Period.
How Right-Wing Groups Are Plotting To Implement Trump’s Authoritarianism
Project 2025 is an out-in-the-open scheme to steer the US toward far-right autocracy.
DAVID CORN
Washington, DC, Bureau Chief
There is an authoritarian danger that threatens American democracy. It is a separate peril from Donald Trump and his tens of millions of rabid supports. It is the right-wing infrastructure that is publicly plotting to undermine the checks and balances of our constitutional order and concentrate unprecedented power in the presidency. Its efforts, if successful and coupled with a Trump (or other GOP) victory in 2024, would place the nation on a path to autocracy.
Trump’s desire to be a strongman ruler are no secret. He has repeatedly uttered statements that reveal a craving to be in total control of the US government. As he mounts a second campaign for the White House, his team has openly discussed his plans to consolidate government power in the White House should he win. The New York Times recently reported that his crew aims “to alter the balance of power by increasing the president’s authority over every part of the federal government that now operates, by either law or tradition, with any measure of independence from political interference by the White House.” The Washington Post ran a story in April headlined, “Trump touts authoritarian vision for second term.”
These plans include altering the rules governing the civil service so that tens of thousands of federal workers—maybe more—would be subject to immediate dismissal by the White House. That would mean that Trump could fire employees at federal agencies who do not pledge their loyalty to Trump—or who question the legality or appropriateness of White House directives. Say, Trump or an underling orders the IRS to audit the tax returns of a political foe and an IRS career official objects, that person could be pink-slipped.
Yet this effort to reshape the US government extends far beyond the fevered fantasies of one failed casino owner and his henchmen and henchwomen. Much of the right-wing establishment—including its leading think tanks and policy shops—are part of the attempt to concentrate federal power in the hands of Trump or another Republican president.
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The Center for Renewing America is merely a small piece of the right’s let’s-go-authoritarian operation. Dozens of conservative outfits—led by the Heritage Foundation—have banded together to produce what they call Project 2025, which has released a 1,000-page report, Mandate for Leadership: The Conservative Promise, which provides a blueprint for a wannabe-White-House-autocrat. Their proposals include removing protections for federal employees so perhaps as many as 50,000 could be fired and replaced with Trump (or Republican) loyalists. This would be done under the banner of annihilating the supposed “deep state” bureaucracy and smashing the “administrative state.”
As noted above, this would destroy the civil service, booting out of federal agencies employees with expertise and experience and replacing them with political hacks. We’re talking about EPA lawyers who might inform a White House that its proposal to sell oil leases off environmentally sensitive coastlands would violate the law. Or perhaps a CIA analyst who produces an assessment saying that a presidential policy might yield negative consequences (for instance, a report noting that bombing Mexico could cause an immigration crisis).
There’s much more in Project 2025 than eviscerating the civil service. It, too, calls for curbing the independence of the Justice Department and proposes revved-up prosecutions of persons providing or distributing abortion pills by mail. The project urges rolling back environmental regulations, reversing actions to address climate change, and abolishing the Pentagon’s diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives. One chapter that focuses on the Department of Health and Human Services calls on the next president to “maintain a biblically based, social science–reinforced definition of marriage and family.” In other words, the next chief executive should wage a war on marriage equality.
Make no mistake. They want to take us back to where anyone not-White has no rights in this country. Where women would lose all body autonomy. Where our LGBTQIA+ Citizens would have absolutely no rights. They want us to live in a fascist state. And, this has nothing to do with Trump. They want this plan NO MATTER WHO THE REPUBLICAN NOMINEE IS.
THE 2024 ELECTIONS ARE ABOUT DEMOCRACY VS FASCISM.
Before we start to dig into the detail of Project 2025, please welcome back Coyote Annie with her overview take.
Buckle up friends it’s not an easy listen#DemsAct #DemVoice1 #wtpBLUE #ONEV1 #FAM46 pic.twitter.com/UETRtJAtOg
— 𝔗𝔯𝔲𝔱𝔥 𝔐𝔞𝔱𝔱𝔢𝔯𝔰 (@politicsusa46) September 18, 2023
As you listen to Cyote Annie’s excellent breakdown of Project 2025, you should notice something.
It’s already started! It is basically a guide to what is already being done by right wing talking heads to create a foundational narrative to prepare the ground for the… pic.twitter.com/7dNocMFxTV
— 𝔗𝔯𝔲𝔱𝔥 𝔐𝔞𝔱𝔱𝔢𝔯𝔰 (@politicsusa46) September 18, 2023
Have you guys heard about this project 2025 thing? pic.twitter.com/sG9ww2X1rL
— Gojo's baby mama (@aprettyPR) September 18, 2023
The Republican Party’s #Project2025 calls for suspension of the Civil Services Protection Act so Republicans can purge everyone who isn’t loyal to MAGA out of agencies like DOJ & Dept of Education.
This was a major part of how the Nazis seized power. pic.twitter.com/MX5cQ2lea4
— Rachel Bitecofer 📈🔭🇺🇲🇺🇦 (@RachelBitecofer) September 15, 2023
🚨A "Must Read"🚨
MAGAs have plans to create an "authoritarian government", called "Project 2025", if Trump is elected.
We must not let this happen, right ?!?https://t.co/OnshSMg4WK
— Dr. Mike Davis 🌊 (@FrankMikeDavis1) September 9, 2023
The Intellectualist (@highbrow_nobrow) posted at 10:46 AM on Wed, Sep 20, 2023:
CNN reports Justice Alito’s Rome trip, following his decision overturning Roe v. Wade, was funded by Notre Dame’s Religious Liberty Initiative – a group that supported the Roe overturn.
https://t.co/JIyBtuPv8m
(https://x.com/highbrow_nobrow/status/1704522391299248340?t=UTFWRtdlGsutUU85xdkvKA&s=03)
We already knew this. In real time. He was never given the benefit of the doubt from this corner of the world.
Cassidy Hutchison is not telling us anything we didn’t know
https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZT86RCyfD/
UNDER.THE.JAIL😡😡😡
Philly folks …you know about this case?
There are bad cops …and, then there are these muthaphuckas 😡😡
https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZT86RXaem/
I never thought that I would come to love a bee.
But, there’s an account on TikTok.
Person came across an injured, one winged-bee.
They took them in and built them a small greenhouse where they can live out the rest of their days.
Go to TikTok and put in SWEETPEA.
I look forward to seeing my daily dose of Sweetpea for as long as she’s here.
Palmer Report (@PalmerReport) posted at 3:04 PM on Tue, Sep 19, 2023:
I can’t tell you precisely how it’ll play out. I’m not Nostradamus. But a shutdown would play poorly with voters and likely cost a handful of the most vulnerable House Republicans their seats in 2024. Which is why they’ll push (hard) to keep a shutdown from happening.
(https://x.com/PalmerReport/status/1704225033407885545?t=rFSLN9BeLcFiXMPGB7qxkg&s=03)
BrooklynDad_Defiant!☮️ (@mmpadellan) posted at 11:05 AM on Tue, Sep 19, 2023:
I’m confident I speak for many of us when I say I don’t care what Susan Collins, aka Senator Concernicus, has to say about ANYTHING.
She helped give us Brett Kavanaugh.
She said trump “learned his lesson.”
She is voting no on many of President Biden’s judicial nominees.
She’s… https://t.co/arxbckgiw2
(https://x.com/mmpadellan/status/1704164921078853816?t=Q9hkLsGWNDSHVW-mZqcJGw&s=03)
UH HUH
SURE
The Daily Beast (@thedailybeast) posted at 5:00 AM on Wed, Sep 20, 2023:
Gabrielle Hanson, a MAGA Republican who is an alderman in Franklin, insists she had no idea that she was working for an escort service when she was answering phones as a college student. https://t.co/vD9W6XEsTA
(https://x.com/thedailybeast/status/1704435289656115563?t=Kwb7ia_c0vX7lHh5ACqjvg&s=03)
THIS AD IS KAPOW!
Medium Buying (@MediumBuying) posted at 7:53 AM on Wed, Sep 20, 2023:
#KYGov: The Andy Beshear campaign is up on TV with this spot —
Hadley to camera:
“This is to you, Daniel Cameron. To tell a 12-year-old girl she must have the baby of her stepfather who raped her is unthinkable” https://t.co/2tW09U4ZUO
(https://x.com/MediumBuying/status/1704479015992447432?t=wnIExKqjDwo8uw1gKZQ2lQ&s=03)
Ted Lieu (@tedlieu) posted at 9:16 PM on Tue, Sep 19, 2023:
In every election since the horrific Dobbs decision, Democrats have overperformed and Republicans have underperformed.
Donald Trump campaigned on and caused Roe v. Wade to be overturned. And the American people know it. Trump and GOP can’t lie themselves out of this issue.
(https://x.com/tedlieu/status/1704318509314949190?t=Ba1NFJ_Da_1xo_9ePfOjWw&s=03)
Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) posted at 8:15 AM on Wed, Sep 20, 2023:
UAW Union President Shawn Fain blasts Trump’s reported plan to speak with auto workers and union members in Detroit:
“Every fiber of our union is being poured into fighting the billionaire class and an economy that enriches people like Donald Trump at the expense of workers.”
(https://x.com/kylegriffin1/status/1704484382159822882?t=68cjQeDRRZRsg6rJBxfJmw&s=03)
MeidasTouch (@MeidasTouch) posted at 9:28 AM on Wed, Sep 20, 2023:
NEW: Fani Willis files notice of potential CONFLICTS OF INTEREST of at least 6 attorneys involved in the Trump RICO case. https://t.co/fOPpVA846J
(https://x.com/MeidasTouch/status/1704502878805651772?t=1Nv7QAx3NO5ilEbQ49t4VA&s=03)
Hope 🦬💙❤️ (@HopeisaBison) posted at 10:27 AM on Tue, Sep 19, 2023:
Ugh. It’s just that little drip, drip, drip of not-so-subtle insults that we’re all asked to overlook b/c we’re just so desperate to read/hear even a neutral treatment of the Vice President.
IDC. It’s not cool to diminish her, to pat her on the head and say “I guess she’ll do”.
(https://x.com/HopeisaBison/status/1704155166906126634?t=643vtJT0Yti8nIS9Yri9VA&s=03)
Michelle_BYoung (@michelle_byoung) posted at 10:26 AM on Tue, Sep 19, 2023:
Whiteness is colonizing half the planet, subjecting others to slavery, genocide, brutality and at BEST second class citizenship then being too FRAGILE to even read about that history 🤷🏾♀️
Y’all got me effed up for REAL
(https://x.com/michelle_byoung/status/1704154885552243087?t=K8x8I3x5qBXmprJoRHMJuQ&s=03)
Qondi (@QondiNtini) posted at 9:21 PM on Mon, Sep 18, 2023:
The onslaught of disinformation about Vice President Kamala Harris is overwhelming
They’re trying to Bannon us and flood the zone
The Office of the Vice President is filled with passionate staff
Follow and amplify them
Let people see the real MVP
🧵
https://t.co/nhjSG1NIjM
(https://x.com/QondiNtini/status/1703957472212303930?t=-CNvXZE9GrquqV_MSRRK8Q&s=03)
Democracy Docket (@DemocracyDocket) posted at 9:36 AM on Tue, Sep 19, 2023:
NEW: Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro (D) announces the start of automatic voter registration in the Commonwealth.
Starting today, eligible Pennsylvanians renewing or getting a new ID at a DMV will be automatically registered to vote unless they opt out.
https://t.co/46WDWdMyPr
(https://x.com/DemocracyDocket/status/1704142488921882768?t=777idQ7e_Xfpqg7NCsrpkQ&s=03)
Greg Sargent (@ThePlumLineGS) posted at 5:25 AM on Tue, Sep 19, 2023:
NEWS:
Today @GovernorShapiro will announce that Pennsylvania is switching to automatic voter registration, potentially adding tens of thousands of voters to the rolls.
“I see voter participation as key to strengthening democracy,” Shapiro tells me.
Greg Sargent (@ThePlumLineGS) posted at 5:35 AM on Tue, Sep 19, 2023:
By switching to automatic voter registration, Pennsylvania joins around two dozen states that have already made this change. AVR is a quiet success story.
This is what it looks like not just to run on strengthening democracy, but also to deliver on it.
Greg Sargent (@ThePlumLineGS) posted at 5:45 AM on Tue, Sep 19, 2023:
Switching to automatic voter registration in Pennsylvania could be dramatic. Shapiro says the state calculates that around 1.6 million eligible voters in the state are unregistered. This change could add tens of thousands of new voters to the rolls.
Greg Sargent (@ThePlumLineGS) posted at 6:12 AM on Tue, Sep 19, 2023:
Republicans are responding to election losses by redoubling the anti-democratic, anti-majoritarian tactics — even though that’s energizing voters against them still more.
By delivering on a pro-democracy agenda, Dems can reinforce that dynamic.
https://t.co/geGvqLU4Hr https://t.co/xwCNi9Yd81
(https://x.com/ThePlumLineGS/status/1704091064263446854?t=moG1JYJkB61VC4rC4ixfFA&s=03)
David Darmofal (@david_darmofal) posted at 7:58 AM on Tue, Sep 19, 2023:
Warren stan Perry Bacon, Jr.’s doing it again. The @VP is actually a deeper policy thinker than Warren bc she promotes practical policies that can actually be implemented to help marginalized communities rather than constantly promoting counterproductive populist bullsh*t. https://t.co/4EdpKi4IM5
(https://x.com/david_darmofal/status/1704117823558095270?t=LM8yltKoHOQ5D0dayLiRkA&s=03)
Ragnarok Lobster (@eclecticbrotha) posted at 10:09 AM on Tue, Sep 19, 2023:
So let me get this straight. A guy founds organization to catch sex traffickers. He ends up being investigated by his own organization for trafficking women for sex, but when they find the allegations credible they just let him leave?
(https://x.com/eclecticbrotha/status/1704150738505437240?t=yaXjYBNvC79FeiNX9s7h0A&s=03)
Anna Merlan (@annamerlan) posted at 1:07 PM on Mon, Sep 18, 2023:
We’re now able to report that Tim Ballard’s departure from Operation Underground Railroad followed a sexual misconduct investigation. This news was first broken by Utah journalist Lynn Packer. https://t.co/wnYqfTSL7q
(https://x.com/annamerlan/status/1703833084557443516?t=TkwHFx6kjWmnTfT9BtC0Pg&s=03)
Good Morning Everyone 😊😊😊