What is Project 2025? During debate, Donald Trump again tries to distance himself from plan

The 922-page plan to overhaul the federal government is led by conservative think tank the Heritage Foundation.

Jasmine Minor Image
Wednesday, September 11, 2024
Trump, Harris discuss economy and Project 2025 during debate
Donald Trump, Kamala Harris discuss economy and Project 2025 during presidential debate

WASHINGTON (WLS) -- During the presidential debate on Tuesday night, former President Donald Trump again tried to distance himself from Project 2025, the Heritage Foundation project crafted by dozens of his former administration officials.

"I haven't read it. I don't want to read it, purposefully. I'm not going to read it," he says.

This story below was originally published on July 16, 2024.

The initiative known as Project 2025 is framed as a blueprint of what a second presidential term for Donald Trump could look like.

The former president has been distancing himself from it in recent weeks.

Project 2025 is nearly 1,000 pages of policy recommendations, including cuts to food stamps, federal student loan forgiveness programs and reshaping bureaucracy by major changes to women's rights.

"It would really be the destruction of our democracy as a whole," said National Organization for Women President Christian Nunes.

READ MORE | RNC committee adopts GOP's 2024 policy platform -- including on abortion

The 922-page plan to overhaul the federal government is led by conservative think tank the Heritage Foundation.

"Their work is really designed to dismantle many social pro-net programs, reverse decades of years of equity work that we put into to defend civil rights," Nunes said.

In the project's mandate, it suggests things such as reversing approval of abortion drugs, getting rid of the pentagon's recent diversity, equity and inclusion efforts and reclassifying tens of thousands of federal workers as political appointees.

It goes on to suggest deleting terms such as "sexual orientation and gender identity," "diversity equity and inclusion" and "any other term used to deprive Americans of their First Amendment rights out of every federal rule."

"If this were to come to reality, the amount of trauma, the amount of violence, the amounts of oppression that would exist, would be detrimental, Nunes said.

Nunes says after watching the overturn of Roe v. Wade, she worries these policies will become a reality with Trump as a president.

SEE ALSO | Trump is trying to distance himself from Project 2025. Its architects helped shape his RNC platform

Trump has distanced himself from Project 2025, writing on his social media website, "I know nothing about Project 2025," and calling some of the policies "ridiculous."

However, according to a CNN report, nearly 240 people were found with ties to both Project 2025 and the former president.

Trump has pushed a message of unification since the assassination attempt at his Pennsylvania rally over the weekend.

ABC7 requested an interview with those in charge of Project 2025, did not hear back.