Meeting with who he believed to be relatives of a conservative donor, co-author of Project 2025 Russell Vought, CNN says, discussed “behind-the-scenes work to prepare policy for former President Donald Trump, his expansive views on presidential power, his plan to restrict pornography and immigration, and his complaints that the GOP was too focused on “religious liberty” instead of “Christian nation-ism””.
Little did Vought know, but the men he met were not donors, they were employees of a nonprofit British journalism company. Cameras were littered around the suite, and, with the undercover journalist and paid actor ready to work, the nearly 120-minute meeting was recorded word-for-word.
The nonprofit, the Centre for Climate Reporting, released the videos recorded during the meeting and a 2,800-word article on the discussion.
Vought’s name has come up as a potential White House chief of staff if Trump wins the 2024 election. Having served as the director of the Office of Management and Budget under the Trump administration, he founded his organization, the Center for Renewing America, in 2021 after Biden won that year’s election. The Center for Renewing America joined the Heritage Foundation in creating Project 2025.
Making a public statement, Trump told the audience, and viewers at home, that he had no part in Project 2025. According to Forbes, the candidate made this statement after controversial parts of the plan were leaked, such as making pornography illegal, rejecting gender identities other than biological sex, and eliminating the U.S. Department of Education.
Despite this, Vought emphasizes Trump’s trust in him and that the presidential candidate has “blessed” Vought’s organization and is “supportive of what we do”.
CNN mentions that roughly one week after the conversation, Project 2025’s director stepped down. Trump’s campaign made it clear that they would not be upset if Project 2025 were to cease to exist.
Is Project 2025 going to happen? According, to Vought the plan is to give the project to “whoever handles the transition of power if Trump is elected and is designed to be “plugged right in”.
Vought and Trump have political relations, there’s no denying that. However, Trump’s involvement with Project 2025 continues to be up for debate.
