald Trump’s Advisory Commission on Election Integrity.” [Project 2025, viewed 7/30/24]
¶ Agency Action Leader On Trump’s 2016 Transition Team Bill Walton Co-Wrote The Chapter On The Treasury Department
Agency Action Leader On Trump’s 2016 Transition Team Bill Walton Was A Co-Author Of Project 2025’s “Mandate For Leadership.” According to the author’s page for Project 2025’s “Mandate for Leadership,” “William L. Walton is Chairman of the Resolute Protector Foundation and host of The Bill Walton Show. In 2016 and 2017, Mr. Walton served in President-elect Donald Trump’s transition team as Agency Action Leader for all the federal economic agencies.” [Project 2025, viewed 7/30/24]
¶ Heads Of Government Agencies During The Trump Administration Were Contributors To Project 2025
Ken Cuccinelli Wrote Project 2025’s Chapter On Overhauling The Department Of Homeland Security. According to CNN, “The Project 2025 chapter on overhauling the Department of Homeland Security was written by Ken Cuccinelli, a top official at the department under Trump.” [CNN, 7/11/24]
2019: Trump Appointed Cuccinelli Acting Head OF USCIS. According to NBC News, “Ken Cuccinelli, the head of a conservative political action committee that has caused headaches for Republican senators, has been tapped as acting director of the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services, according to a Department of Homeland Security official.” [NBC News, 6/10/19]
Acting United States Customs And Border Patrol Chief Mark Morgan And Immigration And Customs Enforcement Chief Tom Homan Contributed To Project 2025. According to CNN, “Project 2025’s proposals for reforming the country’s immigration laws appear heavily influenced by those who helped execute Trump’s early enforcement measures. Former acting US Customs and Border Protection chief Mark Morgan and former Immigration and Customs Enforcement chief Tom Homan – the faces of Trump’s polarizing policies – contributed to the project, as did Kathy Nuebel Kovarik, one of the policy advisers pushing to end certain immigrant protections behind the scenes.” [CNN, 7/11/24]
¶ Trump Appointments To Independent Agencies Were Part Of Project 2025
Trump FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr Was Responsible For Project 2025’s FCC Recommendations. According to ABC News, “Brendan Carr -- who was appointed to serve as a member of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) -- is credited with the project's FCC recommendations.” [ABC News, 7/25/24]
Other Project 2025 Contributors Who Worked In The Trump Administration Included United States Agency For Global Media CEO Michael Pack, White House Senior Advisor Frank Wuco, Deputy Assistant Secretary Of Commerce David Legates, And Senior Advisor To The Bureau Of International Organizational Affairs Mari Stull. According to CNN, “Other contributors include: Michael Pack, a conservative filmmaker who orchestrated a mass firing at the US Agency for Global Media after he was installed by Trump; Frank Wuco, a senior White House adviser who once promoted far-right conspiracies on his talk radio show, including lies about President Barack Obama’s citizenship; former NOAA official David Legates, a notable climate change skeptic investigated for posting dubious research with the White House imprint; and Mari Stull, a wine blogger-turned-lobbyist who left the Trump administration amid accusations she was hunting for disloyal State Department employees.” [CNN, 7/11/24]
- Mari Stull Was A Senior Advisor For The State Department’s International Organizations Bureau. According to CNN, “The employee, Mari Stull, had her last day at State on Friday, a department official confirmed to POLITICO on Tuesday. It’s not immediately clear where she’s headed to next or if she will land another position in the administration. Her alleged blacklist activities are under federal investigation. Stull’s nickname came from a wine blog she kept before entering government; she’s also been a food and beverage lobbyist. At State, she was a senior adviser in the department’s international organizations bureau, a division that deals with institutions such as the United Nations.” [CNN, 1/15/19]
¶ Members Of The Trump Administration Were Responsible For Policy Recommendations Made By Project 2025
¶ Federal Trade Commission Recommendations Were Made By Acting Assistant Secretary of Commerce Adam Candeub
Acting Assistant Secretary of Commerce Adam Candeub Was Responsible For Project 2025’s Federal Trade Commission Recommendations. According to ABC News, “Adam Candeub -- who served under the Trump administration as Acting Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Telecommunications and Information -- is credited with the project's Federal Trade Commission recommendations.” [ABC News, 7/25/24]
¶ Energy Department Recommendations Were Made By Trump Nominee To The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission Bernard McNamee
Trump Nominee To The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission Bernard McNamee Was Responsible For Project 2025’s Department Of Energy Recommendations. According to ABC News, “Bernard L. McNamee -- who was nominated to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission by Trump -- is credited with recommendations on the Department of Energy and Related Commissions.” [ABC News, 7/25/24]
¶ Members Of Trump’s 2024 Campaign Worked On Project 2025
¶ Trump National Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt Appeared In A Project 2025 Educational Video
Trump National Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt Appeared In A Project 2025 Educational Video. According to ABC News, “The Trump campaign's now-national press secretary Karoline Leavitt is also prominently featured in Project 2025's ‘presidential administration academy’ video, which the group says is designed to train the next generation of conservative politicians. The video was produced in September 2023, when Leavitt was serving as a spokesperson for pro-Trump super PAC Make America Great Again Inc., which is a separate entity from the Trump campaign. Leavitt joined the Trump campaign in January of 2024.” [ABC News, 7/9/24]
¶ Trump Advisor Stephen Miller Appeared In A Project 2025 Educational Video
Trump Advisor Stephen Miller, Whose America First Legal Organization Was A Project 2025 Advisory Member, Appeared In A Project 2025 Educational Video. According to ABC News, “Despite Trump's attempts to distance himself from Project 2025, the two worlds remain deeply intertwined. Several key former members of the Trump administration are involved with the project, including Stephen Miller, who recently helped Trump with debate prep and acted as a surrogate in the spin room following the CNN presidential debate in Atlanta -- and who appears in Project 2025's educational ‘presidential administration academy’ video and whose organization, America First Legal, is listed as among its advisory members.” [ABC News, 7/9/24]
¶ Trump’s OMB Director Was Part Of Project 2025 And The Director Of The Platform Committee At The 2024 Republican Convention
Russ Vought, The 2024 RNC Platform Committee Policy Director And Trump’s Former OMB Director, Wrote a Chapter In Project 2025’s “Mandate For Leadership.” According to ABC News, “In May, the Trump campaign and the RNC announced their Platform Committee leadership team, the senior officials tasked with drafting the Republican platform, and named Russ Vought as the platform committee's policy director and Ed Martin as deputy policy director. Both have ties to Project 2025. Vought, who previously served Trump as the director of the Office of Management and Budget, authored a chapter on "Executive Office of the President" for Project 2025's ‘Mandate for Leadership: The Conservative Promise,’ which Project 2025 describes as ‘a comprehensive policy guide for the next conservative U.S. president.’” [ABC News, 7/9/24]
Vought’s Center For Renewing America Was A Member Of Project 2025’s Advisory Board. According to ABC News, “Vought's Center For Renewing America is also listed as a member of Project 2025's advisory board, according to the plan's website.” [ABC News, 7/9/24]
¶ Members Of The Republican Platform Committee Were Part Of Project 2025
Ed Martin, Deputy Platform Director, Was The President Of Project 2025 Advisory Board Member Eagle Forum. According to ABC News, “Martin, who the Trump campaign and RNC named as the party's deputy platform policy director, is the president of the Eagle Forum Education & Legal Defense Fund; Eagle Forum is also listed as a part of Project 2025's advisory board.” [ABC News, 7/9/24]
Tony Perkins, President Of Project 2025 Advisory Board Member The Family Research Council, Was On The RNC Platform Committee. According to ABC News, “Other members on the RNC platform committee with ties to Project 2025 include Family Research Council President Tony Perkins, who has been vocal in his efforts to ensure the Republican platform does not soften its language on abortion. Perkins has said he is involved in the crafting of the 2024 platform, and Family Research Council is also an advisory board member to Project 2025.” [ABC News, 7/9/24]
¶ Trump’s Save America PAC Contributed To Groups That Were Part Of Project 2025
Several Groups On Project 2025’s Advisory Board Received Funding From Trump’s Save America PAC. According to ABC News, “Members of Trump's PAC-funded groups also sit on the project's advisory board, including Conservative Partnership Institute, an organization led by Trump's former White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows, which received a $1 million donation from Trump's Save America PAC in 2021.” [ABC News, 7/9/24]
¶ Trump’s 2024 Platform Was Very Similar To Project 2025s
¶ At Least 270 Project 2025 Proposals Matched Trump’s Past Policies Or Current Campaign Promises
At Least 270 Proposals In Project 2025 Match Trump’s Past Policies And Current Campaign Promises. According to CBS News, “Former President Donald Trump has repeatedly disavowed Project 2025, the conservative wish list organized by the Heritage Foundation, saying the plan is not his and contains some ‘extreme’ ideas. But a line-by-line review by CBS News identified at least 270 proposals in Project 2025's published blueprint for the next Republican president that match Trump's past policies and current campaign promises. CBS News' data team extracted more than 700 specific policy proposals from Project 2025's 922-page policy guide and compared each one to policies enacted during Trump's first term as well as his campaign platform, rally speeches and interviews. From shuttering the Department of Education to excising every mention of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion from federal agencies' projects and programs, the Project 2025 agenda often matches Trump's recorded words and his Administration's deeds.” [CBS News, 8/21/24]
- One Hundred And Seventy Project 2025 Proposals Matched Ideas Trump Has Said Or Have Appeared On His Campaign Website. According to CBS News, “170 proposals that match ideas Trump's campaign has published on its campaign website or that he's said in rally speeches and interviews.” [CBS News, 8/21/24]
- Eighty Project 2025 Proposals Matched Trump Administration Policies. According to CBS News, “At least 80 proposals that would revive executive orders and other policies of Trump's own administration from 2017 to 2020.” [CBS News, 8/21/24]
- Twenty-One Project 2025 Proposals Matched Past Trump Actions And Campaign Promises. According to CBS News, “21 more proposals that match both Trump's past actions and his campaign promises and statements.” [CBS News, 8/21/24]
¶ Trump Followed Many Of The Heritage Foundation’s Recommendations During His First Term
¶ Trump Adopted 87 Policies Suggested By The Heritage Foundation During His First Term
An Analysis Found Trump Adopted 87 Policies Suggested By The Heritage Foundation During His First Term. According to the Daily Kos, “Former President Donald Trump denies ties to the extremist government blueprint known as Project 2025, a policy road map for a second Trump administration drafted by a consortium of conservative groups led by The Heritage Foundation. But new data shows he had a lot of love for the group’s far-right policies during his first turn in the White House. Analysis by the American Bridge 21st Century super PAC found 87 policies adopted by Trump at the suggestion of The Heritage Foundation.” [Daily Kos, 9/29/24]
2018: Heritage Foundation Director Thomas Binion Said Trump Had Already Embraced And Implemented 64% Of The Heritage Foundation’s Suggestions. According to the Daily Kos, “In 2018, the conservative think tank announced that Trump had already embraced and implemented 64% of its suggestions. ‘President Trump is a conservative president. He’s adopted many of these recommendations and pushed them forward and accomplished many of them,’ Heritage Foundation director Thomas Binion told Fox Business in 2018. ‘Yes, they’re conservative and yes, they’re good for the country,’ he added.” [Daily Kos, 9/29/24]
¶ Trump Followed The Heritage Foundation’s Advice In Calling To Cut Federal Child Nutrition Programs By $1.7 Billion Over 10 Years
Trump Followed The Heritage Foundation’s Advice In Calling To Cut Federal Child Nutrition Programs By $1.7 Billion Over 10 Years. According to the Daily Kos, “‘In the group’s 2018 ‘Blueprint for Balance,’ The Heritage Foundation encouraged Trump to ‘inhibit funding for national school meal standards and the community eligibility provision.’ The Trump administration’s 2019 budget plan called for cutting federal child nutrition programs by $1.7 billion over 10 years.” [Daily Kos, 9/29/24]
¶ Trump Banned Transgender Personnel From Serving In The Military Like The Heritage Foundation Suggested
Trump Banned Transgender Personnel From Serving In The Military Like The Heritage Foundation Suggested. According to the Daily Kos, “The Heritage Foundation’s ‘Blueprint for a New Administration: Priorities for the President’ said the military should ‘make armed forces personnel policy on the basis of military readiness, not a social agenda.’ The document said ‘the President should reverse the transgender policy decision announced June 30, 2016, and restore the prior policy, which allowed persons with gender dysphoria to serve.’ In April 2019, President Trump banned transgender personnel from serving in the military, causing much confusion and chaos.” [Daily Kos, 9/29/24]
¶ Trump’s Budget Proposals Included Reducing Violence Against Women Act Grants By $2 Million Like The Heritage Foundation Recommended
Trump’s Budget Proposals Included Reducing Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) Grants By $2 Million Like The Heritage Foundation Recommended. According to the Daily Kos, “In its 2017 Blueprint, The Heritage Foundation urged the president to cut funding for a federal program that helped 7 million women per year escape domestic violence, sexual assault, and stalking. ‘Recommendation: Eliminate Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) grants,’ The Heritage Foundation wrote. ‘This proposal saves $83 million in FY 2018.’ From 2016 to 2017, Trump’s budget proposals included reducing such grants by $2 million.” [Daily Kos, 9/29/24]
¶ Trump Reduced Funding For The Department Of Justice’s Civil Rights Division And The Department Of Education Office For Civil Rights In Line With The Heritage Foundation’s Proposal
Trump Reduced Funding For The Department Of Justice’s Civil Rights Division And The Department Of Education Office For Civil Rights In Line With The Heritage Foundation’s Proposal. According to the Daily Kos, “At the urging of The Heritage Foundation, Trump reduced funding for the Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division, and the Department Of Education Office For Civil Rights. Trump’s 2017 budget was poised to eliminate 10% of employees from critical civil rights offices across the federal government. This is in line with the Project 2025 blueprint, which proposes moving Department of Justice investigations from its civil rights division to the criminal division.” [Daily Kos, 9/29/24]
¶ Trump Revoked President Obama’s Executive Order To Reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions And Reduce Energy Use By Federal Agencies As Recommended By The Heritage Foundation
Trump Revoked President Obama’s Executive Order To Reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions And Reduce Energy Use By Federal Agencies As Recommended By The Heritage Foundation. According to the Daily Kos, “In its 2016 ‘Blueprint for a New Administration: Priorities for the President,’ The Heritage Foundation suggested Trump should ‘revoke the [Obama administration’s] Executive Order on global warming and green energy mandates for federal agencies.’ […] On March 28, 2017, Trump revoked President Barack Obama’s executive order to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and reduce energy use by federal agencies.” [Daily Kos, 9/29/24]
¶ Trump Weakened The Standards For Dishwashers, Water Heaters, Washers And Dryers, And Other Household Devices That Use Green Energy Saving Thresholds Over His First Term Like The Heritage Foundation Wanted
Trump Weakened The Standards For Dishwashers, Water Heaters, Washers And Dryers, And Other Household Devices That Use Green Energy Saving Thresholds Over His First Term Like The Heritage Foundation Wanted. According to the Daily Kos, “The Heritage Foundation 2016 blueprint said, ‘Refrain from Developing New Energy Efficiency Standards for Appliances and urge Congress to Repeal Energy Conservation Standards Set in the Energy Policy and Conservation Act.’ Over the course of his administration, a New York Times analysis showed that Trump weakened the standards for dishwashers, water heaters, washers and dryers, and other household devices that use green ‘energy saving thresholds.’” [Daily Kos, 9/29/24]
¶ Trump Eliminated The Affordable Care Act’s Cost-Sharing Program As Recommended By The Heritage Foundation
Trump Eliminated The ACA’s Cost-Sharing Program As Recommended By The Heritage Foundation. According to the Daily Kos, “According to The Heritage Foundation’s 2016 Blueprint, ‘The new President should instruct the IRS through the Treasury Department to follow the law and immediately cease all Obamacare cost-sharing payments.’ […] Trump eliminated the ACA’s cost-sharing program in 2017.” [Daily Kos, 9/29/24]
¶ The Trump Administration Withheld $65 Million In Contributions To The United Nations Relief And Works Agency For Palestine Refugees In The Near East, Per The Heritage Foundation’s Suggestions
The Trump Administration Withheld $65 Million In Contributions To The United Nations Relief And Works Agency For Palestine Refugees In The Near East (UNRWA), Which Was Suggested By The Heritage Foundation. According to the Daily Kos, “In The Heritage Foundation’s 2018 ‘Blueprint for Balance’ said ‘returning the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) to its original purpose saves $179 million in FY 2018.’ In 2018, the Trump administration withheld $65 million of its $120 million in aid contributions to the UNRWA.” [Daily Kos, 9/29/24]
¶ Trump Abandoned The World Health Organization As Suggested By The Heritage Foundation
Trump Abandoned The World Health Organization As Suggested By The Heritage Foundation. According to the Daily Kos, “According to The Heritage Foundation’s 2016 ‘Blueprint for a New Administration: Priorities for the President,’ the organization urged Trump to ‘review U.S. participation in all International Organizations. In 2020, during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, Trump abandoned the World Health Organization.” [Daily Kos, 9/29/24]
¶ Trump Targeted The Corporation For Public Broadcasting For Budget Cuts As Recommended By The Heritage Foundation.
Trump Targeted The Corporation For Public Broadcasting (CPB) For Budget Cuts As Recommended By The Heritage Foundation. According to the Daily Kos, “A 2018 Blueprint for Balance recommendation ‘eliminates federal funding for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB). This proposal saves $486 million in FY 2018.’ The New York Times reported in 2017, ‘The White House budget office has drafted a hit list of programs that President Trump could eliminate to trim domestic spending, including longstanding conservative targets like the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, the Legal Services Corporation, AmeriCorps and the National Endowments for the Arts and the Humanities.’ Trump went after them again in 2018.” [Daily Kos, 9/29/24]
¶ Trump’s Budget Suggested Prohibiting Federal Funding For Certain Entities That Provide Abortion Services As Recommended By The Heritage Foundation
Trump’s Budget Suggested Prohibiting Federal Funding For Certain Entities That Provide Abortion Services As Recommended By The Heritage Foundation. According to the Daily Kos, “According to the Heritage Foundation’s ‘Blueprint for a New Administration,’ the Trump regime was urged to ‘disentangle women’s health from funding abortion. The Secretary should allow states to maintain the integrity of their Medicaid systems by clarifying that state governments have the authority to disqualify certain abortion providers from receiving Medicaid reimbursements.’ Trump’s 2021 budget ensured that ‘federal funds protect life and conscience rights. The budget prioritizes the value of human life by ensuring that Federal funding does not support abortions. The Budget proposes to prohibit Federal funding, such as in the Title X Family Planning and Medicaid programs, for certain entities that provide abortion services.” [Daily Kos, 9/29/24]