Chuck Darwin<p>Project 2025 is a radical blueprint for a potential second Trump administration, <br>spearheaded by the right-wing Heritage Foundation. </p><p>The plan calls for withdrawing approval for the abortion pill, <br>banning pornography, <br>slashing corporate taxes, <br>abolishing the Department of Education, <br>replacing thousands of experienced federal workers with political appointees, <br>imposing a "biblically based… definition of marriage and families," <br>and placing the Justice Department and other independent agencies under the direct control of the president. </p><p>These and other provisions of Project 2025 are quite unpopular. </p><p>As Project 2025 has gained notoriety <br>— thanks to actor Taraji P. Henson and others <br>— Trump has sought to distance himself from the effort. </p><p>On July 5, Trump posted on Truth Social that he knows "nothing about Project 2025," <br>has "no idea who is behind it," <br>and has "nothing to do with them." </p><p>This is false. </p><p>The co-editors of Project 2025, <br>Paul <a href="https://c.im/tags/Dans" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>Dans</span></a> and Steven <a href="https://c.im/tags/Groves" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>Groves</span></a>, <br>both held high-ranking positions in the Trump administration. </p><p>Under Trump, Dans served as Chief of Staff at the Office of Personnel Management, <br>the agency responsible for staffing the federal government, <br>and was a senior advisor at the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). </p><p>Groves served Trump in the White House as Deputy Press Secretary and Assistant Special Counsel. </p><p>Project 2025's two associate directors, Spencer <a href="https://c.im/tags/Chretien" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>Chretien</span></a> and Troup <a href="https://c.im/tags/Hemenway" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>Hemenway</span></a>, are also tightly connected with Trump. </p><p>Chretien was Special Assistant to President Donald J. Trump and Associate Director of Presidential Personnel, <br>"helping to identify, recruit, and place hundreds of political appointees at all levels of government." </p><p>Previously, Trump appointed Chretien to a position at HUD. </p><p>Hemenway also served as an Associate Director of Presidential Personnel and previously worked on Trump's 2016 campaign and Trump's 2016 transition team. </p><p>Project 2025's 922-page policy agenda has 30 chapters and 34 authors. </p><p>Twenty-five of Project 2025's authors served as members of the Trump administration. </p><p>Another Project 2025 author, Stephen <a href="https://c.im/tags/Moore" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>Moore</span></a>, was nominated by Trump to the Federal Reserve <br>but forced to withdraw "over his past inflammatory writings about women." </p><p>Further, William <a href="https://c.im/tags/Walton" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>Walton</span></a>, the co-author of the chapter on the Department of the Treasury, was a key member of Trump's transition team. </p><p>All told, of the 38 people responsible for writing and editing Project 2025, <br>31 were appointed or nominated to positions in the Trump administration and transition. </p><p>In other words, while Trump claims he has "nothing to do" with the people who created Project 2025, over 81% had formal roles in his first administration</p><p><a href="https://popular.info/p/what-trump-doesnt-want-you-to-know" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" translate="no" target="_blank"><span class="invisible">https://</span><span class="ellipsis">popular.info/p/what-trump-does</span><span class="invisible">nt-want-you-to-know</span></a></p>