Project 2025: what is the far-right plan for a Trump government?

Live updates: Follow the latest on the US election A conservative plan known as Project 2025 has many Democrats, including presidential nominee Kamala Harris , on the offensive as the countdown to the US presidential election continues. Project 2025 is a political plan that includes dismantling and rebuilding the federal government, and installing tens of thousands of right-leaning public employees, among other sweeping measures. The plan was formulated by conservative think tank the Heritage Foundation and is backed by about 100 partners. If Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump is elected, Project 2025 will be put into action. The 2025 Presidential Transition Project is an outline for how political conservatives can “reclaim” the US through policy, personnel and training when the next conservative administration takes the White House. “It is not enough for conservatives to win elections,” the Project 2025 website reads. “If we are going to rescue the country from the grip of the radical Left, we need both a governing agenda and the right people in place, ready to carry this agenda out on day one of the next conservative administration.” The plan features four pillars: a nearly 900-page book detailing how to overhaul and govern federal agencies; a personnel database for candidates to become part of the new administration; an online education programme for political appointment training; and a 180-day playbook to follow on Inauguration Day. Project 2025 is led by the Heritage Foundation, which has been vocal about what it believes is the destruction of the US by the political or cultural “Left”. The plan details Republicans' frustration and anger over President Joe Biden 's attempts to forgive student loans, former president Barack Obama's Affordable Care Act – known as “Obamacare” – and mask and vaccine mandates during the Covid pandemic . Kevin Roberts, president of the Heritage Foundation and Heritage Action for America, told AP in June that Project 2025 “will not be stopped”. “We will not give up and we will win,” Mr Roberts said in a statement. The plan suggests that the new Republican president issue an executive order to fire as many as 50,000 federal workers and replace them with appointments that are friendly to conservatives. It also calls for closing the Department of Education and the Federal Reserve, and places several agencies, including the FBI, under the direct control of the presidency. On climate change, it suggests that federal money for renewable energy research and investment be eliminated, and that the “war on oil and natural gas” be stopped. It outlines steps for the president to enable the Immigration and Customs Enforcement to deport undocumented immigrants and to complete a US-Mexico border wall. The plan also calls for eliminating anything related to a “diversity, equity and inclusion agenda” created by previous administrations. Project 2025 states that international organisations, such as the UN and its agencies, including the World Health Organisation, should stop receiving US support if they do not serve American priorities. The document outlines many policies emphasising that US foreign policy should focus on countering threats from Russia and China , and Iran's efforts to bolster its nuclear programme . The plan says it must “not abandon” the Middle East over concerns of “chaos” or being influenced by adversaries. It suggests that the US should encourage the expansion of the Abraham Accords and defund the Palestinian Authority. Citing waste and “nefarious” use by governments, it also wants USAid to cut or limit assistance to Syria, Yemen, Afghanistan and Iraq. Before he ended his bid for a second term in the White House, Mr Biden 's re-election campaign posted videos about Project 2025 saying that it “deserves more attention”. Ms Harris, now the Democratic nominee, has made Project 2025 a campaign focus, telling supporters: "We're not going back" – a reference to the perceived regressive nature of the initiative. Harris for President spokeswoman Sarafina Chitika told AP in August: “Trump, [vice presidential candidate JD] Vance and their Project 2025 allies can try and hide the ball from the American people, but voters know where they stand – and that they’re trying desperately to drag us backward." Project 2025 was a major talking point at the Democratic National Convention. It was featured in an enlarged book used as a prop by a Michigan state senator Mallory McMorrow during her address. Democratic Representative Jared Huffman told AP in June that his party needs to “see it coming well in advance and prepare ourselves accordingly”, after he formed a task force to sound the alarm about the right-wing plan. The task force of House Democrats in August asked Mr Roberts to speak with them and share the "180-Day Playbook" that remains to be unpublished. It is not unusual for think tanks to issue road maps for presidencies but some critics suggest this is a playbook for far-right Americans who have dictatorial ambitions. American Enterprise Institute senior fellow Philip Wallach told AP it featured “authoritarian fantasies” of having a unified government under the presidency, against the US tradition of the separation of powers. Carlos Lozada, an opinion columnist for The New York Times, wrote that the document made comparisons to authoritarian governments such as Russia and China in its aims for “consolidating authority and eroding accountability for the long haul”. The Democracy Forward Foundation has issued warnings about Project 2025 , and is preparing to file legal challenges if a conservative president follows the plan's suggestions. Mr Trump has repeatedly denied knowledge of Project 2025, and not outright endorsed it. But he has said he would be a “dictator on day one” and pushed policies that the Heritage Foundation plan includes in its playbook. The plan was also written by many former members of the Trump administration. Despite Mr Trump's denials, The Washington Post revealed a photo of him with Mr Roberts on a private flight to a Heritage Foundation conference in April 2022. The newspaper also learnt that Mr Trump said the Foundation was "going to lay the groundwork and detail plans for exactly what our movement will do". Mr Vance , has written a foreword in Mr Roberts's coming book – which has been shelved until after the election – sparking concerns of potential direct involvement with the plan. A representative for Mr Vance told AP that he has no involvement with Project 2025, and the chapter does not relate to the plan's aims. Mr Vance also has "plenty of disagreements with what they're calling for", the representative said.

Project 2025: what is the far-right plan for a Trump government?

Conservatives with Heritage Foundation worked for years to prepare for next administration