You've probably heard the name. It sounds like a sci-fi movie sequel or maybe a high-stakes corporate merger. But honestly, Project 2025 is something much more grounded—and, depending on who you ask, much more intense.
It’s a massive blueprint. Basically, it's a 920-page "how-to" guide for a conservative presidency. People call it the Mandate for Leadership. While it was published by the Heritage Foundation back in 2023, the ripples are still hitting the shore today in early 2026.
What is Trump's Project 2025 exactly?
Let’s get one thing straight: Donald Trump has had a complicated relationship with this document. During the 2024 campaign, he famously said he didn't know who was behind it. He called some of the ideas "abysmal."
But there’s a catch.
Over 140 people who worked in his first administration helped write it. We’re talking about big names like Russ Vought, the former OMB Director, and Peter Navarro. When Trump took office for his second term in January 2025, the "distance" between the campaign and the project started to vanish.
By the time he’d been in the Oval Office for just four days, analysts found that nearly two-thirds of his executive actions mirrored what was written in those 920 pages. It wasn't just a coincidence. It was a roadmap.
The Big Shakeup: Schedule F and the "Deep State"
If you want to understand the heart of this thing, you have to look at the civil service. Project 2025 pushed for something called Schedule F.
Historically, most government workers are "career" employees. They stay through different presidents. They’re supposed to be non-partisan experts. Project 2025 argued that these people are actually "unelected bureaucrats" who block the president’s agenda.
In January 2025, Trump signed an executive order reinstating this policy, though he renamed it Schedule Policy/Career.
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What does that actually mean for you? It means about 50,000 federal employees—the people who run the gears of the EPA, the DOJ, and the FBI—could be fired and replaced with loyalists. Critics call it a "spoils system." Supporters call it "accountability."
Honestly, it’s the biggest change to how the U.S. government functions since the 1880s.
Why the Department of Education is in the crosshairs
Another huge piece of the puzzle is education. Project 2025 didn't just want to "reform" the Department of Education; it wanted to abolish it.
The idea is simple: send the money and the power back to the states. The project views federal education oversight as "woke propaganda." They’ve pushed to:
- Phase out Title I funding, which helps schools in low-income areas.
- Eliminate the Head Start program for preschoolers.
- Shift public funds toward private school vouchers.
In 2026, we’re seeing the reality of this. While the department still exists (it takes an act of Congress to fully kill it), its budget has been slashed. States are now left to figure out how to fill the gaps for special education and low-income student support.
Reproductive Rights and the Comstock Act
This is where things get really heated. Trump has said he wants to leave abortion to the states. Project 2025, however, goes further.
The document mentions "abortion" nearly 200 times. It suggests using a 19th-century law called the Comstock Act to ban the mailing of abortion pills like mifepristone. If you can’t mail the pills, you effectively have a backdoor national ban, even in "blue" states.
As of early 2026, the administration has already implemented about 40% of the project’s reproductive policy suggestions. They’ve redirected federal funds toward "biblically based" family definitions and pulled support from clinics that provide abortion referrals.
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Economy, Climate, and "The Wall"
Project 2025 isn't just about social issues. It’s a full-spectrum overhaul.
On the climate front, the plan called for downsizing NOAA (the folks who track hurricanes and weather) because the authors felt they were "alarmist" about climate change. They also pushed to gut subsidies for renewable energy while ramping up oil and gas drilling on federal lands.
And then there's the border.
We’ve seen the "Border Czar" Tom Homan—a Project 2025 contributor—take the lead on what the document called the "biggest deportation operation in American history." It’s not just talk anymore. It’s logistics. They’ve used the National Guard and shifted military funds to build more of the wall, exactly as the mandate suggested.
Is it a "Dictatorship Blueprint"?
That’s the million-dollar question.
Critics from the ACLU and the Center for American Progress argue that Project 2025 is a manual for autocracy. They point to the "Unitary Executive Theory," which is a fancy way of saying the President should have total control over every single part of the executive branch.
On the flip side, the Heritage Foundation says the U.S. has become a "managerial state" where voters no longer have a say. They believe the President should have the power to fire anyone who doesn't follow his orders.
It’s a fundamental disagreement about how a democracy should work.
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Real-world impact in 2026
If you’re wondering how this affects your daily life, look at your taxes and your local school board.
- Taxes: The project pushed for a flat income tax and massive corporate cuts. Many of these were bundled into the 2025 tax law.
- Social Security: There's been talk of raising the retirement age, another Project 2025 "suggestion" that’s currently being debated in the GOP-led Congress.
- Daily News: When you see a high-ranking official at the FBI or the Pentagon get fired for "disloyalty," that is Project 2025 in action.
Actionable Steps: How to Stay Informed
The "Project 2025" name might fade from the headlines, but the policies are the new status quo.
Track the Federal Register. This is where the administration has to post every new rule change. If you see a move to reclassify "Policy/Career" positions in an agency you care about, that’s the 2025 playbook at work.
Follow your state’s response. Since many federal programs (like education and Medicaid) are being pushed to the states, your local governor and legislature now have more power than ever.
Check the court dockets. Groups like the ACLU are filing lawsuits against these changes every single week. These court cases will determine if the "Unitary Executive" vision is actually legal under the Constitution.
The reality of 2026 is that Project 2025 isn't a "threat" or a "promise" anymore. It's the current manual for the U.S. government. Whether you think that's a rescue mission or a wrecking ball depends entirely on your own politics.
Stay diligent. Watch the personnel changes. That’s where the real power is shifting.