President Donald Trump is now openly embracing Project 2025, the conservative governing blueprint he once dismissed as “ridiculous” during the 2024 campaign. The shift marks a dramatic reversal and signals a more aggressive effort to reshape the federal government.
On Thursday, September 2, Trump announced on his Truth Social platform that he would meet with Russ Vought, his budget director and a key architect of Project 2025, to discuss which federal agencies should be cut or dismantled. He described many Democratic-led agencies as “political scams,” raising the possibility of permanent closures.
This public endorsement stands in stark contrast to Trump’s earlier stance. During the campaign, Trump repeatedly distanced himself from Project 2025 — a 900-page playbook drafted by The Heritage Foundation and several of his former aides. The plan outlines sweeping changes to federal agencies, from slashing the civil service to pushing socially conservative policies. While Trump’s agenda already overlapped in areas like immigration and agency restructuring, he rejected proposals such as banning pornography or rolling back FDA-approved abortion medication.
Democrats quickly seized on Trump’s reversal. Both Joe Biden and Kamala Harris made Project 2025 a central theme of their campaigns, warning it would usher in a far-right restructuring of government. Ammar Moussa, a spokesperson for their efforts, accused Trump of misleading voters: “Donald Trump and his stooges lied through their teeth about Project 2025, and now he’s running the country straight into it.”
Former Biden budget director Shalanda Young expressed frustration: “I guess Democrats were right, but that doesn’t make me feel better. I’m angry this is happening after being told that this document was not going to be the centerpiece of this administration.”
The White House, meanwhile, accused Democrats of political distraction. Spokesperson Abigail Jackson said, “Democrats are desperate to talk about anything aside from their decision to hurt the American people by shutting down the government.”
Despite his past denials, Trump has filled his second administration with Project 2025 contributors, including Vought, former ICE chief Tom Homan, CIA Director John Ratcliffe, and immigration hardliner Stephen Miller. The alignment suggests that what began as an external policy wish list has now become central to Trump’s governing strategy.
