President Donald Trump has made a dramatic reversal, openly endorsing Project 2025—the conservative playbook he disavowed during his 2024 campaign—while using the government shutdown to push aggressive federal workforce cuts and target Democratic-led states.
In a Thursday Truth Social post, Trump announced a meeting with his Office of Management and Budget (OMB) director, Russ Vought, a key Project 2025 author, to identify “Democrat Agencies, most of which are a political SCAM” for potential permanent or temporary cuts. This marks a stark shift from Trump’s 2024 claims of ignorance about the Heritage Foundation’s 900-page plan to overhaul the federal government, which he called “ridiculous and abysmal” last July.
Democrats, including Joe Biden and Kamala Harris, had made Project 2025 a campaign centerpiece, warning of its extreme proposals, like banning pornography or withdrawing abortion medication approval. “Trump and his stooges lied through their teeth about Project 2025, and now he’s running the country straight into it,” said Ammar Moussa, a former Biden-Harris spokesperson. Shalanda Young, Biden’s OMB director, added, “Democrats were right, but that doesn’t make me feel better. I’m angry this is happening after we were told it wasn’t their plan.”
Also Read: Trump Announces Xi Summit as Soybeans Take Center Stage in Trade War
White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson deflected, accusing Democrats of focusing on Project 2025 to dodge blame for the shutdown’s impact on Americans.
The shutdown, triggered Tuesday after failed funding talks, is now a tool for Trump’s Project 2025 agenda: slashing the federal workforce and consolidating executive power. Unlike past shutdowns relying on furloughs, OMB has ordered agencies to prepare for mass layoffs, with Vought telling House GOP lawmakers Wednesday that firings could begin imminently.
The administration has also targeted Democratic priorities, freezing $18 billion in New York City transit projects backed by Senate Leader Chuck Schumer and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, and canceling $8 billion in green energy initiatives in 16 Democratic-leaning states. Sen. Patty Murray called these “mafioso tactics,” alleging illegal targeting of blue states.
Trump’s team now includes Project 2025 architects: Vought at OMB, Tom Homan as “border czar,” John Ratcliffe at the CIA, Stephen Miller on immigration, and Brendan Carr at the FCC. Paul Dans, the project’s former director, now running for Senate, called the implementation “gratifying,” noting it was crafted for a “doer like President Trump.”
Vought’s Project 2025 chapter envisions OMB as the “President’s air-traffic control system,” overriding agency bureaucracies to enforce executive will. Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency, led by Elon Musk, has already stalled or scrapped billions in spending this year. The shutdown amplifies these efforts, with no resolution in sight.
GOP leaders are celebratory. Sen. Mike Lee told Fox News, “Vought has a plan, and it’s going to succeed in empowering Trump. This is the Democrats’ worst nightmare.” House Speaker Mike Johnson claimed the shutdown hands Trump “the keys of the kingdom,” sidelining Congress. Young countered, “The Constitution gives the White House no such power. The keys are gone, and this shutdown didn’t lose them.”
As furloughs disrupt air travel, food aid, and more, with paychecks at risk by October 15, critics warn Trump’s embrace of Project 2025 could reshape the federal government in a radical conservative mold unless Democrats secure a funding deal.
Also Read: Qatar Now Under U.S. Shield, Trump Issues Dire Warning