President Donald Trump took office after his inauguration which took place Monday, Jan. 20, paving the way for a policy agenda called Project 2025.
The 922-page blueprint outlines a plan for the next Republican administration to make significant changes to federal policy. Project 2025 mentions Trump over 300 times, leaving many to speculate if Trump played a critical role in this plan. Trump has denied involvement in the document and many suggest the plan was simply designed with his administration in mind.
A major aspect of Project 2025 involves appointing loyalists to key positions in the White House. Critics have raised concerns about the emphasis of loyalty over traditional qualifications. For example, Secretary of Defense candidate Pete Hegseth is a Fox News commentator while an Army General or someone with decades of military experience would traditionally be appointed to that role. Therefore, Hegseth’s nomination aligns with Project 2025’s emphasis on appointing loyalists to key positions.
Project 2025 prioritizes mass deportations of undocumented immigrants, targeting over 11 million people. This is projected to cost the United States (U.S.) billions of dollars to execute, leading to potential economic downturn.
Another focus of the plan includes reducing federal spending. This could affect important programs like Medicare, which provides healthcare for 60 million Americans nationwide; however, Trump doesn’t have any current plans to cut funding for Medicare.
As it pertains to reproductive rights, Project 2025 aims to ban abortion medications and restrict contraception access. It also seeks to require states to report all miscarriages and abortions, including the reason for every abortion. The Trump administration does support pro-life sentiments, but there are currently no direct plans to make women report their pregnancy status.
Regarding Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer+ (LGBTQ+) rights, the plan proposes to remove regulations that prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation, gender identity, and more to decrease the progress for LGBTQ+ individuals. These social policies align with the administration’s conservative vision that they have for the U.S.
With control of Congress, the judiciary and the presidency, a Republican-led government under Project 2025 has the power to reshape the nation’s policies significantly.
