Ahead of the 2024 election, Donald Trump has started to release radical statements of ways that he would change the government, should he make it back into the White House. From deporting thousands of immigrants to encouraging Russia to invade NATO countries, Trump’s proposed plans are more than a little concerning, but liberals have started to make plans to fight back.
Trump’s Plans Have Backers
Trump’s plans are not simply concerning because of how radical they are, or the scope of the proposed changes. They’re also concerning because they have the support of multiple radical conservative think tanks, which are headed up by none other than the Heritage Foundation.
The plans, which have been coined “Project 2025,” detail multiple ways that Trump would reshape the government and the country from Day One of being in office again. It’s supported by many conservative groups, a good number of whom are brand new to Washington.
Explaining Project 2025
Project 2025, also known as the “Presidential Transition Project,” is a radical plan that would fire thousands of existing government workers on the first day of Trump’s second term. According to the plan, this would allow Trump to flush out workers of the “deep state” and replace them with conservatives who are willing to work in line with his goals.
The point of the proposed plans is to prevent many of the pitfalls that Trump’s presidency faced the first time. Some of these problems include Trump loyalists being difficult to confirm by the Senate, as well as Trump loyalists refusing to bend and break the rules in order to push Trump’s agenda.
All In the Details
Once Trump’s thousands of new workers are in place, the real work would begin. Project 2025 envisions sweeping economic and social policy changes, including slashing funding for the Department of Justice, dismantling the FBI, gutting regulations of environmental and climate change policies in favor of fossil fuel production, and more.
According to The Washington Post, Project 2025 would also include invoking the Insurrection Act of 1807 on Trump’s first day in office. This would allow him to deploy the military for domestic law enforcement, and would direct the Department of Justice to immediately target any and all Trump adversaries.
Concerned Citizens and Politicians
These proposed changes to the government have, understandably, concerned politicians and citizens alike. Project 2025, if implemented, would be a power grab by the executive branch that hasn’t been seen in America’s history.
Opponents of the plan have likened the proposed changes to Nazi Germany and modern day authoritarian Russia. It would, essentially, install Trump as a dictator on the first day in office, and outlines nothing that would allow any of the changes to be walked back in the future.
Liberals Working to Stop Trump
Liberals in Washington, in particular, have been deeply concerned about the future of the United States government in the wake of these potential plans. Many liberals have stated that they believe that Biden will win a second term, but in the background, they’ve been quietly making plans to stop Trump’s dictatorial ambitions.
A small collection of groups, activists, and politicians have been working to craft policy that would, among other things, promote new federal rules to limit presidential power. They’ve also been urging Biden to do more to protect the accomplishments of his presidency, and to limit Trump’s potential power in the event that he wins a second term.
New Federal Rules
First and foremost, the Office of Personnel Management – the human resources management division of the federal government – has proposed a rule that would disallow reclassifying thousands of workers in order to allow them to be fired more easily.
This new rule, if implemented, would immediately put a hitch in the plans of Project 2025. The entire scheme hinges on being able to install Trump loyalists from the get-go, and if Trump were unable to do that, it would immediately make his plans more difficult to execute.
And New Laws, Too
The Biden administration has not commented on Project 2025, or on any of the efforts that have been made to push Biden to issue executive orders limiting presidential powers. It’s a strictly political choice – addressing a potential future Trump presidency implies to the American public that Biden doesn’t believe he is going to win.
Despite that, Congress and the president appear to be taking the threat of a second Trump presidency very seriously. Multiple new laws have been passed and signed by Biden that address problems that arose during Trump’s term, including making it impossible for a president to unilaterally pull out of NATO and clarifying the wording and rules of the Electoral Count Act to make it stronger.
Conservatives Protest the New Rules
While the Heritage Foundation – the main proponent and leader of Project 2025 – has not commented on the new rules being proposed, other supporters of the project have. James Sherk, a former Trump administration official, opposed the new rule being proposed by the OPM in a statement.
He claimed that making it more difficult to fire workers would disallow a Conservative president from pushing forward policies in the future. He explained that many career government workers are “very liberal” and would stymie conservative policy changes in the future, should they been unable to be fired.
Citizens Making Their Voices Heard
The plans of Project 2025 are scary and potentially life changing for America, but at this point, they’re simply deeply conservative rhetoric with no basis in fact or support. Liberals are working to make sure that things stay that way ahead of a potential Trump presidency.
The 2024 election is shaping up to be an incredibly influential one in the history of America, and proposed plans like Project 2025 are only serving to fire up voters and government workers to make a change. What that change will be, will be decided at the ballot box this November, when millions of people cast their vote and make their voices heard.
