House Democrats went all-in against Project 2025 this week, mounting a full-court messaging push to warn voters of the far-right agenda they say will be implemented if former President Donald Trump wins the White House.
And sensing political vulnerability, Hill Republicans are eager to distance themselves from the Heritage Foundation vision for a Trump presidency. A majority of Americans view Project 2025 unfavorably, according to recent polling.
“Trump’s Project 2025 is the extreme MAGA Republican plan to exercise total control over the American people,” House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries told us. “They can run from the manifesto, but we will not let them hide.”
More and more Republicans are indeed running from the policy platform, joining the Trump campaign in repudiating the Heritage Foundation’s expansive list of policy proposals. To be clear, there’s still substantial overlap between ideas and individuals included in Project 2025 and previous Trump administration officials.
“I don’t believe [Trump] had any involvement in crafting that project, and we should be honest about that,” Rep. Eli Crane (R-Ariz.) said.
Some center-right Republicans went as far as to criticize Heritage directly.
The organization, once a leading institution for Reaganites and old school conservatives, has embraced Trump’s America First brand of politics in recent years.
“Heritage has done a number of things over the last several years where they’ve lost credibility with a lot of us who are conservative, so I don’t pay a whole lot of attention to what comes out of Heritage anymore,” Rep. Austin Scott (R-Ga.) told us.
Rep. Don Bacon (R-Neb.), who’s facing a tough reelection campaign, said he has not looked into Project 2025 at all.
“I haven’t read it and don’t plan on reading it,” Bacon told us. “Trump says he doesn’t support it. I think it’s become a fake talking point for the Dems.”
What’s in it: Among other policy goals, the 922-page-long Project 2025 recommends rebuilding Trump’s border wall, cutting government spending and banning people assigned male at birth from competing in women’s sports.
The Heritage Foundation has proposed policy blueprints in many past cycles as suggested guides for future GOP administrations, but the think tank has not asked candidates to endorse their proposals.
In a recent Fox News interview, Heritage President Kevin Roberts said Trump is telling the truth when he says he isn’t involved with Project 2025 and that the organization also hasn’t formally endorsed Trump. Roberts added that Heritage has historically remained candidate-neutral during presidential elections.
But Democrats are still trying their best to pin the project to Republicans.
Both Jeffries and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer held Project 2025-themed news conferences on Thursday, along with Assistant House Democratic Leader Joe Neguse. All the Democratic leaders bashed Trump’s attempts to distance himself from the initiative.
“They’re trying to run away from it now because it’s so devastating to just about every American,” Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said.
What’s next: House Democrats will hold a public presentation on Tuesday to illustrate the impact of Project 2025 if these policies are implemented. Rep. Jared Huffman (D-Calif.) said on Thursday he wanted to take the presentations across the country.
Rep. Mark Pocan (D-Wis.) told us he’s been holding town halls across Wisconsin’s competitive House districts to slam Project 2025.
