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Despite conservatives' concerted efforts to obscure the plan to institutionalize Trumpism, the public keeps learning more about the dystopian plan.
A secretly recorded conversation has exposed the dangerous and far-reaching plans being laid out by Russell Vought, a central figure behind Project 2025, the Heritage Foundation’s plan to reshape the federal government in a potential second term for former President Donald Trump in his image.
The Centre for Climate Reporting, which conducted the undercover investigation, revealed how Vought and his conservative allies are preparing a comprehensive set of executive orders, regulations, and policies aimed at implementing a radical agenda that poses a direct threat to LGBTQ+ rights.
Related: Project 2025: A blueprint for the oppression of LGBTQ+ Americans
The meeting, held in a luxurious Washington, D.C., hotel suite, was attended by two undercover journalists posing as wealthy donors interested in supporting Project 2025. Vought, the former head of the Office of Management and Budget under Trump and now president of the Center for Renewing America, which he founded, outlined the secretive second phase of Project 2025, which conservatives are hiding from the public to avoid scrutiny, according to the report.
CCR reports that Vought described his think tank as “the Death Star,” a reference to its powerful role in drafting the most extreme elements of Trump’s potential policy agenda. He revealed that his team is working on what he termed the “largest deportation in history,” aiming to expel millions of undocumented immigrants, a move that would also serve to dismantle multiculturalism in the United States. Trump has celebrated this notion, and Republicans celebrated the concept of mass deportations during the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee in July. Vought said the plans were top secret and would be shared only with Trump’s transition team to avoid exposure through the Freedom of Information Act.
The project aims to roll back protections for LGBTQ+ people, dismantle gender-inclusive policies, and erase the progress made under the Biden administration. Project 2025 emphasizes a commitment to transforming America into a Christian nation and implementing a form of Christian nationalism that seeks to impose a rigid Judeo-Christian value system on the entire country.
The CCR’s investigation also uncovered that Vought and his colleagues are preparing for the possibility of mass protests in response to their policies, including the use of the military to suppress dissent. Vought dismissed concerns about legal restrictions, such as the Posse Comitatus Act, which limits the use of federal troops in domestic law enforcement, suggesting that Trump could bypass these laws to maintain order.
The CCR revelations come on the heels of training videos from Project 2025, obtained by ProPublica, which show former Trump officials mocking gender-inclusive language and dismissing the legitimacy of transgender people. These videos, as reported byThe Advocate on Wednesday, are part of a broader strategy by right-wing extremists to normalize discriminatory practices within the federal government.
