President-elect Donald Trump has repeatedly distanced himself from Project 2025, a 900-page essay Conservative policy recommendations published by the Heritage Foundation, a right-wing think tank. But he named two of the document’s co-authors to cabinet-level positions, and several others served in his first administration, suggesting the document could be a window into what the next four years might bring.
On Monday, Trump nominated Brendan Carr, who wrote the chapter on Project 2025 at the Federal Communications Commission, to head the agency. He also appointed Heritage Foundation Fellow Tom Homan, named as a Project 2025 contributor, as his so-called “border czar”.
Eighteen of the 40 co-authors and editors The report was first served on the Trump administration. Among them are Ken Cuccinelli, former acting deputy secretary of Homeland Security; Christopher Miller, former Acting Secretary of Defense; and Russell T. Vaught, former director of the Office of Management and Budget. It is said that it is being considered for the vote Another top post in the next administration.
During the 2024 campaign, Democrats wanted to tie Trump to Project 2025 — a policy agenda they called “dangerous“and”Amazingly radical” — making it a blueprint for his second term that is much more detailed than that The GOP’s 28-page platform. The document focuses on proposals to expand presidential power, explore federal bureaucracy, prioritize the religious right, deregulation, and more.
Trump at one point claimed “No idea who’s behind it” and It has denied any connection with it When asked about it at the September presidential debate: “I have nothing to do with Project 2025. I haven’t read it. I don’t want to read it on purpose. I’m not going to read it.”
But some of Trump’s allies have suggested that since his re-election Always willing to be the playbook for his second term. Trump’s nominations of Carr and Homan seem to support that idea. will not Requires additional Senate confirmation take their roles; Through them, they will be in a position to advocate for Project 2025’s ideas on communication and migration.
Here’s what we know about Carr and Homan and the ideas related to their posts on Project 2025.
Brendan Carr
Carr, a pick Endorsed by billionaire Trump supporter Elon Musk, Currently serves as a senior Republican at the FCC and was previously its general counsel. Now, he’s ready to take the lead, steering the commission toward a tougher stance against Big Tech and what he describes as “an attempt to drive different political perspectives out of the digital town square” in Project 2025.
Among his key proposals in Project 2025 is an end to legal immunity for Internet platforms hosting user-generated content under Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act. This would require strict content moderation on the part of these platforms or cutbacks in the degree to which users can contribute content, fundamentally changing the way people interact online.
At the same time, he wrote in Project 2025 that he wants to ensure that “Internet companies no longer have carte blanche to censor protected speech.” It echoes Trump’s other cabinet picks who are “looking to crack down.”awakening“In their respective organizations.
Carr supports efforts to block TikTok in the US, citing it as a national security threat along with Chinese smartphone maker Huawei. He claims in Project 2025 that TikTok is part of a Chinese “foreign influence campaign that dictates the news and information the app delivers to millions of Americans.” However, there are reasons to believe that a TikTok ban, as Vox previously reported, would have “serious consequences for online expression,” including shutting down what has proven to be a hotbed of activism.
Carr may initially have some difficulty implementing his agenda. The commission will have a 3-2 Democratic majority until next June when Trump will be able to nominate new members.
Tom Homan
Homan is not named as an author of a specific chapter of Project 2025 but as an overall contributor — and some of his hardline views on immigration and borders are reflected in the report.
He started as a Border Patrol agent in the 1980s and worked his way up through immigration agencies, becoming head of the removal operations branch of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement under former President Barack Obama. There, he led the largest number of immigrants, exceeding 400,000 in one year. Under Trump, Homan served as acting director of ICE but was never permanently confirmed by the Senate.
Homan’s new role as “border czar” appears to involve far-reaching responsibilities. That includes overseeing the implementation of Trump’s mass deportation policy — a centerpiece of the former president’s immigration agenda.
That means Homan’s responsibilities will likely intersect with numerous immigration priorities outlined in Project 2025. Here’s a non-exhaustive list of what’s included:
- Expanding the use of a legal authority known as “expedited removal” to quickly deport immigrants who cross the border without authorization.
- Repelling immigrants even in currently protected, sensitive areas like churches.
- An end to large-scale parole programs that the Biden administration has relied on as deportation shields for individuals from certain countries, including Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Venezuela.
- Ending programs like the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, which protected thousands of undocumented immigrants who came to the United States as children from deportation.
- Creating a new legal authority similar to the Title 42 policy, implemented by Trump and maintained by Biden, to quickly deport immigrants arriving at the US southern border. Questionable public health basis To stop the spread of Covid-19.
Homan has yet to indicate whether he or Trump fully support these policies. But unlike Trump, who claims he never read Project 2025, Homan put his name to the document and can draw from it in his new role.
