What is Project 2025? The controversial plans linked to Donald Trump’s presidency
With Donald Trump preparing to return to the White House, attention has turned once again to Project 2025 – controversial plans for government linked to the president-elect.
The 922-page blueprint for government could reshape American democracy, it has been claimed.
It was written by an influential conservative thinktank, the Heritage Foundation.
It sets out policy proposals for a Republican win in the US presidential election, which was achieved when Mr Trump took Wisconsin yesterday morning, taking him past the 270 electoral college vote required for victory.
What policies are included in the document?
The document proposes a four pillar approach – the first sets out policies to be enacted, the others how those policies will be put in place.
This includes setting up a list of personnel who it says will be willing to move to Washington to form “an army of aligned, vetted, trained, and prepared conservatives to go to work on Day One to deconstruct the Administrative State”.
At its heart, it says, is the need to “restore the family” to the centre of US life, recommending that once a conservative president is inaugurated “Federal power must… be wielded to reverse the crisis and rescue America’s kids from familial breakdown.”
The policy agenda includes criminalising pornography, disbanding the departments for education and homeland security and overhauling the FBI.
It rejects the concept of abortion as healthcare and proposes the rollback of LGBTQ+ rights, ending climate projections and using the military to tackle large-scale protests.
On immigration, the blueprint calls for the largest deportation in history, a policy for which Donald Trump has also expressed his support.
The database of personnel willing to help deliver Project 25 would create a pool of politically-appointed civil servants, who would be trained via an online presidential academy.
A 180-day action plan for how the government would achieve its goals is the fourth pillar of the project.
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What is the Heritage Foundation?
The Heritage Foundation, based in Washington DC, was founded in 1973.
Its mission upon its creation was to mould America into a more Christian, conservative country.
“Essentially, what this boils down to is a vision of the country that privileges and prioritises Christians,” said US historian Dr Kristin Kobes Du Mez.
In 1981, the foundation wrote its first manifesto, which promised to roll back the state and unleash free market capitalism, the same year in which, in the January, Ronald Reagan was inaugurated as president.
One of the report’s authors says in its introduction: “By the end of that year, more than 60% of its recommendations had become policy.”
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What has Trump said about the document?
Donald Trump tried to distance himself from Project 2025 during the election campaign, but the president-elect has previously spoken at Heritage Foundation events.
In April 2022, he said: “This is a great group and they’re going to lay the groundwork in detailed plans for exactly what our movement will do and what your movement will do when the American people give us a colossal mandate to save America.”
But in a rally this summer, he said the project had been designed by some on the “severe right”, and in September’s presidential debate he said he had “nothing to do with Project 2025”.
What have the Democrats said?
During the election campaign, the Democrats used Project 2025 as a major political attack point.
President Biden said the project would “destroy America”, while vice president Harris called it “extreme” and said would “weaken the middle class”.
Would such a large number of political appointees be possible?
Many positions in the US administration have to be vetted and go through a series of rounds of approval before they can be appointed.
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Some have questioned whether a plan to put such a large number of politically aligned appointees into positions across government would be possible.
Javed Ali, a security analyst and former senior director of counterterrorism under Donald Trump, told Sky News: “Depending on who is prefered by [Trump], will they go through the traditional process by which you have to be presidentially appointed, confirmed by the US senate, go through an extensive background investigation process to get your security clearance? Those are all things that have stood the test of time.
“If President Trump wants to bypass those, I’m not sure of the legal basis on which he can operate, or if there is some executive basis he might have as commander in chief, but that will be a fascinating aspect of this.”
Donald Trump has paused US military aid to Ukraine just days after his row with President Zelenskyy.
A White House official, speaking anonymously, said: “President [Trump] has been clear that he is focused on peace.
“We need our partners to be committed to that goal as well. We are pausing and reviewing our aid to ensure that it is contributing to a solution.”
There was no indication about the possible length of the pause, and there’s been no comment so far from Ukraine.
It comes after the astonishing clash between the two leaders – as well as vice president Vance – in the Oval Office on Friday.
Donald Trump‘s berating of Mr Zelenskyy has led to a show of support from European leaders as they try to formulate their own way forward.
The US president attacked the Ukrainian leader again on Monday, telling reporters he should be “more appreciative”.
The tens of billion in US aid has included Patriot air defence systems. Pic: Reuters
Writing on Truth Social, Mr Trump also said Mr Zelenskyy had made “the worst statement that could have been made” after he commented that peace was still “very, very far away”.
“America will not put up with it for much longer!” he posted.
“It is what I was saying, this guy doesn’t want there to be peace as long as he has America’s backing,” the president added.
Mr Zelenskyy then posted on X, saying Ukraine was “working together with America and our European partners and very much hope on US support on the path to peace”.
“Peace is needed as soon as possible,” he said.
Despite the diplomatic crisis, President Trump has said a deal is still possible.
An agreement giving the US access to Ukraine’s rare earth metals was meant to have been signed by the two presidents on Friday.
It was billed as an important step in a future peace deal – and part payback for aid already received.
However, the dramatic falling out has thrown that into jeopardy.
Mr Zelenskyy wants the metals deal to include guarantees on halting Russia should it break the terms of any peace agreement.
However, vice president JD Vance suggested on Monday that the metals pact was the best way to secure a lasting end to the war.
“If you want real security guarantees, if you want to actually ensure that Vladimir Putin does not invade Ukraine
again, the very best security guarantee is to give Americans economic upside in the future of Ukraine,” Mr Vance said.
“That is a way better security guarantee than 20,000 troops from some random country that hasn’t fought a war in 30 or 40 years,” he added.
European and world allies – who met the Ukrainian leader in London at the weekend – have discussed a “coalition of the willing” to deploy peacekeepers and deter further Russian aggression.
The prime minister said Britain was prepared to put “boots on the ground and planes in the air” under the plan – but it’s unclear who else might participate.
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How many countries will back Starmer’s plan?
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Keir Starmer told MPs on Monday that Britain must “lead from the front” on supporting Ukraine and the “security of our continent, the security of our country”.
However, the prime minister believes any international deployment of troops must have a US “backstop” deterrent to be taken seriously by Russia.
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Sky News gets rare access to drone launch
America has given around €64bn of military aid to Ukraine, compared with €62bn from European nations (including Britain).
The overall US total is €114bn and the European one €132bn. This includes humanitarian aid and other financial assistance to keep the country running.
Following the weekend summit, the UK also pledged £1.6bn in finance for Ukraine to buy another 5,000 air defence missiles.
Donald Trump has confirmed 25% tariffs on goods from Mexico and Canada, taking effect at 5am UK time on Tuesday.
The US president confirmed the tariffs in a speech at the White House – and his announcement sent US stocks down sharply.
The tariffs will be felt heavily by US companies which have factories in Canada and Mexico, such as carmakers.
Mr Trump said: “They’re going to have a tariff. So what they have to do is build their car plants, frankly, and other things in the United States, in which case they have no tariffs.”
There’s “no room left” for a deal that would see the tariffs shelved if fentanyl flowing into the US is curbed by its neighbours, he added.
As of 12:01am Eastern Standard Time (5.01am GMT), Mexico and Canada face tariffs of 25%, with 10% for Canadian energy, the Trump administration confirmed.
And tariffs on Chinese imports will double, raising them from 10% to 20%.
Canada announced it would retaliate immediately, imposing 25% tariffs on US imports worth C$30bn (£16.3bn). It added the tariffs would be extended in 21 days to cover more US goods entering the country if the US did not lift its sanctions against Canada.
China also vowed to retaliate and reiterated its stance that the Trump administration was trying to “shift the blame” and
“bully” Beijing over fentanyl flows.
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What is America’s trade position?
Mr Trump’s speech stoked fears of a trade war in North America and sent financial markets reeling.
Markets the Dow Jones Industrial Average, and the Nasdaq Composite fell by 1.4% and 1.76% respectively.
The share prices for automobile companies including General Motors, which has significant truck production in Mexico, Automaker and Ford also fell.
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Consumers in the US could see price hikes within days, an expert has said.
Gustavo Flores-Macias, a public policy professor at Cornell University, New York, said “the automobile sector, in particular, is likely to see considerable negative consequences”.
This is due to supply chains that “crisscross the three countries in the manufacturing process” and ” because of the expected increase in the price of vehicles, which can dampen demand,” he added.
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The Trump administration is gearing up to bring in other tariffs in the coming weeks.
On 2 April, reciprocal tariffs will take on effects on all countries that impose duties on US products.
He is also considering 25% tariffs on goods from the EU “very soon” after claiming the bloc was created to “screw the United States”.
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