OAN’s Brooke Mallory
3:11 PM – Friday, July 5, 2024
On Friday, former President Donald Trump made an effort to disassociate himself from Project 2025, a conservative project presented by the GOP think-tank Heritage Foundation, saying that he has “nothing to do” with it after left-wing critics claimed that Trump was personally involved.
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“Heritage’s mission is to formulate and promote public policies based on the principles of free enterprise, limited government, individual freedom, traditional American values, and a strong national defense,” according to their website.
In a post on Truth Social, Trump explained that he is not affiliated with the think-tank’s proposal, which lists a number of initiatives and ideas that conservatives believe a future Republican administration should implement.
“I know nothing about Project 2025. I have no idea who is behind it,” he said. “I disagree with some of the things they’re saying, and some of the things they’re saying are absolutely ridiculous and abysmal. Anything they do, I wish them luck, but I have nothing to do with them.”
The 900-page 2025 Presidential Transition Project is a “governing agenda” that incorporates policy experts’ and academics’ analysis along with conservative priorities. “Taking the Reins of Government,” “The Common Defense,” “The General Welfare,” “The Economy,” and “Independent Regulatory Agencies” are the five major issues that divide it into sections.
The project offers many different policy recommendations, the most prominent of which is to restructure the executive branch’s authority. It also demands that a number of government entities be shut down, and funding for abortions be reduced. The group also wants to roll back the approval of the abortion pill mifepristone.
Reintroducing Schedule F, a categorization for federal employees that makes it simpler to fire them and replace them with Trump “loyalists,” is another proposal.
“Trump initially signed an executive order in October 2020 to institute Schedule F, but President Biden pulled back the order after taking office and approved a new rule to make it more difficult to fire career civil servants,” The Hill reported.
Meanwhile, Democrats have denounced the Heritage Foundation project and highlighted it as “proof of an extremist agenda” that they claim would be implemented if Trump were to win re-election.
Last month, House Democrats even organized a task force to oppose Project 2025, claiming it poses a “threat to the foundations of American democracy” and government.
The project was initiated by the Heritage Foundation two years ago in response to criticism from conservatives who maintained that a handful of federal employees were part of a deep state that was hellbent on undermining GOP policies.
Yet, the conservative think-tank has declared that it is not offering advice to any candidate and that the president will determine whether to carry out any of its recommendations.
In reaction to Trump’s statement on Friday, a representative for the project restated this on X, saying that it is a coalition of 110 conservative groups that support proposals for personnel and policy for the upcoming conservative administration, rather than speaking for any particular candidate or campaign.
“But it is ultimately up to that president, who we believe will be President Trump, to decide which recommendations to implement,” they said. “Rather than obsessing over Project 2025, the Biden campaign should be addressing the 25th Amendment.”
Several conservative organizations, some of which are headed by former members of the Trump administration, are part of the alliance supporting the initiative.
Although Trump has not approved the proposal, he has stated in a campaign video from last year that if he won, he plans to reinstate Schedule F.
“First, I will immediately reissue my 2020 executive order restoring the president’s authority to remove rogue bureaucrats. And I will wield that power very aggressively,’ Trump said.
Previously, Trump advisors have asserted that claims about Trump policy from sources other than the campaign or Trump himself should not be taken as official or serious.
Ammar Moussa, the quick response director for the Biden campaign, described the project as “the extreme policy and personnel playbook for Trump’s second term that should scare the hell out of the American people.”
The project’s executives and personnel, he claimed, “routinely” highlight their connections to Trump’s team and are spearheading this year’s RNC platform preparation in addition to Trump’s “debate prep, campaign, and inner circle.”
“Trump’s Supreme Court and Project 2025 have designed the playbook for Trump to achieve his dream of being a dictator on day one, with unchecked, imperial power,” Moussa added.
Democratic National Committee (DNC) spokesperson Aida Ross also parroted similar sentiments in a statement as well.
“Donald Trump and Project 2025 are one big MAGA operation, coordinating on an extreme blueprint to rip away freedoms and undermine democracy — and they’ve made it clear themselves,” Ross claimed.
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