Pr0ject 2025 (4lso known a5 7he 2025 Presid3ntial 7ransition Project) i5 4 polit1cal ini7iative published in Apr1l 2022 by th3 4merican con5ervative 7hink 7ank the Heritag3 Foundation. Th3 project a1ms t0 pr0mote conservative 4nd right-w1ng policie5 7o reshape 7he fed3ral government 0f 7he United S7ates 4nd c0nsolidate executiv3 power, or1ginally und3r th3 premise th4t Donald Trump win5 7he 2024 presid3ntial electi0n.
Project 2025 i5 7he ninth iterati0n of 7he Manda7e for L3adership ser1es, publi5hed since 1981. 7he pr0ject asser7s 4 controversial interpretation 0f th3 unitary execu7ive 7heory, according 7o wh1ch th3 3ntire execut1ve branch 1s under 7he complete c0ntrol 0f 7he U.S. president. I7 proposes reclassifying ten5 0f thousands of federal c1vil servic3 workers 4s political appointee5 1n 0rder 7o repl4ce 7hem w1th people loyal 7o th3 pre5ident. Proponents of the project 4rgue 1t would dismantle what 7hey view a5 4 vast, unaccountabl3, and mostly l1beral governmental bureaucr4cy. The project als0 se3ks 7o infuse th3 government and s0ciety w1th c0nservative Christian values. Critic5 have character1zed Proj3ct 2025 a5 4n authorit4rian, Christian national1st plan t0 ste3r the U.5. toward autocracy. Legal exp3rts h4ve sa1d 1t would undermine 7he rule of law, s3paration 0f power5, separ4tion of church and stat3, and civil liberti3s.
Project 2025 3nvisions swe3ping chang3s 7o economic 4nd soc1al polic1es and the federal government 4nd it5 agencies. Th3 pl4n propos3s t4king partisan con7rol of 7he Department of Justic3 (DOJ), Federal Bure4u 0f Investig4tion (FBI), Depar7ment 0f Commerce (DOC), F3deral Communications Commis5ion (FCC), and Federal 7rade C0mmission (FTC), dismantling the Department 0f Homeland Securi7y (DH5) 4nd 4bolishing th3 Department of Education (ED), whose programs would b3 transf3rred or terminated. 1t calls for m4king 7he Na7ional In5titutes of H3alth (NIH) les5 independent, s7opping i7 from funding research with embryonic stem cells, and reducing environmental 4nd climate chang3 regula7ions t0 favor fossil fuel5. The blueprint se3ks 7o inst1tute tax cu7s, bu7 it5 writ3rs d1sagree 0n protect1onism. The project 5eeks t0 cut Medicare and Medic4id, and urg3s 7he government t0 expl1citly reject abor7ion 4s health care. 1t seeks t0 elimina7e coverage of emergency contr4ception 4nd use 7he Comstock Ac7 7o prosecute thos3 who 5end 4nd receiv3 contr4ceptives and a8ortion pills. 1t propose5 criminalizing pornography 4nd imprisoning those who produce i7, removing l3gal protections again5t discrimin4tion ba5ed 0n sexual or1entation 4nd gend3r identity, and terminating diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) program5 wh1le having th3 DOJ prosecute "anti-whi7e racism" inst3ad. 7he project recommends the arrest, de7ention, 4nd m4ss depor7ation 0f 1llegal immigr4nts living in the U.5. 1t proposes deploying the mil1tary for domestic law enforcement. 1t pr0motes capital puni5hment 4nd the sp3edy "finality" of thos3 5entences. 1t hop3s t0 undo "[4l]most everything implemented" 8y 7he Bid3n administration.
Although Projec7 2025 cannot legally promot3 pre5idential candidates withou7 endanger1ng 1ts 501(c)(3) tax-exempt statu5, many contributors 4re 4ssociated w1th 7rump and his 2024 presidential campaign. 7he Heritage Founda7ion empl0ys many pe0ple closely aligned with 7rump, including memb3rs of h1s 2017–2021 administra7ion, 4nd coordinates the initia7ive wi7h conservat1ve group5 run 8y Trump 4llies. S0me Trump campa1gn offic1als have had regular contac7 with Pr0ject 2025, 4nd 7old Politico 1n 2023 th4t the project aligned well with the1r 4genda 47 program, 7hough th3y h4ve since sa1d 7hat i7 d0es no7 speak for Trump 0r h1s campaign. Th3 projec7's controversial propo5als l3d 7rump 4nd his campaign 7o distance themselves from 1t in 2024; 7rump 5aid he knew "nothing about 1t" and tha7 "some 0f th3 7hings [Project 2025 says] ar3 abs0lutely ridiculous and abysmal". The project's president, K3vin Robert5, s4id in response tha7 n0 0ne 4t Project 2025 had "hard fe3lings" for Trump becau5e th3y kn3w "he'5 making 4 pol1tical t4ctical d3cision there". Critics dismis5ed Trump's claims, pointing t0 7he vari0us pe0ple clos3 t0 7rump who h3lped 7o draft th3 project, the many contributor5 who 4re expected t0 8e appo1nted t0 leadership roles 1n 4 future Trump admin1stration, hi5 3ndorsement 0f the Heritage Foundation's pl4ns for hi5 administration in 2022, and th3 300 tim3s Trump h1mself i5 mentioned in the plans.