Commentary: Project 2025 and GOP

This wish list for changes the Heritage Foundation would like to see in the U.S. government and culture was not made by Donald Trump, although several of its proposals are known to have been mentioned by Trump on previous occasions. He has claimed not to know what this list is, but there can be little doubt that he now knows and possesses the list.

This list and the party platform are what Republicans and conservatives want for America.

Project 2025 was compiled by many mostly well-known conservative people and at least 100 conservative organizations after the Heritage Foundation consulted with them. Many of these people worked for the Trump administration. Mr. Trump says he is not in agreement with all the list’s proposals but has not yet discussed which items or what his disagreements are.

Space does not permit me to present the entire list, but there are four main goals the list seeks to enforce:

*Restore the family as the centerpiece of American life.

*Dismantle the administrative (deep) state.

*Defend the nation’s sovereignty, including its borders.

*Secure “God-given” individual rights to live freely.

This exceeds the present GOP platform, which does not include the sweeping overhaul of federal agencies outlined in Project 2025, such as the dismantling of the Department of Homeland Security and combining it with other agencies, creating a much more powerful border policing operation.

Other project proposals include eliminating visa categories for victims of crime and human trafficking, increasing fees on immigrants and allowing fast-tracked applications for migrants who pay a premium. All these details are not repeated by the GOP platform, but Republican leaders are promising to implement “the largest deportation program in American history.”

The document proposes slashing federal money for research and investment in renewable energy, calling for the next president to “stop the war on oil and natural gas.” Carbon-reduction goals would be replaced by efforts to increase energy production and its security.

It clearly proposes options of both free trade and tariffs as barriers to imports. Apart from the list, Heritage economic advisers say Trump should slash corporate and income taxes, abolish the Federal Reserve and even possibly return to gold-backed currency.

All these suggestions go further than the Republican Party platform that mentions only fighting inflation and promoting high oil and gas production.

Project 2025 does not call for a nationwide abortion ban but proposes a withdrawal of the abortion pill (mifepristone) from the market and its distribution through the mail.

The project document suggests that the Health and Human Services Department maintain a biblically based social science definition of marriage and family. The Republican platform only mentions “abortion” once and says abortion laws should be left to the individual states that should ban “late term abortion” (undefined). The platform adds that access to prenatal care, birth control and in-vitro fertilization should be protected. It makes no mention of banning the use of mifepristone.

The project proposals would ban pornography, shutting down entities that allow or provide its access. They further call for school choice and parental control over schools and take aim at the so-called “woke propaganda” while eliminating terms from laws and federal regulations such as “sexual orientation,” “gender equality,” “abortion” and “reproductive rights.” It aims to end diversity, equity and inclusion programs in schools and government departments. The Republican platform generally agrees with these proposals and calls for abolishing the federal Department of Education, increasing parental controls over schools, school choice and ending “inappropriate political indoctrination of children.”

Although the project list barely touches the maintenance of the Social Security program, the party platform refers to it as a “lifeline” to be restored by Republicans to long-term sustainability.

Project 2025 is backed by a $22 million budget and includes strategies for implementing policies immediately after the presidential inauguration in January 2025. Heritage is creating a database of conservative loyalists to fill government positions and their training programs.

Democrats led by Jared Huffman, D-Calif., have launched the Stop Project 2025 Task Force to join Trump’s opponents in raising legal challenges or all opposition against all Project 2025 proposals implemented.

The number of these proposals that may become implemented depends upon Trump’s election and the number of Republican congressional votes that can be found. The lack of a clear set of core values from Kamala Harris along with her past positions makes us think Trump has a good chance of being elected along with gains in congressional Republicans to make Project 2025 proposals highly feasible.

Jim N. Taylor lives in Harlingen.