With the 2024 presidential election coming up, many political leaders and organizations are planning for America’s future. One of the most talked about and easily misconstrued plans is known as Project 2025.
According to the Project 2025 website, their plan is a “unique opportunity for conservatives to start undoing the damage the Left has wrought and build a better country for all Americans in 2025.” For those that support this movement, they believe that it is not enough for there to be conservatives in government. Instead, there needs to be a set agenda alongside the right-wing administration to make sure that their policies go into place. Specifically, within Project 2025, the Presidential Transition Project was created to make sure that the Republican Administration has a guide to leading a successful administration this January.
The Project 2025 agenda supports the idea of Christian faith being intertwined into government policy, also known as eliminating the separation of Church and State.
The Heritage Foundation, a conservative movement, has organized the Presidential Transition Project and based it on their “Mandate for Leadership” book series. These books are a set of roughly 334 conservative policy recommendations, some of which were implemented during Ronald Reagan’s presidency when the conservative movement was founded. According to The Heritage Foundation, “64 percent of the policy prescriptions were included in Trump’s budget, implemented through regulatory guidance, or under consideration for action by The Heritage Foundation’s original proposals.” Some examples of these are the Trump Administration pulling the United States out of the Paris Agreement on Climate Change, reshaping national monuments by shrinking the size of Utah’s national monuments, increasing military spending, withdrawing from the United Nations Education, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), and much more.
Economically, Project 2025 proposes both pros and cons from the perspective of the supporters and opponents. Supporters argue that reducing government regulations on things like fossil fuel production and cutting taxes would encourage business investment and innovation, potentially leading to more jobs, higher productivity, and overall economic growth. By reducing restrictions on gas, oil, and coal, the U.S. would be able to boost domestic energy production and lower energy costs. On the other hand, critics argue that Project 2025 will harm the U.S. economy. In their eyes, lowering taxes for businesses and high-income earners could exacerbate income inequality. Sam Wold, a history teacher at LFA, also pointed out that “deregulation can lead to worsening environmental issues in the U.S., such as climate change and warming oceans, which can further devastate communities and lead to even bigger economic issues.”
Politically, this conservative movement could reshape U.S. politics by there being a major shift to conservative ideals in the government.
Socially, the recommendations in Project 2025 aim at bringing back American culture to glory according to conservative beliefs. One of their main objectives is to get rid of “Cultural Marxism” in American society, which entails newer, more radical beliefs. They argue that these democratic views are hurting both the government and culture, eroding America of its traditional values. Instead, Project 2025 yearns to bring back a Christian, family-centered way of life—envisioning an America that views family as the central task of each individual. Additionally, the Project 2025 agenda supports the idea of Christian faith being intertwined into government policy, also known as eliminating the separation of Church and State. To the supporters, this is the solution to “fixing” their country.
Politically, this conservative movement could reshape U.S. politics by there being a major shift to conservative ideals in the government. Wold highlighted that Project 2025 would result in experienced government agency workers—some with over 40 years of service—being kicked out of their roles and replaced by political appointees, who would only work to carry out Project 2025’s political agenda. Wold explained that this could undermine the government’s effectiveness and would launch the plan’s proposals of dismantling the Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of Education.
People are using Project 2025 to rally people and make them vote to their side, creating chaos in the whole election process.
Currently, there has been debate over whether The Heritage Foundation’s Project 2025 is connected to Donald Trump. CNN found that at least 140 people who were involved in the creation of Project 2025 also worked in the Trump administration. Twenty pages are credited to his first Deputy Chief of Staff, and six of his Cabinet Secretaries are authors. J.D. Vance, the Vice President for Trump himself, is connected to the founder Kevin Roberts and Project 2025. Despite this, Trump has sought to distance himself and he has made statements disapproving of some of the project’s recommendations. As Wold mentioned, Project 2025 is currently an important factor for the upcoming election since “people are using Project 2025 to rally people and make them vote to their side, creating chaos in the whole election process.” This has positioned Project 2025 as a polarizing force in the political landscape, with its influence likely to shape both the election narrative and voting decisions in unpredictable ways.
Ultimately, there are many more policies of Project 2025, not mentioned in this article, that are worth taking the time to read about. We encourage you to do your own research and stay educated during this time, especially if you are planning to vote this November!
