Donald Trump is meeting with an author of the far-right Project 2025 to discuss which Democratic agencies to cut during the federal government shutdown.
The U.S. government shut down at midnight on October 1 after the Senate failed to pass a last-minute funding plan.
A short-term funding plan proposed by the Republicans that would have kept the government running until November 21 did not secure enough support to pass.
Highlights
- Donald Trump is meeting Russell Vought, Project 2025 author, to decide which Democratic agencies to cut amid the federal government shutdown.
- Republicans failed to pass a stopgap funding bill, causing the U.S. government shutdown on October 1, with Senate support falling short.
- Project 2025 is a 900-page conservative plan to drastically shrink agencies and expand presidential powers.
- Experts warn Project 2025 could restrict abortion, LGBTQ+ rights, increase surveillance, and limit discussions on race and gender.
Donald Trump is meeting with Russell Vought amid the government shutdown
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The GOP needed 60 votes to pass the stopgap in the Senate, but it has 53 members and only three Democrats agreed to vote for the bill.
A Democratic bid to stop the shutdown also failed, with the party’s spending bill, which included extending health-care subsidies under the Affordable Care Act and reversing Medicaid cuts, failing to be passed through.
Trump has now confirmed that he is meeting Russell Vought – of “Project 2025 fame” – to figure out which agencies could be slashed as he seeks to impose lasting damage on his opponents.
Vought, director of the Office of Management and Budget, played a key role in shaping Project 2025, which Trump sought to distance himself from during the election.
Vought will now advise the president on which Democratic agencies could be cut permanently or temporarily.
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“I have a meeting today with Russ Vought, he of PROJECT 2025 Fame, to determine which of the many Democrat Agencies, most of which are a political SCAM, he recommends to be cut, and whether or not those cuts will be temporary or permanent,” Trump wrote on Truth Social Thursday.
“I can’t believe the Radical Left Democrats gave me this unprecedented opportunity. They are not stupid people, so maybe this is their way of wanting to, quietly and quickly, MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!”
It comes after Vought directed federal agencies to consider using the shutdown to carry out mass firings of the federal workforce in a memo.
The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) has estimated that around 750,000 federal workers will be furloughed, costing the U.S. roughly $400 million per day.
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Project 2025 is a sweeping policy blueprint conceived by the conservative Heritage Foundation and a network of aligned right-wing authors.
The 900-page manifesto lays out detailed plans to remake the federal government, drastically shrinking many agencies and handing more power to the president.
It wants to consolidate executive power in favor of right-wing policies, in part by repurposing or eliminating programs deemed ideologically misaligned with the Project 2025 vision.
The manifesto touches nearly every aspect of American life, from immigration and reproductive rights to free speech and civil rights.
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Legal experts and advocacy groups warn that, if enacted, the plan could gut abortion access, expand mass deportations, roll back LGBTQ+ protections, censor classroom discussions on race and gender, and restrict access to the ballot box.
Critics also raise alarm over provisions that would increase government surveillance and give the president sweeping powers to crack down on dissent.
During the 2024 election season, Trump publicly distanced himself from Project 2025, claiming that the initiative did not reflect his campaign’s priorities and that he had limited personal involvement.
"I don't disagree with everything in Project 2025, but I disagree with some things,” he told Time magazine last December.
"They have some things that are very conservative and very good. They have other things that I don't like," he added.
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However, a CNN report last year found at least 140 people who worked on Project 2025 had previously worked in Trump’s administration.
Since he was elected to serve a second term, Trump has appointed several of those linked to the manifesto to serve in his administration.
Many of Trump’s early executive actions also seem to echo elements laid out in Project 2025.
An analysis by CNN found that 36 of the 53 executive orders Trump signed during his first week in office evoked proposals outlined in the Project 2025 blueprint.
The parallels include Trump’s efforts to target diversity and inclusion programs across federal agencies, the extensive crackdown on illegal immigration, and loosening environmental rules to expand oil and gas drilling.