The right-wing think tank that has produced a 900-page blueprint for Donald Trump’s administration is looking ahead to 2026, with a theme inspired by the president’s own message: A “golden age” is coming.
The Heritage Foundation’s 2025 Project and its Core Policy Paper Leadership mandate: the Conservative Party’s promise was drafted by a group of Trump aides and allies who continue to seek jobs in the administration.
The Republican administration’s “Plan 2025” plans include significant expansion of executive powers, deep cuts in spending and social services, reductions in the federal workforce, stripping away LGBT+ rights, and a sweeping anti-immigration agenda.
By the end of the year, more than half of the projects on the Heritage Foundation’s vast wish list had been implemented, as the program’s co-authors assumed key positions in the federal government.
The group’s 2026 Agenda, released earlier this year as the Promise to Restore America, pledges to “work with Washington to dismantle the deep state and with states to restore families, rebuild American institutions, and restore opportunity for all” on the occasion of America’s 250th anniversary.
The Heritage Foundation’s blueprint for a Republican administration through 2025 was at the center of protests around Trump’s election (AFP via Getty Images)
A new ad running on the cable network declares: “The Golden Age is a Choice.”
“This is a choice that prioritizes families and empowers local communities,” the narrator says on the soundtrack and a montage of iconic American scenes — sunsets over mountains, blue-collar workers, aircraft carriers, babies, fireworks and Charlie Kirk.
“It’s a choice to find dignity in prosperity and honorable work,” they said. “Choose to prioritize our nation’s security, protect our home and stand strong against foreign threats. Choose to cherish the greatest gift we have been given – waking up every day as American citizens.”
A spokesperson for the Heritage Council told independent The organization’s mission to “build a better America” has not changed.
“We will always research, develop and advocate for conservative policy solutions,” the spokesperson said. “But our strategy is changing.”
The organization is currently building on “four cornerstones,” including “the American family, the dignity of work and the future of free enterprise, national security, and American heritage and citizenship.”
The spokesperson added that the national advertising campaign aims to “reset and reframe the conversation.”
Heritage did not respond independenton whether it intends to work with the Trump administration to implement these ideas.
“Heritage will continue to work with legislators and officials at all levels of government, as we have done for more than 50 years,” the spokesperson added.
Heritage Foundation Chairman Kevin Roberts is advancing Trump’s agenda for the remainder of his term, developing plans for America’s “golden age” (AP)
The “vision” includes nine priorities that echo the right-wing movement that dominated the Trump era, from increasing immigration enforcement to investing in Big Oil.
Chief among them is “confronting the Chinese Communist Party,” which The Heritage defines as “the most persistent and significant foreign threat facing the American people today.”
Heritage is also working to eliminate federal regulations it believes are stifling business and the economy. End “immigration chaos” by dedicating federal resources to the government’s mass deportations; ensure “election integrity” by requiring proof of U.S. citizenship at the polls; and expand “education freedom” by eliminating the Department of Education.
The group also wants to “restore digital sovereignty” by targeting big tech companies, put “families first” with an anti-abortion agenda, and “unleash American energy” by abandoning regulatory frameworks designed to combat the climate crisis.
The plan to “eradicate the deep state” calls for the president to exert centralized control over the federal government, including “opposing any expansion of authority by independent agencies” to hold the federal government accountable.
Democratic officials leverage Plan 2025’s ties to Trump administration and Heritage Foundation blueprints to consolidate power within the executive branch (Getty Images)
Heritage published a separate 800-page article-by-article analysis of the Constitution, co-authored by a group of conservative federal judges on the Supreme Court shortlist.
The Guide to the Constitutional Legacy — with a foreword by conservative Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito and contributions by more than 30 ideologically similar justices — appears to be the judicial counterpart to the Project 2025 manifesto.
The guidance also includes an 18-member “Judiciary Advisory Council,” none of whom were appointed by the Democratic president.
All but three were appointed by Trump, and most of them were mentioned as possible Supreme Court nominees at one point or another.
White House Budget Director Russell Vought was one of the architects of Plan 2025 and one of several legacy-related officials appointed by the Trump administration (Getty Images)
Trump initially said he had “no idea” who was behind Project 2025, while the Democratic campaign sounded the alarm during the 2024 election.
His presidential transition chairman and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said he wouldn’t touch it, and Trump repeatedly tried to distance himself from the group during the campaign, claiming he had “no idea” about Plan 2025 and “who’s behind it,” while also saying he disagreed with some of the group’s “absolutely ridiculous and terrible” proposals.
Meanwhile, the top pro-Trump political action committee is running online ads promoting “Plan 2025,” explicitly calling it “Trump’s 2025 Plan.”
Plan 2025 authors quickly spread throughout the government.
Trump appointed Russell Vought as director of the White House Office of Management and Budget, responsible for overseeing spending across the government. Vought was also one of the architects of Plan 2025 and wrote a chapter on the transformation of the executive branch.
Months later, after hammering the federal government and launching a legal battle to keep the cuts permanent, Trump boasted that he was meeting with Vought and explicitly mentioned his ties to Plan 2025.
“I met with Russ Voight of Reputation 2025 today to determine which Democratic institutions he proposes to cut (most of which are political hoaxes) and whether these cuts are temporary or permanent,” Trump posted on Truth Social in October. “I can’t believe the radical left Democrats gave me this unprecedented opportunity. They are not stupid people, so maybe this is how they want to quietly and quickly make America great again!”
Brendan Carr, the Trump-appointed chairman of the FCC, wrote the “Project 2025” chapter about the agency, which regulates television, radio, the internet and communications.
Trump’s “border czar” Tom Homan — the former acting director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement — is also listed as a contributor to Project 2025 and is a visiting fellow at the Heritage Foundation’s Center for Border Security and Immigration, where he has drafted a series of articles on immigration policy for the organization.
Trump’s nominee for CIA director, John Ratcliffe, is one of the authors of Project 2025’s chapter on U.S. intelligence.
White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller denounced a “left-wing” jury that acquitted a man who towed an ICE vehicle during an arrest. (Getty)
Stephen Miller has returned to the Trump White House as deputy chief of staff for policy, overseeing much of Trump’s anti-immigration agenda. His organization, America First Laws, was initially listed as a contributor to Project 2025, but its name was removed from its website after Trump and his allies began criticizing the proposal.
In August, Trump nominated Heritage Foundation economist E.J. Antoni to lead the Bureau of Labor Statistics after director Erika McEntarfer was fired over a weak jobs report and the president’s fudging of job statistics to hurt Republicans politically. Anthony withdrew from consideration after widespread criticism and what one group said was “like hiring a flat earther to run NASA.”
But by the end of the year, reports emerged that the Heritage Foundation was facing an “open rebellion,” fueled by growing uproar over President Kevin Roberts’ defense of right-wing media figure Tucker Carlson following an interview with white nationalist Nick Fuentes.
The fallout appears to reflect broader divisions within the U.S. conservative movement, which is preparing for life after Trump’s presidency and drafting a plan to survive without him.