Explore Our Latest Project 2025 Updates
Project 2025 Is Here.
With Trump’s return to the presidency, Project 2025, a 920-page plan spearheaded by the powerful and extreme far-right Heritage Foundation, is becoming a reality. More than 100 far-right organizations support this blueprint for autocracy, which now appears to be an important source for Trump’s proposed policies, despite his repeated disavowal of Project 2025 during his campaign. Multiple nominees for the new administration have direct ties to the effort.
Project 2025’s stated goal is to create an “ideal” America that would see women, LGBTQ+ people, immigrants, people of color, and others deprived of their hard-won constitutional rights and the erosion of environmental and education protections. It also advocates for a frightening centralization of power in the executive branch, something Trump is keen to achieve. Read GPAHE’s full analysis of Project 2025 and the groups behind it.
GPAHE monitors how Project 2025 is becoming a reality and reports on the ties between the project and the administration, and its impact on the American people and democracy. We track Project 2025 activities at the federal, state, and local level, and their plans for an authoritarian and Christian Nationalist America.
This week we look at Heritage Foundation President Kevin Roberts reclaiming the spotlight for Project 2025, how Project 2025 has taken the war on Diversity, Equality and Inclusion to Walmart, and Washington’s Governor-Elect Bob Ferguson joining other cities and states by taking protective measures against the dangers of Project 2025’s agenda.
Lord of the Right: The Reemergence of Kevin Roberts
Heritage Foundation President Kevin Roberts, who once said that the country is in the midst of a “second American Revolution” that will be bloodless “if the left allows it to be” has reclaimed the spotlight as the public face of Project 2025 following Trump’s electoral victory. His reemergence marks a stark reversal from the campaign period when Trump publicly disavowed the 922-page conservative manifesto as “ridiculous and abysmal.”
Now, as Project 2025 architects fill key administration positions and Roberts advocates for policies from mass deportation to seizing university endowments, the theatrical distance between Trump’s campaign and Heritage’s blueprint appears to have been carefully orchestrated.
The shift mirrors Trump’s own pivot. Despite his earlier criticism, Trump has now tapped several Project 2025 contributors for key positions. Russell Vought, who authored the manifesto’s section on “Taking the Reins of Government,” will return as Office of Management and Budget director. Former ICE director Tom Homan, a Heritage visiting fellow and Project 2025 contributor, becomes border czar. John Ratcliffe, who contributed to the project’s intelligence reform proposals, has been nominated as CIA director.
Roberts’ November 13 speech at the Encounter Books gala, where he received their Prize for Advancing American Ideals, further highlighted this transition. Speaking just days after Trump’s victory, Roberts characterized progressives as a danger to democracy. “Properly understood, our ruling elite is not a social class. It’s a criminal conspiracy — against the Constitution, against the American people, and against the principle of self-government itself.“ His speech outlined plans for what he termed a “controlled burn” of federal agencies, arguing that “departments must be gutted” and “bureaucrats must be fired,” parroting Project 2025’s proposals.
Roberts’ recent media appearances also outline an ambitious agenda spelled out in Project 2025. Speaking on UnHerd podcast’s November 27, 2024 episode, he advocated for federal seizure of university endowments unless institutions “end the implementation of the woke mind virus” and reject government funding. He praised Vought’s expertise in using OMB “to do the will of the American people, rather than the will of Washington elites,” suggesting specific mechanisms for implementing the project’s agenda through executive authority.
In his December 4 Federalist article entitled “The Case for Mass Deportation,” Roberts made an explicit case for what he termed “the largest deportation operation in American history,” framing it as “the only morally acceptable response” to what he calls “the Biden-Harris border crisis.” His argument connects immigration enforcement to both economic and political concerns, citing data that “native-born Americans have lost almost 800,000 jobs, while foreign-born workers have gained over 1 million jobs.”
The Heritage president’s emerging public profile suggests the campaign-period distance between Trump and Project 2025 was largely theatrical. Beyond Vought, Homan, and Ratcliffe, Trump has selected other Project 2025 contributors including Brendan Carr for FCC chairman, Peter Navarro for trade and manufacturing counselor, Pete Hoekstra as ambassador to Canada and Monica Crowley as “Ambassador, Assistant Secretary of State, and Chief of Protocol.” Even Trump’s press secretary pick, Karoline Leavitt, appeared in Project 2025 training materials.
Roberts frames these appointments as natural alignments rather than coincidences. “It’s sort of boring in one sense,” he told UnHerd, “because it’s not newsworthy that the Republican candidate for president would be saying many, if not most, of the same things that the conservative movement itself would be saying.”
This convergence extends beyond personnel to policy. Roberts’ recent advocacy for mass deportation echoes Trump’s campaign promises while adding intellectual framework. He invokes Abraham Lincoln’s 1838 Springfield address about the “sanctity of law” to justify modern immigration enforcement.
The Heritage president’s reemergence and Trump’s staffing choices suggest Project 2025’s influence extends far beyond its campaign-period controversy. Rather than a liability to be disavowed, the 900-page manifesto is serving its intended purpose with its architects moving from the shadows into positions of direct influence.
Rollback Season: Walmart Dismantles DEI as Project 2025 Gains Ground
Project 2025’s declaration that “woke” ideologies and DEI must be eliminated “root and branch” from American life gained tangible momentum as Walmart, America’s largest private employer, announced significant rollbacks to its diversity programs. The retail giant’s decision, announced on November 25, 2024, will scale back DEI initiatives and reduce diversity-focused hiring programs.
Walmart’s policy shift arrives amid mounting pressure from conservative groups and follows similar retreats from DEI commitments by companies including Anheuser-Busch, Target, and Disney, which Project 2025 views as early victories in its broader campaign to reshape American institutions fundamentally.
The Alliance Defending Freedom, with a most recently reported $102 million in revenue and extensive network of attorneys, has played a crucial role in providing the legal architecture for these corporate transformations and is a supporter of Project 2025. ADF’s successful litigation strategy, particularly in cases involving religious liberty and corporate rights, has created legal precedents that pave the way for companies to modify diversity programs without facing significant legal challenges. The organization’s influence extends from the Supreme Court, where former ADF attorney Amy Coney Barrett now serves as a Justice, to Congress, where another ADF alumnus, Mike Johnson, holds the position of House Speaker.
ADF’s legal victories, including landmark Supreme Court decisions like 303 Creative LLC v. Elenis in 2023, have strengthened protections for businesses making decisions based on religious or ideological grounds. ADF effectively serves as Project 2025’s boots on the ground for enforcing Project 2025’s Christian Nationalist policies.
Conservative activist Robby Starbuck’s targeted campaigns against corporate DEI programs have also amplified Project 2025’s impact. A former Hollywood music video director (career highlights include Snoop Dogg, Gucci Mane, and Megadeth videos) turned conservative activist, Starbuck garnered prominence through online campaigns targeting corporate DEI initiatives after relocating to Franklin, Tennessee, in 2018.
Starbuck, who sees communist plots behind every corner and believes chemicals can turn frogs gay, has emerged as one of Project 2025’s most effective voices in pressuring corporations to abandon diversity programs. Starbuck’s pressure on companies like Harley-Davidson, John Deere, and Tractor Supply Company demonstrated the effectiveness of focused advocacy in achieving corporate policy changes. His aggressive social media campaigns helped catalyze policy reversals at multiple major corporations.
Starbuck’s success in forcing corporate retreats from DEI commitments has provided a template for conservative activists targeting other companies. His campaign strategy, which involves highlighting companies’ internal policies to conservative consumers and investors, has proven particularly effective with brands that depend heavily on conservative customer bases.
Walmart’s decision to modify its DEI programs represents more than just another corporate policy change. The timing of this change, coinciding with Project 2025’s preparations for a conservative administration, marks the initiative’s growing influence in reshaping American institutions well ahead of 2025.
The Evergreen State vs. The Deep State
Washington state officials are mounting a robust defense against Project 2025, with Governor-elect Bob Ferguson warning the Heritage Foundation blueprint represents a “dark” and “stark” threat to state sovereignty. The former attorney general, who sued Trump’s first administration nearly 100 times, isn’t mincing words about the dangers posed by what critics call a roadmap to authoritarianism.
The contradictions between Trump’s public stance and his administration’s makeup are striking. While transition spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt insists “he had nothing to do with Project 2025,” she herself appears on the project’s website as an instructor training future appointees – and she’s Trump’s pick for White House press secretary. At least 140 former Trump officials have ties to the blueprint, with key authors like Russell Vought, Tom Homan, and Stephen Miller tapped for senior positions.
Ferguson’s newly formed subcommittee, co-chaired by Planned Parenthood Alliance Advocates and the Northwest Immigrant Rights Project, will develop defensive measures within his first 100 days. “We can’t be naive to the potential threats,” Ferguson stated, highlighting concerns about the environment, abortion access, LGBTQ+ rights, and mass deportations.
The economic stakes are particularly high for Washington. With an estimated 246,000 undocumented residents, mass deportations could devastate industries from construction to agriculture. Workplace raids could leave children stranded at schools and daycare centers, requiring significant response from child-welfare officials. The agricultural sector, a cornerstone of Washington’s economy, could face severe labor shortages.
Beyond immigration, Project 2025’s scope threatens multiple fronts. The initiative could enable federal attempts to restrict interstate travel for abortion or gender-affirming care, pointing to Idaho’s 2023 law as a model for hostile states. With Washington already facing budget constraints, potential federal funding cuts over progressive policies could strain state resources further.
The threat to reproductive rights is particularly concerning. Ferguson’s team is preparing for various scenarios, including Trump potentially enforcing the Comstock Act to end access to medication abortion. While Trump claimed in August he wouldn’t use the act this way, his shifting stance on a national abortion ban has raised alarms.
Los Angeles has joined Washington’s resistance, establishing sanctuary protections against federal intervention. The city’s unanimous council vote and school district’s emergency measures reflect growing anxiety about Project 2025’s scope. Other West Coast cities including Sacramento and San Francisco are following suit, creating a network of local governments prepared to challenge federal authority.
Ferguson has faced criticism for creating the Project 2025-focused subcommittee, with some arguing he should prioritize state issues. However, he points out this is just one of twelve transition subcommittees, including ones focused on housing and other local concerns. “What happens at the national level — be it the withholding of federal funds or impairment of reproductive health care — affects the lives of Washington residents,” Ferguson explained.
The governor-elect’s track record suggests he won’t hesitate to challenge federal overreach, regardless of party. Beyond his numerous suits against Trump, Ferguson’s office also challenged the Biden administration over access to mifepristone, a medication abortion drug. “I’ve made clear that as governor, we’re going to move Washington state forward on a whole range of important issues facing our state,” he said, while emphasizing that Project 2025’s implementation would directly impact Washingtonians’ lives.
As Ferguson notes, “The connections of the folks who put that document together with Donald Trump are well known.” With Trump’s inner circle increasingly populated by the blueprint’s architects despite public denials, the clash between state and federal authority seems inevitable. Washington’s battle-tested AG-turned-governor appears ready for what could become one of the most significant state-federal showdowns in recent history.
