University of Kwazulu-Natal

Trump Is Finally Ready To Talk About Project 2025 Cnn

Bonisiwe Shabane
-
trump is finally ready to talk about project 2025 cnn

A version of this story appeared in CNN’s What Matters newsletter. To get it in your inbox, sign up for free here. They’re questions that could be asked of any number of President Donald Trump’s social media posts: Did he just not understand that thing that he said earlier? The answer could be some combination of all three, especially in the case of Thursday’s post, and the “unprecedented opportunity” Trump says he now has to hack away at federal agencies during the government... It has to do with the man widely seen as the architect of the shutdown: Office of Management and Budget Director Russ Vought, or as Trump described Vought in the post, “he of PROJECT...

President Donald Trump caught his own administration off guard last week by suggesting that the nation’s primary disaster response agency might simply “go away.” Though Trump had routinely lambasted the Federal Emergency Management Agency throughout his third White House bid, he had stopped short of calling for its elimination. Now, an executive order bearing his signature has put that possibility in motion. The idea, however, wasn’t new. The contours of it circulated nearly two years ago through Project 2025, a sweeping plan to overhaul the government that Trump as a candidate forcefully disavowed. Many of Trump’s early actions appear closely aligned with Project 2025’s plans.

A CNN analysis of the 53 executive orders and actions from Trump’s first week in office found that more than two-thirds – 36 – evoke proposals outlined in “Mandate for Leadership,” Project 2025’s 922-page... The overlap includes early steps taken by Trump to execute some of his most-touted pledges: cracking down on illegal immigration; dismantling diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives; and rolling back environmental restrictions on oil and... Few voters likely expected President Donald Trump in the first weeks of his administration to slash billions of dollars from the nation’s premier federal cancer research agency. But funding cuts to the National Institutes of Health were presaged in Project 2025’s “Mandate for Leadership,” a conservative plan for governing that Trump said he knew nothing about during his campaign. Now, his administration has embraced it. The 922-page playbook compiled by the Heritage Foundation, a conservative research group in Washington, says “the NIH monopoly on directing research should be broken” and calls for capping payments to universities and their hospitals...

Universities, now slated to face sweeping cuts in agency grants that cover these overhead costs, say the policy will destroy ongoing and future biomedical science. A federal judge temporarily halted the cuts to medical research on Feb. 10 after they drew legal challenges from medical institutions and 22 states. The rapid-fire adoption of many of Project 2025’s objectives indicates that Trump acolytes — many of its contributors were veterans of his first term, and some have joined his second administration — have for... That runs counter to Trump’s insistence on the campaign trail, after Democrats made Project 2025 a potent attack line, that he was ignorant of the document. Jill Colvin, Associated Press Jill Colvin, Associated Press

NEW YORK (AP) — President Donald Trump is openly embracing the conservative blueprint he desperately tried to distance himself from during the 2024 campaign, as one of its architects works to use the government... In a post on his Truth Social site Thursday morning, Trump announced he would be meeting with his budget chief, "Russ Vought, he of PROJECT 2025 Fame, to determine which of the many Democrat... The comments represented a dramatic about-face for Trump, who spent much of last year denouncing Project 2025, The Heritage Foundation's massive proposed overhaul of the federal government, which was drafted by many of his... READ MORE: Trump threatens mass firings as shutdown continues with no signs of potential deal President Donald Trump is now openly embracing the conservative blueprint he desperately tried to distance himself from during the 2024 campaign. President Donald Trump speaks to a gathering of top U.S.

military commanders at Marine Corps Base Quantico, Tuesday, Sept. 30, 2025, in Quantico, Va. (Andrew Harnik/Pool via AP) Russell Vought, Office of Management and Budget director, listens as he addresses members of the media outside the West Wing at the White House in Washington, Monday, Sept. 29, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

President Donald Trump pumps his fist as he greets the crowd at the Ryder Cup golf tournament, Friday, Sept. 26, 2025, on the Bethpage Black golf course in Farmingdale, N.Y. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon) ▶ Follow live updates on President Donald Trump and his administration Donald Trump has lately made clear he wants little to do with Project 2025, the conservative blueprint for the next Republican president that has attracted considerable blowback in his race for the White House. “I have no idea who is behind it,” the former president recently claimed on social media.

Many people Trump knows quite well are behind it. Six of his former Cabinet secretaries helped write or collaborated on the 900-page playbook for a second Trump term published by the Heritage Foundation. Four individuals Trump nominated as ambassadors were also involved, along with several enforcers of his controversial immigration crackdown. And about 20 pages are credited to his first deputy chief of staff. In fact, at least 140 people who worked in the Trump administration had a hand in Project 2025, a CNN review found, including more than half of the people listed as authors, editors and... When people talk about the “Trump Plan,” they’re not just referring to a single proposal.

It’s a full-scale vision for how Donald Trump plans to reshape America if he returns to the White House in 2025. This includes immigration reform, economic strategy, foreign policy, and something called Project 2025 a massive conservative blueprint already being quietly prepared. The plan promises swift action, less bureaucracy, and a stronger America, but critics see it as a power grab with deep consequences. 1. Project 2025 the real engine behind the Trump Plan At the heart of the Trump Plan sits Project 2025, a detailed conservative roadmap developed by several policy think tanks.

It lays out staffing lists, executive orders, and agency reforms ready to roll out on day one. Instead of waiting for Congress, Trump could use this playbook to steer the government his way through executive power. Supporters call it “efficiency in action,” while skeptics warn it could blur the line between independent agencies and political control. Project 2025’s purpose is clear: to make sure loyalists fill every crucial government seat, ensuring every department from Justice to Education runs with a unified conservative direction. It’s not just policy it’s structure, discipline, and control. 2.

Immigration and border security stricter, faster, tougher It is a 900-page policy "wish list", a set of proposals that would expand presidential power and impose an ultra-conservative social vision. During his campaign, Donald Trump repeatedly disavowed Project 2025, after a backlash over some of its more radical ideas. But he has nominated several of its authors to fill key government positions, and many of his initial executive orders closely follow proposals outlined in the document. Here's your guide to Project 2025, which lays out one vision of how Trump might govern over the next four years. Project 2025 is a product of the Heritage Foundation, one of Washington's most prominent right-wing think tanks.

It first produced policy plans for future Republican administrations in 1981, when Ronald Reagan was about to take office. President Donald Trump has changed his tune on the conservative policy plan Project 2025 after actively distancing himself from it for months during his reelection campaign. Trump announced on Thursday that he would be meeting with Office of Management and Budget Director Russell Vought, “he of PROJECT 2025 Fame,” to decide which “Democrat Agencies, most of which are a political... “I can’t believe the Radical Left Democrats gave me this unprecedented opportunity,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “They are not stupid people, so maybe this is their way of wanting to, quietly and quickly, MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!” The post marks a significant shift from the President’s past disavowals of the unpopular right-wing policy blueprint, which was created by conservative think tank the Heritage Foundation ahead of the 2024 election.

“I have nothing to do with Project 2025. I haven’t read it. I don’t want to read it, purposely. I’m not going to read it,” Trump said in a debate last year with former Vice President Kamala Harris. Despite Trump’s repeated insistence that he didn’t know anything about Project 2025, however, he had close ties with a number of its authors, several of whom have served in his Administrations—including Vought. And since he returned to the White House in January his second Administration has taken steps to implement a number of the proposals detailed in the over 900-page document.

People Also Search

A Version Of This Story Appeared In CNN’s What Matters

A version of this story appeared in CNN’s What Matters newsletter. To get it in your inbox, sign up for free here. They’re questions that could be asked of any number of President Donald Trump’s social media posts: Did he just not understand that thing that he said earlier? The answer could be some combination of all three, especially in the case of Thursday’s post, and the “unprecedented opportun...

President Donald Trump Caught His Own Administration Off Guard Last

President Donald Trump caught his own administration off guard last week by suggesting that the nation’s primary disaster response agency might simply “go away.” Though Trump had routinely lambasted the Federal Emergency Management Agency throughout his third White House bid, he had stopped short of calling for its elimination. Now, an executive order bearing his signature has put that possibility...

A CNN Analysis Of The 53 Executive Orders And Actions

A CNN analysis of the 53 executive orders and actions from Trump’s first week in office found that more than two-thirds – 36 – evoke proposals outlined in “Mandate for Leadership,” Project 2025’s 922-page... The overlap includes early steps taken by Trump to execute some of his most-touted pledges: cracking down on illegal immigration; dismantling diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives; and r...

Universities, Now Slated To Face Sweeping Cuts In Agency Grants

Universities, now slated to face sweeping cuts in agency grants that cover these overhead costs, say the policy will destroy ongoing and future biomedical science. A federal judge temporarily halted the cuts to medical research on Feb. 10 after they drew legal challenges from medical institutions and 22 states. The rapid-fire adoption of many of Project 2025’s objectives indicates that Trump acoly...

NEW YORK (AP) — President Donald Trump Is Openly Embracing

NEW YORK (AP) — President Donald Trump is openly embracing the conservative blueprint he desperately tried to distance himself from during the 2024 campaign, as one of its architects works to use the government... In a post on his Truth Social site Thursday morning, Trump announced he would be meeting with his budget chief, "Russ Vought, he of PROJECT 2025 Fame, to determine which of the many Demo...