With Trump’s inauguration a month away, his plans for the country and Project 2025 have been prevalent topics among residents in the USA and within the media. It’s essential as an American, citizen or not, that you’re aware about what the next four years could mean for you.

What is Project 2025?

Project 2025 is a federal agenda meant for the next conservative leaders of America. It calls for the dismantling, restructuring, and stripping down of the government branches. It was authored by numerous former Trump administration officials, along with the Heritage Foundation, “a longstanding conservative think tank.” In the introduction of the 900-page agenda, Dr. Kevin D. Roberts writes, “Inflation is ravaging family budgets, drug overdose deaths continue to escalate, and children suffer the toxic normalization of transgenderism with drag queens and pornography invading their school libraries.” 

Although, throughout his campaign, Donald Trump denied any sort of ties with the project, it’s important to note that over 140 former officials, who were a part of Trump’s administration, contributed to the writing of this “Mandate for Leadership.” That includes six of his ex- cabinet secretaries. As much as he attempts to distance his association with it, Project 2025 and Agenda 27, his own plan for his presidential term, line up in more than one place.

Gun Control

The number one killer of children in America is gun violence with 1 out of 10 gun-related deaths being age 19 or younger. In the United States 125 people are killed everyday as a result of gun violence and double that are shot and wounded. Project 2025 recommends policies that would only increase these numbers. Project 2025 aims to prevent payment processors and credit companies from refusing firearm purchases based on the absence of background checks.

During his campaign, Trump expressed his desire to arm teachers as a way to combat gun violence in schools, ignoring the root of the problem. Automatic weapons and firearms in general are simply too easy for irresponsible people to gain access to. Agenda 27 suggests funding schools that allow teachers to conceal and carry in the classrooms. Project 2025’s proposal would help this vision become a reality with a policy that allows states to use federal money for schools to provide teachers with firearms. Why is the solution to a gun problem even more guns?

The Department of Education

Project 2025 claims that the American education system has done nothing but fail the people with it falling behind other countries. “Giving more control back to state and local governments, and expanding school choice” is their solution. This would create an imbalance in state-by-state education rates. 

Project 2025 calls for the shut down of the Department of Education.  Federal education policies are the laws and acts set in place to improve education throughout the country. The Elementary and Secondary Education Act supports disadvantaged students by providing schools with federal funding. Children with disabilities receive free and appropriate public education because of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. It also provides early intervention services for younger children. The Higher Education Act of 1965 assists students in paying for post-secondary education, such as college. With the dismantling of this department, these policies it enforces would cease to exist. 

 The mandate also strives to remove critical race theory from schools’ curriculum. Critical race theory is essentially the idea that racism is built into this country’s social and legal foundation as a result of slavery. It’s what gives schools the framework to teach its students the U.S.A’s history with race and the treatment of colored people through literature, movies, or any other form of media.

Border Control

Trump’s Agenda 27 states his plans for the “largest deportation program in American history.”  Project 2025, backs this, making it abundantly clear that their mission is mass deportation. They strongly recommend shutting down the southern border completely and abolishing asylum. Asylum is the protection granted by a nation to a political refugee. It is not where they take “illegal aliens” to perform “transgender operations,” as Trump stated during the 2024 presidential debate. In a 2018 press conference Trump claimed that the immigrants crossing the border aren’t seeking asylum, simply violence.

In that same conference he blamed human trafficking on “the aliens.” Trump said, “Human trafficking is now at the highest level in the world that it’s ever been. And that’s because of the Internet. Think of it — human trafficking. You think back 200 years, 500 years. Human trafficking — where they steal children; in many cases, women, unfortunately. They steal women. The human traffickers, the lowest scum on Earth. The lowest scum on Earth. And it’s at a level that it’s never been. Worldwide — never been at a level like this.” He follows this overly redundant statement by saying that numbers will only increase if they continue to allow people through the border. According to the Polaris Project, it’s entirely a myth that human trafficking requires crossing country and state lines. It’s also important to note that racial minorities are at the highest risk of being trafficked because they make up a large percentage of the country’s population living in poverty.

Project 2025 also wants to increase security at the border by bringing in more “military personnel and hardware.” It calls for the allowing of ICE to use “expedited removal.” This would allow raids to be conducted in vulnerable places like schools, hospitals, and places of religion. The mandate recommends the “aggressive” building of a southern wall, as well. It’s clear that Project 2025 and Agenda 27’s extreme plans will only increase violence at the border. America’s history was built on immigrants. No matter where they are from originally, they are still people who are seeking refuge.

Climate Crisis

America is the second largest contributor to climate change and global warming, second only to China. However the average American expels almost double the amount of climate pollution as the average Chinese individual. 

Project 2025 wants to increase arctic drilling as well as limit the regulations on big corporations.  The current regulations force huge corporations to have transparency with consumers. These regulations require companies to be open and honest on issues, such as financial and material matters and shareholder votes and meetings. Project 2025 seems to excuse removing regulations by stating that they’ll do this not only for big businesses but also “all businesses.”

Drilling in the arctic in order to find oil has resulted in not only a contribution to climate change but also the destruction of habitats, oil spills, and aquatic pollution. In the official book, Project 2025 says that America needs the energy. However, renewable energy sources, such as wind and solar, although costly, would be a better alternative to destroying ecosystems all over the world. 

Conclusion

The topics covered in this article are just skimming the surface of what the 900-page political agenda covers. Writers of Project 2025 strive to put this plan into action within the first 180-days of the next administration in order to “bring quick relief to Americans suffering from the Left’s devastating policies.”

Works Cited: 

• 17 facts about gun violence and school shootings. (2020, July 25). Sandy Hook Promise. https://www.sandyhookpromise.org/blog/gun-violence/facts-about-gun-violence-and-school-shootings/
• Alfonseca, K. (2024, September 11). A look at Trump’s “transgender operations on illegal aliens” debate claim. ABC News; ABC News. https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/trumps-transgender-operations-illegal-aliens-debate-claim/story?id=113584635
• Contorno, S. (2024, July 11). Trump claims not to know who is behind Project 2025. A CNN review found at least 140 people who worked for him are involved. CNN. https://www.cnn.com/2024/07/11/politics/trump-allies-project-2025/index.html?cid=ios_app
• ICLG. (2024). Gambling Singapore Chapter. Gambling 2019 | Laws and Regulations | Singapore | ICLG, 1(1). https://iclg.com/practice-areas/gambling-laws-and-regulations/singapore
• Laws and Policy. (2024). U.S. Department of Education. https://www.ed.gov/laws-and-policy
• Murawski, J. (2021, December 29). Stop misleading Americans—critical race theory is being taught in schools. Committee on Education & the Workforce. https://edworkforce.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=407991
• Paddison, L., & Choi, A. (2024, January 2). Which Countries Are Contributing the Most to Climate change? Www.cnn.com. https://www.cnn.com/interactive/2023/12/us/countries-climate-change-emissions-cop28/
• Polaris. (2018, November 7). Myths, facts, and statistics. Polaris. https://polarisproject.org/myths-facts-and-statistics/
• Putterman, S. (2024). Project 2025 would phase out federal K-12 funds. @Politifact. https://www.politifact.com/factchecks/2024/sep/06/kamala-harris/project-2025-would-phase-out-federal-funds-for-pub/
• The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights. (2019). The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights. https://civilrights.org/
• The Role of Guns in Project 2025, Explained. (2023). The Brady Campaign. https://elections.bradyunited.org/resources/project-2025-guns
• The Truth About Project 2025 | Project 2025. (2024, July 19). Project 2025 | Presidential Transition Project. https://www.project2025.org/truth/
• Trump, D. (2018, November 1). Remarks by President Trump on the Illegal Immigration Crisis and Border Security – The White House. Trumpwhitehouse.archives.gov. https://trumpwhitehouse.archives.gov/briefings-statements/remarks-president-trump-illegal-immigration-crisis-border-security/
• Whitney, C. (2022, January 31). Race and Human Trafficking: How This Crime Disproportionately Affects Ethnic Minorities and Indigenous Persons. The Exodus Road. https://theexodusroad.com/race-and-human-trafficking/