The NPR Politics Podcast

Episode: Year In Review: The Impact Of Project 2025
Date: December 30, 2025

Overview

This episode revisits Project 2025—a sweeping conservative blueprint prepared for the Trump administration—and analyzes its impact over the past year. The hosts, Ashley Lopez (politics reporter), Frank Ordonez (White House reporter), and Domenico Montanaro (senior political editor), break down what Project 2025 entailed, how it became a contentious campaign issue, which elements were actually implemented, and what its legacy might be for both conservative and liberal politics going forward.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. What Is Project 2025? (01:18–02:28)

• Conceived as a “transition in waiting” for a conservative presidency, initiated by Trump allies and organized by The Heritage Foundation.
• Included:
  • A “conservative LinkedIn” for hiring young conservatives
  • Training programs for political appointees
  • Numerous pre-written executive orders for rapid policy implementation
  • A massive 922-page policy blueprint aimed at expanding executive power
• Quote:
  “It was really this wish list of conservative policies for that conservative president... with the primary goal of expanding executive power.”
  — Frank Ordonez (01:32)

2. Project 2025 as a Campaign Issue (02:28–04:57)

• Democrats seized on Project 2025 as a centerpiece of their campaign against Trump, highlighting its most controversial proposals:
  • Mass deportations
  • Eliminating the Department of Education
  • Stricter abortion controls
  • Slashing climate protections
• Trump publicly distanced himself, claiming ignorance of the plan while his campaign aggressively downplayed its significance.
• Memorable moment at the Democratic National Convention:
  Comedian Kenan Thompson parodied Project 2025 by holding aloft a cartoonishly large version of the blueprint.
• Quote:
  “It really... turned into a political nightmare for Trump. As you said, he tried to distance himself from it, said he knew nothing about it.”
  — Frank Ordonez (02:48)
• Disagreement among hosts on whether it actually worked as a Democratic talking point:
  • Domenico Montanaro: Difficult for voters to process or care about hypothetical policies.
  • Frank Ordonez: The Republican reaction itself showed Democrats’ attacks had an impact.

3. Implementation and Real-World Effects (06:53–09:57)

• Major elements adopted:
  • Tighter immigration laws—largest deportation operation in U.S. history.
  • Downsizing the federal government; removal of civil service job protections.
  • High-profile appointments of Project 2025 contributors, such as Russ Vought (OMB Director), Brendan Carr (FCC Chair), Tom Homan (White House Border Czar), John Ratcliffe (CIA Director), Pete Hoekstra (Ambassador to Canada).
• Power shifts not just in policy but also personnel (“personnel is policy”).
• Effect on ordinary Americans:
  • Policy blueprints shaped Musk's controversial USAID overhaul and elimination of the Consumer Finance Protection Bureau.
  • Empowerment of the Office of Personnel Management, leading to a wholesale federal workforce shakeup.
  • Trump used implementation threats during the government shutdown to pressure Democrats.
• Quote:
  “Basically it empowered that agency to... overhaul the federal workforce. If you remember that fork in the road email that Musk wrote... that came out of the Office of Personnel Management.”
  — Frank Ordonez (08:12)

4. Why Was Project 2025 So Effective? (09:46–11:00)

• The plan’s success closely tied to Trump’s presidency and his campaign’s alignment with the blueprint’s authors.
• Most architects were Trump insiders, ensuring both ideological alignment and rapid policy rollout.
• The template was publicized as “candidate agnostic,” but in reality, it was engineered for Trump’s leadership and priorities.
• Notable quote:
  “We’re candidate agnostic, but we’re not reality agnostic, which to me was very clear that this was for Trump.”
  — Frank Ordonez, recalling Paul Danz, Project 2025 author (09:57)

5. The Broader Impact on Government and Political Norms (11:00–13:02)

• Many Project 2025 policies represent longstanding conservative goals dating back decades.
• Implemented primarily through executive orders, meaning future presidents can reverse many of them, but:
  • Erosion of confidence in federal civil service; jobs no longer seen as stable or apolitical.
  • Federal employees increasingly politicized and targeted by the administration.
• Quote:
  “Federal workers have become a target. And federal workers were never really... wanting to be involved in politics... but Trump decided to make them into a big target. Project 2025 did so, and I think that that might be the most lasting effect.”
  — Domenico Montanaro (11:18)
• Trump administration more aggressive in imposing far-right agendas using every avenue available, emboldened by new loyalists.

6. Will Democrats Follow Suit (“Project 2029”)? (13:02–15:10)

• A similar Democratic counter-effort (“Project 2029”) has emerged online but lacks the scale or centralization of Project 2025.
• Policy platforms exist but are more dispersed across various think tanks (e.g., Center for American Progress) and activist groups.
• The left may become more aggressive and organized in response but is unlikely to produce a single, unified policy manual.
• Notable quote:
  “Because of Project 2025, [Democrats] will potentially be much more aggressive about it.”
  — Frank Ordonez (14:21)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “It was put together by some of Trump’s closest allies from his first presidency and... organized by the Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank.”
  — Frank Ordonez (01:32)
• “Most people aren’t following politics all that closely every single day. I think it became really difficult for Democrats to be able to say, see, this is the thing they’re gonna do, when Trump was saying, ‘no, it’s not what I’m gonna do,’ even though he pretty much went and did it.”
  — Domenico Montanaro (04:03)
• “Personnel is policy. Well, there’s so much overlap in terms.”
  — Frank Ordonez (07:03)
• Kenan Thompson’s DNC stunt with “the big blue book” as satirical protest (02:48)
• “Now federal workers have become a target. And federal workers were never really the kind of people who wanted to be involved in politics... Project 2025 did so, and I think that that might be the most lasting effect.”
  — Domenico Montanaro (11:18)

Timestamps for Key Segments

• 01:18–02:28: What is Project 2025?
• 02:28–04:57: Project 2025 in the 2024 campaign and Trump’s distancing
• 06:53–09:57: Which parts of Project 2025 are being implemented?
• 09:46–11:00: Tailor-made for Trump, why implementation was so sweeping
• 11:00–13:02: Impact on federal workforce and political norms
• 13:02–15:10: Will the left attempt their own policy blueprint?

Summary

This episode provides a comprehensive look at how Project 2025—the Heritage Foundation’s conservative roadmap—moved from proposal to reality under Trump’s second term, shaping significant portions of federal policy and personnel. The hosts debate why the project proved difficult for Democrats to weaponize electorally, discuss the deep and lasting impact on the federal workforce, and examine whether the left is likely or able to replicate this coordinated approach. The episode closes with the consensus that Project 2025 has shifted norms for both the scope and ambition of partisan policy planning in American politics.