Paul Dans, director of the Heritage Foundation’s controversial “Project 2025” initiative, announced on Tuesday that he is stepping down from his position as the operation concludes its “policy drafting” stage. Project 2025, which Democrats have attacked as former President Donald Trump’s “secret extremist agenda” and Trump himself has repeatedly denounced as “ridiculous and abysmal,” is the Heritage Foundation’s attempt to create a governing agenda “to rescue the country from the grip of the radical left”—but it has notably not been adopted by any major candidates.
“Under Paul Dans’ leadership, Project 2025 has completed exactly what it set out to do: bringing together over 110 leading conservative organizations to create a unified conservative vision, motivated to devolve power from the unelected administrative state, and returning it to the people,” said Heritage Foundation President Kevin Roberts. “This tool was built for any future administration to use.”
According to the Foundation, the scratch-built project was always intended to conclude after the party conventions during the summer, and Dans will now be “departing the team and moving up to the front where the fight remains.”
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Democrats have repeatedly tied Project 2025 to Trump’s campaign, accusing him of endorsing plans to eliminate the Department of Education, ban abortions nationwide, and fire thousands of federal employees. Trump himself has repeatedly distanced himself from the initiative, but accusations have lingered given that many of the project’s authors were members of his inner circle during his first term.
“President Trump’s campaign has been very clear for over a year that Project 2025 had nothing to do with the campaign, did not speak for the campaign, and should not be associated with the campaign or the President in any way,” Trump campaign co-managers Susie Wiles and Chris LaCivita said in the statement. “Reports of Project 2025’s demise would be greatly welcomed and should serve as notice to anyone or any group trying to misrepresent their influence with President Trump and his campaign — it will not end well for you.”
Connor Walcott is a staff writer for Valuetainment.com. Follow Connor on X and look for him on VT’s “The Unusual Suspects.”
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