Trump Turns Shutdown Into Stage for Project 2025 Shake-Up
The president leans on Russell Vought and Project 2025 playbook to target “Democrat agencies” as Washington braces for layoffs and funding freezes.
Los Angeles, October 2 EST: Donald Trump just turned a government shutdown into the biggest stage of his presidency and, in true Trump fashion, he’s treating it less like a crisis and more like a franchise reboot. The sequel’s working title? Project 2025.
As Axios first laid out, Trump is huddling with Russell Vought, the conservative operator who helped draft Project 2025, to decide which “Democrat agencies” get the axe. Think of it as the ultimate reality show pitch: cut the departments he doesn’t like, centralize power in the executive branch, and call it a win for efficiency.
Shutdown or Season Premiere?
For the White House, this isn’t downtime it’s prime time. Trump is openly framing the shutdown as an “opportunity” to do some heavy restructuring, almost like using a hiatus to retool a long-running series. Forget filler episodes; this is a hard pivot to a new storyline.
According to The Daily Beast, aides are hyping this moment as Trump going “full Project 2025.” Translation: they’re done teasing spin-offs. They’re ready to roll out the whole cinematic universe one where agencies tied to climate policy, social programs, and education could be written out of the script altogether.
High Stakes, High Drama
The White House isn’t being coy about the scale either. Reuters reports that thousands of layoffs are on the table. That’s not just background noise that’s a major cast shakeup. For workers across Washington, the shutdown isn’t just inconvenient; it could be career-ending.
And then there’s the plot twist: the Guardian notes that the administration has already begun freezing federal funding in Democratic-led states. Call it the political version of pulling streaming rights in key markets a move designed to punish rivals and reward loyalists.
From Playbook to Production
Here’s the kicker. Project 2025 used to feel like a manifesto something conservatives would wave around at conferences, like the gritty reboot no one thought would actually get greenlit. But now, with Trump in charge and Vought whispering in his ear, it’s in active production.
The project, cooked up by the Heritage Foundation and allies, is essentially a handbook for remaking the federal government into a tighter, more centralized machine. What sounded like fan fiction during the campaign is suddenly being workshopped into canon.
Critics, Cameos, and Caution Signs
Not everyone’s on board with this rewrite. Democrats are calling it a hijack of the shutdown for partisan gain. Progressive lawmakers warn that cutting agencies won’t just trim fat it’ll hit working families where it hurts most. And while some Republicans are applauding the new direction, others worry the storyline could alienate viewers (read: voters) if the shutdown drags on too long.
Even outside politics, business groups are nervous. They don’t want to binge-watch months of uncertainty. Stability, after all, is good box office.
The Big Picture
At its core, this is Trump doing what he does best: reframing a crisis as a spectacle, making himself the star, and treating governance like a series that lives or dies on ratings.
Will Project 2025 turn into the sweeping franchise Trump envisions? Or will it flop under the weight of bad press, layoffs, and political blowback? Too soon to tell. For now, Washington is watching a real-time pilot messy, unpredictable, but impossible to ignore.
New Jersey Times Is Your Source: The Latest In Politics, Entertainment, Business, Breaking News, And Other News. Please Follow Us On Facebook, Instagram, And Twitter To Receive Instantaneous Updates. Also Do Checkout Our Telegram Channel @Njtdotcom For Latest Updates.
A political science PhD who jumped the academic ship to cover real-time governance, Olivia is the East Coast's sharpest watchdog. She dissects power plays in Trenton and D.C. without bias or apology.
