President Trump referenced Project 2025 Thursday despite distancing himself from it during his 2024 campaign.
Why it matters: Project 2025 became a political flashpoint during last year's presidential campaign because of its controversial outline for reshaping American life.
- Project 2025, never an official Trump platform, was built by some Trump allies and echoes moves from the early days of Trump's second presidency.
- Some of Trump's MAGA allies called Project 2025 the next-term agenda after Trump's win.
Driving the news: Trump said Tuesday he planned to meet with Russ Vought, director of the Office of Management and Budget, to discuss agency cuts amid the government shutdown.
- Trump identified Vought as "of Project 2025 fame" in his Truth Social post on the meeting.
- "I can't believe the Radical Left Democrats gave me this unprecedented opportunity," he wrote.
What they're saying: When asked about Trump's mention of Project 2025, White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson didn't directly respond to Axios' question.
Russ Vought's ties to Project 2025
Zoom in: Vought was a co-architect of the Heritage Foundation's initiative, largely seen as a roadmap for Trump's agenda.
- Vought was vice president of Heritage Action for America, a sister organization to the Heritage Foundation, which produced Project 2025. He wrote a section on the executive office.
- Other Trump allies — including Tom Homan, John Ratcliffe and Pete Hoekstra — also had a role in the plan's development.
Worthy of your time: After one X user linked the FCC's threats to ABC over Jimmy Kimmel's suspension to Project 2025, FCC chairman Brendan Carr, who also contributed to the agenda's text, posted a GIF of Jack Nicholson nodding menacingly.
Trump on Project 2025
Flashback: Trump repeatedly distanced himself from the plan during the 2024 election campaign as Democrats repeatedly linked him to it.
- "I have nothing to do with Project 2025," Trump said during a contentious presidential debate with Kamala Harris last year.
- "That's out there. I haven't read it. I don't want to read it, purposely. I'm not going to read it," he said.
- At a campaign rally in July 2024, Trump called the plan "seriously extreme" and was conceived by people on the "severe right."
Project 2025 main points
Project 2025, deemed a blueprint for reshaping life for millions of Americans, proposes massive expansion of executive branch power and control of the federal bureaucracy.
- Many of Trump's executive orders signed at the start of his presidency echo the project's agenda.
- The plan calls for hardline positions on issues like abortion, as well as urged the expansion of oil and gas drilling in Alaska.
- It also includes recommendations for slashing the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), minimizing the social safety net, cutting student debt relief and deporting immigrants.
More from Axios:
- Trump's MAGA allies gloat Project 2025 "is the agenda"
- How Project 2025 would change American life
- Project 2025 director steps down at Heritage Foundation
Editor's note: This story has been updated with a response from the White House.
