Trump vetting Project 2025 architect Russ Vought for top administration post: Sources
During his campaign for president, Donald Trump and his advisers worked to vehemently distance themselves from Project 2025, the controversial plan to overhaul the federal government proposed by a closely aligned conservative group. But several individuals connected to the plan have already received posts in the new administration, and one of the plan's top architects is under consideration for a top position, according to multiple sources familiar with the discussions.
Russ Vought, who authored a chapter on "Executive Office of the President" for Project 2025's "Mandate for Leadership: The Conservative Promise," which Project 2025 describes as "a comprehensive policy guide for the next conservative U.S. president," is under consideration for a cabinet-level position in the next administration and has been vetted by Trump's transition team, sources said.
Vought not only authored a chapter in the 922-page Project 2025 plan, but he was also deeply involved in drafting Project 2025's playbook for the first 180 days of a new Trump administration. His Center for Renewing America is also listed as a member of Project 2025's advisory board, according to the plan's website.
Vought -- who has been seen at Trump's Mar-a-Lago Club in recent days meeting with Trump's top advisers -- served in Trump's first administration as the director of the Office of Management and Budget, and has been in active discussions to return to the next administration, sources familiar with the matter said.
It's not clear what position Vought could ultimately get, but he's been discussed as a candidate for his previous job or for a top White House post that focuses on economic policy, the sources said.
When asked for comment, the Trump transition team pointed to Trump's comments in his debate with Kamala Harris when he stated, "This was a group of people that got together, they came up with some ideas, I guess some good, some bad, but it makes no difference. I have nothing to do [with it]."
During his run for the White House, Trump claimed he knew "nothing" about Project 2025 and his campaign advisers fiercely worked to distance the campaign from it.
Trump transition co-chair Howard Lutnick told the Financial Times last month that Project 2025 "is an absolute zero for the Trump-Vance transition."
"You can use another term -- radioactive," Lutnick said.
While personnel decisions are not final until Trump announces them, sources told ABC News that Trump's transition team has considered several other individuals with ties to the plan, including Project 2025 authors as well as several contributors to the document.
Gene Hamilton, the author of the Department of Justice chapter, is among those being considered for a top legal role in Trump's administration, according to sources. In his Project 2025 chapter, Hamilton criticizes the DOJ, claiming it has been "captured by an unaccountable bureaucratic managerial class and radical Left ideologues who have embedded themselves throughout its offices and components."
Hamilton calls for a sweeping "top-to-bottom overhaul" of the Justice Department, as well as an internal review of "all major active FBI investigations," recommending the termination of any that are deemed unlawful or contrary to national interests.
Another name that has been floated for a potential position in the Trump administration is Reed Rubinstein, who contributed to Project 2025 and is under consideration for the next general counsel for the Department of Treasury, according to one potential personnel list reviewed by ABC News.
In recent days, Trump has announced other selections to fill out the coming administration who also have ties to Project 2025, marking a stark reversal from how he campaigned.
On Sunday, Trump's team said that Brendan Carr will serve as the chairman of the Federal Communications Commission -- a selection that places one of tech billionaire Elon Musk's active defenders in charge of regulating the nation's airwaves. Carr, who has used his position to defend Musk's companies, authored the chapter of Project 2025 that detailed how he intended to run the agency.
Former ICE Director Tom Homan has been picked to serve as "border czar" for the incoming administration, overseeing the mass deportations that have been promised by Trump throughout his 2024 campaign, and immigration hard-liner and top adviser Stephen Miller will serve as Trump's deputy chief of staff for policy. Both Homan and Miller have ties to Project 2025.
Homan is a Visiting Fellow at The Heritage Foundation, the Trump-aligned group behind the controversial plan, and is also listed as a contributor to the Project 2025 document. Miller's organization, America First Legal, originally appeared on the list of advisory board members to Project 2025.
ABC News reported in July that Miller asked for his group to be removed from the Project 2025 website's list of advisory board members amid ongoing attacks from Democrats about the plan on the campaign trail.
A major part of Project 2025's agenda is to expand presidential power and drastically cut federal agencies like the Department of Education -- moves that Trump, on the campaign trail, has supported.
The proposal also calls for a reversal of the Food and Drug Administration's approval of the abortion pill mifepristone and calls for health agencies to promote "fertility awareness" as an "unsurpassed" method of contraception.
