During his presidential campaign, Donald Trump and his advisers worked hard to distance him 2025 projecta controversial plan to overhaul the federal government proposed by a closely aligned conservative group. But several people associated with the plan have already received positions in the new administration, and one of the plan’s top architects is being considered for the top job, according to multiple sources familiar with the discussions.
Russ Vought, who wrote a chapter on the “Executive Office of the President” in Project 2025 called “Mandate for Leadership: The Conservative Promise,” which Project 2025 describes as “a comprehensive policy guide for the next conservative president of the United States,” reflects. a cabinet-level position in the next administration and has been vetted by Trump’s transition team, the sources said.
Vought not only wrote a chapter of the 922-page Project 2025 plan, but was heavily involved in writing the Project 2025 playbook during the first 180 days of a new Trump administration. His Center for American Renewal is also listed as an advisory board member of Project 2025, according to the plan’s website.
Vought — who has been seen at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago Club in recent days meeting with Trump’s top advisers — served as director of the Office of Management and Budget in the first Trump administration and has been in active discussions to return. the next administration, sources familiar with the matter said.
It’s unclear what position Vought might get, but sources have discussed whether he could be a candidate for his previous job or a candidate for a top White House post focused on economic policy.
When asked for comment, the Trump transition team pointed to President Trump comments in his discussion Where he stated with Kamala Harris: “This was a group of people that came together, some ideas came up, some good, some bad I guess, but it doesn’t matter. I have nothing to do with (it).”
During his run for the White House, Trump said he knew “nothing” about Project 2025 and his campaign advisers worked hard on it. campaign away from there
Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump speaks at a campaign town hall at the Greater Philadelphia Expo Center & Fairgrounds on October 14, 2024 in Oaks, Pa.
Alex Brandon/AP
Trump transition chairman Howard Lutnick told the Financial Times last month that the 2025 project is “absolute ground zero for a Trump-Vance transition.”
“You can use another term – radioactive,” Lutnick said.
While staff decisions are not final until Trump announces them, sources told ABC News that Trump’s transition team has considered several other people with ties to the plan, including the authors of Project 2025 and several contributors to the document.
Gene Hamilton, the author of the Justice Department chapter, is among those being considered for a top legal role in the Trump administration, according to sources. In his Project 2025 chapter, Hamilton criticizes the DOJ, saying that it has been “captured by an extraterrestrial bureaucratic class and radical left-wing ideologues who have infiltrated its offices and constituents.”
Hamilton calls for a sweeping “top-to-bottom review” of the Justice Department, including an internal review of “all significant active FBI investigations,” recommending the termination of any deemed illegal or against the national interest.
Another name that has been floated for a potential position in the Trump administration is Reed Rubinstein, who contributed to Project 2025 and is being considered for the next general counsel at the Treasury Department, according to a list of potential personnel reviewed by ABC News.
In recent days, Trump has announced other picks to fill the next administration with ties to Project 2025, marking a stark reversal from his campaign style.
On Sunday, Trump’s team said Brendan Carr will act as president Of the Federal Communications Commission — one of tech billionaire Elon Musk’s most active advocates, the pick charged with regulating the nation’s airwaves. Carr, who has used his position to defend Musk’s companies, wrote the chapter on Project 2025 outlining how he wanted to run the agency.
Former ICE Director Tom Homan has been chosen serve as “border tsar”. for the incoming administration, overseeing the mass deportations Trump promised during his 2024 campaign, and immigration hardliner and top adviser Stephen Miller will serve as Trump’s deputy chief of staff for policy. Homan and Miller have ties to Project 2025.
Homan is a Visiting Fellow at The Heritage Foundation, the Trump-aligned group behind the controversial plan, and is also listed as a contributor to the Project 2025 document. Miller’s organization, America First Legal, was originally listed as a member of the Project 2025 advisory board.
ABC News reported in July Miller said he asked to have his group removed from the list of advisory board members on the Project 2025 website, amid continued attacks from Democrats on the campaign trail about the plan.
A key part of Project 2025’s agenda is to expand presidential power and dramatically cut federal agencies like the Department of Education — moves Trump has endorsed on the campaign trail.
The proposal also calls for the Food and Drug Administration to withdraw its approval of the abortion pill mifepristone and calls on health agencies to promote “fertility awareness” as an “unacceptable” contraceptive method.
