You've probably seen the headlines. One day, it's a "secret blueprint" for a second term, and the next, Donald Trump is on Truth Social swearing he has "no idea who is behind it." It’s confusing. Honestly, it's designed to be a little bit confusing. If you’re trying to figure out if the president is actually reading this 900-page manual or just letting his team run with it, you aren't alone.
The question of does Trump know about Project 2025 became one of the biggest flashpoints of the 2024 campaign, and now, a year into his second term in 2026, the answer is written all over his executive orders.
Let’s be real: Donald Trump isn’t exactly known for sitting down with a thousand-page policy document and a highlighter. But "knowing" about something in politics is different than reading it for a book club. Even when he was distancing himself during the campaign—calling some of the ideas "absolutely ridiculous"—the people who wrote the thing were already measuring the drapes in the West Wing.
The Paper Trail: Does Trump Know About Project 2025?
To understand the connection, you have to look at the math. This wasn't some rogue operation run by strangers. A CNN analysis found that at least 140 people who worked in Trump's first administration were involved in Project 2025. We are talking about six former cabinet secretaries. People like Russ Vought, who ran the Office of Management and Budget, and Ben Carson, the former HUD Secretary.
If your old boss says he doesn't know what you're up to, but you're his former Budget Director writing the "Executive Office of the President" chapter, it's a bit of a stretch.
Vought, for instance, didn't just write a chapter; he’s now back in the administration as the OMB Director again. He’s the guy responsible for the actual "nuts and bolts" of the government. When he says there will be "mass layoffs and firings" to dismantle agencies, he is literally reciting the playbook he helped write for Heritage.
The Disavowal vs. The Delivery
During the heat of the 2024 election, Trump’s team was in full damage-control mode. They knew the "Mandate for Leadership" was polling terribly—only about 7% of Republicans viewed it positively in some polls. So, Trump did what he does best: he distanced himself. He said "they’ve been told officially" to stop linking him to it.
But fast forward to today, January 2026. The "disavowal" looks more like a tactical retreat than a real breakup.
- Executive Orders: In his first week back, Trump signed a flurry of orders. Analysis showed that over two-thirds of those early actions aligned directly with Project 2025 recommendations.
- The Military: Project 2025 called for ending gender-affirming care in the military and reversing DEI programs. In January 2025, Trump did exactly that via executive order.
- Public Lands: The Center for Western Priorities reports that the administration has already implemented over 80% of the public lands actions outlined in the project, including fast-tracking drilling and logging.
Is It "Agenda 47" or Project 2025?
Trump's official campaign platform was called Agenda 47. He’d point to that and say, "That's my plan, not the Heritage one." In reality, the two are like siblings. Agenda 47 is the flashy, social-media-friendly version; Project 2025 is the dense, technical manual that explains how to actually fire 50,000 civil servants without getting sued into oblivion.
Kevin Roberts, the president of the Heritage Foundation, once called the project's goal "institutionalizing Trumpism." Even if Trump himself didn't sign off on every paragraph, the project was built specifically to serve his "Movement." He even endorsed the Heritage Foundation's role back in 2022, saying they were going to "lay the groundwork and detail plans for exactly what our movement will do."
Why the "I Don't Know Them" Defense Worked (And Didn't)
Politically, it was a smart move. By claiming ignorance, Trump avoided being pinned down on the most unpopular bits, like the specific calls to use the Comstock Act to limit abortion medication. He could say, "I haven't seen that," while his advisors were already drafting the memos to make it happen.
But for the voters, the proof is in the personnel. "Personnel is policy," as the old Reagan-era saying goes. When you hire Tom Homan as "Border Czar" and Stephen Miller as Deputy Chief of Staff—both of whom were deeply tied to the Project 2025 orbit—you are essentially buying the product.
The Schedule F Reality
The biggest smoking gun is Schedule F. This is the plan to reclassify career government employees as "at-will" staffers so they can be fired and replaced with loyalists. Project 2025 screamed for it. Russ Vought obsessed over it. And in November 2025, the Trump administration finalized the rule to bring it back.
While it’s currently tied up in the courts thanks to public-sector unions, the intent is clear. The administration is following the Heritage blueprint to a T.
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What This Means for the Rest of 2026
If you’re wondering what’s next, you don’t need a crystal ball. You just need to look at the "Mandate for Leadership" table of contents. We’ve already seen the moves on the Department of Education—weakening its oversight and shifting power to the states. We've seen the "Energy Dominance" push.
Next on the list?
- More aggressive "Schedule F" implementation if the courts clear the way.
- Further restructuring of the Department of Justice to ensure "litigation decisions are consistent with the President's agenda."
- New "task forces" aimed at investigating anti-competitive behavior in the food supply chain, which Trump actually started doing via executive order recently.
Honestly, the debate over "did he know" is kinda over. Whether he read the book or just hired the people who wrote it doesn't really matter anymore. The results are the same.
What you can do now:
- Track the Executive Orders: Keep an eye on the Federal Register. Many of these changes happen through "proclamations" that don't get as much news coverage as a rally.
- Monitor Local Impact: A lot of the Project 2025/Agenda 47 overlap involves shifting federal power to states. Check how your state legislature is reacting to new federal grants or "Fostering the Future" initiatives.
- Watch the Courts: The survival of many of these policies depends on the AI Litigation Task Force and various challenges to "Schedule F." These legal battles will define the next three years.
The blueprint isn't a secret anymore. It's the daily schedule.