Time magazine reports:

President Donald Trump made clear during his campaign that he wanted little to do with Project 2025, the sweeping and controversial conservative policy blueprint created by the Heritage Foundation. But just days into his second term, many of Trump’s early actions align with the Project 2025 agenda.

An analysis by TIME found that nearly two-thirds of the executive actions Trump has issued so far mirror or partially mirror proposals from the 900-page document, ranging from sweeping deregulation measures to aggressive immigration reform.

Democrats had seized on Trump’s connection to Project 2025 during the campaign, pointing out that many of the playbook’s contributors previously worked for Trump or had connections to his orbit. Trump repeatedly said he had “no idea who is behind” the conservative blueprint and that some of its ideas were “absolutely ridiculous and abysmal.” He appeared to soften his stance after winning the election, telling TIME in November, “I don’t disagree with everything in Project 2025, but I disagree with some things.”

Despite Trump’s past disavowals, many of the individuals involved in drafting Project 2025, such as Russell Vought and Brendan Carr, have been tapped to serve in prominent positions in his Administration. Vought was nominated to run the Office of Management and Budget, while Carr was tapped to lead the Federal Communications Commission. The Heritage Foundation declined to comment for this story.

A White House spokesperson tells TIME that Trump “had nothing to do with Project 2025” and that his first raft of executive orders “delivered on the promises that earned him a resounding mandate from the American people – securing the border, restoring common sense, driving down inflation, and unleashing American energy.”

When Project 2025 was published in April 2023, it was designed as a roadmap for a future Republican presidential administration, with the goal of reshaping the federal government in ways that align with conservative, free-market values. The initiative’s agenda includes aggressive deregulation, curbs on immigration, challenges to civil-rights protections, and a substantial reduction of the federal workforce, all with the aim of reducing the size and scope of government while reasserting executive authority.

While many of Trump’s executive orders resemble Project 2025’s proposals, not all of them fully align with the document’s recommendations. Some executive actions, such as the push to declare an energy emergency and the attempt to challenge birthright citizenship, are not directly addressed in the blueprint, for example. But dozens of executive actions rolled out by the new administration reflect Project 2025’s core objectives, particularly in areas like immigration reform, government restructuring, and deregulation. [Continue reading…]