Analysis: Project 2025
Project 2025, the now infamous plan to dismantle democratic norms and institutions, has proudly put forward its “playbook” to “save the country.” This granular, 922-page policy document, called “Mandate for Leadership,” along with the Republican candidate’s own words and platform, offers a clear view of the world that lies ahead under a Republican administration.
Many different voices have dissected the ways that this radical agenda would create widespread political, economic, and cultural upheaval.
But little has been said about the specific havoc that these policies would wreak on America’s most vulnerable population: Our children. Project 2025 promises to “Restore the family as the centerpiece of American life and protect our children.” But a close reading reveals that the authors aim to “protect our children” by disenfranchising 90% of the country’s students, ensuring that “Schools serve parents”, putting limits on children’s health care, eliminating early childhood programs, increasing child hunger, stripping children of their inherent rights, demeaning immigrant children (“We’re gonna put kids in cages. It’s gonna be glorious.”), and enacting other specific measures that will “protect our children” from education, self-expression, economic stability, and from becoming happy, productive citizens.
For a quarter century, First Focus on Children has worked with lawmakers and officials on both sides of the aisle to create a true child-centered agenda for the nation. In the briefs that follow, our policy experts analyze the ways in which Project 2025 will make our children poorer, sicker, and less likely to succeed.
Project 2025 Issue Briefs
How Project 2025 would destabilize public education
Project 2025 outlines a plan to “empower students and families” that, in reality, would shutter thousands of public schools, end supports for low-income students, divert taxpayer funds to the private education of wealthy students and, ultimately, destabilize public education altogether.
How Project 2025 would leave kids & babies hungrier, less healthy
Project 2025, which calls itself a “Presidential Transition Project,” has a simple goal for the next Republican presidency: Slash the so-called “federal catering programs” that keep food on children’s plates. The proposal outlines aggressive new restrictions, additional work requirements, and other constraints on food assistance programs that would significantly increase hunger for millions of children, spike nutrition-related diseases, and eliminate the safety regulations on baby formula.
How Project 2025 would increase child poverty & homelessness in the U.S.
Project 2025, the plan created by the conservative Heritage Foundation think tank as a blueprint for a Republican administration, lists “protect our children” as one of its main goals. Yet, it proposes federal policy, program, and personnel changes that would have the opposite effect and likely would increase child poverty and homelessness in the United States.
How Project 2025 would take health care from millions of children, eliminate critical childhood screenings, and increase costs to low-income families
Project 2025, a policy blueprint to be used by a Republican administration, outlines changes to Medicaid aimed at serving “the health and well-being of all Americans at all stages of life.” In fact, Project 2025’s radical revamps would rob millions of children of adequate health care, eliminating crucial childhood screenings, vaccinations, and early interventions, subjecting children with chronic conditions such as cancer or special needs to arbitrary coverage limits, and significantly increasing the cost of health care for low-income families.
How Project 2025 would hurt children globally and damage U.S. foreign policy
Project 2025, the detailed policy agenda assembled by the ultra-conservative Heritage Foundation for the next Republican administration, would slash or eliminate programs and systems that keep children in poor countries alive, healthy, and protected. This plan to gut current U.S. efforts that protect children’s lives will not only hurt the young, it will damage our nation’s foreign policy.
How Project 2025 would limit family choice in child care
Project 2025, the blueprint for a future Republican administration created by the conservative Heritage Foundation and partners, would do grave harm to the children and families who benefit from the programs under the Department of Health and Human Services, including early learning. This plan would eliminate high-quality, affordable child care slots at a time when there is a crisis in care across our country, harming children, their families, early childhood professionals, and our national economy. This document would limit choices for families and provides no new solutions to help children and families access care.
How Project 2025 would gut environmental protections and poison the nation’s children
Project 2025 outlines plans to eliminate EPA’s environmental justice programs, remove protections for children, and ignore racial disparities in pollution exposure. Learn how this conservative playbook threatens children’s health.
