Russell Vought, a central figure in Project 2025, has expressed a strong disdain for the federal government that President-elect Donald Trump is set to lead. Vought argues that the federal bureaucracy is controlled by “woke” civil servants and “so-called expert authorities” who undermine conservative agendas.
In his vision for Project 2025, he proposes that Trump take aggressive actions to dismantle these bureaucratic structures and replace them with loyalists who support his administration’s goals, including the controversial Schedule F plan to fire thousands of career civil servants.
While Trump distanced himself from the ideas of Project 2025 during his campaign, claiming the plan was too extreme and did not reflect his agenda, his post-election actions suggest otherwise. Trump has appointed several individuals connected to Project 2025 to key positions in his administration.
Among these is Vought, whom Trump nominated to head the Office of Management and Budget, a role Vought held during Trump’s first term. These appointments have raised questions about whether Trump was disavowing the plan merely for political purposes to calm voters concerned about its radical proposals.
Project 2025, developed by the conservative Heritage Foundation, outlines a number of policy proposals that align with Trump’s past positions. These include eliminating the Department of Education, enforcing stricter immigration policies, dismantling environmental agencies like the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and implementing tougher restrictions on abortion.
Russell Vought Pushes Radical Bureaucratic Overhaul as Trump Aligns with Project 2025 Vision
Despite Trump’s public rejection of some of these ideas, many of his recent appointments suggest that elements of the plan will be pursued in his second term, signaling a potential shift in government priorities.
Critics, particularly from liberal groups like the Center for American Progress, argue that Trump’s selections reveal a deeper connection to Project 2025 than he admitted during his campaign.
Ben Olinsky, a senior vice president at the Center for American Progress, expressed concerns that Trump’s choices could result in the erosion of merit-based hiring within the federal government, replacing career civil servants with political loyalists. This, Olinsky argues, would lead to a government less equipped to handle complex issues, as experienced professionals are pushed aside in favor of partisan appointees.
The broader implication of these appointments, according to Olinsky, is that Project 2025’s more extreme policies could start to be implemented, especially with the support of a Republican-controlled Senate. While some Senate Republicans, like John Thune, have suggested they may push back against certain policies, the real resistance may come from the public.
If the government struggles to provide essential services due to the replacement of skilled civil servants with loyalists, the public may eventually demand accountability. This could force Trump to confront the consequences of undermining the expertise necessary to effectively run the government.
