Republican lawmakers have increasingly aimed at dismantling the administrative or managerial state operating in Washington D.C., known as the “deep state.” With just over a year before the 2024 presidential election, conservative organizations are preparing plans for dismantling parts of the federal government.
The Heritage Foundation, a well-established conservative think tank with a record of developing policies and perspectives on various topics, has now released its “Project 2025,” a handbook to re-engineer the infrastructure behind the executive branch by firing as many as 50,000 federal workers and implementing many reforms.
The key takeaways of the policy book include laying the groundwork to make the White House more friendly to the right, creating a conservative vision for the future of the executive branch, and abolishing the permanent political class in Washington. The policies proposed in the framework address problems with the approach conservatives have traditionally used. The policy aims to reduce the scope of the federal government instead of relying only on cutting federal taxes and spending.
Instead, conservatives now wish to target the deep state. The group wants to prevent the deep state’s unwarranted influence over future administrations and their efforts to govern the executive branch ahead of the potential return of former President Donald Trump in the 2024 presidential election. They also see an opportunity to win battleground states such as Pennsylvania, Georgia, Wisconsin, and Arizona.
The goals of Project 2025, inspired by Trump, are now echoed by other prominent contenders for the Republican presidential nomination, including Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy. Trump has continued to dominate the polls in the Republican presidential primary and has a 35-point lead over DeSantis, 49.9% to 14.6%. Ramaswamy holds 9.9% and the only remaining candidate with over 5% is former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley at 5.3%. With the top Republican candidates for the presidency seeking the dismantling of the deep state, a return to the White House will signal a new future for the American executive.
