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Screenshot via Centre for Climate Reporting

In undercover interview, Project 2025 architect gets candid on the initiative’s radical goals and connections to Trump

Key Project 2025 leader Russ Vought explains to undercover reporters how the initiative’s draconian policies would be implemented in a second Trump term, disavows Trump’s distancing from Project 2025, and outlines the “second phase” to their mission

Written by Justin Horowitz

Published

In an undercover interview with reporters from the British non-profit organization Centre for Climate Reporting, Project 2025 architect and MAGA ally Russ Vought admitted to the project's strong ties to former President Donald Trump and provided a clear view into a possible second Trump term.

Vought thought that he was meeting with relatives of wealthy potential donors; in reality, he was secretly being recorded in a Washington, D.C., hotel room. During the interview, Vought disavowed Trump’s distancing from Project 2025, candidly explained draconian policies he hopes Trump will implement in a second administration, praised Trump’s running mate JD Vance, and outlined the “second phase” of Project 2025.

Vought, who is reportedly in line for a high-ranking position in a second Trump term, is a key architect of Project 2025 — the conservative movement’s extremist platform for a potential second Trump White House. The project extensively outlines potential approaches to governance for the next would-be Republican president, including replacing federal employees with extremists and Trump loyalists and attacking LGBTQ rights, abortion, contraception, and labor unions. Project 2025 describes extreme policies like dismantling the federal agency that tracks hurricanes, upending Medicare as we know it, enacting inflationary tariff policies, and dramatically raising taxes on everyday Americans.

The initiative is built around four key pillars: the policy suggestions found in Project 2025’s book Mandate for Leadership: The Conservative Promise, a secretive 180-day playbook for transforming federal agencies, a database of potential personnel recommendations, and training for those potential staffers. The secretive playbook for the next Republican administration’s first 180 days is reportedly being drafted by Vought and his team.

Vought previously served as the director of the Office of Management and Budget for the Trump administration and authored a chapter in Project 2025’s policy book Mandate for Leadership. Vought is also the policy director for the Republican National Committee and the founder of the Center for Renewing America, a far-right policy group that hopes to infuse Christian nationalism into a second Trump term.

  • Vought highlighted Trump's ties to Project 2025 and downplayed the former president distancing himself: "He’s very supportive of what we do”

    During the undercover interview, Vought candidly explained to the reporters that Trump is “running against the brand” of Project 2025, not the policy suggestions or personnel.

    Trump has deep ties to Project 2025, despite his attempts to distance himself from the initiative following revolutionary and unfavorable comments made by Heritage Foundation President Kevin Roberts on right-wing media — like when Roberts told former Trump strategist and podcaster Steve Bannon, “We are in the process of the second American Revolution, which will remain bloodless if the left allows it to be." Trump’s distancing seemingly also follows polling indicating that Project 2025’s policy suggestions are not popular with Americans.

    Vought told the reporters that Trump’s distancing and disavowal of Project 2025 is only for the public. 

    “I expect to hear ten more times from the rally the president distancing himself from the left’s boogeyman of Project 2025,” Vought said. “I’m not worried about it.” 

    “He’s running against the brand. He is not running against any people. He is not running against any institutions,” Vought added. “It’s interesting, he’s in fact not even running opposing himself to a particular policy.” 

    Vought continued, saying, “He’s been at our organization, he’s raised money for our organization, he’s blessed it. … He’s very supportive of what we do.”

  • Vought touted the secret plan for seizing control of independent government agencies and using the military to silence political dissent

    Vought explained part of his secretive 180-day playbook to take control of independent government bureaucracies.

    “Eighty percent of my time is working on the plans of what’s necessary to take control of these bureaucracies, and we are working doggedly on that,” Vought said. “Whether it’s destroying agencies’ notion of independence, that they’re independent from the president.”

    Vought also explained to the reporters his belief that Trump will be able to use the military to silence political dissent and protests.

    “George Floyd was obviously not about race. It was about destabilizing the Trump administration,” Vought said. “We put out, for instance, a 50-page paper designed for lawyers to know that the president has, you know, the ability to both, along the border and elsewhere, to maintain law and order with the military. And that’s something that is going to be important for him to remember and his lawyers to affirm.”

  • Vought and his associate discussed the “second phase” of Project 2025 and how that will not be for public consumption

    The reporters also spoke undercover to Vought associate Micah Meadowcroft, who explained that there is a “second phase” to Project 2025 being organized by Vought.

    Vought explained to the reporters that he and his team are already planning and drafting executive orders and regulations that Trump could immediately implement upon entering office in 2025.

    “We’ve got about 350 different documents that are regulations and things of that nature that are — we’re planning for the next administration,” Vought told reporters. “You may say, ‘OK, DHS, we want to have the largest deportation — what are your actual memos that a secretary sends out to do it?’ Like, there’s an executive order, regulations, secretarial memos. Those are the types of things that need to be thought through so you’re not — you’re not having to scramble or do that later on.”

    Vought explained that these documents and orders will include plans for the “largest deportation in history” and — should protests break out in response — for Trump to use the military to “maintain law and order.” He says this will be part of a plan to “end multiculturalism” in America.

    Vought indicated that these second phase documents will not be for public consumption. Similarly, Meadowcroft told the reporters that these documents would not be emailed or sent to policy workers’ professional email addresses in order to prevent opposition from obtaining the materials via Freedom of Information Act requests. Instead, they will only be handed out to select individuals during a transitional period.

  • Vought: “I am very happy with the JD pick”

    Vought also praised Trump’s vice presidential pick JD Vance during the interview, saying, “I am very happy with the JD pick. I think it’s transformative for sure.”

    “Think of him as a member version of what we do,” Vought said. “There’s no think tank, no policy organization, no battle plan creator other than us for the worldview that I think Donald Trump has and that JD has.”

    Vance has his own ties to Project 2025’s architects and its partner organizations.