Project 2025
Project 2025 is a blueprint—written by Trump's allies—for an extremist takeover of our government, which would give unprecedented new powers to the office of president, gutting checks and balances and threatening our personal freedoms.
What's at Stake?
Project 2025 includes these proposals*:
- Construction:
- Repeal Davis Bacon prevailing wages—lowering the wages of all construction workers on federal projects. (Page 604)
- Repeal the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and the Inflation Reduction Act—both of which are restoring our nation's infrastructure and creating hundreds of thousands of good union jobs. (Page 365)
- Ban the use of Project Labor Agreements on federal projects—making it more difficult for union members to get work. (Page 604)
- Reinstate Industry Registered Apprenticeships (IRAPs)—company-run sham apprenticeships that undermine union apprenticeships and allow irresponsible employers to lower pay and benefits for construction workers. (Page 594)
- Union Rights:
- Make it easier for employers to get rid of workers’ unions in the middle of contracts. (Page 603)
- Allow states to obtain waivers from federal labor law that protect workers’ paychecks, eliminate overtime protections, and choose not to follow the federal minimum wage. (Page 605)
- Make it easier for corporations to discipline or even fire workers for engaging in collective action and organizing. (Page 605)
- Ban pre-hire agreements and card check, mandating the exclusive use of secret ballots for union recognition—preventing unions like the UA from signing with a contractor to organize workers. (Page 603)
- Overtime, Unemployment, and Child Labor:
- Allow employers to compensate overtime with paid time off instead of overtime pay. (Page 620)
- Suggest that employers should be able to combine weeks to avoid paying overtime. (Page 624)
- Restrict Unemployment Insurance, making it more difficult for those in need to access essential benefits. (Page 598)
- Eliminate child labor rules that protect children from working in mines, meatpacking plants, and other dangerous workplaces. (Page 595)
- Federal Workers:
- Calls for Congress to consider eliminating union rights for federal workers. (Page 82)
- Cut federal transit workers’ paychecks. (Page 635)
- Proposes cuts to retirement benefits for federal workers, claiming they are too “generous.” (Page 77)
- Healthcare:
- Cut Medicaid benefits and stop the government from negotiating Medicare Part D drug prices, making prescriptions more expensive. (Page 696)
- Tax workers’ employer-paid health coverage and remove dependents from health plans at age 23 rather than age 26. (Page 697)
- Discrimination:
- Make it illegal for the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) to collect data on workplace discrimination, making civil rights discrimination lawsuits impossible to prove. (Page 583)
- Make it easier for employers and federal contractors to discriminate based on people’s race or gender. (Page 583)
*Page numbers reference the Project 2025 source document.
Who is Behind Project 2025?
In short, the Heritage Foundation and Trump Administration Officials.
This plan was published by the Heritage Foundation, a conservative "think tank," in close collaboration with former Trump Administration officials. Once the unpopular ideas in Project 2025 began to receive wider attention, President Trump tried to distance himself from the plan. But the evidence overwhelmingly establishes his involvement.
A week after Project 2025 was announced, President Trump previewed the Heritage's work, stating that “they’re going to lay the groundwork and detail plans for exactly what our movement will do … when the American people give us a colossal mandate to save America. And that’s coming.” Project 2025 was published a year later. Trump's Budget Director was later caught on camera admitting that Trump “blessed” Project 2025.
At least 140 Trump Administration Officials—including 6 of his cabinet secretaries and top aides like Chief of Staff Mark Meadows and Senior Advisor Stephen Miller—contributed to Project 2025. In fact, former Trump officials authored 25 out of its 30 chapters. His Vice Presidential candidate, JD Vance, also wrote the introduction of an upcoming book by the head of Project 2025, praising his vision for the country in glowing terms.