President Donald Trump is now openly confirming his administration’s connection to Project 2025 — a striking reversal from last year, when he claimed he had no knowledge of it.
On Thursday, Oct. 2, the president posted on Truth Social about a meeting with Russ Vought, one of the leading architects of Project 2025 — the Christian nationalist policy framework that dominated headlines during Trump’s 2024 campaign.
Vought, 49, previously served as the director of the White House Office of Management and Budget during both of Trump’s presidential terms.
“I have a meeting today with Russ Vought, he of PROJECT 2025 Fame, to determine which of the many Democrat Agencies, most of which are a political SCAM, he recommends to be cut, and whether or not those cuts will be temporary or permanent,” Trump, 79, wrote.
“I can’t believe the Radical Left Democrats gave me this unprecedented opportunity,” he continued. “They are not stupid people, so maybe this is their way of wanting to, quietly and quickly, MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!”
Project 2025 refers to the Heritage Foundation’s “Mandate for Leadership: The Conservative Promise,” a 900-page manifesto produced by the conservative think tank in collaboration with over 100 right-wing organizations.
Although Trump is now publicly praising Vought’s involvement, he spent much of 2024 trying to distance himself from the initiative. Throughout his campaign, he dismissed the plan as “extremist” after polling revealed widespread public opposition to its proposals.
In a Truth Social post dated July 5, 2024, Trump insisted, “I know nothing about Project 2025. I have no idea who is behind it. I disagree with some of the things they’re saying and some of the things they’re saying are absolutely ridiculous and abysmal. Anything they do, I wish them luck, but I have nothing to do with them.”
Later that month, during a rally in Grand Rapids, Michigan, he told supporters: “Some on the right, severe right, came up with this Project 25. They’re very, very conservative. They’re sort of the opposite of the radical left… You read some of the things, and they are extreme. I mean, they are seriously extreme. I don’t know anything about it. I don’t want to know anything about it.”
Despite these denials, many of the figures behind Project 2025 were members of Trump’s former administration, and several of its key authors have since been appointed to influential positions in his second term.
Trump was also no stranger to the Heritage Foundation’s influence. Back in 2016, the group presented him with a similar “Mandate for Leadership,” and he implemented nearly two-thirds of its recommendations during his first year in office.
Since Trump’s return to power in January 2025, an independent watchdog site, Project2025Tracker.org, has been monitoring how closely his administration aligns with the blueprint’s objectives. The site notes that the government is already 48% of the way toward fulfilling its 318 stated goals — which include eliminating marriage equality, defunding public education programs, curbing Social Security and Medicare, and banning literature on slavery and gender studies.
The ongoing government shutdown, which began at 12:01 a.m. on Oct. 1, could further advance those objectives. According to a recent Politico report, OMB head Russ Vought instructed federal agencies “to use this opportunity to consider Reduction in Force,” suggesting that permanent layoffs could replace temporary furloughs.
Following his directive, departments began crafting shutdown contingency plans. On Sept. 26, the Department of Labor issued a “Plan for the Continuation of Limited Activities During a Lapse in Appropriations,” confirming that several divisions — including the Bureau of Labor Statistics — would halt operations completely.
Vought’s influence has been unmistakable throughout Trump’s second term. Building upon Elon Musk’s short-lived stint at the Department of Government Efficiency, Vought has moved aggressively to dismantle federal oversight, cutting hundreds of environmental, labor, and safety regulations, freezing the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, and attempting to block billions in foreign aid.
“At the heart of Mr. Vought’s plan, associates say, is the intentional engineering of a legal battle over Congress’s power to decide how government money is spent, potentially creating a new legal precedent for the president to block spending on any programs and policies he dislikes,” The New York Times reported.
