“Have you heard of Project 2025?” is one of the most frequently asked questions in liberal politics these days.
As more Americans start to tune into the November elections, a group of Democrats is trying to ensure that that question is also being asked by independent voters, Trump-skeptical Republicans and those “double-haters” who haven’t made up their minds yet.
Developed by the far-right Heritage Foundation, “Project 2025” is a set of policy initiatives written by Trump-supporting activists in consultation with various right-wing organizations that would fundamentally transform the federal government into a tool of repression and political retribution.
As Republicans have envisioned a second Trump term, they are laying out plans to attack civil rights for minority groups, target abortion rights nationwide, promote school privatization and deputize local law enforcement in a cruel and invasive anti-immigrant crackdown. While not officially a Trump campaign document, Project 2025 would no doubt be a blueprint for how he — or another authoritarian leader — could work.
Now, some Democratic lawmakers have launched an effort to raise awareness about the plans or even to combat them if Trump is elected this fall.
As HuffPost reported:
Horrified by the prospect of any of Trump’s plans becoming reality, House Democrats on Tuesday are launching a new congressional task force to prepare for a scenario in which Trump defeats President Joe Biden and begins dismantling the federal government, purging tens of thousands of federal workers and replacing them with vetted conservatives. The goal of the Stop Project 2025 Task Force is twofold: to inform the public about how dangerous a second Trump term would be and to do everything possible from a legislative perspective to prepare for the worst.
California Democratic Rep. Jared Huffman, who launched the task force, said it’s about being proactive in pushing back against the MAGA movement’s illiberal impulses.
“If we’re caught off guard by it, we’re going to be too late. This time they’ve figured it out. They’re going to be coming fast and furious,” he told HuffPost. Huffman claimed he’s worried about the potential for American democracy to be replaced with a “right-wing theocracy” if Trump were to win and put Project 2025 into action.
The Stop Project 2025 task force features six other Democratic lawmakers — including Reps. Judy Chu and Jamie Raskin — and plans to host public forums, led by lawmakers on various aspects of Project 2025. I think it’s important to reiterate that it doesn’t appear to take a Trump victory in November as a foregone conclusion. To the contrary, this is a protective measure to guard against the illiberal policy proposals if Trump wins. But it’s also, more importantly, in my view, an attempt to supercharge the public’s awareness of these proposals before voters cast ballots. Thus far, awareness campaigns about Project 2025 have primarily been led by independent groups — like the watchdog Media Matters, for example.
It’s good to see lawmakers jumping into the fold.
Ja’han Jones is an MS NOW opinion blogger. He previously wrote The ReidOut Blog.