Director of Project 2025 leaves Heritage Foundation after attacks by Democrats and criticism from Trump

NEW YORK (AP) — The director of the Heritage Foundation’s 2025 Project for a Complete overhaul of the federal government has resigned, the conservative think tank confirmed on Tuesday.

Paul Dans’ exit comes after the project “accomplished exactly what it set out to do: bring together over 110 leading conservative organizations to create a unified conservative vision motivated to give power away from the unelected administrative state and return it to the people,” Kevin Roberts, president of the Heritage Foundation, said in a statement. Roberts said the group is sticking to its original timeline.

But the news comes after Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump has increasingly distanced himself from Project 2025 amid mounting attacks from Democrats, sparking speculation that Trump’s campaign had forced the exit.

Democrats have made Project 2025 a central theme in the election year in recent months, seeing the ultra-conservative policy blueprint as an indication of how extreme another Trump administration could be.

The nearly 1,000-page manual describes sweeping changes in the federal government, including changing personnel rules to ensure that government employees are more loyal to the President.

But Trump has repeatedly denied the document, saying on social media that he had not read it and knew nothing about it. At a rally in Michigan earlier this month, he said Project 2025 was written by people on the “extreme right” and that some of the things it contains were “really extreme.”

“President Trump’s campaign has been very clear for over a year that Project 2025 has nothing to do with the campaign, does not speak for the campaign, and should not be associated with the campaign or the President in any way,” Trump campaign advisers Susie Wiles and Chris LaCivita said in a statement. “Reports of Project 2025 ending would be very welcome and should serve as a warning to anyone or any group seeking to misrepresent their influence on President Trump and his campaign – this will not end well for you.”

Representatives for the Trump campaign did not respond to messages asking whether the campaign asked or pressured Dans to drop out of the project. The Heritage Foundation said Dans dropped out voluntarily and was not under pressure from the Trump campaign. Dans did not immediately respond to an emailed request for comment.

However, it is almost certain that Trump’s campaign team forced the restructuring, said a former Heritage employee who asked not to be identified to discuss the situation.

LaCivita has been closely monitoring the situation, the person said. It is clear that Project 2025 has become a burden for Trump and the party.

Trump’s campaign had warned outside groups, particularly Heritage, for months that they would not speak for the former president, even though Project 2025’s team consisted of his former White House aides and advisers.

In an interview during the Republican National Convention, first published by Politico, LaCivita said Project 2025 was a problem because “the issues that are going to win us this election are not the issues they want to talk about.”

Many Trump allies and former top aides participated in the project, including Dans, who served as a human resources officer for the Trump administration. Vice President Kamala Harris’ campaign and leading Democrats have repeatedly linked Trump to Project 2025 as they argue against a second term for the former president.

The Harris team said Project 2025 remained tied to Trump’s agenda and was written by his allies so he could “impose” it on the country.

“Hiding the 920-page plan from the American people doesn’t make it any less real – in fact, it should make voters think even more about what else Trump and his allies are hiding,” said Julie Chavez Rodriguez, campaign manager for Harris for President.

Project 2025’s website will remain online and the group will continue to review resumes for its nearly 20,000-person database of potential government officials willing to carry out the group’s vision for government, the Heritage Foundation said Tuesday. The group said Roberts will now lead Project 2025’s operations.

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Associated Press writers Michelle L. Price in New York and Lisa Mascaro in Washington contributed to this report.

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