They never needed or cared about a mandate.
They just wanted control, and they have it.

November 20, 2024
HEATHER COX RICHARDSON
NOV 21

Remember how American voters so hated Project 2025, the playbook for a second Trump term written by the Heritage Foundation and other right-wing institutions, that Trump said he had nothing to do with it, and then one of its key architects, Russell Vought, told undercover filmmakers that Trump was only running away from the project as political cover?

It appears Vought was right and the story that Trump had nothing to do with Project 2025 was, indeed, just political cover. Ed O’Keefe and Major Garrett of CBS News reported today that two sources close to the Trump transition team have told them that they expect Trump to name Vought to lead the Office of Management and Budget (OMB).

Vought wrote the section of Project 2025 that covers the presidency, calling for “aggressive use of the vast powers of the executive branch” to “bend or break the bureaucracy to the presidential will” and identifying the OMB as the means of enforcing the president’s agenda. Vought was Trump’s OMB director during the end of his first term and tried to remove the civil service protections that have been in place since 1883 to protect federal workers from being fired for political reasons. That plan, known as Schedule F, would have affected about 88% of the federal workforce.

One of the first things Biden did when he took office was to rescind Trump’s executive order making that shift.

Like that earlier attempt, Project 2025 leans heavily on the idea that “personnel is policy,” and that idea illuminates the choices the Trump team is making. Trump has refused to sign the official documents required by the 2022 Presidential Transition Act. Those documents mandate ethics commitments and require the incoming president to disclose private donations. They also limit those donations. Without the paperwork, Trump appointees cannot start the process of getting security clearances through the Federal Bureau of Investigation; the team says it is planning to do its own vetting of its candidates instead.

Claiming they have a mandate, Trump’s people have said they are launching “a hostile takeover” of the American government “on behalf of the American people.” But as voting numbers continue to come in, Trump’s majority has fallen below 50% of voters, meaning that more voters chose someone else than chose Trump on November 5. These results are far from being in “mandate” territory

Anonymous wrote:According to this article, those working on Project 2025 will be “banned” from serving in his administration.

https://www.politico.com/news/2024/10/16/trump-transition-hiring-staffer-ban-00183208

“ “Clearly people working on Project 2025 are blacklisted,” said a second former official. ”

Hmmmm. Are you all ever going to admit that Trump lied to you?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

We warned everyone, we pointed out that Project 2025 was on the table as Trump's agenda. We got denials and gaslighting. But now we see big chunks of it coming to life with Trump appointing Project 2025 authors and adherents.

We were right all along. Republicans lied to their voters, and betrayed everyone who believed them when they disavowed 2025. Those of you who lied to us and gaslit us should be deeply ashamed. From now on you don't get to deflect or deny anything ever again. You don't get to gaslight America anymore. You are just liars and will be treated as such.

I have a different take. The reason Project 2025 is more likely to be implemented is that Trump is going to select people who agree with its agenda. In the first Trump term, the establishment GOP had more people who were pro-"norms." However, Dems in the DOJ prosecuted Trump people for obstruction of Congress. Well, the consequence of that witch-hunt has been that respectable people don't want to serve so Trump is left with the wildcards.

If you know who constitutes the strongest part of the Dem base, you won't be surprised that second order consequences aren't part of the math. I implore Dems to look in the mirror and see where the rage directed against Trump has gotten you--he's never been politically stronger.

We don't accept your blame for electing a fascist.

Trump isn't a fascist. He'd be a far more effective politician if he were, though.

It's funny to see people use words like "fascist" because the media uses them. Most people here probably can't give a cogent explanation of what separates "fascism" from "communism." Hint: it starts with fasces.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

We warned everyone, we pointed out that Project 2025 was on the table as Trump's agenda. We got denials and gaslighting. But now we see big chunks of it coming to life with Trump appointing Project 2025 authors and adherents.

We were right all along. Republicans lied to their voters, and betrayed everyone who believed them when they disavowed 2025. Those of you who lied to us and gaslit us should be deeply ashamed. From now on you don't get to deflect or deny anything ever again. You don't get to gaslight America anymore. You are just liars and will be treated as such.

I have a different take. The reason Project 2025 is more likely to be implemented is that Trump is going to select people who agree with its agenda. In the first Trump term, the establishment GOP had more people who were pro-"norms." However, Dems in the DOJ prosecuted Trump people for obstruction of Congress. Well, the consequence of that witch-hunt has been that respectable people don't want to serve so Trump is left with the wildcards.

If you know who constitutes the strongest part of the Dem base, you won't be surprised that second order consequences aren't part of the math. I implore Dems to look in the mirror and see where the rage directed against Trump has gotten you--he's never been politically stronger.

We don't accept your blame for electing a fascist.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

We warned everyone, we pointed out that Project 2025 was on the table as Trump's agenda. We got denials and gaslighting. But now we see big chunks of it coming to life with Trump appointing Project 2025 authors and adherents.

We were right all along. Republicans lied to their voters, and betrayed everyone who believed them when they disavowed 2025. Those of you who lied to us and gaslit us should be deeply ashamed. From now on you don't get to deflect or deny anything ever again. You don't get to gaslight America anymore. You are just liars and will be treated as such.

I have a different take. The reason Project 2025 is more likely to be implemented is that Trump is going to select people who agree with its agenda. In the first Trump term, the establishment GOP had more people who were pro-"norms." However, Dems in the DOJ prosecuted Trump people for obstruction of Congress. Well, the consequence of that witch-hunt has been that respectable people don't want to serve so Trump is left with the wildcards.

If you know who constitutes the strongest part of the Dem base, you won't be surprised that second order consequences aren't part of the math. I implore Dems to look in the mirror and see where the rage directed against Trump has gotten you--he's never been politically stronger.

Anonymous wrote:

We warned everyone, we pointed out that Project 2025 was on the table as Trump's agenda. We got denials and gaslighting. But now we see big chunks of it coming to life with Trump appointing Project 2025 authors and adherents.

We were right all along. Republicans lied to their voters, and betrayed everyone who believed them when they disavowed 2025. Those of you who lied to us and gaslit us should be deeply ashamed. From now on you don't get to deflect or deny anything ever again. You don't get to gaslight America anymore. You are just liars and will be treated as such.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:According to this article, those working on Project 2025 will be “banned” from serving in his administration.

https://www.politico.com/news/2024/10/16/trump-transition-hiring-staffer-ban-00183208

“Clearly people working on Project 2025 are blacklisted,” said a second former official. ”

Huh, because the guy who wrote the Project 2025 chapter on the FCC was just nominated to head the FCC.

Fox News top of the list!

Anonymous wrote:According to this article, those working on Project 2025 will be “banned” from serving in his administration.

https://www.politico.com/news/2024/10/16/trump-transition-hiring-staffer-ban-00183208

“Clearly people working on Project 2025 are blacklisted,” said a second former official. ”

Huh, because the guy who wrote the Project 2025 chapter on the FCC was just nominated to head the FCC.

Stephen Miller as Deputy Chief of Staff, should be a wake up call, but it won't be.

Just for old times sake.
Don’t want Winston to have to correct the past.

Anonymous wrote:

So typically cynical of them.

Anonymous wrote:

Yup