How Trump’s Directives Echo Project 2025

By Elena Shao, Karen Yourish and June Kim Feb. 14, 2025

A slew of actions taken by President Trump during his first month in office bear the fingerprints of Project 2025, the right-wing blueprint for overhauling the federal government. During his campaign, Mr. Trump distanced himself from the plan, saying it was largely unfamiliar to him.

But The New York Times found more than 60 major moves that Mr. Trump and his administration have made in his first 23 days, including executive orders and agency memos, that align with proposals in the blueprint.

Some of the goals outlined in the Project 2025 document line up with longstanding conservative policy positions, so it is not surprising that they would be reflected in the initial moves of a new Republican president. That said, not all of Mr. Trump’s latest directives have an analogue in Project 2025’s blueprint. In some cases, they go even further than the document does, like with the administration’s attempt to dismantle U.S.A.I.D. In others, they oppose its guidance, as in the case of Mr. Trump’s refusal to enforce the TikTok ban.

But The Times’s analysis of the Trump administration’s major actions reveals a symbiotic relationship between Mr. Trump and Project 2025 in a number of critical areas. Some of its proposals refer approvingly to actions taken during the president’s first term. And some of its architects again hold important roles at the top of the federal government. Even the staunchest of conservatives might never have imagined some of Project 2025’s goals to be possible during previous administrations — but they are now being attempted by Mr. Trump.

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Bora Erden contributed reporting.