When Donald Trump delivers his State of the Union address, he is expected to highlight the achievements of his first year back in office. One subject that will likely remain unmentioned is Project 2025—the detailed conservative blueprint he publicly dismissed during the 2024 campaign.
Just months before his election victory, Trump sought to distance himself from the 900-page policy guide, telling voters, "I have no idea who is behind it. I disagree with some of the things they're saying." The disavowal followed intense criticism from Democrats, who sought to tie the candidate to the Heritage Foundation's ultra-conservative vision.
Today, however, the connection is far harder to ignore. Liberal watchdog groups tracking the administration's moves estimate that roughly half of the proposals in Project 2025 have already been "initiated or completed." From the firing of thousands of federal employees to a sweeping immigration crackdown and a renewed focus on Venezuela, the document appears to have served as a governing roadmap.
A Blueprint for Power, Not Just Policy
Project 2025, published in April 2023, was more than a traditional think-tank wish list. Its core document, Mandate for Leadership, didn't just propose conservative goals; it outlined a step-by-step strategy for achieving them by expanding presidential power and restructuring the federal workforce.
"It really is a very detailed blueprint," said Eugene Kiley of Factcheck.org. "It sets out how to fire government employees and which ones, and how to take control of independent agencies." These exact methods were on display in the administration's early days, as the Department of Government Efficiency (Doge) aggressively moved to cut staff and brought agencies like USAID under tighter White House control.
The Heritage Foundation has since played down its influence, stating that "all policy and personnel decisions are up to President Trump." The White House, for its part, focused on the results, with spokesman Davis Ingle touting border security, tax cuts, and economic investments.
The Agenda Takes Shape: From Border to Budget
Tracking initiatives against the Project 2025 text reveals a consistent pattern. Policies enacted since Trump's return include:
Immigration Crackdown: The document proposed using military troops at the border, ending protected "enforcement zones" like schools and churches, and expanding detention facilities—all measures the administration has implemented.
Foreign Policy & Venezuela: A chapter on foreign policy specifically warned of "Venezuela's Communism." While it stopped short of calling for regime change, it set the stage for the administration's hardline stance. The 2025 National Security Strategy echoes the document's focus on countering China's influence in the Western Hemisphere.
Government Overhaul: Moves to halt foreign aid, end federal diversity programmes, and defund public broadcasters like NPR and PBS are all items checked off the Project 2025 list.
The influence extends to personnel. Key contributors to the document now hold powerful positions, including CIA Director John Ratcliffe, "border tsar" Tom Homan, and Russell Vought, the budget chief whose cost-cutting efforts earned him an AI-generated shout-out from the president as the "grim reaper."
'Conservative Gospel' and the Road Ahead
Paul Dans, who directed Project 2025 before leaving to support Trump's campaign, sees the last year as validation. "Any outsider looking at this can easily see how much of this first year was set out by Project 2025," he told the BBC. "If it wasn't for President Trump this would just be a report on a shelf."
Dans, now watching from the outside, called the plan "conservative gospel right now" but stressed the work is far from over. With midterm elections approaching, he warned, "The hourglass is slowly running out, and time is being wasted."
Many of the most controversial proposals, however, remain unimplemented. These include rescinding approval of abortion pills, classifying certain teachers and librarians as sex offenders, and adding a citizenship question to the US Census.
A Political Boomerang?
The durability of the Project 2025 approach raises a longer-term question. If a conservative blueprint can be enacted so swiftly through aggressive use of executive power, what happens when the political winds shift?
"This can come back and bite [Republicans] someday," noted Kiley. "It's inevitable. There will be liberals in the White House and conservatives in the White House, it will swing back and forth."
For progressives currently out of power, that prospect offers a potential path forward. James Goodwin of the Center for Progressive Reform argued that the left should take inspiration from the playbook itself. "We're presented with this unique opportunity to rebuild things," he said. "We have an opportunity to articulate a vision for how to do things better."
For now, however, the Trump administration's first year suggests that Project 2025 has successfully evolved from a campaign-trail liability into the practical architecture of governing.
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