The Consequential Effects of Project 2025
Article By Orsi Brown / Art by Jillian Hartshorne
In December, I wrote about President Donald Trump’s upcoming plans for presidency along with the wanted policies written in Project 2025. However, since Trump’s inauguration in January, it is important that we know what he has actually implemented into the US government since being sworn into presidency once again.
To start, Trump has nominated multiple new people into his cabinet, including Russell Vought as director of the Office of Management and Budget. Vought was a major figure in the making of Project 2025, a far-right manifesto that outlines the President’s plan for this term. So far, 16 of Trump’s cabinet nominees have been appointed, though more are expected to come.
To name a few, Pete Hegseth, former anchor for Fox News and veteran, has been appointed Secretary of Defense despite a bumpy confirmation hearing in which he was questioned about his history with sexual misconduct, assault, hush money, and alcoholism. The questions aimed at Hegseth were mostly ignored, and Vice President JD Vance’s vote secured the tied vote within the senate on January 24th.
Robert F. Kennedy has also been appointed Secretary of Health and Human Services, despite his controversial opinions on health-related issues. RFK has openly expressed his anti-vaccine beliefs, claiming that “autism comes from vaccines” with ignorance to scientific research debunking these claims. He has also stated that Covid-19 was “ethnically targeted to spare Jews”, specifically targeting Black and Caucasian people. As the most powerful country in the world, it is important we are led by qualified individuals, especially regarding human health. Misleading and untrue claims may become detrimental to the health department of America which is incredibly scary in context of the pandemic the world faced five years ago.
As for enacting policies, on his first day back, Trump signed 20 executive orders. Here are a few:
All diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility mandates have been terminated from the federal government just as promised in Project 2025. Major companies like Google, Target, and Walmart have complied in removing DEI mandates, but many companies have upheld their DEI initiatives, such as Apple, JP Morgan Chase, and Costco. Although large companies have stayed supportive of DEI regulations, it is saddening to see the repeal of a policy that “works only to ensure a sense of equality within the workforce for all people”.
Trump has also withdrawn the US from organizations like the World Health Organization and Paris Agreement which work to keep humans safe and reduce greenhouse gas emissions which only continue to rise.
Trump has also attempted to keep his promise of the mass deportation of illegal immigrants, despite deporting fewer immigrants at a slower rate than former president Joe Biden during his first month of presidency.
Trump has also attempted to end birthright citizenship, which deems anyone born on US soil a US citizen in argument that it is being abused. However, the federal court continues to uphold a block on the order as it causes obvious legal and ethical issues.
These serve as a reminder that the plans introduced by Project 2025 are not a joke and that the warnings by today’s youth and professionals must be taken seriously.
https://www.foxnews.com/video/6330950198112
https://nypost.com/2023/07/15/rfk-jr-says-covid-was-ethnically-targeted-to-spare-jews/
https://www.thegroupchatforchange.org/orsis-column/6wcgeevq8hevdxkemaelgg9rqd240x https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/jan/29/donald-trump-executive-orders-signed-list
https://www.federalregister.gov/presidential-documents/executive-orders/donald-trump/2025
