It seems President Donald Trump is finally changing his tune when it comes to Project 2025, although most of the country already suspected he was deeply connected to the conservative and dangerous playbook.
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On the second day of the government shutdown, Trump announced he met with White House Budget Director Russ Vought– one of the famed authors behind Project 2025– which has folks giving side eyes. The president has brushed off any attempts to link him to the far-right playbook… until right now.
Since the nearly 1,000-page book was written in 2022, Democrats have been raising alarm about the dangers it poses to the nation and the federal government. But if you take a glance at Trump’s current administration, you’d see just how many Trump allies have deep ties to to the book, which is already 48 percent complete, according to the Project 2025 tracker. Now, here’s 13 of the many conservatives linked to Trump and Project 2025.
Russell Vought
Russell Vought might be the U.S. Director of Office of Management and Budget, but he’s more notably the principal author of “Project 2025.” Vought was a close ally to Trump during his first term, according to his White House bio, and expectedly, his work with the right-wing game plan landed him in Trump’s good graces once again when it came time to pick folks for his second term.
Peter Navarro
Trade advisor Peter Navarro was another key author of Project 2025, penning over 20 pages in the project all about trade. The Trump loyalist is infamous for unwavering loyalty to the president. In 2024, Navarro spent four months in prison after being found in contempt of Congress for not complying with a subpoena concerning the Jan. 6 insurrection.
JD Vance
Vice President JD Vance has maintained his close relationships to Project 2025 leaders, despite Trump’s attempt to distance himself. Vance reportedly has a close relationship with Kevin Roberts, the founder of Heritage Foundation. He told reporters in 2024 he was privately “really rooting” for Vance to be Trump’s VP pick. Vance wrote the foreword to Roberts’ book where he praised the Heritage Foundation as “the most influential engine of ideas for Republicans from Ronald Reagan to Donald Trump.”
Michael Anton
Listed as a contributor to Project 2025, former Director of Policy Planning Staff Michael Anton worked in his position until Sept. 15, 2025, according to his bio. He previously worked during Trump’s first term, and he worked for former President George W. Bush.
Brendan Carr
Brendan Carr acts as the chair of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). He’s been in the role since the start of Trump’s term, but his ties to the president and Project 2025 date further back, CBS News reported. Like many others on this list, Carr contributed to the playbook with his chapter all about how the FCC should be run.
Stephen Miller
After Trump lost the 2020 election, Stephen Miller– Trump’s closet advisor– founded the America First Legal foundation (AFL) in 2021, targeting “woke” organizations and movements, the New York Times reported. AFL was initially listed as an advisory board member of Project 2025. Despite AFL later being removed from the nearly 1,000-page book, per the Intercept, Miller still appears in a promotional video on the project’s website.
Adam Candeub
Adam Candeub, a professor at Michigan State University and Trump ally, was first tapped to head the National Telecommunications and Information Administration then to be deputy associate attorney general during the president’s first term. He reportedly wrote a chapter in Project 2025 all about the Federal Trade Commission, and he didn’t hold back on scrutinizing former President Joe Biden in the process.
Karoline Leavitt
Trump’s White House Press Secretary is the youngest woman to serve in her position and worked under the president during his first term. Interestingly, Leavitt has tried her hardest to separate Trump from Project 2025, but you’d be surprised– or maybe not– to know she previously trained conservatives in a system she called The Art of Professionalism. She was even featured in the Heritage Foundation’s videos promoting Project 2025.
Tom Homan
Trump’s “border czar” Tom Homan became wrapped up in an FBI sting last year, MSNBC News reported. But while Homan has been accused of nefarious activity, it’s important to note he has strong ties to Project 2025. In fact, he is listed as an overall contributor of Project 2025, the New York Times reported.
Stephen Moore
Trump advisor, Stephen Moore, has fully embraced his ties to Project 2025, as he is one of the co-authors of the framework. “It’s not meant to be a blueprint for Donald Trump — it’s meant to be a blueprint for a conservative president,” Moore said according to E&E News by POLITICO. “We wrote this as our dream scenario.”
Pete Hoekstra
Pete Hoekstra was tapped to be the ambassador of Canada by Trump this year. He is listed as a contributor to the project.
John Ratcliffe
Director of the CIA John Ratcliffe is also listed as a contributor. His appointment to head the CIA was met with harsh backlash from politicians arguing he was unqualified, ABC News reported. Ratcliffe notably became a “visiting fellow” at the Heritage Foundation in 2023.
Mandy Gunasekara
Although she’s not currently serving in Trump’s administration, Mandy Gunasekara was an instrumental part in both Trump’s first term and Project 2025. She reportedly wrote the Project 2025 vision for downsizing the Environmental Protection Agency. “The project is the work of Heritage and many other conservative nonprofits,” she said. The policies “are designed for the next conservative administration to consider and provide strategic thought on how to achieve them. What is ultimately pursued is the prerogative of the president.”
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