Project 2025, a comprehensive conservative policy roadmap, is increasingly being implemented through President Donald Trump’s executive actions, despite his public disavowal of the initiative. As of April 2025, the evidence shows a striking alignment between Trump’s policies and this extensive blueprint for reshaping the federal government.
What is Project 2025?
Project 2025 is a multi-pronged initiative overseen by the Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank, designed to provide a detailed roadmap for the next Republican president. At its core is the “Mandate for Leadership,” a 922-page blueprint that outlines ways to completely overhaul the executive branch of the federal government[1][2]. This extensive document was crafted in 2023 by the Heritage Foundation and other conservative groups as a comprehensive guide for implementing conservative policies across all aspects of federal governance[4].
The initiative covers a wide range of policy areas, from immigration and defense to regulatory reform and federal workforce management. Its stated goal is to dramatically reshape federal governance according to conservative principles, with particular emphasis on reducing the size of government, promoting “America First” policies, and rolling back progressive initiatives implemented during the Biden administration[4][5].
Trump’s Public Stance on Project 2025
Throughout his presidential campaign, Donald Trump repeatedly distanced himself from Project 2025. He insisted that he had “nothing to do with Project 2025,” claimed he had not read it, and had no intention of reading it[1]. As Democrats highlighted the initiative as a key reason to vote against Trump in the election, he further reinforced his disavowal, describing some of its proposals as “abysmal” and “ridiculous”[1][5].
Despite these public statements, there is significant evidence that the Trump administration is implementing policies that closely align with the Project 2025 blueprint. This has led Paul Dans, who previously oversaw Project 2025 at the Heritage Foundation, to express enthusiasm about Trump’s actions, describing them as “home runs” and “in many cases more than we could have even dared hope for”[1].
Evidence of Implementation
Personnel Connections
A notable indication of alignment between Trump’s administration and Project 2025 is the presence of key personnel who contributed to the initiative. Several authors of Project 2025’s policy chapters served in Trump’s first administration and now hold positions in his second term. These include Russ Vought, Trump’s pick to lead the Office of Management and Budget, and John Ratcliffe, who now serves as CIA director[1].
Policy Alignments
Federal Workforce Restructuring
One of the most dramatic implementations of Project 2025 principles has been Trump’s aggressive approach to downsizing the federal workforce. By March 2025, federal agencies faced a deadline to provide the administration with plans for a reduction in force, known as ARRPs (Agency Reorganization and Reduction in Force Plans)[3]. This initiative, guided by billionaire Elon Musk and his Department Of Government Efficiency (DOGE), has already resulted in mass firings of federal employees across multiple agencies[3].
The layoffs have particularly affected probationary federal workers, including employees in their first year or two on the job, those who recently moved between federal agencies, and those who were recently promoted. These cuts have impacted all 50 states and included employees at agencies that Americans frequently interact with, such as the National Park Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Veterans Affairs, Internal Revenue Service, and National Institutes of Health[3].
FEMA Restructuring
In alignment with Project 2025’s recommendations, Trump has established a review council to advise him on the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s capabilities and has suggested he could potentially “get rid” of FEMA entirely, leaving disaster response management to the states[1][2].
This action directly reflects Project 2025’s call for “reforming FEMA emergency spending to shift the majority of preparedness and response costs to states and localities instead of the federal government.” The initiative’s blueprint specifically recommends changing the cost-sharing arrangement so the federal government covers only 25% of costs for small disasters and up to 75% for “truly catastrophic disasters,” a significant reduction in federal responsibility[1].
Immigration and Border Security
Trump has taken significant actions on immigration that mirror Project 2025 proposals, including assigning troops “the mission to seal the borders and maintain the sovereignty, territorial integrity and security of the United States”[1]. This aligns with Project 2025’s recommendation that the Pentagon should “explicitly acknowledge and adjust personnel and priorities to participate actively in the defense, including using military personnel and hardware to prevent illegal crossings between ports of entry”[1].
Additionally, Trump has suspended entry into the U.S. by refugees under the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program, reflecting Project 2025’s call for “rightsizing refugee admissions” and an “indefinite curtailment” of refugee admissions[1].
Dismantling DEI Initiatives
Trump has taken substantial steps to dismantle diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives throughout the government and in the private sector, signing multiple executive orders aimed at abolishing these programs[4]. This mirrors Project 2025’s calls for the next conservative president to “eliminate every one of [the Biden administration’s] wrongful and burdensome ideological projects,” asserting that “Nondiscrimination and equality are the law; DEI is not”[4].
In a particularly striking alignment, Trump revoked a 60-year-old policy from 1965 that prohibited employment discrimination by government contractors. Project 2025 explicitly called for revoking this Lyndon B. Johnson-era executive order, arguing that abolishing it would mean contractors will “be less subject to the changing political whims of a President that might impose significant new costs or burdens”[4].
The Scale of Implementation
A CNN analysis of Trump’s first week in office found that more than two-thirds of his executive orders and actions (36 out of 53) evoked proposals outlined in Project 2025’s blueprint[2]. This extensive alignment covers not only Trump’s most-touted pledges like cracking down on illegal immigration and dismantling DEI initiatives but also more provocative and unexpected early actions[2].
These included punishing countries that refuse deported migrants, revoking security clearances of top national security officials accused by conservatives of political bias, and curbing foreign aid from countries “not fully aligned” with his global aims—all policies that were foreshadowed in Project 2025’s recommendations[2].
Conclusion
Despite President Trump’s public disavowal of Project 2025, the evidence demonstrates a substantial alignment between his administration’s actions and the initiative’s policy recommendations. From federal workforce cuts to immigration policy changes, from dismantling DEI initiatives to restructuring FEMA, Trump’s executive actions appear to be following much of the conservative blueprint laid out in Project 2025’s “Mandate for Leadership.”
As former Project 2025 director Paul Dans stated, the initiatives being implemented are “exactly the work we set out to do”[2]. While Trump continues to maintain distance from the project publicly, the implementation of its recommendations suggests that Project 2025 is indeed serving as an influential roadmap for his second administration’s approach to governance and policy.
Citations:
[1] https://www.cbsnews.com/news/trump-project-2025-playbook/
[2] https://www.cnn.com/2025/01/31/politics/trump-policy-project-2025-executive-orders-invs/index.html
[3] https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2025/03/12/trump-doge-federal-layoffs-timeline/82240271007/
[4] https://www.forbes.com/sites/alisondurkee/2025/03/17/heres-how-trumps-executive-orders-align-with-project-2025-as-he-touts-agenda-in-speech-to-congress/
[5] https://www.forbes.com/sites/alisondurkee/2025/03/05/heres-how-trumps-executive-orders-align-with-project-2025-as-he-touts-agenda-in-speech-to-congress/
[6] https://www.npr.org/2025/03/15/nx-s1-5328721/reduction-in-force-rif-federal-workers-job-cuts-musk-doge-layoffs
[7] https://progressivereform.org/tracking-trump-2/project-2025-executive-action-tracker/
[8] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project_2025
[9] https://www.whitehouse.gov/fact-sheets/2025/02/fact-sheet-president-donald-j-trump-works-to-remake-americas-federal-workforce/
[10] https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/the-project-2025-policies-the-trump-administration-is-already-implementing
[11] https://www.npr.org/2025/01/31/nx-s1-5280364/trump-enacts-project-2025-policies-which-he-distanced-himself-from-while-campaigning
[12] https://www.selc.org/news/we-all-suffer-from-federal-workforce-cuts/
[13] https://www.aclu.org/project-2025-explained
[14] https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c977njnvq2do
[15] https://www.brookings.edu/articles/trumps-dramatic-plan-to-cut-the-federal-workforce/
[16] https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-025-00780-2
[17] https://www.cnn.com/politics/tracking-federal-workforce-firings-dg/index.html
[18] https://www.project2025.org
[19] https://apnews.com/article/trump-elon-musk-federal-workers-layoffs-d295d4bb2cdd5023c27d9cb03754e81b
[20] https://nul.org/node/6770
Answer from Perplexity: pplx.ai/share
Life's Adventure 