Most people didn’t hear about Project 2025 until it suddenly started popping up all over social media. But behind the trending posts is a real plan— almost 1,000 pages long—created by The Heritage Project and a coalition of conservative organizations. Project 2025 is the right’s respected blueprint on how the next Republican president could reshape the federal government…and do so quickly.
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Supporters say it’s about restoring presidential control, while critics say Project 2025 would dramatically “destroy the U.S. system of checks and balances and create an imperial presidency.”
Just over one year into President Donald Trump’s second term, we’re taking a deep dive into what his administration has already implemented from Project 2025, despite him saying he has “nothing to do with Project 2025” and will “never read it,” according to CNN.
The Death of Federal Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI)
Trump wasted zero time signing an executive order that officially terminated all Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) programs within the federal workforce during his first week back in office.
The administration also actively pressured some private organizations to scale back similar programs, USA Today reported.
The Result
These actions reflect Project 2025’s goal of removing policies it argues prioritize identity-based programs in federal agencies and institutions. Critics say the changes weaken civil-rights enforcement and protections for equal opportunity.
Additionally, companies who receive billions in taxpayer dollars are reportedly no longer required to track or ensure the representation of Black workers.
Significantly Less Police Accountability
As of May 2025, the DOJ has pivoted away from investigating police departments for civil rights violations.
This disturbing pivot ended federal monitoring of excessive force and racial profiling, returning full autonomy to cops all while removing the federal safety net for communities who demand police accountability.
The Result
In a significant reversal of civil rights oversight, the DOJ has abandoned the use of “pattern-or-practice” investigations—the primary tool used for correcting systemic misconduct in local police departments.
Aggressively “Restoring Law and Order”
Trump’s “Restoring Law and Order” mandate centers on centralizing federal control over the justice system to aggressively prosecute crimes while dismantling civil rights oversight of local police.
The Result
By removing the threat of DOJ oversight and consent decrees, the administration has effectively silenced the only outside voice capable of challenging systemic patterns that affects Black Americans the most.
No More Affirmative Action
President Trump signed an executive order to end illegal discrimination to restore merit-based opportunity in January 2025, rescinding long-standing affirmative action requirements for federal contractors.
The Result
For Black professionals, this has triggered a chilling effect in the workplace as the DOJ essentially turned anti-discrimination laws into tools to protect white applicants from “reverse discrimination.”
Expanding the Federal Death Penalty
The Trump administration has moved to significantly expand the use of the federal death penalty in an executive order titled “Restoring the Death Penalty and Protecting Public Safety.”
The order has reportedly pressured local progressive prosecutors to return to 1990s-style sentencing—or face federal intervention.
The Result
Thanks to the new order, the DOJ can now aggressively pursue capital punishment. This shift disproportionately targets Black men, who are already overrepresented in the criminal justice system.
Gutting Body-Worn Camera Partnership Program
Following the blueprint of Project 2025, the administration eliminated the $32 million Body-Worn Camera Partnership Program. This wasn’t just a budget cut; it was part of a larger executive pivot to reportedly unleash law enforcement by removing federal red tape and oversight.
The Result
By cutting programs that hold those in power accountable, critics argue the Trump administration has seemingly prioritized incarceration over real systemic reforms that Black activists have spent decades fighting for.
Community Programs Slashed
Several core DOJ grant programs, including the Community Violence Intervention and Prevention Initiative and the Justice Reinvestment Initiative has been completely slashed.
The former funds programs and social workers who step onto the front lines to de-escalate street conflicts and provide hospital-based support, while the latter uses a data-driven approach to steer non-violent offenders away from returning back to prison.
The Result
The gutting of these DOJ programs dismantles the preventative infrastructure that has helped lower crime rates across the country over the last decade. By slashing these grants, the federal government is trading community-led peace for more expensive (and less effective) mass incarceration.
Without hospital-based intervention teams to mediate after a shooting, the cycle of violence in urban neighborhoods can accelerate unchecked.
Reversing Environmental and Climate Policies
The White House announced the United States’ withdrawal from the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) in January.
The administration also rolled back multiple climate and environmental regulations, including its multi-billion dollar commitment to the Green Climate Fund, which helped developing nations adapt to rising seas and extreme weather.
The Result
America’s withdrawal from the UNFCCC cuts off federal scientists from the world’s most trusted climate data and stops the U.S. from tracking environmental issues, like pollution.
By doing so, the government has stripped away the legal foundation used to regulate everything from tailpipe emissions to power plant smoke.
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