Editorial concept illustration symbolizing political control and bureaucracy in Washington, D.C. — Citizen of Europe (2025)
Project 2025
How a think-tank manual became governing code — and what Europe is already paying for.
Donald Trump didn’t meet Russell Vought for optics. He met him to decide who keeps a job, who loses funding, and who disappears from the payroll.m
“I have a meeting today with Russell Vought, he of PROJECT 2025 Fame, to determine which of the many Democrat Agencies … he recommends to be cut.”
— Donald J. Trump on Truth Social, October 2025
That line made the shift public. Within days, the Heritage Foundation’s Project 2025 blueprint began moving from think-tank paper to federal policy.
The Plan
Russell Vought was confirmed as Director of the Office of Management and Budget on February 6, 2025 by a 53–47 Senate vote (AP News).
Project 2025, coordinated by the Heritage Foundation since 2022, is a 900-page program titled Mandate for Leadership: The Conservative Promise (Heritage Foundation PDF).
- “The president has to move executively … to dismantle that bureaucracy in their power-centers.” — PBS NewsHour
- “We want the bureaucrats to be traumatically affected … We want their funding shut down.” — The Guardian
The White House insists there is no coordination: “Project 2025 is independent; the administration’s focus is efficiency, not ideology” (AP News).
The Brennan Center for Justice calls the underlying framework — the unitary executive theory — “a blueprint for eroding congressional oversight.”
How It’s Showing Up
According to AP News, the first moves began with budget rescissions — trimming or freezing agency funds, including USAID and State Department lines, in ways that may test the Impoundment Control Act.
USAID’s FY 2025 justification shows a 37 percent decline in development-assistance obligations to Sub-Saharan Africa compared with 2024.
Reuters reported that USAID-supported vaccination and maternal-health projects in Kenya and Ghana were “paused indefinitely” during budget review. The European Commission responded by redirecting €1.2 billion to its Global Gateway fund to fill part of the gap.
Europe’s View
“The European Union stands ready to work with any U.S. administration on the basis of our shared democratic values,” said Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.
“EU-U.S. trade is unmatched & must be guided by mutual respect, not threats,” added Vice President Maroš Šefčovič (X, Sept 2025).
The European Central Bank warned that U.S. policy volatility poses “renewed external uncertainty for European exporters.” Analysts at the Clingendael Institute note delays in transatlantic climate-finance and defence cooperation.
The Human Cost
Thousands of public-sector staff — from scientists to aid workers — now face “streamlining” that means cuts. Clinics in Nairobi and Accra told Reuters their vaccine shipments are delayed until Washington clarifies funding. EU coordinators report similar pauses across Global Gateway projects.
The Quiet Violence of Bureaucracy
No raids. No speeches. Just deleted budgets and unanswered emails. The Brennan Center calls it “a legal re-engineering of accountability.” For those inside it, reform feels like erasure.
Final Word
Europe still talks partnership. Washington talks control. Project 2025 doesn’t need walls or wars. It needs time — and silence.
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Disclaimer
Citizen of Europe is independent and reader-funded. This article relies on publicly available documents and verified on-the-record reporting (AP, Reuters, PBS, The Guardian, Heritage Foundation, USAID, ECB, European Commission, Brennan Center). Quotes are reproduced verbatim; interpretations are labeled as analysis. Nothing herein constitutes legal advice or endorsement of any actor or policy.
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