(NewsNation) – Governor of Minnesota. Tim WalzVice President Kamala Harris‘ Vice-candidate in the 2024 presidential election, has spoken out loudly against the conservative guideline Project 2025.
Walz, a former teacher, veteran and congressman, has attacked the former president Donald Trump‘s connections to the almost 1,000-page document from the conservative think tank The Heritage Foundation.
Trump has denied the plan completely, with posts on his social media site claiming he has “no idea” who is behind Project 2025 and knows “nothing” about it. But Walz believes the opposite, Share on X: “I’ve coached football long enough. When someone creates a playbook, they intend to use it.”
Ohio Sen. JD VanceTrump’s running mate has also avoided being associated with the controversial project, but the two have numerous connections to the minds behind it.
At least 140 other people who worked in the Trump administration were also involved in Project 2025. CNN reported. Vance even wrote a Foreword to a forthcoming book by the director of the Heritage Foundation.
The Trump-Vance campaign’s relationship with Project 2025 is a constant theme at Harris-Walz’s campaign rallies.
What is Project 2025?
Project 2025 presents a plan to restructure the federal government for the next Republican administration.
The Heritage Foundation said it was a guide for the next president to facilitate him repair the “damage” to America that it said had been caused by liberal politicians.
A key component of Project 2025 is the layoff of up to 50,000 federal employees who conservative groups say would hinder the president’s agenda.
Project 2025 would “abolish” agencies such as the U.S. Department of Education and place others, such as the Federal Trade Commission, the Federal Communications Commission and the Department of Justice, under presidential control.
A so-called comprehensive “overhaul” of the Justice Department would end the FBI’s efforts to crack down on disinformation, the Pentagon would “eliminate” diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives if passed in 2025, and soldiers fired for refusing the COVID-19 vaccine would be reinstated.
On abortion, Project 2025 calls for restricting the procedure by limiting mail-order sales of drugs and penalizing providers. Project 2025 would also roll back and privatize other health and human services, such as Medicare and Social Security, and reverse the Biden administration’s climate policies.
What Walz said about Project 2025
Walz made negative comments about the 2025 project, albeit only briefly.
The governor said that if the project’s recommendations were implemented, they would restrict freedoms, rig the American economy in favor of the top 1 percent, cut social security, underfund public schools and harm health care.
“Don’t believe him when he plays dumb on this 2025 project,” Walz said at a rally in Glendale, Arizona. “He knows exactly what it’s going to do. They’re not playing games. They’ve written down their plan.”
The other half of the Democratic slate, Harris, has spoken often about Project 2025 both during her campaign for Biden and after she became his nominee.
Harris’ campaign website has an entire page devoted to this guide, which she calls “Trump’s plan to take away your power, your control, and your money.”
Important for Harris and Walz’s campaign are the reproductive rights policies outlined in the document, with abortion and access to IVF remaining high on the Democrats’ ballot.
Walz emphasized this political point in his first official appearance as Harris’ running mate, telling a personal story about his family’s experience with infertility treatments.
“When my wife and I decided to have children, we had to endure years of infertility treatments,” Walz said. “I remember praying every night for a call with good news, the sinking feeling in my stomach when the phone rang, and the agony when we heard the treatments hadn’t worked.”
Harris also described Project 2025 as “the latest attack in Donald Trump’s massive attack on reproductive freedom.”
NewsNation’s Safia Samee Ali contributed to this report.
