Project 2025, that sprawling conservative playbook put together by the Heritage Foundation, has been making waves again. It's essentially a 900-plus-page roadmap for overhauling the federal government, pushing for a massive expansion of presidential power and deep cuts to agencies seen as too liberal. The document outlines everything from dismantling the Department of Education to tightening immigration controls and rolling back environmental regulations. Indeed, it's been positioned as a wish list for a second Trump term, even if the former president spent much of his campaign denying any real ties to it.
But lately, things have shifted. Trump, now back in the White House, is openly meeting with key figures behind the project. Just this week, he sat down with Russ Vought, a co-architect and the new director of the Office of Management and Budget, to discuss slashing what Trump calls "Democrat agencies." This comes amid the ongoing government shutdown, where funding battles could give the administration leverage for those very cuts. However, critics point out that such moves align eerily well with Project 2025's calls for a leaner, more ideologically aligned bureaucracy.
Trackers from groups like the Center for Progressive Reform and the ACLU are keeping close tabs on how much of this blueprint is actually taking shape. So far, in the first six months of Trump's return, executive actions have matched up with about 115 of the plan's 317 major goals—nearly halfway through, by some counts. Appointees with Project 2025 fingerprints are popping up across the administration, from trade advisors to personnel directors, fueling concerns over a potential erosion of checks and balances. Moreover, the project's emphasis on firing civil servants and centralizing control has already sparked lawsuits and protests.
However, not everything's gone according to the script. Trump has diverged on issues like certain social safety net tweaks, opting for his own flavor of policy. Still, the momentum is there, with recent orders echoing the document's push to "dismantle the administrative state." It's a reminder of how quickly blueprints can turn into reality.
As these changes unfold, one wonders how far the administration will push before hitting real resistance.