Republicans told you what they planned to do should Donald Trump win the election. They wrote it down, calling it Project 2025. Even before it had a name, Trump said in speeches that the Heritage Foundation was putting a plan together.
“This is a great group & they’re going to lay the groundwork & detail plans for exactly what our movement will do … when the American people give us a colossal mandate to save America.” — Donald Trump, April 2022
When the presidential campaign focused on Project 2025, and it became clear the American people were opposed to it, Trump denied any knowledge of or affiliation in the way only he can do when he’s been captured on video and released several statements and all-caps tweets. Now that he’s won the election, he’s shoving Project 2025 down our throats, whether we like it or not.
To be sure, there are many within his base that love Project 2025. But it isn’t popular to say out loud that you advocate for child labor in dangerous occupations.
“With parental consent and proper training, certain young adults should be allowed to learn and work in more dangerous occupations.”
— p. 595
They make clear they want to protect teenage girls from being “trafficked” across state lines to have an abortion when blocked by their state. They have no such fear about your girls being trafficked and paid for sex by Matt Gaetz.
“Pregnant, unaccompanied girls should … not [be] trafficked across state lines to be victimized by the abortion industry.”
— p. 478
Now that the election is over, the men who composed Project 2025 are appearing as Trump appointees and nominees to fill his administration. Russell Vought is an advisory board member of Project 2025 and wrote a chapter on the “Executive Office of the President” for Project 2025’s “Mandate for Leadership: The Conservative Promise.” Vought is being vetted for a cabinet position; that announcement is expected at any time.
Trump’s nominee to chair the Federal Communications Commission is Brendan Carr, who already serves as one of five lower-ranking commissioners. He authored Project 2025’s chapter on the FCC, in which he proposed reining in big tech and focusing more on national security — including making it easier to hold social media companies liable for content on their platforms and banning TikTok.
Trump’s proposed “border czar” is Tom Homan. Homan will return to the Trump administration after previously serving as acting director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement and is listed as a contributor to Project 2025 and a visiting fellow at the Heritage Foundation’s Border Security and Immigration Center, authoring a number of articles for the organization on immigration policy.
Trump named John Ratcliffe as CIA director after he previously served as Trump’s director of national intelligence. Ratcliffe is credited as a contributor to Project 2025, with the agenda’s chapter on the intelligence community citing an interview with him about working in the first administration.
No list would be complete without mention of Stephen Miller, Trump’s Deputy Chief of Staff for Policy who designed Trump’s family separation program from his last administration. Miller ran America First Legal, listed on the Project 2025 website as an organization they worked with until criticism forced its removal.
Trump isn’t even pretending he isn’t implementing Project 2025 and its plan for the first 180 days of his presidency. He’s counting on the fact that everyone knew he was lying, and the acceptance of fascism was already built in. America could prove him wrong, but history isn’t comforting. If the past is prologue, prepare for fully implementing Project 2025, whether you like it or not.
This article originally appeared on Medium and is edited and republished with author's permission. Read more of William Spivey's work on Medium.