Trump’s Early Actions Mirror Project 2025

Trump’s Early Actions Mirror Project 2025

President Donald Trump made it clear during his campaign that he was not keen on Project 2025, a comprehensive and contentious conservative policy framework crafted by the Heritage Foundation. However, only a few days into his second term, many of Trump’s initial actions seem to align closely with the Project 2025 agenda.

A recent analysis by TIME revealed that almost two-thirds of the executive actions Trump has taken thus far reflect or partially reflect proposals from the extensive 900-page document, encompassing initiatives ranging from significant deregulation to stringent immigration reforms.

During the campaign, Democrats highlighted Trump’s ties to Project 2025, noting that many contributors to the playbook had previously worked with him or were connected to his circle. Trump consistently claimed he had “no idea who is behind” the conservative framework, labeling some of its proposals as “absolutely ridiculous and abysmal.” Yet, after securing the election, he appeared to ease his rhetoric, telling TIME in November, “I don’t disagree with everything in Project 2025, but I disagree with some things.”

Despite his previous disavowals, many individuals involved in crafting Project 2025, such as Russell Vought and Brendan Carr, have since been appointed to significant roles within his Administration. Vought was nominated to lead the Office of Management and Budget, while Carr was chosen to head the Federal Communications Commission. The Heritage Foundation opted not to comment for this piece.

A spokesperson from the White House told TIME that Trump “had nothing to do with Project 2025” and asserted that his initial set of executive orders “delivered on the promises that earned him a resounding mandate from the American people—securing the border, restoring common sense, driving down inflation, and unleashing American energy.”

When Project 2025 was unveiled in April 2023, it was intended as a strategic guide for a future Republican presidential administration, aiming to reshape the federal government in line with conservative, free-market principles. The agenda includes aggressive deregulation, stricter immigration controls, challenges to civil rights protections, and a significant reduction of the federal workforce, all targeting a reduction in government size and a reassertion of executive power.

While many of Trump’s executive actions bear a resemblance to Project 2025’s proposals, not all of them are fully aligned with the document’s recommendations. For instance, some initiatives, like declaring an energy emergency and challenging birthright citizenship, are not directly mentioned in the blueprint. Nevertheless, a multitude of executive actions introduced by the new administration reflect the core objectives of Project 2025, particularly in immigration reform, governmental restructuring, and deregulation.

“I suspect a lot of liberal think tanks are envious that a conservative think tank has this much influence over the policy agenda,” notes Bill Galston, chair of the Brookings Institution’s Governance Studies program and a former advisor to President Bill Clinton. He adds that while think tank influence is significant, it “is bound to decline once the President and the Republican majority in Congress begin collaborating on legislation.”

Nonetheless, by adopting elements of the Heritage Foundation’s framework, Trump’s second term appears to be influenced by a vision set out prior to his return to the White House. Skye Perryman, chief executive of Democracy Forward—a legal organization that recently launched Democracy 2025, a resource center tracking the new administration’s actions—comments, “This is a playbook we’ve seen before and anticipated would be put into action. The real disappointment is that on the campaign trail, Trump did not come clean with the American people. He didn’t attempt to persuade them that this was his agenda, instead acting as if he had nothing to do with Project 2025, when we can see he is clearly trying to accelerate that agenda.”

Here’s a closer look at some of the similarities between Trump’s executive actions and Project 2025.

Immigration and Border Security

Trump’s early moves regarding immigration and border security reflect Project 2025’s vision for a more assertive and militarized immigration enforcement strategy. For instance, the blueprint suggests deploying active-duty military personnel and National Guardsmen to assist with border security operations, including arrests. Trump swiftly acted on this by signing an executive order on his first day in office, directing the deployment of National Guard troops to the southern border.

Additionally, Trump issued an executive order suspending the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program, mirroring Project 2025’s recommendation for an “indefinite curtailment” of refugee admissions. He has also sought to extend restrictions on asylum seekers and halt certain immigration pathways—policies that align with Project 2025’s calls to limit refugee and asylum programs as part of a broader immigration control strategy.

Environment and Energy Policy

Trump’s initial actions concerning environmental regulations and energy policy also resonate with the recommendations from Project 2025, particularly its opposition to climate change initiatives that some Republicans view as overly burdensome to American businesses.

On the first day of his second term, Trump signed an executive order aimed at promoting the utilization of Alaska’s abundant energy resources, echoing Project 2025’s call for expanding oil and gas drilling in the region. The blueprint argues for exploring Alaska’s energy resources to enhance national security, emphasizing the need to unlock natural resources “as a counter to growing Russian and Chinese interest in Antarctic resources.” Trump’s executive order established a policy for harvesting Alaska’s resources and mandated federal agencies to expedite permitting, leasing, and development, particularly focusing on liquefied natural gas (LNG) projects.

Trump also re-signed an executive order withdrawing the U.S. from the Paris Climate Agreement, a hallmark action from his first term that aligns directly with Project 2025’s stance. The blueprint suggests that exiting international climate accords would bolster national sovereignty and economic competitiveness by lifting restrictions on industries. “The next conservative Administration should rescind all climate policies from its foreign aid programs (specifically USAID’s Climate Strategy 2022–2030); shut down the agency’s offices, programs, and directives designed to support the Paris Climate Agreement; and narrowly limit funding to traditional climate mitigation efforts,” Project 2025 states.

Read More: What Happened the Last Time Trump Withdrew From the Paris Agreement

Additionally, Trump has moved to limit offshore wind development, which Project 2025 identifies as part of an agenda that would restrict significant parts of the ocean from commercial endeavors.

Government Reform and Bureaucratic Restructuring

A fundamental aim of Project 2025 is to reshape the federal bureaucracy, reducing its size and influence while empowering the executive branch. Trump initiated several executive orders on his first day in office that reflect these goals.

He reintroduced the Schedule F executive order—a policy first proposed in 2020 that aims to reclassify certain federal employees as political appointees, making it easier to dismiss them. Project 2025 had called for the revival of this policy. This move has raised concerns among Democrats and advocates for civil service, who see it as an assault on the independence of the federal workforce. Trump defends it as necessary to eliminate political bias and inefficiency within government agencies, a point central to both his own agenda and the broader aims of Project 2025.

Project 2025 also suggests significant reductions in the federal workforce, with a focus on cutting regulations and eliminating agencies perceived as unnecessary or counterproductive. Trump’s early actions indicate he is taking steps in this direction, such as streamlining government functions, implementing a hiring freeze for all federal civilian employees, and aiming to diminish the size and scope of regulatory agencies. Although these actions do not exactly match Project 2025’s specific proposals—like abolishing the Departments of Homeland Security and Education—they reflect the overarching philosophy of reducing government footprint.

Cultural Issues

Trump has also embraced several social policy changes that reflect Project 2025’s stance, particularly regarding gender identity and diversity initiatives. One of his first executive orders reversed protections established during the Biden administration for transgender individuals in the military, reinstating a ban on transgender service members, which aligns with Project 2025’s recommendation to “proudly state that men and women are biological realities” and eliminate policies that conflate gender identity with biological sex.

Additionally, Trump has taken measures to dismantle diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives within the federal government. One executive order rescinded policies requiring federal contractors to promote affirmative action and diversity programs, consistent with Project 2025’s call to abolish initiatives that advocate for racial or gender-based quotas.

Foreign Relations

Trump’s early actions also signal a return to a more isolationist and unilateral foreign policy approach, echoing Project 2025’s views on international agreements and alliances. He signed an executive order to withdraw the U.S. from the World Health Organization, marking a return to the foreign policy positions that characterized much of his first term. Project 2025 explicitly called for this action, describing the WHO as an ineffective and politically biased organization that undermines American sovereignty.

In addition to his exit from the Paris Agreement, Trump has taken steps to distance the U.S. from other international collaborations, in line with the isolationist philosophy outlined in Project 2025. One executive order states, “no further United States foreign assistance shall be disbursed in a manner that is not fully aligned with the foreign policy of the President of the United States,” asserting that the “foreign aid industry and bureaucracy are not aligned with American interests and, in many cases, are contrary to American values.”