Trump Claimed He Hadn’t Read Project 2025 During Campaign, But His Executive Actions Align Closely With Its Proposals

President Donald Trump surprised his administration last week by proposing that the country’s primary disaster response agency could disappear. Trump has regularly criticized the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), and now his executive order could call for its dismantling.

The idea first circulated two years ago through Project 2025, a 922-page model to overhaul the government along right-wing lines.

Of the 53 executive orders from Trump’s first week in office, thirty-six were outlined in the 922-page document. These include stricter immigration measures, dismantling diversity, equity, and inclusion programs and withdrawing environmental restrictions on oil and gas exploration.

“This is exactly the work we set out to do. It’s still in the early stages of bearing fruit, but we wanted to make sure the president was ready to hit the ground running on day one. The rapidity and the depth of what they’ve rolled out this quickly is a testament to the work done in Project 2025 and other presidential transition projects,” said Paul Dans, former director of Project 2025 at the Heritage Foundation. Dans added that Trump’s second term is “beyond his wildest dreams.”

The Heritage Foundation has influenced the Republican administrations, leading back to President Ronald Reagan.

In Trump’s first term, the president enacted 64 percent of the 334 policies recommended in the 2016 version of their mandate for leadership.

Around 140 former Trump administration officials and allies contributed to Project 2025, but Trump distanced himself from the mandate during his campaign.

“I have nothing to do with Project 2025. That’s out there. I haven’t read it. I don’t want to read it, purposely. I’m not going to read it,” said Trump in a September 2024 debate against former Vice President Kamala Harris.

However, since Trump’s victory, he has employed his administration with people who helped with Project 2025. Tom Homan, White House border czar Russ Vought, director of the Office of Management and Budget and CIA Director John Ratcliffe contributed to the plan.