President Donald Trump is turning to influential figures associated with Project 2025
A conservative policy initiative spearheaded by The Heritage Foundation. Project 2025 aimed to offer a roadmap for the future direction of a Trump administration, and its contributors now seem poised for significant roles in the president-elect’s next cabinet.
Project 2025’s most publicized output was its policy book Mandate for Leadership: The Conservative Promise, which laid out detailed proposals on topics ranging from reducing bureaucratic power to reshaping U.S. foreign and domestic policy. Despite initially distancing himself from the project during his presidential campaign—calling its work "ridiculous" and distancing himself from its far-reaching proposals—Trump is now turning to the same individuals who contributed to the project to fill key positions in his next administration.
Several of the key figures who played a central role in Project 2025’s development are already in line for major roles. For example, Tom Homan, who contributed to the section on immigration reform, has been named as Trump’s "border czar." This is a pivotal role, likely overseeing the administration’s approach to border enforcement and immigration policy. Similarly, Brendan Carr, a contributor to Project 2025’s section on communications, has been tapped to lead the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). Carr’s focus in the book on curbing Big Tech’s influence and securing national security interests aligns with Trump’s broader agenda of limiting corporate power and advancing a more nationalistic approach to digital governance.
Other notable figures include Russ Vought, former director of the Office of Management and Budget, who is poised for a return to the same role. Vought’s contributions to Project 2025 highlighted a desire to reduce the size and scope of the federal government, advocating for the president to take a more direct role in managing executive agencies. His return is seen as a sign that Trump plans to carry out a substantial deregulatory agenda, in line with Vought’s previous work.
While these appointments signal a return to Project 2025’s ideals, they have not been without controversy. During the campaign, Trump’s team made efforts to publicly distance him from the project, framing its authors as out-of-touch with mainstream Republican values. This disavowal was particularly emphasized when critics, including Democrats, framed Project 2025 as an extreme vision for the future of the U.S. The left warned that the proposals, particularly those related to curbing federal powers and increasing executive control, could undermine democratic norms.
Despite these tensions, many conservatives see Project 2025 as a necessary framework to reshape the U.S. government. The initiative, though controversial, represents a coherent vision for the future of the Trump administration. As such, its influence remains deeply embedded in Trump’s plans for governance, marking a clear shift from his previous disavowal of its proposals.
The resurgence of Project 2025 contributors in the Trump administration highlights the growing consolidation of the ideological and policy-driven approach that characterized much of his first term. By enlisting the help of those who shaped his policy agenda through Project 2025, Trump aims to ensure a continuation of the reforms he sought during his presidency, particularly in terms of curtailing the power of federal agencies and reshaping immigration policies. However, this strategy also brings into focus the risks of alienating broader swaths of the electorate, as the project’s more radical proposals might continue to be a point of contention as the 2024 election season progresses