The plan to restructure the US administration, with people loyal to President Donald Trump, is illuminated by the new president’s loyal ally and “architect” of the conservative manifesto “Project 2025,” Paul Dans. In an interview with Kathimerini, the lawyer, who also worked for the first Trump administration and for two years overseeing the drafting of the 900-page program for the second administration, warns that those who work in key positions in the state apparatus should be ready to challenge the “progressive regime” that has dominated the US in previous years. Dans had stepped down last July, as director of the Heritage Foundation, the conservative think tank that had been commissioned to draft the “Project 2025” document. Trump was then said to want to distance himself from the proposals contained in the plan. In his first two weeks back in the White House, however, the president seems to be implementing that agenda to the letter, as Dans notes.
During the election process, both sides emphasized “Project 2025.” What does this, for many, radical project stand for?
I think the Democrats tried to cast it as radical. It is a reform, a massive change, and it actually demarcates the end of the “progressive era” and the return of the American government back to its constitutional form, which was put in place almost 250 years ago. So, what we are calling for is the restoration of democracy, not the so-called “end of democracy” that our friends on the left have tried to couch it as. And “Project 2025” is now accomplishing its goal, which was always to make sure that the next president could hit the ground running on day one with a series of policies and personnel, and that is exactly what Donald Trump is doing.
President Trump offered buyout packages to federal employees to resign. To many, Trump is implementing “Schedule F.” In your opinion, what does “Schedule F” mean for the state and how crucial is it for the new administration to have its people in state positions?
“Schedule F” is part of a larger personnel reform, the essence of which is to put Americans back into their government. What has happened over the last 100 years is a progressive government run by elites who are not held accountable. Thus, we have a permanent class in Washington who cannot be removed.
When the civil service was formed 100 years ago, 10% of jobs were entitled to increased job security. Today, 99.7% of jobs are in that range, and so we have an elite that is disconnected from the people.
The essence of “Schedule F” and personnel reforms, in general, is to make sure that the people who sit in policy-determinative positions do not prevent the president from delivering on his promises, so he should be able to remove a “recalcitrant bureaucrat” from his position in order to put in someone who is aligned and can help implement policy. It is basically making employees in policy positions similar to how the rest of the US and the private industries work. It all depends on the performance of the goals set for them by their boss.
We hear from government officials about the “right people” who can serve in the new Trump administration. Who are the “right people” and what characteristics should they have?
They have to be resilient, they have to be creative, and they have to have a love for America and a belief in this great American “experiment.” We believe there is greatness in this land, and we have sacrificed countless generations to get to the level we are at now. So, the person in this position fundamentally has to love the country. The people who go to work for President Trump have to be ready to challenge the status quo and they have to be willing to take a little heat in doing so because they will get a lot of criticism from our friends on the left.
So, is there a provision for monitoring their social media accounts to see if they love America much?
I think that is part of everybody’s background check in terms of vetting a candidate. Most people now are more sophisticated and have taken down their tweets that could compromise them. However, you know, the internet never forgets. And people who have criticized Trump in the past and maybe covered their tracks should be a little cautious because the road is going to get bumpier as we go forward.
Trump is committed to tearing down the “deep state” and its influence on US decisions. How do you understand the “deep state”?
The “deep state” is an intersection of elite interests and moneyed interests that combines the press, academics, and Wall Street. And it kind of works through the civil service system. For example, the “Prince” of the “deep state,” Anthony Fauci, is a masterful bureaucrat who has no great talent except for working in secret. He is not a great scientist or doctor, but he has managed to infect our lives, not only with the Covid tragedy, but with public health crises over the last 40 years.
To get to the “deep state” means we have to disconnect many of the pathways in the administration. If [Trump] is going to go after the “deep state” it is very important that we get the Justice Department back and re-establish the promise of equal justice under the law and get rid of the lawfare.
At Trump’s inauguration, we saw Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg and Jeff Bezos, among others. Will Trump try to create his own “deep state”?
I do nοt know. There is always fear when people with so much power and money are involved in government. I think we have to be careful with lumping all these people together. I see Elon Musk as a very important leader who is, at his core, committed to free speech. However, I would be very wary of bringing people like Mr Zuckerberg back into the fold, as people like him will have to make reparations for what they have done in the past.
Therefore, I think Trump is focused on deconstructing the “deep state” and what is formed in place of the former space we will have to see. However, as President Reagan reminds us, “we are always a generation away from tyranny,” and so we have to be active in keeping government small and depowered in order to avoid creating a new “deep state.”
With President Trump signing the first executive orders, do you think “Project 2025” is still active?
I think it is everywhere in the new government. With our project, we planted seeds all over and one day the “great harvest” will come. So now, as Trump introduced these big changes, we conditioned people to get ready for change and they are more welcoming of it. This very document is being put into place at over 65%. Certainly, there are a lot of great ideas coming out of the Trump camp, but the basis of their ideas is in “Project 2025,” which has been a “menu” for every conservative president.
Among the first executive orders was the elimination of the diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs. At the same time, a central pillar in “Project 2025” is gender policy. Do you think that the “woke culture” has weakened social cohesion?
That is the point of this woke culture, to destroy us from within. The “radical transgenderism” is absurd on its face and is a violation of natural law. It is ultimately one of the symptoms of the many strikes that the progressive left has done on deconstructing our society and I think it is now being eradicated in the US. What we will see with President Trump and the new administration is a reaffirmation of this commitment to justice under the law, particularly for women who have suffered under this really ridiculous kind of assault on their biological nature.
Also, in the West, we face great challenges in terms of population and demographic depopulation. We therefore need to take more care of families and support all parents and children. So, I really believe that these ideas were meant to divide us and President Trump will be a uniter.
How do you respond to concerns that Trump might turn into a dictator?
This is an absurd proposition of scaremongering. The opposite is true and you have the first four years of the Trump administration as proof. The reality is that we survived a dictatorship, a coup under Biden, where our views were policed online, people were silenced, and political dissidents were rounded up and thrown in jail without trial.
So, the world should embrace the new Trump administration and what we have is a chance for a “golden age of America” and by extension the entire free world. And I think those who have been oppressed around the world, like in Western Europe, need to re-establish the things that made Western Europe great.
