WASHINGTON: The 2024 US presidential election is shaping up to be more than just a confrontation between Donald Trump and Kamala Harris, and if the roadmap unveiled by a think tank — considered a guiding force for the Republican party — is anything to go by, it could be the difference between a pluralistic America, and one where Whites and Christians wield all the power.

Although the focus of both campaigns so far has primarily been on issues and values — subjects critical to an election that is seen as a choice between a progressive Harris presidency and a conservative Trump regime — there are machinations behind the scenes to draft executive orders and agency regulations that could be used to quickly implement policies that are considered by many to be authoritarian in nature.

The lightning rod for these concerns is a roadmap, titled ‘Project 2025’, which has prompted Democrats to accuse Republicans of pushing for an authoritarian government.

Although Donald Trump has publicly disavowed the plan, piloted by The Heritage Foundation, many are sceptical of this pronouncement as the 900-page document, whose authors have close ties to his former administration and campaign, seems to align with the ex-president’s agenda.

Although disavowed by the Trump campaign, the ‘authoritarian’ blueprint has Democrats worried about the future of US democracy

So what is Project 2025 and why does one think tank’s proposal matter so much in the larger context of the US presidential elections?

What is The Heritage Foundation?

While it is common for Washington think tanks to propose policy wish lists for potential governments-in-waiting, in the words of Trump’s running mate Senator J.D. Vance, “The Heritage Foundation isn’t some random outpost on Capitol Hill; it is and has been the most influential engine of ideas for Republicans from Ronald Reagan to Donald Trump”.

According to The Economist, the foundation has produced such guidebooks for incoming Republican administrations since the early 1980s, when it provided a template for government for Ronald Reagan.

Whenever Republicans are in power, the foundation often provides senior and mid-level officials to the administration. For context, a year into his previous term in the White House, the think tank boasted that Trump had adopted nearly two-thirds of its proposals.

Although the group is independent of the Trump campaign — with the presidential contender saying in recent a social media post that he knew nothing about the project — many of his closest policy advisers and those likely to take up top positions in his administration, are heavily involved in the project.

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One such official is Lisa Curtis, who served as deputy assistant to the president and senior director for South and Central Asia at the National Security Council from 2017 to 2021. Curtis is particularly well-known in Pakistan for her role during this period.

Last week, the Democratic push led to the resignation of the Heritage Foundation’s director, Paul Dans, prompting the foundation’s president, Kevin Roberts, to take over the lead role.

What is the project about?

The plan envisions a government where power is concentrated in the hands of a single leader, with traditional checks and balances either eroded or outright dismantled.

It also calls for sacking of thousands of civil servants, sweeping tax cuts, a ban on pornography, halting sales of the abortion pill, among other measures. It counts on bringing every major federal agency — including the Department of Justice, the FBI, and the Department of Education — under direct presidential control.

The project even suggests that the Department of State be purged of liberal elements to enact a radical shift in the US diplomacy.

It also proposes using the military for domestic policing under the Insurrection Act of 1807 and introduces extreme measures, such as capital punishment, for immigration offenses. The plan envisions a future where the Federal Reserve is abolished, the dollar is backed by commodities like gold, and the current tax system is replaced with a national sales tax.

But for now, the blowback seems to have forced the Trump campaign to disavow the controversial plan. According to The Economist, they are “miffed at Heritage [Foun­dation] for speaking on its behalf, [and] unlikely to resuscitate it”.

But what is worrying Democrats — and others on the liberal side of the political spectrum — is that this agenda isn’t merely theoretical; it’s deeply intertwined with Trump’s political rhetoric.

Over the past few months, the presidential contender has repeatedly questioned the racial background of his opponent Kamala Harris, attacked educational systems that support minority students and hinted at the elimination of future elections if he is re-elected.

Published in Dawn, August 12th, 2024