Trump said he hadn’t read Project 2025 – but most of his early executive actions overlap with its proposals

A CNN analysis of Trump’s first week in office found that two-thirds of his early executive orders and actions appear closely aligned with Project 2025’s plans.

President Donald Trump caught his own administration off guard last week by suggesting that the nation’s primary disaster response agency might simply “go away.” Though Trump had routinely lambasted the Federal Emergency Management Agency throughout his third White House bid, he had stopped short of calling for its elimination. Now, an executive order bearing his signature has put that possibility in motion. The idea, however, wasn’t new. The contours of it circulated nearly two years ago through Project 2025, a sweeping plan to overhaul the government that Trump as a candidate forcefully disavowed. Many of Trump’s early actions appear closely aligned with Project 2025’s plans. A CNN analysis of the 53 executive orders and actions from Trump’s first week in office found that more than two-thirds – 36 – evoke proposals outlined in “Mandate for Leadership,” Project 2025’s 922-page blueprint for the next Republican president. The overlap includes early steps taken by Trump to execute some of his most-touted pledges: cracking down on illegal immigration; dismantling diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives; and rolling back environmental restrictions on oil and gas exploration. But the framework offered in “Mandate for Leadership” also foreshadowed some of Trump’s more provocative and less expected early actions.