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Project 2025

Project 2025 is a conservative policy and personnel blueprint for a future U.S.

By Ethan Anderson| Reviewed by Olivia Bennett, Standards & Fact-Checking Lead| Updated July 26, 2026|2 min read| Fact-checked

Project 2025 is a conservative policy and personnel blueprint for a future U.S. presidential administration, developed by the Heritage Foundation with input from more than 100 conservative organizations. It includes a lengthy governing agenda, a database of potential appointees, and training materials intended to help implement its proposals if a conservative President of the United States takes office. The project is also known as the 2025 Presidential Transition Project.

Background

Project 2025 was developed by the Heritage Foundation and released in 2023 as a transition and governing plan for a conservative administration. It is also called the 2025 Presidential Transition Project.

Structure and goals

The project combines a policy playbook, a personnel database, and training for future appointees. Its stated purpose is to prepare a new administration to quickly implement a conservative agenda across the federal government.

Policy proposals

The agenda includes major changes to the executive branch and policies on abortion, immigration, climate, education, civil rights, and federal agencies. Supporters describe it as a plan for conservative governance, while critics see it as a broad rollback of existing protections.

Political controversy

Project 2025 is controversial because critics argue that it would centralize power in the presidency and place partisan loyalists throughout the civil service. It has also drawn criticism for proposals seen as hostile to reproductive rights, LGBTQ rights, voting protections, and environmental regulation.

Key facts

  • Project 2025 is a policy blueprint aimed at reshaping the U.S. federal government if a conservative president is elected.
  • Its central document, Mandate for Leadership, sets out detailed recommendations for executive-branch reorganization and policy changes.
  • The project also includes a personnel database and training program for prospective administration staff.
  • The Heritage Foundation leads the effort, with participation from more than 100 conservative groups and many former Trump administration officials.
  • Critics say many proposals would expand presidential power, weaken civil-service independence, and roll back protections on abortion, civil rights, immigration, and climate policy.
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Canadian context

Project 2025 is primarily a U.S. political initiative, but Canadian readers may encounter it because it could affect cross-border issues such as trade, immigration, climate policy, and U.S.-Canada diplomatic relations if its proposals influenced a future American administration.

Frequently asked questions

What is Project 2025?
Project 2025 is a conservative transition and policy blueprint for a future U.S. president, centered on reorganizing the federal government and implementing a detailed governing agenda.
Who is behind Project 2025?
It is led by the Heritage Foundation and supported by more than 100 conservative organizations, with many former Trump administration officials involved in its development.
Is Project 2025 related to Trump?
It is not an official Trump campaign document, but it has extensive overlap with people from Trump’s first administration, and Trump has publicly tried to distance himself from it.
What does Project 2025 propose?
It proposes reworking the executive branch, building a vetted personnel pipeline, and advancing conservative policy changes on issues such as immigration, abortion, climate, education, and civil rights.
Why is Project 2025 controversial?
Critics say it would concentrate power in the presidency, weaken nonpartisan government institutions, and roll back protections in areas such as reproductive rights, civil rights, and environmental policy.

References

  1. American Civil Liberties Union — https://www.aclu.org/project-2025-explained
    Supports: Definition, Heritage Foundation role, size of the policy document, and criticisms of its scope and legality.
  2. BBC News — https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c977njnvq2do
    Supports: Heritage Foundation authorship, policy aims, unitary executive theory, and the document’s major goals.
  3. Encyclopaedia Britannica — https://www.britannica.com/topic/Project-2025
    Supports: Project description, conservative recommendations, personnel database, and general purpose.
  4. CBS News — https://www.cbsnews.com/news/what-is-project-2025-trump-conservative-blueprint-heritage-foundation/
    Supports: The project’s pillars, Heritage Foundation leadership, and transition-planning structure.
  5. The New York Times — https://www.nytimes.com/2024/11/06/us/politics/trump-project-2025.html
    Supports: Heritage Foundation initiation, approximate timeline, and examples of policy proposals.
  6. Brennan Center for Justice — https://www.brennancenter.org/series/project-2025
    Supports: Expanded executive power, election administration concerns, and democratic risks cited by critics.
  7. Center for American Progress — https://www.americanprogress.org/article/frequently-asked-questions-about-project-2025/
    Supports: Title used for the blueprint and description of the project as a conservative governing plan.
  8. Democracy Forward — https://www.democracyforward.org/work/research/the-peoples-guide-to-project-2025/
    Supports: Role of the Heritage Foundation, involvement of more than 100 organizations, and policy objectives as described by critics.