Former President Donald Trump’s team raced to celebrate the “demise” of Project 2025 when its director stepped down Tuesday afternoon.
Separating themselves from the massive policy program Vice President Kamala Harris and Democrats are attaching to the Trump campaign, the former president’s team tried to shoot down any insinuation they were involved in the shake up that resulted in Paul Dans stepping down from his position at The Heritage Foundation.
“President Trump’s campaign has been very clear for over a year that Project 2025 had nothing to do with the campaign, did not speak for the campaign, and should not be associated with the campaign or the President in any way,” advisors Susie Wiles and Chris LaCivita said in a joint statement Tuesday. “Reports of Project 2025’s demise would be greatly welcomed and should serve as notice to anyone or any group trying to misrepresent their influence with President Trump and his campaign — it will not end well for you.”
Dans had led the 2025 Presidential Transition Project after working in Trump’s administration. A source told the Washington Examiner that the initiative will continue.
“Under Paul Dans’ leadership, Project 2025 has completed exactly what it set out to do: bringing together over 110 leading conservative organizations to create a unified conservative vision, motivated to devolve power from the unelected administrative state, and returning it to the people,” Kevin Roberts, president of The Heritage Foundation, told the Washington Examiner. “This tool was built for any future administration to use.”
“When we began Project 2025 in April 2022, we set a timeline for the project to conclude its policy drafting after the two party conventions this year, and we are sticking to that timeline,” Roberts said.
“Paul, who built the project from scratch and bravely led this endeavor over the past two years, will be departing the team and moving up to the front where the fight remains. We are extremely grateful for his and everyone’s work on Project 2025 and dedication to saving America. Our collective efforts to build a personnel apparatus for policymakers of all levels—federal, state, and local—will continue.”
A source told the Washington Examiner that “policy operations are winding down when we finish our transition recommendations, as we’ve always planned. Personnel operations continue.”
The project, which is co-authored by many former Trump administration officials, has often been connected to the Trump campaign by Democrats in an effort to label them as too extreme on issues like abortion.
The Trump campaign has repeatedly refuted connections to Project 2025, saying their policy plan, Agenda47, is the only one they will follow, not The Heritage Foundation’s. Trump recently said he has “no idea” who is behind the initiative.
According to the Washington Post, some of the group’s staff are thinking about leaving because they don’t want to alienate a future Trump administration and hurt their job prospects. Dans reportedly told staff on Monday in a parting message that attacks on the project’s work were a “disinformation campaign” that aims to “falsely associate Former President Trump with the Project.” He ended the same message with Trump’s words after he survived his assassination attempt: “Fight! Fight! Fight!”
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The plan is not generally well-received by the public. A YouGov poll taken in early July showed that Americans either largely didn’t know about the plan, or have an unfavorable view of it. Only 26% of Republicans favored the plan.
The survey’s findings illustrated why Trump might want to distance himself from the plan as he seeks swing voters in states he will need in November.
