UNDER CONSTRUCTION:
(see Table of Contents for scope of this Guide)
Democrats' Guide to Project 2025
Many organizations have undertaken the task of understanding and analysis of Project 2025. These organizations read the Project’s entire 900+ page policy manual so that you don’t have to.
[This page and the next are the overview. The following seven pages each address a different aspect of Project 2025.]
This Guide presents their findings. Click topic to read details.
(1) Found: the most profound threats to the American people.
What these organizations discovered was …
a systemic, ruthless plan to undermine the quality of life of millions of Americans, remove critical protections and dismantle programs for communities across the nation, and prioritize special interests and ideological extremism over people.
From attacking overtime pay, student loans, and reproductive rights, to allowing more discrimination, pollution, and price gouging, those behind Project 2025 are preparing to go to incredible lengths to create a country only for some, not for all of us.
If these plans are enacted, even without congressional approval, 4.3 million people could lose overtime protections, 40 million people could have their food assistance reduced, 220,000 American jobs could be lost, and much, much, more. The stakes are higher than ever for democracy and for people.
(2) These threats aren’t hypothetical.
These are their real plans.
The Heritage Foundation and the project’s Advisory Board of 110+ conservative organizations have mapped out exactly how they will achieve their extreme ends. They aim to carry out many of the most troubling proposals through an anti-democratic president and political loyalists installed in the executive branch, without waiting for congressional action. And, while many of these plans are unlawful, winning in court is not guaranteed given that the same far-right movement behind Project 2025 has also shaped our current court system.
See “What is Project 2025?” in the Menu above
(3) To combat the threats posed by Project 2025 ...
we have to first understand them.
What follows in this Guide are some of the most dangerous proposals that make up Project 2025, specifically those that could be implemented through federal agencies and a far-right executive branch.
The majority of Americans share the same values and priorities, but Project 2025 wants to push an extreme, out-of-touch agenda on all of us. By reading this guide and sharing it, we can begin to address these threats and go on offense towards building a bold, inclusive democracy for all people.
PROJ 2025 menu lists pages fir further reading.
(4) Credits
Of many organizations that have published their analyses, we selected “The People’s Guide to Project 2025”, a project by Democracy Forward published in June 2024 on their website as the major source for pages of this Guide.
Their Guide was chosen because it was thorough, presented in absorbable chunks, the chunks fit out presentation format and each chunk consistantly referenced the corresponding pages of the Project 2025’s policy manual. Where other sources are used herein they are noted by square brackets [ ], including when the source is the Heritage Foundation’s own publications. The Editor is the primary source for this page and it’s 4 topics. In the remaining pages, where there are no square brackets, you may assume the source is reference [1].
(5) REFERENCES
[1] “The People’s Guide to Project 2025”, a project by Democracy Forward publisihed in June 2024 on their website
[2] “Mandate for Leadership: The Conservative Promise”, published in April 2023, by the Heritage Foundation and available on-line as a PDF document
[3] “Project 2025 Presidential Transition Project”, published in 2024 on their website by the Heritage Foundation, including the following:
[3a] About Project 2025
[3b] (RESERVED)
[3c] The Truth About Project 2025
[3d] Presidential Administration Academy
[3e] 180-Day Playbook
[4] “Project 2025: Full List of Organizations Behind Proposals”, published July 11, 2024, by Newsweek website
[5] “It Was Supposed to Be Trump’s Administration in Waiting. But …”, an article by Ian Ward published August 2, 2004 on Politico website
[6] “Conservative Think Tanks Are Preparing a List of 20K Potential Political Appointees in Hopes of Reviving Schedule F”, an article by ERICH WAGNER published April 24, 2023, by Government Executives website
Project 2025 Snapshot
Proposals from Project 2025, discussed in detail throughout this guide, that could be implemented through executive branch action alone – so without new legislation – include：
Cut American Rescue Plan (ARP)
programs that have created or saved
220,000 jobs
Limit access to food assistance,
which an average of more than 40 million people rely on monthly,
21.6 million households
Roll back civil rights protections
across multiple fronts, including cutting diversity, equity, and inclusion-related (DEl) programs and LGBTQ+ rights in health care.
Eliminate the Head Start early education
program, which serves over
1 million children
Stop efforts to lower
prescription drug prices
Cut overtime
protections for
4.3 million
workers
Push more people towards Medicare Advantage and
and other worse, private options – that’s
33 million people
Deny students in 25 states and Washington D.C. access to student loans because their school
provides in-state tuition to undocumented immigrants
Restrict access to medication aboration
368,000 children
in foster care exposed to risk
increased discrimination
