At least 38 members of Congress signed a letter sent Monday to the president of the Heritage Foundation requesting he meet with lawmakers to discuss Project 2025 and release the undisclosed fourth pillar of the project called the “180-Day Playbook.”
“Our offices are increasingly hearing from constituents worried about the impact of Project 2025 on the future of our nation,” read the letter obtained exclusively by ABC News.
“A growing number of Americans are concerned that Project 2025, which you describe as ‘a second American revolution,’ poses an unprecedented threat to our democracy, reproductive freedoms, public education, LGBTQIA+ rights, our economy, environment, public health and more.”
Project 2025, a 922-page playbook of controversial policy proposals intended to guide the next conservative administration, has continued to garner attention as the presidential election campaigns of Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump heat up.
Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump participates in a question and answers session at the National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ) convention at the Hilton Hotel July 31, 2024 in Chicago, Illinois.
Scott Olson/Getty Images
It includes plans to expand presidential power, eliminate the Department of Education and Department of Homeland Security, privatizing other federal agencies, taking the abortion pill mifepristone off the market, restricting insurance coverage mandates, cutting federal funding for clean energy research, restricting welfare programs and more.
This letter comes as Democrats try to paint Project 2025 as a warning of what is to come under a second Trump term. However, Trump has tried to distance himself from the policy proposals: “They are extreme, seriously extreme,” said Trump in a July 20 rally. “I don’t know anything about it. I don’t want to know anything about it.”
While Trump has said that he doesn’t know anything about Project 2025, dozens of the former president’s current and former advisers and appointees have authored or have been connected to the project, including former Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Ben Carson and former Acting Secretary of Defense and Special Assistant Christopher Miller.
Project 2025 officials previously told ABC News that it does “not speak for any candidate or campaign.”
However, Trump’s official campaign plan called Agenda47 aligns with several proposals in Project 2025.
Its unpublished so-called fourth pillar, the “180-Day Playbook,” is described on the Project 2025 website as “a playbook of actions to be taken in the first 180 days of the new administration to bring quick relief to Americans suffering from the Left’s devastating policies.”
“Project 2025’s policy book is nothing new,” the Project 2025 website reads. “Mandate for Leadership has been published regularly since the 1980s. In it, respected conservative authors espouse conservative policy ideas for incoming administrations to consider. Progressive organizations do the same thing.”
The letter cites concerns over potential executive orders, emergency declarations, presidential directives, and other measures that could be implemented under the “180-Day Playbook,” which is not published on the project’s website.
The letter to the Heritage Foundation president, Kevin Roberts, predicts that the playbook contains the “most radical, extreme and dangerous parts of Project 2025.”
It continued, “If we are wrong about that – if your secret “Fourth Pillar” of Project 2025 is actually a defensible, responsible and constitutional action plan for the first days of a second Trump presidency — then we hope you will publish it, without edits or redaction. Allow the American people to see it and scrutinize it.”
Rep. Jared Huffman, D-Calif., speaks during the news conference on the Wildfire Response and Drought Resiliency Act in the U.S. Capitol Thursday, July 28, 2022.
Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Imagwa, FILE
ABC News has reached out to the Heritage Foundation for comment concerning the controversy and the letter from members of Congress.
“We believe it is overwhelmingly in the public interest for you to actually keep your ‘open book’ promise by disclosing the ‘Fourth Pillar’ of Project 2025, and we hope you’ll consider explaining why, unlike the first three pillars, you have been keeping it secret for so long,” the letter reads.
The letter campaign was led by Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley, D-Mass., and Congressman Jared Huffman, D-Calif., who founded a congressional task force aimed at putting an end to the hopes laid out in Project 2025.
The letter was also signed by Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich., Cori Bush, D-Mo., and others. No Republican lawmakers signed the letter.
It asks Roberts to respond to the request for a meeting, in which no official congressional power is being used to compel his presence, by Friday, Aug. 16.
The Heritage Project and Project 2025 saw a leadership change in July when Project 2025’s director Paul Dans stepped down amid intense scrutiny of the conservative blueprint.
Roberts said at the time that the move was based on the timeline for the drafting of the project, which concluded after the two party conventions.
The Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank based in Washington D.C., recently released a report titled Project 2025, outlining their vision for the future of America. The report has sparked controversy and concern among Democrats, who are seeking clarification on the details and implications of the plan.
Project 2025 lays out a comprehensive set of policy proposals aimed at achieving conservative goals such as limited government, free markets, and individual liberty. The plan includes recommendations for tax reform, regulatory reform, healthcare reform, and education reform, among other areas. The Heritage Foundation argues that implementing these policies would lead to economic growth, job creation, and increased prosperity for all Americans.
However, Democrats have raised questions about the potential impact of Project 2025 on vulnerable populations, such as low-income families, minorities, and the elderly. They are concerned that the proposed cuts to social programs and regulations could harm those who rely on government assistance for basic needs. Democrats also worry that the plan could exacerbate income inequality and undermine important environmental protections.
In response to these concerns, Democrats are calling on the Heritage Foundation to provide more information about the specifics of Project 2025. They are requesting detailed analyses of how the proposed policies would affect different demographic groups and how they would be implemented. Democrats are also asking for transparency about the funding sources behind the plan and any potential conflicts of interest.
The Heritage Foundation has defended Project 2025 as a well-researched and thoughtful set of recommendations that would benefit all Americans. They argue that their proposals are based on sound economic principles and would lead to long-term prosperity for the country. The think tank has expressed willingness to engage in dialogue with Democrats and other critics to address their concerns and provide further clarification on the details of the plan.
As the debate over Project 2025 continues, it is clear that both Democrats and conservatives have strong opinions about the future direction of America. While Democrats are seeking more information and clarification from the Heritage Foundation, conservatives are standing by their vision for a more limited government and free-market economy. It remains to be seen how this debate will unfold in the coming months and what impact Project 2025 will have on the political landscape.
