Former President Trump sought to distance himself from the conservative Heritage Foundation’s Project 2025 on Friday, saying he had “nothing to do” with the initiative and disagreed with some aspects of it.
Trump said in a post on Truth Social that he is not involved in the right-wing think tank’s proposal, which outlines several policies and initiatives that some conservatives hope a future Republican administration will handle.
“I don’t know anything about Project 2025. I have no idea who is behind it,” he said. “I disagree with some of the things they are saying and some of the things they are saying are absolutely ridiculous and abysmal. Anything they do, I wish them luck, but I have nothing to do with them.”
The 900-page 2025 Presidential Transition Project is a “government agenda” packed with conservative priorities and insights from academics and policy experts. It is divided into sections based on five main topics — “Taking the Reins of Government,” “The Common Defense,” “The General Welfare,” “The Economy,” and “Independent Regulatory Agencies.”
The project presents a wide range of policy proposals, perhaps most notably reshaping the powers of the executive branch. It also calls for several small government agencies to strike and reduce funding for abortions and the approval of the abortion pill mifepristone.
Another proposal is to reimplement Schedule F, a classification for federal employees that facilitates their dismissal and replacement by loyalists. The Associated Press estimated this could affect 50,000 workers.
Trump initially signed an executive order in October 2020 to institute Schedule F, but President Biden withdrew the order after taking office and approved a new rule to make it more difficult to fire career civil servants.
Democrats criticized the project and pointed to it as proof of an extreme agenda that would be implemented if Trump were re-elected.
House Democrats launched a campaign last month to reject Project 2025, forming a task force to combat what they saw as a threat to the institutions of democracy and American government.
The Heritage Foundation project began two years ago, following criticism from Trump supporters that federal government workers were part of a “deep state” working to undermine his agenda. The group said it is not advising any candidate and that implementation of any of its proposals is up to the president to decide.
A spokesperson for the project reiterated this on X in response to Trump’s post on Friday saying he does not speak for any candidate or campaign and is a coalition of 110 conservative groups advocating policy and personnel recommendations for the next conservative administration.
“But ultimately it is up to the president, who we believe will be President Trump, to decide which recommendations to implement,” they said. “Instead of obsessing over Project 2025, the Biden campaign should address the 25th Amendment.”
The coalition supporting the bill includes several conservative groups, some of which are led by former Trump administration officials.
Trump has not endorsed the bill, but has indicated his intention to bring back Annex F if elected, saying in a campaign video last year., “First, I will immediately reissue my 2020 executive order restoring the president’s authority to remove rogue bureaucrats. And I will exercise that power very aggressively.”
Heritage Foundation President Kevin Roberts also praised the Supreme Court’s ruling Monday on presidential immunity, which concluded that presidents are immune from criminal prosecution for official acts, saying conservatives should feel encouraged.
“We are in the process of the second American Revolution, which will remain bloodless if the left allows it,” Roberts said.
A Biden campaign spokesperson posted on the
Updated at 1:44 pm ET.
This story originally appeared on thehill.com read the full story
