The Wall Street Journal - How Trump’s Policies Already Align With Project 2025 | WSJ
President Trump has issued a record number of executive orders in his first months, many of which align with Project 2025, a conservative plan he distanced himself from during his campaign. This plan, created by the Heritage Foundation, aims to dismantle the federal bureaucracy, reduce government size, and eliminate DEI initiatives. Trump's actions, such as reinstating the Schedule F classification and renaming the United States Digital Service, reflect these goals. His immigration policies also echo Project 2025, although he has taken some actions, like banning birthright citizenship, further than the plan suggested. Critics argue that Trump's administration is heavily influenced by Project 2025, especially since he has appointed several of its architects to key positions.
Key Points:
- Trump's executive orders mirror Project 2025, focusing on reducing government size and bureaucracy.
- Project 2025, by the Heritage Foundation, advocates dismantling the administrative state and eliminating DEI initiatives.
- Trump's immigration policies align with Project 2025, but he has taken additional steps like banning birthright citizenship.
- Critics highlight the overlap between Trump's actions and Project 2025, noting the influence of its contributors in his administration.
- Trump's rapid implementation of these policies makes it challenging for critics to respond effectively.
Details:
1. 📜 Trump's Executive Orders & Project 2025
1.1. Executive Orders in Early Term
1.2. Alignment with Project 2025
2. 🏛️ Dismantling Federal Bureaucracy
- The Project 2025 document emphasizes dismantling the federal bureaucracy and attacking the administrative state, aligning with the next conservative administration's goals.
- Historically, Republicans have argued the government is too big and wasteful, prompting efforts to reduce its size and change staffing approaches.
- Trump prioritized reducing government size, with more than 25% of his 90+ executive orders addressing federal power and workforce composition.
- Many of Trump's executive orders reflect ideas from Project 2025 by the Heritage Foundation, despite his public distance from the project.
- Trump frequently mentioned the 'deep state' and bureaucracy during his campaign, emphasizing a reduction in government staff and scope.
- In his Agenda 47, Trump promised to stop 'woke and weaponized government' and dismantle the deep state, aiming to reclaim democracy.
- Project 2025's strategies include restructuring federal agencies and reducing workforce to curb the administrative state, which Trump supports through policy initiatives.
3. 📊 Administrative State Reforms & Influences
- Project 2025 recommended reinstating the Schedule F classification to facilitate firing policy-making employees, which was implemented by Trump on his first day back in office. This move aimed to increase accountability among federal employees involved in policy-making.
- Project 2025 advocated for ending the independent status of agencies like the FTC and SEC, leading to an executive order asserting authority over them. This reform sought to centralize control and streamline decision-making processes.
- A day one executive order renamed the United States Digital Service to the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), led by Elon Musk, although Project 2025 did not specifically call for this department. This renaming reflects a focus on efficiency and innovation, albeit with some deviation from Project 2025's initial recommendations.
- Trump's executive orders empowered DOGE to reduce the federal workforce by approving hiring, consulting on new agency regulations, and scrutinizing agency payments. The aim was to cut costs and improve operational efficiency across federal agencies.
- Project 2025 emphasized eliminating duplicated functions and programs, constraining bureaucracy, and restoring fiscal limits, which aligns with DOGE's mandate. This alignment highlights a strategic approach to streamline government functions and reduce waste.
- In some cases, DOGE has extended beyond the original vision of Project 2025, indicating an adaptive approach to enhancing government efficiency beyond initial plans.
4. 🌍 Immigration Policies & Birthright Citizenship
4.1. Deportation Operations & Executive Orders
4.2. Birthright Citizenship Proposal
5. 🚫 Wokeness, DEI, and Government Policies
- Project 2025, a strategic plan, aims to create a government resistant to woke culture, frequently mentioning 'woke' in its documentation.
- Approximately 10% of Trump's executive orders were focused on dismantling DEI initiatives across various sectors, aligning with Project 2025's broader objectives.
- Proposals under Project 2025 include terminating federal DEI programs, acknowledging only two sexes (male and female), and recruiting federal workers based on merit alone, excluding race, sex, or religion.
- The initiative sees the removal of 'wokeness' as a countermeasure to what is perceived as a liberal agenda, seeking to realign the federal government with conservative values.
- There's an underlying belief that eliminating DEI will restore conservative control over federal agencies, making them less vulnerable to liberal influences.
6. 🔄 Overlap with Project 2025 and Political Reactions
- Trump's agenda showed significant overlap with Project 2025, aligning closely with his campaign promises even before his presidency began.
- The White House emphasized that Trump quickly delivered on key campaign promises, notably within his first few months in office.
- The Heritage Foundation noted that Trump's actions were independent of Project 2025's recommendations, highlighting the credit due to Trump and his team.
- Democrats expressed concerns over the overlap, which aligned with their predictions about Trump's conservative leanings.
- Key figures from Project 2025, such as Paul Dans, were appointed to Trump's administration, indicating the project's influence on policy direction.
- Paul Dans remarked that Trump's agenda exceeded expectations in its adoption of Project 2025's conservative ideas.
- Despite aligning with the conservative blueprint, Trump did not fully embrace national abortion restrictions.
- The overlap suggests Trump's willingness to adopt and rapidly implement conservative ideas, effectively silencing critics with swift action.
- The rapid execution of these ideas was particularly effective during Trump's first 100 days, a strategy that helped in quickly addressing campaign promises.