A Gen Z Guide to ‘Project 2025’
Spearheaded by The Heritage Foundation, Project 2025 is the current basis of the transition into a Republican presidency.
Formally entitled “Mandate for Leadership: The Conservative Promise,” this 887-page conservative manifesto is built on four pillars: a policy agenda, personnel, training, and a 180-day playbook. As it stands, Project 2025 will immediately go into effect if any Republican candidate wins the vote for the presidency—the most likely choice being Donald Trump.
But what does this project actually entail, and how will it affect us?
In a research study conducted by Tufts University, Gen Z listed the following issues as top priorities: Inflation, Abortion, Climate Change, Gun Violence, and Racism.
Lucky for you, I read Project 2025 so you do not have to. This is what The Heritage Foundation thinks of our key issues.
Inflation
The word ‘inflation’ first appears in the foreword of The Mandate for Leadership. The author of this section, Kevin D. Roberts, believes the root of inflation is due to the Washington establishment.
“Look at America under the ruling and cultural elite today,” he writes. “Inflation is ravaging family budgets, drug overdose deaths continue to escalate, and children suffer the toxic normalization of transgenderism with drag queens and pornography invading their school libraries.”
Although mentioned various times in the body of the manifesto, Project 2025 has no true plan for curbing inflation. Currently, the authors only suggest adjusting retirement benefits and the military budget for inflation, while also pulling out of The Biden Administration’s “extreme climate policies.”
Further, the plan explains how Biden’s climate initiative has worsened the state of inflation stating, “its anti-fossil fuel agenda has led to a sharp spike in global energy prices.”
Abortion
Abortion is mentioned early on in Project 2025 under the first promise: “Restore the Family as the Centerpiece of American Life and Protect Our Children.” The text explains how the “well-being of the American family is suffering,” and the next conservative president must take action.
This action will be concluded by “deleting the terms abortion, reproductive health, and reproductive rights, out of every federal rule, agency regulation, contract, grant, regulation, and piece of legislation that exists.”
The manifesto goes as far as saying that the next conservative president “should push as hard as possible to protect the unborn in every jurisdiction in America.”
Project 2025 also highlights how abortion for military servicemembers must be ended, as well as “focusing on holistic health care” and “collaboration with faith-based organizations” for women’s health.
Climate Change
Briefly discussed under the inflation section, Project 2025 aims to shut down all climate change initiatives.
Under a conservative leadership, the manifesto details how climate change will be handled:
“Rescind all climate policies from foreign aid programs”
“Shut down the agency’s [USAID] offices, programs, and directives designed to advance the Paris Climate Agreement”
“Limit funding to traditional climate mitigation efforts”
That being said, Project 2025 makes clear how “climate policy fanaticism” is not an important cause for American Leadership and only “advantages Beijing.”
Gun Violence
The words “gun,” “gun violence,” and “2nd amendment” do not appear in the manifesto at all.
While Gen Z may care about the fact that gun violence is the leading cause of death among minors in the United States, it seems The Heritage Foundation believes pornography—also known by Project 2025 as the “propagation of transgender ideology and sexualization of children”—is more damaging to child welfare than their deaths caused by gun violence.
Racism
While Project 2025 does not explicitly state the word “racism” or its effects in the United States, critical race theory (CRT) and diversity, equity, and inclusion programs (DEI) are frequently mentioned.
After long descriptions of how both CRT and DEI are damaging for America, Project 2025 describes that the next conservative president must “eliminate Marxist indoctrination and divisive critical race theory programs and abolish newly established diversity, equity, and inclusion offices and staff.”
Project 2025 is much more than these issues.
From describing how to “dismantle the administrative state,” to shifting the Office of Science and Medicine towards a “focus on strengthening marriage and sexual risk avoidance,” there is a plan for nearly every republican ideology.
Clearly, Project 2025 is not prioritizing the issues that affect us most. Our note to all of Gen Z is to be loud, use your voice, and make your vote count.
What do you think of Project 2025? Leave a comment below!