Trump says he has 'nothing to do' with Project 2025, disagrees with some of its elements

Former President Trump sought to distance himself from the conservative Heritage Foundation’s Project 2025 on Friday, saying he has “nothing to do” with the initiative and disagrees with some of its aspects. 

Trump said in a post on Truth Social that he is not involved in the right-wing think tank’s proposal, which outlines various policies and initiatives that some conservatives hope a future Republican administration would administer. 

“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” filled with conservative priorities and insight from scholars and policy experts. It is divided into sections based on five main topics — “Taking the Reins of Government,” “The Common Defense,” “The General Welfare,” “The Economy” and “Independent Regulatory Agencies.” 

The project makes a wide range of policy proposals, perhaps most notably reshaping the powers of the executive branch. It also calls for striking various small government agencies and rolling back funding for abortions and approval of the abortion pill mifepristone. 

Another proposal is reimplementing Schedule F, a classification for federal workers that makes it easier to fire them and replace them with loyalists. The Associated Press has estimated this could affect 50,000 workers. 

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. 

Democrats have railed against the project and pointed to it as evidence of an extreme agenda that would be brought in if Trump is reelected. 

House Democrats launched a campaign last month to push back on Project 2025, forming a task force to fight what they said is a threat to the institutions of American democracy and government. 

The Heritage Foundation’s project started two years ago following criticism from supporters of Trump that workers in the federal government were part of a “deep state” working to undermine Trump’s agenda. The group has said it is not advising any candidate and implementing any of its proposals is up to the president to decide. 

But the coalition backing the project includes various conservative groups, some of which are led by former Trump administration officials. 

Trump has not endorsed the project but has indicated his intention to bring back Schedule F if elected, saying, “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” in a campaign video last year. 

Heritage Foundation President Kevin Roberts also praised the Supreme Court’s Monday ruling on presidential immunity, which found the president is immune to criminal prosecution for official acts, saying conservatives should feel emboldened. 

“We are in the process of the second American Revolution, which will remain bloodless if the left allows it to be,” Roberts said.