These Project 2025 creators are now shaping Trump admin policies

During Donald Trump’s second presidential term, his administration not only enacted many policy recommendations that aligned with the Heritage Foundation’s Project 2025 but it also hired several people who created the conservative plan to overhaul the federal government.

These hires included officials from Trump’s first presidential administration and conservative leaders such as Russell Vought, Tom Homan, Stephen Miller and Lindsey Burke, all of whom helped draft the nearly 1,000-page policy blueprint at the center of Project 2025.

The Trump administration has consistently denied claims that the initiative is guiding its policy-making. Trump himself has not mentioned Project 2025 in verbal or written comments as president, aside from one Truth Social post (archived here) about Vought.

Below, we list more than a dozen high-profile people who were associated with the Heritage Foundation’s Project 2025 and are now part of the Trump administration.

Snopes reached out to the White House to learn more about the president’s process for filling the below-listed positions and seek its response to claims that it is helping Project 2025 become reality with the hirings. We will update this story if we receive a response. 

In mid-December 2025, the Heritage Foundation sent an email to members that said it was planning to “work with the Trump administration” to enact its latest set of proposals.

Project 2025 contributors in Trump admin 

We compiled this list by reviewing reporting on Trump’s hires by reputable outlets, including Snopes, and cross-referencing that information with people named in Project 2025’s nearly 1,000-page document, dubbed the “Mandate for Leadership.” 

The list does not aim to be exhaustive. It highlights some of the most prominent people who worked on Project 2025 and their positions in the Trump administration as of December 2025.

They are listed in no particular order.

• Russell Vought: Vought was a leading adviser on Project 2025. He wrote Chapter 2 (“Executive Office of the President of the United States”) in the “Mandate for Leadership,” which advocated for increasing presidential powers. He serves as director of the Office of Management and Budget in the Trump administration. (He also served as director of the Office of Management and Budget during Trump’s first term.)
• Tom Homan: Homan was a visiting fellow at the Heritage Foundation when it was developing Project 2025, and the document outlining its policy recommendations lists him as a contributor. Trump tapped Homan as his “border czar,” responsible for immigration enforcement and deportations. (Homan was acting director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) between January 2017 to June 2018 during Trump’s first presidential term.))
• Stephen Miller: Miller is the head of America First Legal, a legal advocacy group that the Project 2025 document lists as a “coalition partner.” Trump appointed him as White House deputy chief of staff. (Miller was White House senior policy adviser during Trump’s first term.)
• Karoline Leavitt: In 2024, a ProPublica investigation found Leavitt featured in videos as part of the Project 2025 initiative to train potential applicants to work in the Trump administration. Since January 2025, Leavitt has served as White House press secretary.
• Brendan Carr: Carr wrote a chapter about the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in Project 2025’s “Mandate for Leadership” (Chapter 28), which advocated for “reining in” big technology companies and scrutinized Chinese-based telecommunications companies. Trump appointed Carr chair of the FCC.
• Adam Candeub: Candeub wrote Chapter 30 on the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) in the “Mandate for Leadership,” in which he advocated for a broader view of antitrust law and criticized big technology companies. He now serves as the FCC’s general counsel. 
• John Ratcliffe: Ratcliffe is listed as a contributor to the “Mandate for Leadership” and cited in Chapter 7 about the intelligence community that advocates for spending more federal dollars on investigating China. Trump appointed Ratcliffe as director of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) in January 2025. 
• Peter Navarro: Navarro contributed a section to Chapter 26 in the “Mandate for Leadership,” which outlines policy recommendations for trade. He criticized the U.S. trade deficit and called for imposing more and higher tariffs. Trump appointed Navarro as White House trade adviser. 
• Paul Atkins: Atkins contributed to the “Mandate for Leadership” chapter about financial regulatory agencies, including a call for deregulating securities markets. Trump appointed Atkins as chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). (Atkins downplayed his involvement with Project 2025 during his confirmation hearing in March 2025, videos of the hearings show.)
• Jonathan Berry: Berry authored Chapter 18 about the labor department in the “Mandate for Leadership” document. The Trump administration nominated Berry as chief attorney for the Department of Labor, and the Senate confirmed his appointment. Like Atkins, during Berry’s confirmation hearing, he tried to distance himself from Project 2025, as Bloomberg reported.)
• Brian Cavanaugh: Cavanaugh is mentioned among contributors to the “Mandate for Leadership,” though his name is not attached to a specific chapter or section. The Trump administration’s Office of Management and Budget appointed Cavanaugh as the associate director for Homeland Security. (He previously served on the White House National Security Council (NSC) during Trump’s first term and the Biden administration, and he has advised Trump on homeland security matters in the past.)
• James Baehr: Baehr is listed as a contributor to the “Mandate for Leadership,” though his name is not attached to a specific chapter. The Trump administration nominated Baehr as general counsel of the Department of Veterans Affairs, and the Senate confirmed that selection. (Baehr was also special assistant in the Domestic Policy Council during Trump’s first term.)
• Stephen Billy: The “Mandate for Leadership” lists Billy as a contributor to Chapter 2 about the executive branch and names him as a member of the anti-abortion group Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America, which served on the Project 2025 advisory board. He is a senior adviser of the Office of Management and Budget. 
• Mora Namdar: In the “Mandate for Leadership,” Namdar authored a section about the U.S. Agency for Global Media (USAGM), where she called for gutting the independent federal agency and defunding public service media networks that fall under its purview. Namdar is a senior official at the Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs in the State Department, which leads foreign policy on the Middle East and North Africa. 
• Lindsey Burke: Burke authored a chapter about the Education Department (Chapter 11) in the “Mandate for Leadership,” including a proposal to dismantle the agency. In June 2025, the Trump administration selected Burke to serve as deputy chief of staff for policy and programs in the Education Department. 

At least one person who worked on Project 2025 and served in Trump’s second presidential administration has left the federal position.

Gene Hamilton authored a chapter in the Project 2025 document that called for defunding the Department of Justice, among other things, and he served as part of the White House counsel between January 2025 and early June 2025. In June, he rejoined America First Legal, Stephen Miller’s legal advocacy group, as president of the organization.

Also, according to a November 2024 Politico report that cited anonymous sources within the Trump administration, Trump officials rejected requests by anti-abortion lobbying groups to pick Project 2025 author Roger Severino as Health and Human Services deputy secretary. Jim O’Neill, a former investor, holds that position reporting to Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

Project 2025 leaders created a ‘conservative LinkedIn’

In late 2024, as Trump released nominations for seats in his second presidential administration, claims surfaced that he was scouting people behind Project 2025 — and that past comments by him alleging no connection to the effort were untrue.

In response to the criticism, then-transition team spokesperson Karoline Leavitt said to journalists in a statement, “President Trump never had anything to do with Project 2025. All of President Trump’s Cabinet nominees and appointments are whole-heartedly committed to President Trump’s agenda, not the agenda of outside groups.”

Around the same time, reports claimed Trump was working with Project 2025 leaders to use a personnel database that they created to staff his administration. Spencer Chretien, associate director of Project 2025, once called the database a “conservative LinkedIn;” it was a roster of people who identify as conservative and Project 2025 leaders saw as potential hires in the federal government to fulfill the president’s agenda.

We reached out to the White House for its response to claims that it relied on the Project 2025 personnel database to staff the current administration, including the positions listed above. A spokesperson denied the administration’s use of it and did not respond to our other questions about hiring procedures. 

A few months into Trump’s second term, Paul Dans, a chief architect of Project 2025, expressed satisfaction with how Trump’s actions aligned with the initiative’s vision. In a March 2025 interview with Politico, Dans said he was “delighted” that Trump was implementing “his agenda after all,” adding that the president’s policies were beyond his “wildest dreams.”

Sources

“After Trump’s Project 2025 Denials, He Is Tapping Its Authors and Influencers for Key Roles.” AP News, 23 Nov. 2024, https://apnews.com/article/trump-project-2025-administration-nominees-843f5ff20131ccba5f056e7ccc5baf23. Accessed 20 Nov. 2025.

Chretien, Spencer. “Project 2025.” The Heritage Foundation, https://www.heritage.org/conservatism/commentary/project-2025. Accessed 20 Nov. 2025.

“Director of the CIA.” CIA. https://www.cia.gov/about/director-of-cia/. Accessed 20 Nov. 2025.

Ibrahim, Nur and Aleksandra Wrona. “What to Know About Project 2025, the Pro-Trump Plan to Overhaul US Government.” Snopes, 7 Nov. 2024, https://www.snopes.com//news/2024/11/07/trump-project-2025-plan/. Accessed 20 Nov. 2025.

Ibrahim, Nur and Aleksandra Wrona. “What to Know About Project 2025, the Pro-Trump Plan to Overhaul US Government.” Snopes, 7 Nov. 2024, https://www.snopes.com//news/2024/11/07/trump-project-2025-plan/. Accessed 20 Nov. 2025.

Ibrahim, Nur and Aleksandra Wrona. “What to Know About Project 2025, the Pro-Trump Plan to Overhaul US Government.” Snopes, 7 Nov. 2024, https://www.snopes.com//news/2024/11/07/trump-project-2025-plan/. Accessed 20 Nov. 2025.

Ibrahim, Nur. “Investigating Whether Stephen Miller’s Speech at Charlie Kirk Memorial Included Nazi Subtext.” Snopes, 25 Sept. 2025, https://www.snopes.com//news/2025/09/25/stephen-miller-charlie-kirk-speech/. Accessed 20 Nov. 2025.

“Inside Project 2025’s Secret Training Videos.” ProPublica, 10 Aug. 2024, https://www.propublica.org/article/inside-project-2025-secret-training-videos-trump-election. Accessed 20 Nov. 2025.

“Mora Namdar.” United States Department of State, https://www.state.gov/biographies/mora-namdar/. Accessed 20 Nov. 2025.

Ordoñez, Franco. “Stephen Miller Will Be Trump’s Homeland Security Advisor in New White House Role.” NPR, 13 Nov. 2024. Politics. NPR, https://www.npr.org/2024/11/11/g-s1-33741/trump-stephen-miller-deputy-chief-of-staff-immigration-policy-deportations. Accessed 20 Nov. 2025.

Schultz, Brooke. “Trump Admin. Adds Project 2025 Author to Education Department Staff.” Education Week, 9 June 2025. Policy & Politics, Federal. www.edweek.org, https://www.edweek.org/policy-politics/trump-admin-adds-project-2025-author-to-education-department-staff/2025/06. Accessed 20 Nov. 2025.

“Senate Confirms Trump Picks to Key Labor Department, EEOC Posts.” Bloomberg Law, 7 Oct. 2025, https://news.bloomberglaw.com/daily-labor-report/senate-confirms-trump-picks-to-key-labor-department-eeoc-posts. Accessed 20 Nov. 2025.

“Trump Names Tom Homan, Former Director of Immigration Enforcement, as ‘Border Czar.'” AP News, 11 Nov. 2024, https://apnews.com/article/trump-homan-ice-border-czar-7dea915b5ea43896390b8020d254f887. Accessed 20 Nov. 2025.

“Trump’s Labor Solicitor Pick Distances Himself From Project 2025.” Bloomberg Law, 18 June 2025, https://news.bloomberglaw.com/daily-labor-report/trumps-labor-solicitor-pick-distances-himself-from-project-2025. Accessed 20 Nov. 2025.

“Trump’s Transition Team Turns to Project 2025 after Disavowing It during the Campaign.” NBC News, 22 Nov. 2024, https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/donald-trump/trump-team-turns-project-2025-disavowing-effort-campaign-rcna180689. Accessed 20 Nov. 2025.

“White House Office of Management and Budget Announces Incoming Senior Appointees.” The White House, 21 Feb. 2025, https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefings-statements/2025/02/white-house-office-of-management-and-budget-announces-incoming-senior-appointees/. Accessed 20 Nov. 2025.

“White House Trade Adviser Peter Navarro Speaks to Reporters | Video.” C-SPAN.Org. https://www.c-span.org/program/news-conference/white-house-trade-adviser-peter-navarro-speaks-to-reporters/664636. Accessed 20 Nov. 2025.

“Why Would Trump Say This About Karoline Leavitt?” The New Republic. https://newrepublic.com/post/201729/donald-trump-karoline-leavitt-compliment-lips-machine-gun. Accessed 20 Nov. 2025.

Yang, Maya, and Robert Mackey. “Trump ‘Border Czar’ Tom Homan Reportedly Accepted $50,000 in Cash from Undercover FBI Agents.” The Guardian, 20 Sept. 2025. US News. The Guardian, https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/sep/20/tom-homan-undercover-fbi-agents. Accessed 20 Nov. 2025.