"Project 2025" — AKA Far-Right Conservatives' Plan For Next Year — Is Going Viral For These 10 Terrifying Reasons
We're officially five months away from the 2024 presidential election, and far-right conservatives are vowing to make unprecedented changes to the US government if a conservative president is elected in November.
Project 2025 — a far-right conservative plan to "build now for a conservative victory through policy, personnel, and training" under a conservative president in 2025 — has gone viral for its nearly 1,000-page list of alarming policies that will impact generations of Americans.
I just learned about project 2025 and omg???? Wtf
— Auntie Bev ♎️ (@curlybeviie) June 7, 2024
@curlybeviie
Project 2025 is led by the Heritage Foundation, a conservative organization based in Washington, DC.
Representative Jasmine Crockett recently went viral for sharing her take on Project 2025 on the House floor. She described it as a "playbook for authoritarianism."
Jasmine Crockett is a fucking star. Before Crockett, no one in congress had exposed the true agenda of Project 2025. Because of Crockett, we now know. The plan is to elect Trump, dismantle democracy and turn America into a fascist, authoritarian dictatorship. pic.twitter.com/mnmkbW9azq
— Bill Madden (@maddenifico) May 18, 2024
CSPAN / @millennialreportmaddenifico
But what does Project 2025 actually plan to do? Let's take a deep dive and highlight 10 major ways this plan could impact us all. Under Project 2025:
1.The Department of Education would no longer exist.
Project 2025 states: "Federal education policy should be limited and, ultimately, the federal Department of Education should be eliminated." Project 2025 aims to remove all power from the federal government and allow states and local governments to solely determine where their education funds go. According to EducationWeek, a non-partisan news organization that covers K–12 education, "Title I, the $18 billion federal fund that supports low-income students, would disappear in a decade" under Project 2025. It also advocates for "rejecting gender ideology and critical race theory" when it comes to enforcing civil rights in schools, making Black and LGBTQ+ students vulnerable to discrimination with little to no oversight.
2.Access to abortion drugs mifepristone and misoprostol would be removed nationwide.
Project 2025 rejects the premise that "abortion is healthcare." Project 2025 states: "FDA should, therefore, reverse its approval of chemical abortion drugs because the politicized approval process was illegal from the start." A Duke University study estimated that banning abortion nationwide would result in a 21% increase in pregnancy-related deaths and a 33% increase in pregnancy-related deaths for Black women, specifically, who already suffer from abnormal rates of maternal mortality. Without access to safe abortions, this will negatively impact not only the health of women and girls but also their ability to pursue education and, in turn, enter the workforce. This plan would also allow for data tracking of women who travel to receive abortions, which Project 2025 calls "abortion tourism."
3.The US military would be deployed as law enforcement.
According to reporting from the Washington Post, Project 2025 authors are preparing to invoke the Insurrection Act to legally allow the US military to be deployed for "domestic law enforcement." This idea was reportedly proposed to Trump in 2020 during the George Floyd protests, but he turned it down then and has since expressed regret for that decision.
4.Protections for LGBTQ+ families would be removed to center a traditional Christian view of marriage.
Project 2025 states: "Families comprised of a married mother, father, and their children are the foundation of a well-ordered nation and healthy society. Unfortunately, family policies and programs under President Biden's HHS are fraught with agenda items focusing on 'LGBTQ+ equity,' subsidizing single motherhood, disincentivizing work, and penalizing marriage. These policies should be repealed and replaced by policies that support the formation of stable, married, nuclear families." According to reporting from PBS, Project 2025 also intends to reinstate a transgender military ban and limit civil protections for LGBTQ+ people in the workplace.
5.Birth control would become more difficult to obtain.
According to Politico News, Project 2025 intends to require insurance coverage of natural family planning methods (tracking fertility signs, menstrual cycle, etc.) and remove requirements of insurance companies to cover some emergency contraception methods. Currently, over 62 million women are able to get access to birth control through their insurance plan without paying out-of-pocket costs, but with Project 2025, that number could significantly drop.
6.The FBI would no longer be allowed to combat the spread of "misinformation" or "disinformation."
Project 2025 states: "The United States government and, by extension, the FBI have absolutely no business policing speech, whether in the public square, in print, or online."During this current election year, the FBI is already concerned about the spread of misinformation via AI that could influence voters in November.
7.Climate change and renewable energy priorities would be removed from the Department of Agriculture.
Project 2025 states: "The Biden Administration’s vision of a federal government developing a plan that 'fixes' agriculture and focuses on issues secondary to food production is very disturbing. The next Administration should: Denounce efforts to place ancillary issues like climate change ahead of food productivity and affordability when it comes to agriculture."Project 2025 advocates for "removing the U.S. from any association with the U.N. and other efforts to push sustainable-development schemes connected to food production." Yet, according to the USDA, farming activities have accounted for 10.6% of greenhouse gas emissions in the US in recent years.
8.The Department of Homeland Security would be dismantled.
Project 2025 states: "Our primary recommendation is that the President pursue legislation to dismantle the Department of Homeland Security (DHS)."The plan intends to "fund the construction of additional border wall systems, technology, and personnel in strategic locations" and have Congress change asylum parameters to say that "gang violence and domestic violence are not grounds for asylum."This plan also wants to "rescind all memoranda limiting enforcement of immigration laws including those identifying sensitive zones," which are areas where ICE agents are prohibited from operating, such as funerals, weddings, and graveside ceremonies. Project 2025 says it will "rely on the good judgment of officers in the field to avoid inappropriate situations."
9.Diversity and inclusion programs within government agencies would be cut.
Project 2025 states: The National Institute of Health (NIH) "became so focused on the #MeToo movement that it refused to sponsor scientific conferences unless there were a certain number of women panelists, which violates federal civil rights law against sex discrimination. This quota practice should be ended, and the NIH program of Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion, which pushes such unlawful actions, should be abolished."According to AP News, Project 2025 also includes proposals to have the Pentagon "abolish" its diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives.
And finally...
10.The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) would be downsized.
Project 2025 states: "Determine the opportunity to downsize by terminating the newest hires in low-value programs and identify relocation opportunities for Senior Executive Service (SES) positions." The EPA protects vulnerable communities from environmental health risks and develops regulations to protect the planet. Project 2025 plans to "eliminate the stand-alone Office of Environmental Justice and External Civil Rights" and "establish a significant emissions rate (SER) for greenhouse gasses (GHGs)."
Here's the full Project 2025 layout to read for yourself.
