The Trump administration’s 2025 agenda centers on strengthening America’s military, economy and national security. Key priorities include securing the southern border, achieving energy independence, driving economic growth through tax cuts, deregulation and strategic judicial appointments. The administration also emphasizes a reformed federal bureaucracy to reduce inefficiencies and increase accountability. Leading figures in shaping these policies include former National Security Advisor John Bolton, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and former Chief of Staff Mark Meadows, among others.
Foreign policy will prioritize national sovereignty and a more America-centric approach to global affairs. Trade agreements will undergo significant overhauls, particularly with China, and military commitments abroad will be reduced to focus on domestic interests. Key architects of these foreign policy shifts include U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and former National Economic Council Director Larry Kudlow. The Project 2025 document outlines these initiatives, reflecting a continued commitment to the “America First” vision.
National Security: Project 2025’s national security strategy focuses on addressing key challenges such as China’s growing influence and the ongoing threat of terrorism. The plan emphasizes achieving energy independence, modernizing the military, strengthening international alliances and implementing defense reforms to bolster homeland security and reinforce U.S. global leadership in the face of evolving threats. Figures like Defense Secretary Mark Esper and National Security Advisor Robert O’Brien shaped these strategies.
While securing the border is a key concern, Project 2025 could reshape national policies, including global alliances, military strategies, energy independence, defense modernization and economic resilience.
“I think that for the future of this country, project 2025 will impact a lot of our policies and priorities, “sophomore Yoslen-Robaina Santana said. “Our country is seeing a red wave like no other and it’s a given that with a Republican president, they will be made a priority. From what I am aware, it wants to secure our border. This by no means is a bad thing, why wouldn’t we want a more secure America?”
Tax Reforms: Project 2025 tax proposals aim to simplify the tax code, lower corporate taxes, and eliminate loopholes to boost economic growth. The focus is on enhancing global competitiveness, supporting domestic investment, and creating jobs while providing relief for the middle class. The tax reform plan was heavily influenced by figures like Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and National Economic Council Director Larry Kudlow.
Social Programs reforms: Project 2025’s social program reforms aim to cut federal spending by restructuring welfare, imposing stricter job requirements and decentralizing services to give state and local governments more control. The focus is on promoting self-sufficiency, prioritizing work over welfare, targeting aid to those in need and reducing reliance on federal funding. These reforms were spearheaded by individuals like Office of Management and Budget Director Mick Mulvaney.
Economic Reforms: Project 2025’s economic reforms aim to revitalize American industry, reduce regulations and achieve energy independence. The plan focuses on tax cuts, boosting domestic manufacturing and renegotiating trade deals to prioritize American interests, strengthen job creation, and enhance global competitiveness, fostering a more resilient and self-sufficient economy. Key figures such as Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross and Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer played a significant role in shaping these policies.
Decentralizing federal responsibilities without proper support could overwhelm local governments, risking cuts to vital services and undermining effectiveness.
“In my opinion, if Project 2025 (or the “Presidential Transition Project”) is enacted as it is written, I believe we will see a huge collapse of vital systems within our country,” Chemistry Teacher Tucker McCord said. “That governmental reforms need to be carried out carefully and meticulously, due to the nature of the interconnected systems at work. If Project 2025 truly intends to empower state and local governments, they neglect the fact that the resources and systems available at the national level (for example, within the Department of Education), are not currently accessible at those lower levels in the same quantity and quality.”
This shift would strain local resources and create gaps in services once managed nationally.
“No department operates in isolation, and removing resources and jobs in these departments will inevitably lead to (A) those duties being reassigned to people who are not qualified and compensated properly for those additional duties and (B) a domino effect of programs under those departments being lost,” McCord said. “That national responsibilities will become the responsibilities of state and local workers who already have a job to do, and without leadership at the national level, the state and local workers will not be able to continue their programs without rebuilding them from the ground up.”
A key goal of Project 2025 is ending birthright citizenship to curb illegal immigration and prevent abuse. By proposing a reinterpretation of the 14th Amendment, the plan seeks to limit citizenship to children of U.S. citizens and legal residents, strengthening sovereignty and border security. This policy was championed by figures such as former Attorney General William Barr and Stephen Miller, a senior adviser to the president.
Deportation Plan: Project 2025 focuses on combating illegal immigration by prioritizing the deportation of unauthorized immigrants with criminal records. It calls for expanding ICE staffing, reintroducing expedited removals, and strengthening enforcement of immigration laws to improve public safety and uphold U.S. immigration regulations. Key proponents of this approach included then-Secretary of Homeland Security Kirstjen Nielsen and ICE Director Matthew Albence.
Blaming immigration for economic struggles ignores deeper issues like deindustrialization, job losses from global trade, and automation. These factors have displaced workers and eroded industries, contributing more significantly to economic hardship than immigration.
“Though I do not know the immigration policies off the top of my head, generally speaking, modern Republican immigration policies revolve around mass deportations and wall building along the southern border with Mexico,” world history and Current events teacher Jordan Rhodes said.
This rhetoric shifts attention from the real issue—deindustrialization—to scapegoating immigration. As Rhodes points out, the focus on immigration overlooks the fact that factory jobs have been outsourced, and the remaining positions, particularly in the Rust Belt, are scarce, leaving many workers struggling in a recession.
“This reflects the current agenda of addressing deindustrialization by focusing the blame on supposed unbridled immigration policies that have allowed for a high influx of an immigrant workforce, that is now competing with a domestic workforce, that has been struggling to find work in a recession economy where many factory jobs have been outsourced and open positions, especially in the Rust Belt, are in short supply,” Rhodes said.
Training and Leadership Development: Project 2025 focuses on identifying, training, and placing conservative leaders in key federal positions to align agencies with specific policies. The initiative aims to streamline leadership development, ensuring a workforce committed to conservative principles while improving efficiency, accountability, and policy implementation across the government. This effort has been backed by key figures like former White House Chief Strategist Steve Bannon, who has been a vocal advocate for conservative governance.
Project 2025’s focus on centralizing power could disrupt the balance of authority and threaten the freedoms that are central to American democracy.
“I feel that the power that is trying to be attained with the plan would be very heavy-sided and would put a lot of power in the president’s hands and his party as well as being very limiting on the free expression of the American citizens,” sophomore Eduardo Morales-Rodriguez said.
Education: Project 2025’s education initiatives aim to empower parents, promote school choice, and reduce federal involvement. The focus is on removing ideological policies and supporting alternatives like charter schools and vouchers while prioritizing academic success and local control over education. Figures such as Education Secretary Betsy DeVos have played a pivotal role in advocating for these reforms, including her push for school choice programs.
As debates over Project 2025 grow, proposed cuts to public school funding and the potential loss of 200,000 teaching jobs underscore the stark divide between its supporters and critics.
“Many people have differing beliefs, which often stem from upbringing, personal experiences, and environments,” Schurter said. “Sophomore Eli Schurter said, that Project 2025 is Republican, and with the two-party system we have, there are always going to be people who are for it and against it. In this case, Project 2025 talks about cutting funding for public schools and the nearly 200,000 teachers who would lose their jobs.”
Project 2025 seeks to transform U.S. energy policy by focusing on increasing domestic production of fossil fuels, including oil, gas, and coal, alongside expanding nuclear energy. The initiative aims to reduce regulatory burdens, promote energy independence, and lower costs, while also investing in modernizing infrastructure. By prioritizing both traditional and nuclear energy sources, it seeks to ensure a reliable, affordable energy supply, boost economic growth, and strengthen national security. Energy Secretary Dan Brouillette and former Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Andrew Wheeler have been key proponents of these energy policies.
“When it comes to energy I think it’s going to do an amazing job,” Robiana-Santana said. “I was surprised by the talks about nuclear energy. It wants to de-weaponize the federal government and get rid of the deep state.”
Project 2025 outlines a vision to reshape American governance, focusing on immigration, education, economic policy, and leadership development. It aims to advance conservative priorities, strengthen national security, drive economic growth, and improve government efficiency and accountability, to ensure long-term prosperity and reinforce U.S. global leadership.
