A group of House Democrats are looking to combat the conservative former President Donald Trump’s agenda before he even takes office.
Project 2025 is a conservative presidential policy project meant to serve as a political blueprint for a potential second presidency for Trump if he is reelected.
Project 2025 was created from policy proposals from The Heritage Foundation, which is a conservative research institution based out of Washington, D.C.
According to Project 2025’s official website, “It is not enough for conservatives to win elections. If we are going to rescue the country from the grip of the radical Left, we need both a governing agenda and the right people in place, ready to carry this agenda out on Day One of the next conservative Administration.”
U.S. Rep. Jared Huffman, D-Calif., slammed Project 2025 in a press release laying out his own task force to combat Project 2025.
Huffman called Project 2025 a “dystopian plot that’s already in motion” as well as a “coup”. The press release describes the task force as “designed to stop far-right government takeover outlined in ultra conservative manifesto”
“The Stop Project 2025 Task Force will serve as a central hub for pro-democracy Members of Congress, civil society, and affected communities to coordinate on examining, highlighting, preempting, and counteracting this rightwing plot to undermine democracy,” the release said.
“Through this Task Force, leaders across the ideological spectrum and experts in every policy area that’s under attack are uniting to protect democracy as we know it,” Huffman stated in the press release. “Donald Trump and those behind Project 2025 are ready to turn America into a theocratic regime if they get the chance – and we are going to be ready to stop them.”
The “Stop Project 2025” task force is made up of various house representatives and lawyers. Other representatives who are apart of this task force include Rep. Ted Lieu, D-Calif., Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., Rep. Judy Chu, D-Calif., Rep. Mark Pocan, D-Wisc., Rep. Nanette Barragán, D-Calif., Rep. Diana DeGette, D-Colo., and Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md.
Lieu slammed Project 2025 in the press release, saying that “Project 2025 is a radical, extreme, pro-authoritarianism plan pushed by conservatives who are desperate to take our country backwards.”
Kevin Roberts, president of The Heritage Foundation and Heritage Action for America, released a statement on Tuesday responding to the congressional representatives’ announcement of the “Stop Project 2025” task force.
Roberts called the press release “unserious” and “mistake-riddled” in his statement. Roberts also pointed toward the policy recommendations for Project 2025 being “publicly available” on their website, and said that they “embrace transparency,” “unlike the Left.”
Roberts also compared the “Stop Project 2025” task force to a “smear campaign.”
“It’s amusing how those on the Left seem surprised that conservative policy organizations advocate for conservative policies,” Roberts said in a statement. “Yet instead of addressing the issues caused by this administration and Congress, House Democrats are dedicating taxpayer dollars to launch a smear campaign against the united effort to restore self-governance to everyday Americans.”
“The task force launched by House Democrats only underscores the Left’s fear of losing its grip on their authoritarian bureaucracy,” Roberts continued. “If their strategy is to resort to scare tactics instead of tackling the genuine concerns of Americans regarding the unsustainable cost of living, rampant crime, border crisis, and global unrest spawned by their left-wing policies—well, they’re more than welcome to try. We will not give up and we will win.”
