Tracking Trump’s Campaign Promises

Last updated 5/28/26 10:27pm ET

President Donald Trump made a lot of promises on the 2024 campaign trail. Which have been kept, and which are unfulfilled?

AllSides is tracking the latest updates on Trump's campaign promises and ensuing legislation. We're also tracking how closely these actions align with Heritage Foundation's (Right bias) Project 2025. We've included mentions of Project 2025 because parts of it align with Trump's stated goals and actions. He has publicly distanced himself from the project.

Want a status report on Trump's first year? We broke down how he performed on his campaign promises across eight key policy areas.

Did we miss something? Email us.

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MORE DEVELOPMENTS

• The DOJ is reportedly reauthorizing firing squad executions.
• Trump launched a new counterterrorism strategy.
• Trump established a $1.8 billion "Anti-Weaponization Fund.”
• The Office of Personnel Management proposed that all federal employees sign NDAs.
• The DOJ indicted the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC).

January 6, 2021

Election Integrity

During his campaign: President Donald Trump said he would pardon Jan. 6 convicts on his first day in office. He said of the Capitol Riot, in 2024, “We didn’t have guns. The others had guns, but we didn’t have guns. And when I say we, these are people that walked down - this was a tiny percentage of the overall which nobody sees and nobody, nobody shows. But that was a day of love… They didn't come because of me… They thought the election was a rigged election, and that’s why they came.”

What Project 2025 said: Project 2025 includes no specific stances on the Jan. 6, 2021 Capitol Riot. 

Since election day:

• The FBI seized nearly 700 boxes of records related to the 2020 presidential election in Fulton County, Georgia, confirming some allegations of erroneous voting data and denying others in late January.
• The White House launched a website marking the fifth anniversary of the Capitol Riot, praising Trump’s actions surrounding the event.
• Trump sued BBC (Center bias) in December for editing his comments before the Capitol Riot to allegedly mislead viewers
• Trump reportedly blocked the release of over 4,100 documents regarding the Capitol Riot, in December.
• Trump pardoned two Jan. 6 rioters who were sentenced for separate charges, in November. One was sentenced for illegal firearms possession and the other for threatening to shoot FBI agents if they came to her house.
• Trump issued a “full, complete, and unconditional” pardon to all US citizens for “certain offenses related to the 2020 presidential election” in November.
• The Justice Department (DOJ) reportedly put two federal prosecutors on leave in late October after they reportedly referred to Capitol riot participants as “thousands of people comprising a mob of rioters” in a legal brief.
• YouTube agreed to pay a $24.5 million settlement in late September, after Trump sued the company for suspending his account over the Capitol riot.
• The US Air Force approved a full military funeral for Ashli Babbitt, who died while participating in the Jan. 6 riot, in August.
• Former acting FBI Director Brian Driscoll, who investigated the events of Jan. 6, was fired in early August.
• The DOJ fired multiple Jan. 6 prosecutors in June.
• FBI Director Kash Patel promised, in late May, to uncover "whether or not there were FBI sources — not agents, sources — on the ground during Jan. 6." FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino announced that the FBI is "closing in on some suspects" who may have planted the pipe bombs planted before the riot.
• Trump pardoned most Jan. 6 convicts on his first day in office, one of whom was arrested in mid-October for allegedly making a death threat against House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY).

Vaccines

Health

During his campaign: Trump called Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine a “medical miracle,” taking credit for its quick development and encouraging Americans to take it. However, he promoted the vaccine as a personal choice and opposed mandates. He said people who “get very sick and go to the hospital are the ones that don't do the vaccine, but it's still their choice.” He repeated his opposition to vaccine mandates throughout his campaign, once saying, “I will not give one penny to any school that has a vaccine mandate or a mask mandate.”

What Project 2025 said: The plan says that no president should have the authority to issue vaccine mandates. It calls for all service members who were discharged for refusing the COVID-19 vaccine to be provided with back pay and reinstated, and for medical personnel who were fired for the same reason to be compensated for damages. The plan also said the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and National Institutes of Health (NIH) should cease using aborted fetal cell lines and body parts for medical testing, further asserting that doctors should be allowed to refuse to conduct treatments that violate their religious values or consciences.

Since election day:

• The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) dropped the number of childhood immunization recommendations from 17 to 10 in January.
• Trump ordered a federal review of every childhood vaccine recommendation in December.
• The CDC's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) voted to recommend “individual-based decision-making” for most hepatitis b vaccines in early December.
• The CDC updated its website to say the claim “vaccines do not cause autism” is not evidence-based and may overlook some studies that suggest causality.
• Trump suggested a link between vaccines and autism in late September, and CDC Director Jim O’Neill called for new and separated vaccines to replace the existing MMR vaccines in early October.
• Trump said the mumps, measles and rubella vaccines should be taken separately in September: “We want no mercury in the vaccine. We want no aluminum in the vaccine. The MMR I think should be taken separately… it seems to be that when you mix them, there could be a problem.” He also said, “There’s no reason to give a baby almost just born hepatitis B [vaccine],” but noted that his assertions were based on his own personal feelings.
• Trump stated in September, “It is very important that the Drug Companies justify the success of their various Covid Drugs. Many people think they are a miracle that saved Millions of lives. Others disagree!... They show me GREAT numbers and results, but they don’t seem to be showing them to many others… I hope OPERATION WARP SPEED was as ‘BRILLIANT’ as many say it was. If not, we all want to know about it, and why???”
• The Trump administration cancelled about $500 million of mRNA vaccine funding in August to move “onto other things,” according to the president.  
• The FDA stopped recommending COVID-19 booster shots for healthy adults and children and introduced new standards for approval in May.
• In Feb. 2025, Trump banned all federal funding for COVID-19 vaccine mandates in education systems, due to “the incredibly low risk of serious COVID-19 illness for children and young adults.”
• Trump asserted in December, “You’re not going to lose the polio vaccine.”
• Robert F. Kennedy Jr., known to be skeptical of some vaccines, was appointed as Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services in Feb. 2025.

Voter Eligibility and Fraud

Election Integrity

During his campaign: President Donald Trump referred to the 2020 presidential election as “rigged” and claimed widespread voter fraud had occurred. He was critical of mail-in ballots and said, “Anytime you have a mail-in ballot, there is going to be massive fraud.” He also claimed – unfoundedly – that unauthorized immigrants were being allowed into the US to vote against him. 

What Project 2025 said: Project 2025 calls to further enforce the criminalization of voter fraud offenders and increase the security of voting, particularly pertaining to citizenship screenings.

Since election day: 

• Trump asserted in March that he will not sign any bills into law until Senate passes the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE America) Act – “and not the watered down version… voter ID & proof of citizenship: no mail-in ballots except for military - illness, disability, travel: no men in women’s sports: no transgender mutilization for children!” The House passed the act in early February.
  • RELATED: SAVE Act: Necessary or Discriminatory? | AllSides
• The FBI expanded its investigation into election irregularities in Maricopa County, Arizona in early March.
• The FBI seized nearly 700 boxes of records related to the 2020 presidential election in Fulton County, Georgia, confirming some allegations of erroneous voting data and denying others in late January.
• Trump said “people will soon be prosecuted” for allegedly rigging the 2020 presidential election, in January.
• The DOJ reportedly filed lawsuits against California, Michigan, Minnesota, New York, New Hampshire and Pennsylvania “for failure to produce their statewide voter registration lists upon request,” in late September. A federal judge dismissed the California lawsuit in January.
• The Department of Justice (DOJ) reportedly offered a deal to over a dozen states that would “require election officials to remove any alleged ineligible voters identified during a federal review of their voter rolls.”
• The DOJ filed a lawsuit against Wisconsin election officials in December due to their withholding of confidential voter information.
• The DOJ filed a lawsuit against Delaware in December over alleged voter data nontransparency.
• The DOJ filed a lawsuit in November aimed to block voter-approved redistricting in California.
• The DOJ announced in September that it sued both Maine and Oregon for “failing to provide information regarding voter list maintenance procedures and electronic copies of statewide voter registration lists.”
• Trump said in early September that he will mandate voter IDs via an executive order.
• He announced plans in August to eliminate mail-in ballots and voting machines via executive order ahead of the 2026 midterm election.
• Trump called for a special prosecutor to investigate the 2020 presidential election, claiming in June that he won in a "LANDSLIDE!"
• He signed an executive order that would've required proof of citizenship for federal voter registration, but it was blocked by a federal judge in June.
• The Trump administration filed a lawsuit against North Carolina in late May, alleging that the state maintained inaccurate voting records.
• Trump signed an executive order in March 2025 to “enforce the Federal prohibition on foreign nationals voting in Federal elections.” The order requires proof of citizenship to vote and enforces the criminalization of voting violations.
• The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) cut all funding for the Election Infrastructure Information Sharing and Analysis Center in Feb. 2025.

Election Certification and Term Limits

Election Integrity

During his campaign: Prior to his presidential election in 2016, Donald Trump called for congressional term limits, though he did not further that stance during his presidency or future campaigns. Trump opposed the election certification of former President Joe Biden in 2020 due to voter fraud claims. He did not call to change election certification policies during his 2024 presidential campaign.

What Project 2025 said: Project 2025 calls to increase security and enforcement surrounding election laws, but no direct alterations to election certification or term limits are included.

Since election day:

• Trump said Republicans should "nationalize" elections in early February.
• Trump posted, “RECORD NUMBERS ALL OVER THE PLACE! SHOULD I TRY FOR A FOURTH TERM?” on Truth Social in late January.
• White House Press Secretary said that Trump was joking when he said there shouldn’t be midterm elections (due to his administration’s successes), in January.
• Trump said he “would love to” secure a third presidential term, in late October; however, he said doing so by way of the vice presidency “wouldn’t be right.” Later that week, he said, “It’s pretty clear I’m not allowed to run.”
• Trump said in early August that he would “probably not” run for a third term.
• Trump accused former President Barack Obama and his administration of “treason” in July due to a declassified report containing information about Russian interference in the 2016 election. FBI Director Kash Patel reportedly uncovered thousands of documents pertaining to the investigation in secret “burn bags” later that month.
• Trump said “there are methods” for seeking a third term, in March 2025. No legislative action has been taken to do so, though he asserted he was “not joking.”

Activist Judges

Criminal Justice

During his campaign: Trump reportedly planned to appoint more conservative judges, also looking to the Supreme Court to fill potential vacancies. 

What Project 2025 said: “The White House Counsel’s office… should function more as an activist yet ethical plaintiffs’ firm that advocates for its client—the Administration’s agenda—within the limits imposed by the Constitution and the duties of the legal profession.”

Since election day: 

• Then-US Attorney General Pam Bondi and Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche accused some activist judges in Virginia of “engaging in an unconscionable campaign of bias and hostility against US Attorney Lindsey Halligan and her [assistants].”
• Trump called events in Portland, Ore., which included a federal judge’s block on his orders, an insurrection, after saying he would invoke the Insurrection Act on noncompliant US cities “if it was necessary,” in early October.
• The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) pushed back against judges allowing temporary protected status for about 600,000 Venezuelans and 500,000 Haitians. The department stated, “Under God, the people rule. Unelected activist judges cannot stop the will of the American people for a safe and secure homeland.”
• The Justice Department (DOJ) reportedly filed a complaint against US District Court Chief Judge James E. Boasberg for “making improper public comments about President Donald J. Trump to the Chief Justice of the United States and other federal judges that have undermined the integrity and impartiality of the judiciary.”
• The DHS accused District Court Judge Amy Baggio of unfairly acting on gender “fanaticism” in July by releasing a transgender unauthorized immigrant from US custody.
• The Trump administration sued all 15 federal judges in Maryland in late June, after deportation efforts in the state were blocked.
• Trump selected five conservative lawyers as federal judicial nominees in early May. He wrote on Truth Social, “Our Court System is not letting me do the job I was Elected to do. Activist judges must let the Trump Administration deport murderers, and other criminals who have come into our Country illegally, WITHOUT DELAY!!!”
• Among criticisms from fellow Republicans, Trump suggested investigating judges for allegedly misusing their power, in Feb. 2025.
• Trump selected conservative Pam Bondi as US Attorney General. She was confirmed by the Senate in early Feb. 2025. Trump removed her in April 2026.

Authorized and Unauthorized Entry

Immigration

During his campaign: President Donald Trump supported limits on legal immigration and visas, as well as raising visa fees to fund the border wall. He opposed the H-1B visa program, which allows companies to employ foreign workers in specialized industries. 

What Project 2025 said: Project 2025’s immigration control priorities were described as:

• Mass deportations and rapid removals nationwide
• Militarized border enforcement
• Expanded detention and reduced legal protections
• Elimination of relief programs for Dreamers, TPS holders, and others
• Deep involvement of local law enforcement in immigration enforcement
• Efforts to end birthright citizenship
• Centralization of immigration authority under the Department of Homeland Security (DHS)

Since election day: 

• Trump endorsed a three-year plan in early April to fund most Department of Homeland Security (DHS) agencies, with immigration enforcement funding from only the GOP.
• The Senate passed a bill that allotted some funds to DHS agencies, not including Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) or Customs and Border Patrol (CBP), amid an ongoing funding freeze in March. 
• The Trump administration reformed the H-2A visa program in March to allow more migrant workers with lesser wages.
• The Pentagon deployed over 12,000 US military troops near the US-Mexico Border in March, in a reported effort to combat Mexican drug cartels.
• Trump is reportedly considering offering asylum to Jews experiencing antisemitism in Great Britain. 
• The US ended temporary protected status for new Haitian migrants in February.  
• The State Department announced it would pause immigrant visas to citizens of 75 countries to focus on “America First” economics, in January.
• The US reportedly experienced negative net migration in 2025, for the first time in fifty years.
• Trump’s travel bans from Burkina Faso, Laos, Mali, Niger, Sierra Leone, South Sudan, and Syria went into effect on Jan. 1.
• The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is reportedly moving to reject asylum seekers who entered the US illegally.
• Then-DHS Secretary Kristi Noem expanded a June travel ban to cover “over 30” countries in December.
• The US State Department announced it would increase its vetting of H-1B applicants who are “responsible for, or complicit in, censorship or attempted censorship” in December.
• The Trump administration announced that it’s pausing immigration applications from 19 countries and re-examining over 720,000 green card holders, in early December.
• The State Department announced in early December that it will deny visas to those “who have directed, authorized, significantly supported, participated in, or carried out violations of religious freedom.”
• Trump proposed a “permanent pause” on immigration from “all third world countries,” in late November.
• In a shift from his campaign stance, Trump expressed anomalous support for the H-1B visa program in November, as foreign student enrollment reportedly decreased 17% in 2025. He argued that the US “[doesn’t] have certain talents” to fill some jobs domestically.
• Unauthorized immigrants and some other noncitizens are set to be blocked from tax credit eligibility by the US Treasury Department.
• The US State Department began limiting visas in November for immigrants who are deemed more likely to rely on public benefits.
• Trump shifted his campaign stance by expressing support for H-1B visas in November, saying that the US “[has] to bring in talent” for certain jobs.
• The Trump administration reportedly revoked about 80,000 nonimmigrant visas since Jan. 2025.
• Customs and Border Protection (CBP) reported record-low border encounters in October.
• Unauthorized border crossings were reportedly at a 50-year low as of early October.
• The Trump administration announced a $100,000 fee for H-1B visa applications, in late September.
• Trump announced in late August that he would allow 600,000 visas for Chinese students to attend US universities. However, the Trump administration released a proposal in late August to “limit the amount of time that [foreign students] are allowed to remain in the United States without additional screening and vetting.”
• The Defense Department announced in August that the Pentagon is inviting civilian volunteers to temporarily support Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs (ICE) and CBP operations.
• Noem announced in August that 1.6 million unauthorized immigrants have been deported from or left the US since Trump’s inauguration.
• The State Department may require tourist and business visa applicants from high-risk countries to post a bond of up to $15,000, according to an announcement in early August.
• CBP released an app on which unauthorized immigrants can submit an intent to depart. Following their self-deportations, the migrants may reportedly submit for legal status in the US.
• The Trump administration announced in July that unauthorized immigrants will not be eligible for bond hearings while contesting deportation proceedings.
• A federal judge blocked the Trump administration's restrictions on asylum seekers in early July, arguing the administration did not have constitutional authority to impose the limits.
• CBP reported that zero unauthorized migrants were released into the US in May, and border crossings are down 93% from May 2024.
• The Trump administration directed US embassies and consular sections in late May to pause student visa interviews while vetting processes are reevaluated.
• The administration announced plans to 'aggressively' revoke visas from Chinese students, in late May, "including those with connections to the Chinese Communist Party or studying in critical fields." It also attempted to bar Harvard University from accepting international students but was blocked by a federal judge.
• Groups of Afrikaner refugees were reportedly granted asylum in the US in May, due to alleged racial discrimination in their home country of South Africa.
• Arrests along the southern border have fallen significantly. Follow the latest controversial deportations and detainments under the Trump administration.
• Trump said in Jan. 2025 that he hadn’t changed his stance on visas, saying, “We need smart people coming into our country. We need a lot of people coming in. We're going to have jobs like we’ve never had before,” and “I’ve always liked the visas, I have always been in favor of the visas. That’s why we have them.”
• In Feb. 2025, the Trump administration returned to the “Interview Waiver Program” from his first term, allowing some visa applicants to bypass an in-person interview.
• DHS began revoking some student visas across the US in late March 2025 for unspecified reasons. 

The Border Wall

Immigration

During his campaign: President Donald Trump pledged to finish building a wall at the southern border. Trump promised to “seal the border” if elected and said that he would order a “massive increase” in border patrol agents to tighten surveillance at the border. Additionally, Trump called to move “thousands of Troops currently stationed overseas” to the southern border, and deploy the U.S. Navy to help secure the border. 

What Project 2025 said: It advocates “aggressively constructing a wall on our southern border.”

Since election day: 

• Blasting began on New Mexico’s Mount Cristo Rey to further border wall construction in March.
• The Trump administration is set to install 900 miles of buoys in the Rio Grande to guard the US-Mexico Border.
• Border Patrol announced it will fine unauthorized immigrants $5,000 “apprehension fee[s].”
• Border wall construction is reportedly in the works “along the entire southern border.”
• The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced plans for a $4.5 billion and 230-mile-long “Smart Wall” in mid-October, “to bolster defense at the southern border.” Further plans in December would cover 1,418 miles and cost $8B.
• The Trump administration announced “Operation River Wall” in mid-October to “secure the Rio Grande against illegal immigration, narco-terrorists, and other criminal activity.”
• Then-DHS Secretary Kristi Noem reportedly expedited over 100 miles of border wall construction in New Mexico in early October.
• Border wall construction reportedly began in September on a 27-mile stretch in Arizona.
• The DHS reportedly bypassed environmental laws in the southern US to further its border initiatives.
• Noem said in August that the US-Mexico border wall will be painted black – per Trump’s request – to make it hotter and more difficult to climb.
• A company is set to return up to $350 million in construction materials to the Trump administration at a low cost, after former President Joe Biden halted border wall construction and relinquished the materials.
• The Pentagon announced in early July that the US Navy will control a new military border zone covering 140 miles of the US-Mexico border in Arizona.
• Construction of the border wall in Arizona and New Mexico was approved for 36 miles of expansion in early June.
• To secure the northern border, surveillance and other technology are reportedly being amplified as opposed to a physical wall being constructed.
• Trump's "big, beautiful bill" is set to allot $50 billion to increase security with fences across the US-Mexico border. It would reportedly increase wall construction and fund water buoy blockades as well.
• The US-Mexico border wall is under active construction, according to the Texas Facilities Commission. Trump reportedly hopes to have the physical border wall completed by 2029, and 85 miles are set to be erected in 2025.
• Thousands of active-duty troops have reportedly been sent to the border. The Army said it will provide “logistical support” for US Customs and Border Protection rather than prioritizing arrests.

Sanctuary Cities

Immigration

During his campaign: President Donald Trump called to cut federal funding for sanctuary jurisdictions. An executive order he signed during his first term promised to “ensure that jurisdictions that fail to comply with applicable Federal law do not receive Federal funds.”

What Project 2025 said: Calls to “withhold federal disaster relief funds granted by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) should state or local governments refuse to abide by federal immigration laws."

Since election day:

• Border czar Tom Homan reiterated the Trump administration’s commitment to ending sanctuary city policies, after a college student was fatally shot by an unauthorized immigrant in March.
• Homan announced the end of “Operation Metro Surge” in February, touting Minnesota as “now less of a sanctuary state for criminals.”
• The US reportedly achieved negative net migration in all metropolitan areas in 2025. 
• Trump said his administration will cut funding to noncompliant sanctuary cities and their state governments on Feb. 1.
• The Trump administration blamed the “Radical Left” for immigration-related conflicts in Minnesota and asserted in January, “This toxic combination of ‘sanctuary’ policies and anti-ICE rhetoric has created a climate of hostility that endangers federal officers and incites violence.” 
• Trump reportedly called on Congress in late January to permanently end sanctuary city policies.
• The Trump administration deployed 2,000 Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents to Minneapolis, Minnesota, in January. Trump defended an ICE agent who fatally shot a protestor.
• ICE is reportedly increasing its efforts in Boston, Chicago, and other sanctuary cities.
• The Department of Justice (DOJ) removed Baltimore County, MD, from the federal sanctuary jurisdiction list, provided that the county cooperates with immigration enforcement efforts.
• ICE is set to expand policing and deportations in New York, Seattle, Portland, Chicago, and Los Angeles – all DOJ-designated sanctuary jurisdictions.
• Then-Attorney General Pam Bondi rescinded sanctuary city protections in Washington, D.C., in August.
• ICE director Todd Lyons promised to “flood” Boston, Mass. with agents after Mayor Michelle Wu of Boston refused federal direction to end sanctuary policies.
• The DOJ labelled 35 sanctuary city jurisdictions in early August, claiming that they are obstructions of justice.
• Louisville, Kentucky dropped its sanctuary city policies in July after receiving a “strong written warning” from Bondi.
• The Trump administration blamed New York City’s sanctuary policies for the July shooting of a Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officer. The Justice Department (DOJ) is suing the city and some of its officials due to the event.
• The DOJ filed a lawsuit against Los Angeles in late June, claiming the city's sanctuary policies are unconstitutional and obstruct ICE.
• "I want ICE, Border Patrol, and our Great and Patriotic Law Enforcement Officers, to FOCUS on our crime ridden and deadly Inner Cities, and those places where Sanctuary Cities play such a big role," Trump stated in June.
• The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) published a list of "sanctuary jurisdictions" in late May, advising the jurisdictions' adherence to federal immigration legislation.
• Four sanctuary cities in New Jersey were sued by the Trump administration in May, accused of upholding policies that protect unauthorized immigrants.
• Trump has not yet cut funding for sanctuary cities, but said he would if their administrations refused to comply with policy changes. He has, however, allowed for unauthorized migrant arrests in schools and churches.

Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA)

Immigration

During his campaign: 

• President Donald Trump called for “an orderly transition and wind-down of DACA, one that provides minimum disruption.” He planned to give Congress a delay to come up with a “permanent legislative solution,” arguing that DACA recipients would unfairly use healthcare that would otherwise be granted to American citizens.
• Trump also suggested that “anchor babies” are not covered by the Fourteenth Amendment and that parents should come into the U.S. legally in order to be granted government services. 

What Project 2025 said: Calls to end Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA).

Since election day: 

• The US Citizenship and Immigration Services reportedly announced plans to reopen DACA to new applicants “to comply with a court order,” in late September.
  Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said in late July, “Illegal aliens who claim to be recipients of [DACA] are not automatically protected from deportations… DACA does not confer any form of legal status in this country.”
• The US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) reportedly paused the processing of new applications.

Citizenship and Deportations

Immigration

During his campaign: President Donald Trump promised to impose mass deportations on unauthorized immigrants but said he wanted to provide a pathway for noncitizens who graduate from US colleges to get green cards after undergoing an “aggressive vetting process.” Trump stated that he aims to end birthright citizenship if elected; however, he had also proposed a pathway to citizenship for unauthorized youth immigrants, in exchange for tighter restrictions on legal immigration and greater funding for border security.

What Project 2025 said: “End birthright citizenship" and allow more mass deportations.

Since election day: 

• Trump said he will not sign any new bills into law until the Senate passes the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE America) Act.
• A federal judge blocked the Trump administration from revoking the parole status of over 900,000 immigrants who entered the US using the Biden-era "CBP One" app, in April.
• Trump endorsed a three-year plan in early April to fund most Department of Homeland Security (DHS) agencies, with immigration enforcement funding from only the GOP.
• The Senate passed a bill that allotted some funds to DHS agencies, not including Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) or Customs and Border Patrol (CBP), amid an ongoing funding freeze in March.
• Trump released Columbia University student Elmina Aghayeva from ICE custody in February,  following a meeting with New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani.
• Cooperation agreements between ICE and local police reportedly rose 950% in 2025
• Border czar Tom Homan announced the end of “Operation Metro Surge” in February, declaring Minnesota is “now less of a sanctuary state for criminals.” DHS said immigration enforcement officials arrested over 4,000 unauthorized immigrants and "located 3,364 unaccompanied alien children."
  • Conflicts surrounding immigration enforcement and tactics continued throughout January in Minnesota. Such conflicts included multiple DHS-involved shootings, widespread protests, and Trump’s threat to invoke the Insurrection Act.
• Trump tapped Border Czar Tom Homan to lead border patrol operations in Minnesota in late January.
• The FBI launched an investigation into Signal chat groups, particularly in Minnesota, allegedly being utilized by anti-ICE activists.
• An unauthorized Cuban migrant’s death at an ICE detention center in January may be ruled a homicide.
• The DHS revoked temporary protected status (TPS) for Somali nationals in January.
• Twenty-nine senators accused the Trump administration of diverting efforts against human trafficking, drug trafficking, and child exploitation toward immigration enforcement efforts, in a letter to the White House in January.
• A federal judge blocked the Trump administration from ending TPS protections for about 60,000 migrants from Honduras, Nepal and Nicaragua in late December.
• “More than 2.5 million illegal aliens have been removed from the United States,” according to the White House.
• Then-DHS Secretary Kristi Noem announced in December, “Through the end of the year, illegal aliens who self-deport using the CBP Home App can receive a $3,000 exit bonus.”
• The DHS is reportedly moving to reject asylum seekers who entered the US illegally, some of whom, it argued, may be deported to third countries.
• DHS wrote on X in early December, “Want affordable housing? Help report illegal aliens in your area.”
• Trump reportedly directed ICE to increase enforcement on Somali immigrants.
• The DHS replaced some ICE officials with CBP agents to increase deportations of unauthorized immigrants, in late October. CBP agents have reportedly since increased arrests in the Chicago area, surpassing ICE’s rate.
• The Trump administration is reportedly on track to beat the record of presidential deportations in a year, surpassing former President Barack Obama.
• Trump sent 300 National Guard soldiers to Chicago in early October, prompting a lawsuit from the city and state of Illinois. The Supreme Court blocked the deployment in late December.
• The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) began increasing ICE operations in Chicago in September and Charlotte in November. Trump said he would re-federalize Washington, DC, if its police department does not comply with ICE.
• The Supreme Court put a hold on a federal court’s ruling that allowed federal immigration officers to question and detain people based solely on their ethnicity, language, occupation, or location, in September.
• ICE is reportedly planning to increase immigration policing in Chicago toward the end of August or early September.
• The Trump administration released a proposal in late August to “limit the amount of time that foreign students, professors, physicians, and other visa holders are allowed to remain in the United States without additional screening and vetting.”
• Alligator Alcatraz is reportedly being emptied, following a US district judge’s ruling to close the detention center.
• ICE director Todd Lyons promised to “flood” Boston, Mass. with agents after Mayor Michelle Wu of Boston refused federal direction to end sanctuary policies.
• The Defense Department announced in August that the Pentagon is inviting civilian volunteers to temporarily support ICE and Border Protection (CBP) operations.
• The State Department announced in August that it was halting all visitor visas for Gazans amid a “full and thorough” review.
• Noem announced in August that 1.6 million unauthorized immigrants have been deported from or left the US since Trump’s inauguration.
• Over 60,000 migrants are currently detained in ICE facilities, marking a record high.
• Trump told the Department of Commerce to initiate a new census that excludes unauthorized immigrants in early August.
• ICE is reportedly ramping up its deportation efforts through measures such as Medicaid data sharing.
• Human Rights Watch (HRW) accused ICE officials of using abusive practices at its detention centers.
• "Alligator Alcatraz" will reportedly open in the Florida Everglades in July, serving as a temporary immigrant detention center.
• The DOJ urged US Attorneys to prioritize the denaturalization of those who "illegally procured" naturalization or procured naturalization by "concealment of a material fact or by willful misrepresentation."
• The Supreme Court announced in late June that it would allow the Trump administration to deport migrants to "third countries."
• The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) ended a humanitarian parole program for 500,000 migrants from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Venezuela, in June.
• "I want ICE, Border Patrol, and our Great and Patriotic Law Enforcement Officers, to FOCUS on our crime ridden and deadly Inner Cities, and those places where Sanctuary Cities play such a big role," Trump stated in June.
• Trump signed an executive order that would've required proof of citizenship for federal voter registration, but it was blocked by a federal judge in June.
• The Trump administration announced plans to 'aggressively' revoke visas from Chinese students, in late May, "including those with connections to the Chinese Communist Party or studying in critical fields."
• The Supreme Court granted the Trump administration approval to end the Temporary Protected Status (TPS) of about 350,000 Venezuelan migrants in the US, in May.
• Trump signed an executive order on his first day in office to restrict birthright citizenship. The restriction would only grant eligibility to children who have at least one parent with US legal status. The motion is being weighed by the Supreme Court.
• The White House's new budget proposal would increase the DHS's federal funding by 64.9%.
• There have been hundreds of detainments and deportations since Trump re-took office. Some of them are more controversial and involve legal US residents who the government accuses of conspiring with or supporting US adversaries, such as the cases of Mahmoud Khalil and Rümeysa Öztürk who ostensibly supported the Palestinian cause. Follow the latest developments on these cases and others.
• President Trump announced that prospective immigrants could pay $5 million for a “gold card” that would grant them permanent US residence.

Tariffs and Trade

Economy and Taxes

During his campaign: Trump pledged to impose a new universal baseline tariff of 10% on all imports to the United States, regardless of country of origin, and promised even higher tariffs on Canada, Mexico, China, and other countries.

What Project 2025 said: “Strategically expand tariffs to all Chinese products and increase tariff rates to levels that will block out ‘Made in China’ products, and execute this strategy in a manner and at a pace that will not expose the U.S. to lack of access to essential products like key pharmaceuticals.”

Since election day: Trump has announced sweeping tariffs, leading to stock market fluctuation and negotiations with dozens of countries. 

• Trump waived the Jones Act for an additional 90 days beginning on May 18, after an initial 60-day extension on March 18.
• Trump said he had an “excellent” call with Chinese President Xi Jinping in February. The two leaders are expected to meet in May.
• Trump imposed a 100% tariff on certain patented pharmaceutical products and ingredients in early April, set to take effect on July 31 for some large companies and September 29 for smaller companies. Exceptions namely include orphan and veterinary drugs “if they are from trade deal countries or meet an urgent public health need.”
• The US reportedly lifted sanctions on about 140 million barrels of Iranian oil until April 19, after oil rose to about $112 per barrel.
• Iran denied Trump’s claims that it agreed to transfer enriched uranium as part of a peace deal in April.
• The Supreme Court ruled in February that Trump's use of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) to impose sweeping tariffs was illegal, leading the Trump administration to launch a tariff refund system on April 20. Trump announced a new 10% global tariff under Section 122 of the Trade Act of 1974 in response to the Court’s decision. The global tariffs can only last 150 days and are set to end on July 24. Trump is also expected to raise these tariffs to 15% after a federal judge in March ruled that companies are owed refunds for the emergency tariffs that were struck down. 

RELATED: What the Supreme Court's Tariff Decision Means for the Economy | AllSides, The Impact of Trump's Tariffs One Year After 'Liberation Day' | AllSides

• Japan reportedly agreed to invest “up to $40 billion from GE Vernova Hitachi in Tennessee and Alabama to build small modular reactor power plants and up to $33 billion in natural gas generation facilities in Pennsylvania and Texas,” after Trump and Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi met in March. The countries also “reached a Critical Minerals Action Plan to increase the production and diversity of critical minerals, developing a plurilateral trade initiative supported by price floors or other measures,” according to the White House.
• India agreed to halt Russian oil purchases in exchange for reduced US tariffs on Indian imports from 25% to 18% in February. The US exempted India from its part of the deal for 30 days in March.
• The White House announced trade agreements with Bangladesh, Indonesia, and North Macedonia in February.
• State Secretary Marco Rubio called for a "reinvigorated alliance" between the US and Europe during the Munich Security Conference in February.
• Rubio signed an agreement with the Hungarian government in February "to facilitate cooperation on the civilian nuclear program in Hungary."
• Tariffs “may be imposed on goods imported into the US that are products of any other country that directly or indirectly sells or otherwise provides any oil to Cuba,” according to the White House in late January.
• Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said Canada now has "no intention" of signing a free trade deal with China, after Trump threatened a 100% tariff on Canada in late January.
• US importers and consumers are paying 96% of Trump's tariffs, according to a German Kiel Institute report published in January.
• Trump announced in late July that a US-EU trade deal would impose a 15% tariff on the US for most European goods in exchange for a $600 billion EU investment into the US economy, increased EU purchasing of US military equipment, and a $750 billion EU purchase of US energy. The EU suspended the deal in January, after Trump announced that the US would impose 10% tariffs on eight European countries on Feb. 1 in a push for European support for US control of Greenland. Trump later rescinded the tariffs after a meeting with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte.
• Trump launched 25% tariffs on “any country doing business with the Islamic Republic of Iran,” in January.
• The White House announced “a Proclamation invoking Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962 (Act) to address national security concerns with respect to imports of semiconductors, semiconductor manufacturing equipment, and their derivative products,” in January. In the same announcement, he imposed a 25% tariff on some computer chips, including NVIDIA H200.
• Trump postponed tariff increases on vanities, upholstered furniture, and kitchen cabinets until 2027.
• The Trump administration delayed tariffs on Chinese semiconductors until 2027.
• Trump announced an unofficial deal in December to allow Nvidia to export its H200 artificial intelligence chips to “approved customers” in China and other countries, in exchange for 25% of revenue from the sales.
• Trump called for Mexico to export more water to the US by the end of 2025, threatening a 5% tariff increase.
• The UK agreed in early December to pay about 25% more for US pharmaceuticals in return for a three-year tariff exemption on its pharmaceutical exports to the US.
• Trump cut tariffs on over 100 grocery items in November.
• The US reportedly granted Hungary an exemption from American sanctions on countries that buy Russian energy in November, though the length of the exemption is unclear.
• Trump announced in November that “a dividend of at least $2000 a person (not including high income people!) will be paid to everyone” from tariff revenue.
• US Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced a 180-day suspension of some Caesar Act sanctions on Syria, including “certain transactions involving the governments of Russia and Iran, or the transfer of provisions of Russian-origin or Iranian-origin goods,” in November.
• Trump agreed to reduce tariffs on Chinese imports, including a reduction from 20% to 10% on fentanyl-related products, after a meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping in late October.
  • The deal is also set to “effectively eliminate China’s current and proposed export controls on rare earth elements and other critical minerals,” and “open China’s market to US soybeans and other agricultural exports.”
• The US is expected to impose 100% tariffs and export restrictions on Chinese software on November 1. He reportedly decided not to negotiate the export of advanced Nvidia AI chips to China.
• Trump imposed fees on Chinese ships using American ports in mid-October.
• Trump and Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese agreed to a $3 billion minerals deal in mid-October.
• Trump cancelled a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin and announced sanctions on Russia’s largest oil companies after Russia furthered its strikes in Ukraine in mid-October.
• Trump announced in mid-October that he ended trade talks with Canada.
• The White House reportedly expanded beef imports from Argentina in mid-October, sparking pushback from cattle ranchers.
• “The [Trump] administration is not actively discussing imposing Section 232 tariffs against generic pharmaceuticals,” according to a White House spokesperson.
• Trump and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi reportedly began trade talks in early October.
• Trump announced a 100% tariff on movies made outside the US, in late September.
• He enacted a series of product tariffs in late September that are scheduled to take effect on October 1st. The products affected include certain pharmaceuticals, furniture and large automobiles. He also said, “We’re going to take some of that tariff money that we made, we’re going to give it to our farmers, who are, for a little while, going to be hurt until the tariffs kick into their benefit.”
• The US trade deficit reportedly hit its lowest level in five years, in September.
• The US and China reportedly reached an unspecified agreement on TikTok in September to both instill US access to the app and assure national security.
• The Supreme Court is set to weigh in on the legality of Trump’s tariff measures, per the president’s request.
• Trump imposed 50% tariffs on India in late August.
• The US reportedly agreed to limit tariffs on various European Union (EU) imports to 15% in August.
• The US and China agreed to pause most tariffs on one another for 90 days, on May 12th. Trump extended the pause for an additional 90 days on August 12th.
• Trump’s widespread plan to impose new tariff rates on nearly 70 countries began in early August.
• Trump’s tariffs are facing a federal court appeal ahead of their August 1st deadline.
• US Gross Domestic Product (GDP) grew 3% in the second quarter (Q2) of 2025, surpassing economists’ expected growth and following a first-quarter contraction.
• Trump announced a trade agreement with Japan in July that includes a $550 billion investment into the US and decreased reciprocal tariffs.
• In July, Trump threatened Russia with tariffs of 100% if a Russia-Ukraine peace agreement is not reached within 50 days. The Russian government called the threat “unacceptable” and escalated attacks on Ukraine.
• Trump announced a 50% tariff on Brazil in July.
• He said in early July, “If they have to bring the pharmaceuticals into the country, the drugs and other things into the country, they’re going to be tariffed at a very, very high rate, like 200 percent."
• The US reportedly earned $106 billion from tariffs, from Trump's inauguration to late June.
• The US and China reached a trade deal in late June, according to Trump. Details were not disclosed at the time of the announcement.
• Trump and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney reportedly agreed to settle a trade deal in 30 days, on June 16th. Trump halted all trade negotiations with Canada on June 27th due to the country's impending 3% digital services tax on American tech companies. The Canadian government removed the tax just before it was supposed to take effect, prompting resumed trade talks. Trump and Carney are now expected to reach a trade deal by July 21st.
• The Census Bureau reported that May's international trade in goods increased by about 11%.

Minimum Wage

Economy and Taxes

During his campaign: 

• When asked, he signaled some openness to considering an increase, stating in a December 2024 NBC interview that the current rate of $7.25 per hour is “a very low number” and that “there is a level at which you could do it, absolutely.” However, he declined to commit to a specific amount or timeline, adding he would “want to speak to the governors” and emphasizing concerns about negative impacts on small businesses.

What Project 2025 said: Proposed repealing the requirements for federally-funded projects to have project labor agreements (PLAs) and pay the prevailing wage in the region.

Since election day: 

• Republican Sen. Josh Hawley (MO) proposed a bill in June that would raise the federal minimum wage from $7.25 per hour to $15. The bill has reportedly received bipartisan support. Trump was unclear about whether or not he would support the move, saying, "That's interesting that Josh did that. You have to think about that one."
• In March 2025, Trump signed an executive order revoking a Biden-era order that set a $15-per-hour minimum wage for federal contract workers, lowering the minimum wage for hundreds of thousands of workers on federal contracts back to $7.25 per hour.
• Alaska, California, Florida, Michigan and Oregon enacted minimum wage increases for 2025.

Affordable Housing

Economy and Taxes

During his campaign: 

• Trump pledged to make underused federal land available for residential development, aiming to boost housing supply and lower costs.
• Trump proposed building up to 10 new “Freedom Cities” on federal land, designed as futuristic urban centers to expand housing options and homeownership for young people and families.

What Project 2025 said:

• Criticizes the growth of federal housing programs.
• “Although housing supply is a problem in the United States, constructing more units at the low end of the market will not solve the problem,” suggesting developers “can deliver at more efficient cost new units that will allow for greater upward mobility of rental and ownership housing stock and better target increased construction of mid-tier rental units.”

Since election day: 

• Homeowner insurance premiums are reportedly expected to rise 8% in 2026 and another 8% in 2027.

• The White House released the 2026 Economic Report of the President in April, touting the promotion of "Opportunity Zones” that "directed $89 billion in investment into distressed communities" in its first round. It also outlined plans to boost the housing supply across the US. 

  RELATED: Is the Housing Crisis Getting Better or Worse? | AllSides, Has the Conflict With Iran Impacted the Housing Market? | AllSides

• The White House released an extensive order in March to comprehensively promote access to mortgage credits. Trump also ordered various deregulatory measures for housing construction.
• The White House released a report in early February that highlighted multiple rent price declines across the US, touting the lowest national median rent since 2022.
• Trump signed the “Disabled Veterans Housing Support Act” into law in late January, “to require the exclusion of service-connected disability compensation when determining whether a person is a person of low and moderate income.”
• Trump signed an executive order in January to bar corporate purchases of single-family homes. 
• The Trump administration terminated hundreds of federal grants focused on mental health, addiction, and homelessness in January. He later reversed the decision amid bipartisan criticism.
• Trump promised “some of the most aggressive housing reform plans in American history” for 2026.
• The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) wrote on X in early December, “Want affordable housing? Help report illegal aliens in your area.”
• Trump raised the idea of lenders offering 50-year mortgages to “make housing affordable again” in November.
• The Trump administration is reportedly considering a national housing emergency declaration.
• US home sales continue to depreciate as prices continue to rise.
• Trump said in July that he is considering ending capital gains taxes on home sales.
• Trump's "big beautiful bill" is set to expand the low-income housing tax credit and increase tax breaks through the raised State and Local Tax (SALT) deduction.
• Inventory levels of US housing reportedly increased 20% in March 2025 from March 2024, though a housing shortage is still prevalent – particularly for middle-class Americans.
• Trump signed an executive order in May to establish a housing center for veterans in Los Angeles, Calif.
• His budget proposal to the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) in early May aims to cut rental aid by 40%, rerouting the funds for states to "design their own rental assistance programs based on their unique needs and preferences."
• Trump signed an executive order on his first day in office, ordering “emergency price relief” to lower housing costs and increase availability. Few follow-up actions have been taken.
• No actions on “Freedom Cities” have been taken.
• In March 2025, US home sales fell to their slowest rate since 2009.

Federal Budget

Economy and Taxes

During his campaign: Trump vowed to reduce government expenditures by eliminating entire agencies (notably the Department of Education), slashing federal regulations, ending spending on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives, and cutting what he called “fraudulent spending.”

What Project 2025 said: Proposes "major spending cuts in federal funding for labor programs,” and recommends “cut[ting] the Labor Department budget by 22%, the HHS budget by 6%, and the Education Department by 14%."

Since election day: 

• The White House released its 2027 fiscal year budget in April.
• Trump said he plans to ask Congress for a $500 billion defense spending increase for 2027, which would bring the Pentagon’s budget to $1.5 trillion.
• The US entered a partial government shutdown on Jan. 30, which ended on Feb. 3, when Trump approved a $1.2 trillion spending package. The package is set to fund most government expenditures until the end of the 2026 fiscal year, but Department of Homeland Security (DHS) funding is set to expire on Feb. 13.
• Trump’s “Big, Beautiful Bill” increased work requirements for some SNAP beneficiaries on Feb. 1.
• The US economy reportedly grew at a 4.4% annual pace in the third quarter of 2025.
• Trump nominated Kevin Warsh for Federal Reserve chairman in late January to replace Jerome Powell, whose term expires in May.
• The Small Business Administration (SBA) paused federal funding to Minnesota amid fraud investigations in late December.
• The Trump administration announced a $50 billion rural healthcare funding program spanning all 50 states in late December.
• The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) cancelled seven grants to the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), citing the organization’s use of “identity-based language” and other misalignments.
• The Justice Department (DOJ) cut nearly $90 million in funding for over 100 anti-trafficking organizations since October, according to The Guardian (Left bias) in December.
• Congress passed a $900 billion defense spending package in December.
• Trump announced a $12 billion aid package for US farmers facing economic distress.
• The longest government shutdown in US history ended on Nov. 12 after 43 days. The spending package includes the restoration of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits through Sept. 2026.
• Trump announced in November that some tariff revenue will be used to “substantially pay down” the nation’s $38 trillion debt.
• The government shutdown entered its sixth week. Trump said in early November that he “won’t be extorted” by Democratic lawmakers to end the government shutdown. His administration reportedly agreed to use some contingency funds for SNAP benefits, though he later said benefits wouldn't be administered during the shutdown.
• Year-over-year federal spending growth declined in Trump’s first year of this term, according to the US Treasury Department.
• The White House is reportedly reviewing the “Government Employee Fair Treatment Act of 2019,” the results of which will determine whether or not furloughed federal employees are entitled to receive back pay once the government reopens.
• Trump said, “We’re only cutting Democrat programs, I hate to tell you, but we are cutting Democrat programs,” amid the government shutdown in early October. “We will be cutting some very popular Democrat programs that aren’t popular with Republicans, frankly.”
• The US government shut down at midnight on Oct. 1, putting about 40% of federal workers on unpaid leave and furloughing others’ payments.
• The Federal Reserve reduced its baseline interest rate by 0.25 percentage points in September, bringing the new range to 4-4.25%.
• The State Department laid off over 1,300 staffers in July.
• Republicans are working to broadly cut taxes and federal spending. Federal spending has reportedly increased, despite government cuts.
• The White House released its fiscal 2026 budget proposal in early May, indicating $163 billion in cuts to most federal programs, including the Labor, Education, and Health and Human Services departments. It proposed increased funding to the Defense, Homeland Security, and Transportation departments.
• The Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) claims to have cut $160 billion in federal spending since Trump took office. Some sources question that number.
• Allocations of the federal budget have been in flux since Trump’s first day in office. Most recently, the Justice Department reportedly cut $811 million in federal grants.

Related: Tracking DOGE-led Government Cuts and Firings | AllSides

Capital Gains

Economy and Taxes

During his campaign: President Donald Trump expressed intentions to reduce the tax rate on capital gains to 15% if elected. The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) of 2017, passed under Trump’s first administration, meant long-term capital gains and qualified dividends rate brackets were tied to ordinary-income rate brackets. It will expire in 2025.

What Project 2025 said: "Capital gains and qualified dividends would be indexed for inflation and taxed at 15%."

Since election day: Trump said in July that he is considering ending capital gains taxes on home sales, but no significant changes have been made.

Corporate Taxes

Economy and Taxes

During his campaign: Trump said he would decrease the corporate tax rate to 20% if elected.

What Project 2025 said: “The corporate tax rate would be reduced from 21% to 18%. Capital expenditures would be written off in the first year."

Since election day: 

• Trump’s “Big, Beautiful Bill” contributed to “an overall $65 billion decline in corporate tax revenues after its passage,” according to a Gurufocus report published in late March.
• “The permanent extension of the 20% Qualified Business Income deduction is delivering $4,600 in average relief to eight million entrepreneurs,” according to the White House in late March.
• Corporate bankruptcies hit a 15-year high in 2025.
• The US Treasury Department has reportedly been granting quiet corporate tax breaks for big businesses.
• The Treasury Department and Internal Revenue Service (IRS) reportedly withdrew the 15% corporate alternative minimum tax on paper profits and losses on digital assets.
• Trump was reportedly considering a proposal that would raise the corporate tax rate to offset other tax cuts.
• In late April 2025, he proposed corporate tax cuts within his "big, beautiful bill," with a deadline of July 4th. The bill passed on July 4th, reducing the corporate tax rate from 35% to 21%. Read more about how the bill will impact your taxes.

Income Taxes

Economy and Taxes

During his campaign: President Donald Trump stated that he would eliminate federal taxes on tips for service workers if elected. He also proposed an end to taxes on overtime.

What Project 2025 said: 

• “The Treasury should work with Congress to simplify the tax code by enacting a simple two-rate individual tax system of 15 percent and 30 percent that eliminates most deductions, credits and exclusions.”
• Calls for eventually "eliminating individual and corporate income taxes in favor of a consumption tax."

Since election day:

• Trump “made permanent the reduced income tax rates implemented under the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA)” and the “extension of the 20% Qualified Business Income deduction,” according to the White House in March and April.
• The White House announced the “biggest tax refund season ever” in late January, with provisions to the Working Families Tax Cuts Act promising to eliminate taxes on tips, overtime, and Social Security.
• A Council of Economic Advisers report in late January detailed “many disadvantages of income taxation over other forms of taxation” and pointed to “benefits to each state of replacing state income taxes with a broadened state sales tax.”
• Trump floated the idea of effectively eliminating income taxes in early December, saying 2026 is expected to be the “largest tax refund season ever.”
• Trump reiterated his pledge to implement “no tax on tips” in Jan. 2025. In May, the Senate passed a bill that would grant a federal tax deduction of up to $25,000 a year on cash tips, but it would not eliminate taxes on tips.
• His “big, beautiful bill” is set to increase the state and local tax (SALT) deductions for families making less than $400,000 per year. The bill in total proposes about $3.7 trillion in tax cuts. Read more about how the bill will impact your taxes.
• Trump said in late April 2025, "I think the tariffs will be enough to cut all of the income tax."
• He has floated the idea of broad income tax cuts to offset the impact of tariffs.

Tax Credits

Economy and Taxes

During his campaign: Trump promised to make permanent the expiring provisions of the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) and further cut taxes for corporations, small businesses, and workers.

What Project 2025 said: “Most deductions, credits and exclusions would be repealed, with deductions for state and local taxes and educational expenses being among those targeted.”

Since election day:

• “Over 34 million families have claimed the enhanced Child Tax Credit, which is permanently doubled and expanded by the Working Families Tax Cuts,” according to the White House in April.
• Trump touted his “Big Beautiful Bill’s” tax credits of up to $10,000 per year on loan interest for certain American-made cars, during his State of the Union address in February.
• The White House announced in late January: “As tax season kicks off, millions of Americans are poised to receive significantly larger tax refunds thanks to President Donald J. Trump’s landmark Working Families Tax Cuts Act – which every Democrat in Congress opposed. The historic legislation is delivering the biggest tax refund season ever, with average refunds projected to rise by $1,000 or more this year due to its transformative policies.”
• The US Treasury Department is set to enforce tax credit eligibility impediments on unauthorized immigrants and some other noncitizens.
• ACA premiums - if continued - are reportedly expected to rise 26% in 2026. As part of the deal to reopen the government on Nov. 12, Congress agreed to vote on ACA tax credits in the second week of December.
• Trump's "big, beautiful bill" is set to:
  • extend the TCJA
  • expand the low-income housing tax credit and increase tax breaks through the raised State and Local Tax (SALT) deduction
  • end tax credits for electric vehicles after Sept. 30. Read more about how the bill will impact your taxes.
• Many tax credits are currently in flux in Congress, with some receiving bipartisan support.

Electric Vehicles

Energy and Environment

During his campaign: In 2024, Trump said, “We want people to buy electric cars. But you know what? They have to be able to - if they want gasoline-powered, if they want hybrids - they got to have that. So we’re going to be ending that. We’re going to be ending a lot of the environmental things that were ridiculous, that hurt our country very badly and didn’t do anything for the environment. So we’ll be doing, you know, standard things.”

What Project 2025 said: Calls to rebuke "the electric vehicle mandate,” with the stated goal to “preserve our automotive industry and uphold a commitment to our dedicated American auto workers. In simpler terms, you will have the freedom to purchase the vehicle of your preference."

Since election day: 

• The Trump administration filed a lawsuit against California officials in March over its pollution standards to regulate gas vehicles.
• Trump touted his “Big Beautiful Bill’s” tax credits of up to $10,000 per year on loan interest for certain American-made cars, during his State of the Union address in February.
• Trump announced plans in early December to repeal Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standards.
• Trump's "One, Big, Beautiful Bill Act" is set to end tax credits for electric vehicles (EVs) after Sept. 30; however, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) reportedly began providing some leeway for potential EV users.
• A federal judge ordered Trump to reinstate 14 states' electric vehicle infrastructure funding in late June, after his administration froze about $2.75 billion.
• The US Senate blocked California's EV mandate in May, prompting a state-led lawsuit.
• The White House’s budget proposed $15 billion in funding cuts for renewable energy technology and $5.7 billion in funding cuts for electric vehicle grants.
• On his first day in office, Trump signed an executive order (“Unleashing American Energy”) eliminating the Biden administration’s non-binding target that 50% of new vehicles sold by 2030 be electric.
• Trump’s administration has paused federal funding for EV charging infrastructure and signaled intentions to eliminate or reduce federal tax credits for EV purchases and production. Fully removing them requires an act of Congress.

Drilling, Fracking, Pollution and Carbon Emissions

Energy and Environment

During his campaign: 

• Trump used the slogan “drill, baby, drill,” promising to end what he called the “war on American energy” and rapidly increase domestic oil and gas production, including both drilling and fracking.
• Trump pledged to increase drilling and fracking on federal lands, streamline permitting processes, and reduce regulatory hurdles that he argued were holding back energy production.
• He specifically promised to reverse restrictions imposed during the Biden administration and open up more federal lands and offshore areas for exploration and extraction.

What Project 2025 said:  "The new Administration must immediately roll back Biden’s orders, reinstate the Trump-era Energy Dominance Agenda, rescind Secretarial Order (SO) 3398, and review all regulations, orders, guidance documents, policies, and similar agency actions made in compliance with that order."

Since election day: 

• Trump threatened to strike Iranian power plants in March if the country doesn’t fully open the Strait of Hormuz.
• The US lifted sanctions on 140 million barrels of Iranian oil until April 19.
• The Trump administration reportedly plans to expand drilling operations in Venezuela.
• Trump reportedly intends to expedite the use of CE Works, “a technology platform that digitizes the environmental review process.”
• The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) proposed the deregulation of ethylene oxide, a gas that can cause cancer but is used to sterilize 50 percent of US medical devices, in March. The EPA said it’s “focused on taking actions that will save lives and protect Americans from unnecessary EtO exposure.”
• The Trump administration authorized offshore drilling operations off California’s coast in March, despite the state’s opposing policies. It also filed a lawsuit against state officials over pollution standards to regulate gas vehicles.
• The Trump administration redirected $1 billion of Biden-era wind energy funds to oil and gas operations in March.
• The Trump administration rescinded the EPA's "endangerment finding" that said greenhouse gases threaten public health in February.
  • Multiple state and local officials, led by Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-CA), filed a joint lawsuit against the administration in response.
• An executive order that Trump signed in February “directs the Secretary of War, in coordination with the Secretary of Energy, to approve long-term Power Purchase Agreements or similar contracts with coal-fired energy production facilities to serve Department of War installations and other mission-critical facilities.”
• Trump signed an executive order to “protect domestic production of elemental phosphorus and glyphosate-based herbicides” in February.
• Federal officials will expedite reconstruction in Los Angeles after major wildfires, according to an executive order that Trump signed in January.
• The Trump administration reportedly reannounced plans – which were previously blocked after an announcement in 2019 – to expand drilling and fracking projects across one million acres of public lands and mineral rights in California.
• Global and US carbon emissions reportedly reached record highs in 2025.
• The Interior Department announced that oil and gas drilling permit approval on public lands increased roughly 55% in 2025.
• The EPA plans to “stop tallying gains from the health benefits caused by curbing two of the most widespread deadly air pollutants,” according to The New York Times (Lean Left). The agency announced it will no longer assign a dollar value to certain health benefits from reducing fine particulate matter and ozone, citing uncertainty with data.
• Venezuela’s interim government is set to send and relinquish control of 30 to 50 million barrels of oil to the US. 
• Trump suggested in January that the US may reimburse oil companies that help renovate Venezuela's oil infrastructure.
• The Trump administration moved to pull the US from the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) treaty in January.
• Trump vetoed a bipartisan bill that aimed to lower taxpayer costs for a clean water project in Colorado, in late December.
• The Interior Department paused leases for five large-scale offshore wind projects in December, citing national security concerns.
• The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) removed references to humans causing climate change on its website in December, citing various natural causes instead.
• The Interior Department announced plans to expand offshore oil and gas drilling across roughly 1.3 billion acres, in December.
• Trump proposed to deregulate vehicle mileage rules for the auto industry’s gas vehicles.
• Trump announced plans in early December to repeal Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standards.
• The EPA began efforts to loosen restrictions on soot pollution limits in late November.
• The Trump administration reportedly plans to enact drilling operations off the coasts of California and Florida.
• The EPA is proposing deregulatory measures on companies’ use of “forever chemicals” (PFAs).
• The EPA reportedly has plans to reverse pollution-reduction requirements that were signed by Trump during his first presidential term.
• A vote to approve carbon-cutting through global pricing reform was reportedly delayed until 2026, after Trump threatened sanctions against UN countries that may support the measure.
• The Bureau of Land Management approved about 475 drilling permits for public lands in October, despite the government shutdown.
• The US Energy Department is reportedly urging the European Union (EU) to end the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive that regulates corporate greenhouse gas emissions, citing finances.
• Trump ordered the construction of a 211-mile road in Alaska for mineral mining in early October.
• The Energy Department canceled $7.56 billion in clean energy funding, eliminating over 200 clean-energy projects viewed as not economically viable or necessary.
• Trump called climate change “the greatest con job ever perpetrated on the world in my opinion,” in late September. He said, “All of these predictions made by the United Nations and many others, often for bad reasons, were wrong. They were made by stupid people that have cost their countries fortunes and given those same countries no chance for success… If you don’t get away from this green scam, your country is going to fail.”
• Caturus Energy and Nabors Industries are set to deploy the “most powerful onshore drilling rig in the US,” according to a September report.
• The Trump administration ended the Greenhouse Gas Reporting Program in September that required over 8,000 facilities to report their pollution levels.
• Congressional Republicans are moving to lift Biden-era development restrictions on mining and drilling in Western public lands, furthering Trump’s environmental agenda.
• A federal court permitted the Trump administration to rescind $16 billion in Biden-era climate grants, in September.
• The Treasury Department further enforced the phase-out of wind and solar subsidies, reportedly adding restrictions on construction projects in late August. The Trump administration is now set to cancel $679 million in federal funding to the offshore wind industry.
• The Interior Department announced a plan in August to auction 30 oil drilling rights over 15 years.
• The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is reportedly cutting back on satellites that measure weather and climate.
• The Trump administration’s fiscal 2026 budget cuts funding for Orbiting Carbon Observatories, which tracks carbon dioxide emissions.
• National Climate Assessment (NCA) reports were removed from government websites in early August and are under review.
• The Trump administration announced a plan in late July to revoke the “Endangerment Finding” documents that say greenhouse gases are environmentally harmful and helped establish climate change policies under former President Barack Obama.
• The US Interior Department announced in late July that it will revoke three Biden-era documents that established limits to oil drilling in an Alaska reserve.
• The Trump administration announced plans in July to increase logging on 58 million acres of national forests for construction, timber production, and potential forest fire management.
• Trump approved a $14.1 billion merger between US Steel and Japan's Nippon Steel in June.
• The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) proposed, in June, to deregulate a Biden-era policy that limited air and carbon pollution from fossil fuel power plants.
• Trump's "big, beautiful bill" outlined plans to enhance leasing of public lands for drilling, logging and mining.
• On his first day back in office, Trump signed an executive order to begin the process of again withdrawing the U.S. from the Paris Agreement.
• Trump has signed multiple executive orders to dismantle Biden-era climate rules, including:
  • Pausing or rescinding EPA greenhouse gas and methane emissions standards for power plants and oil/gas operations.
  • Directing agencies to halt enforcement of stricter vehicle emissions standards and to review regulations that support clean energy or restrict fossil fuels.
  • Expanding drilling, mining, and timber production on federal lands.
• Trump has similarly pushed states to remove these kinds of rules.
• Offshore oil drilling is set to increase in the Gulf of America by 100,000 barrels per day, after Trump signed a series of energy-related executive orders in Jan. 2025. Drilling efficiency should boost output by about 10%, according to Interior Secretary Doug Burgum.

Affordable Care Act

Health

During his campaign: President Donald Trump stated, in 2023, that he would look for “alternatives” to the Affordable Care Act (ACA), reviving his past promise to repeal it; however, his campaign, in August, pointed to reformation plans.

What Project 2025 said: Calls to significantly cut Affordable Care Act provisions.

Since election day:

• The White House announced “The Great Healthcare Plan” in January, as a potential replacement for the ACA. The plan would require Congressional approval.
• The White House said in January that Trump’s “Working Families Tax Cuts Act” “expanded access to health savings accounts for up to ten million people on Obamacare and took the most significant actions to reduce healthcare fraud and abuse in history.”
• Congress members continued to argue over ACA subsidies as the government shutdown entered its sixth week. As part of the deal to reopen the government on Nov. 12, Congress agreed to vote on ACA tax credits in the second week of December. The House later refused to vote.
• Trump's "big, beautiful bill" is set to end automatic enrollment of ACA plans, though ACA premiums are reportedly expected to rise 26% in 2026 if continued. Trump said in early November that he “won’t be extorted” by Democratic lawmakers – who want to extend the premiums – to end the government shutdown.
• Baltimore, Maryland; Chicago, Illinois; and Columbus, Ohio are confronting the Trump administration over tightened ACA enrollment requirements imposed by Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
• Congressional Republicans are reportedly considering rolling back ACA expansions and funding.
• Trump signed two executive orders in Jan. 2025 pertaining to the ACA that changed enrollment deadlines and eligibility. 

Medicare and Medicaid

Health

During his campaign: 

• President Donald Trump said in May 2024 that he “will never do anything that will jeopardize or hurt Social Security or Medicare” if elected.
• Trump said he is against “Medicare for All” because it would reduce citizens’ ability to choose their health insurance and monopolize other plans.
• Trump “will always protect Medicare, Social Security, and patients with pre-existing conditions” if elected, according to his 2024 campaign website.

What Project 2025 said:

• “Make Medicare Advantage the default enrollment option.”
• “Give beneficiaries direct control of how they spend Medicare dollars.”
• “Remove burdensome policies that micromanage MA [Medicare Advantage] plans.”

Since election day:

• The Trump administration gave New York Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) one month to submit a “reasonable corrective action plan” for the state’s inflated Medicaid spending, in early March.
• The Trump administration “withheld $259 million in Medicaid funding to Minnesota” in February, due to the state’s widespread fraud.
• Trump announced that his administration would cut federal funding to health insurance companies in February, during his State of the Union address.
• The Trump administration announced a $50 billion rural healthcare funding program in late December, 50% of which will be allocated by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS).
• A federal judge, appointed by former President Barack Obama, ruled in late December that the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) can share some Medicaid data with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
• Trump announced deals with nine major pharmaceutical companies in December to cut both Medicaid and cash prices for various drugs.
• CMS revised Medicaid eligibility requirements in December to require at least 80 hours of monthly work or volunteering.
• The Trump administration announced in late November that pharmaceutical companies agreed to lower Medicare costs for 15 prescription drugs.
• Trump struck a deal with pharmaceutical companies Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk in early November to lower prices of their respective weight loss drugs Zepbound and Wegovy, expanding Medicare and Medicaid coverage and utilizing the impending “TrumpRx” website.
• Pfizer made a deal with the US in early October that would reduce prices of certain drugs (specifically for Medicaid) to “Most Favored Nation” levels.
• The Trump administration launched spending probes in various Democratic-led states that provide healthcare coverage to unauthorized immigrants, in September.
• Trump reportedly held up a planned change to Medicare policies after receiving a donation from a health company in March 2025.
• Trump's "big, beautiful bill" is set to charge certain Medicaid enrollees up to $35 for some services.
• The Senate Finance Committee released its version of Trump's "big, beautiful bill" in June, which is reportedly set to cut hundreds of billions in Medicaid spending. The bill was passed on July 4th.
• The CMS announced in May that it would be conducting audits to recover overpayments to Medicare Advantage plans for the first time since 2007.
• House Republicans released a plan in May to cut Medicaid spending and add parameters for eligibility. Later that month, Trump said, "The only thing we’re cutting is waste, fraud, and abuse."
• Trump reportedly plans to announce cuts to Medicare drug prices in May.
• An executive order Trump signed on his inauguration day sought to reverse a handful of Biden-era policies on Medicare, in “the first of many steps the United States federal government will take to repair our institutions and our economy,” according to Trump.

Medication

Health

During his campaign: Trump would “further reduce the cost of prescription drugs and health insurance premiums” if elected, according to his 2024 campaign website.

What Project 2025 said: Project 2025 explicitly calls for ending Medicare’s ability to negotiate lower prescription drug prices, a provision established by the Inflation Reduction Act.

Since election day: 

• Trump officially launched the TrumpRx website in early February, to “give Americans direct access to dramatically lower prices on dozens of common, high-cost brand-name prescription drugs.”
• The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) released updated dietary guidelines in January, focused on food as preventative medicine.
• The White House announced “The Great Healthcare Plan” in January, as a potential replacement for the ACA. The plan would require Congressional approval.
• Trump reclassified marijuana “from a Schedule I to a Schedule III controlled substance with legitimate medical uses,” via an executive order in December. He also directed various health departments to impose measures to “allow Americans to benefit from access to appropriate full-spectrum CBD products while preserving the Congress’s intent to restrict the sale of products that pose serious health risks.”
• Trump announced deals with nine major pharmaceutical companies in December to cut both Medicaid and cash prices for various drugs.
• The UK agreed in early December to pay about 25% more for US pharmaceuticals in return for a three-year tariff exemption on its pharmaceutical exports to the US.
• The Trump administration announced in late November that pharmaceutical companies agreed to lower Medicare costs for 15 prescription drugs.
• Trump struck a deal with pharmaceutical companies Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk in early November to lower prices of their respective weight loss drugs Zepbound and Wegovy, expanding Medicare and Medicaid coverage and utilizing the impending “TrumpRx” website.
• The FDA announced in late October that it would begin accelerating the approval of biosimilars through deregulation.  
• Trump and EMD Serono announced a deal in mid-October to reduce the cost of in vitro fertilization (IVF) and expedite the fertility drug Pergoveris. Trump also announced a push for supplemental “fertility insurance” plans and discounted IVF medications on “TrumpRx.”
• Trump announced a deal with AstraZeneca in mid-October to “provide every State Medicaid program in the country access to MFN [most-favored-nation] drug prices on AstraZeneca products.”
• “The [Trump] administration is not actively discussing imposing Section 232 tariffs against generic pharmaceuticals,” according to a White House spokesperson.
• The White House announced the “TrumpRx” government website and a price reform deal with Pfizer on Oct. 1, both of which are aimed to start lowering drug prices in early 2026.
• Trump enacted a series of product tariffs – including 100% for some pharmaceuticals – in late September that are scheduled to take effect on October 1st.
• He signed a memorandum in September “to ensure transparency and accuracy in direct-to-consumer prescription drug advertising.”
• The Department of Justice (DOJ) expanded a probe into UnitedHealth Group’s prescription management, in late August.
• The US reportedly agreed to limit tariffs on various European Union (EU) imports, including pharmaceuticals, to 15% in August.
• After a failed attempt at cutting US prescription drug prices in May, Trump announced in late July that he gave dozens of Big Pharma companies 60 days to lower prescription drug costs. Big Pharma stocks have since fallen.
• Trump said in early July, “If they have to bring the pharmaceuticals into the country, the drugs and other things into the country, they’re going to be tariffed at a very, very high rate, like 200 percent."
• The FDA enforced a halt to the sale and production of off-brand GLP-1 drugs in May.
• Trump announced plans in May to cut US prescription drug prices by 30% to 80% via an executive order, setting a thirty-day deadline for drug companies. Prices have not since been cut. He also announced plans to impose new tariffs on imported pharmaceutical products.
• Trump signed an executive order in early May to deregulate domestic pharmaceutical manufacturing.
• He will reportedly be announcing pharmaceutical tariffs in mid-to-late May.
• Trump signed an executive order on Inauguration Day that reversed a Biden-era policy aimed at lowering prescription drug costs.
• In April 2025, he signed an executive order directing HHS to take steps to significantly lower prescription drug prices for Medicare beneficiaries.

Gender Transitions and Treatments

Health

During his campaign: President Donald Trump stood against “the promotion” of gender transitioning for people of all ages. 

What Project 2025 said: Project 2025 describes the “toxic normalization of transgenderism” and equates “transgender ideology” to pornography, stating it should be “outlawed.”

Since election day:

• The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) cancelled seven grants to the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), citing the organization’s use of “identity-based language” and other misalignments.
• The Trump administration proposed Medicaid and Medicare funding cuts to hospitals that provide transgender treatments to children, in December.
• A federal appeals court allowed the Trump administration to ban people who identify as transgender or have gender dysphoria from military service in December.
• The Trump administration’s new guidance for US diplomats reportedly calls for records of all “chemical or surgical mutilation[s] of children” and discriminatory affirmative action policies.
• The Justice Department is reportedly planning to request some confidential patient information related to gender transition treatments for children.
• The US Air Force reportedly denied early retirement for transgender soldiers who would have otherwise been removed from service, in alignment with the Pentagon’s Feb. 2025 decision to declare gender dysphoria a disqualifier for enlistees.
• Trump’s “Keeping Men Out of Women's Sports” executive order reportedly led US Olympic and Paralympic officials to ban transgender women from women’s competitions in July.
• The Trump administration launched probes into some hospitals and schools in late May for alleged violations of legislation that bars transition treatments on minors and transgender students from using facilities aligned with their chosen gender identities.
• In a Jan. 2025 executive order, Trump declared that the US government will only recognize two sexes, and he directed federal officials to stop promoting gender transition treatments. Another order later that month said the US would “not fund, sponsor, promote, assist, or support” both chemical and surgical transition treatments for children under 18. 

Opioid Crisis

Health

During his campaign: Trump pledged to:

• Crack down on fentanyl dealers, including proposing military strikes against drug cartels in Mexico.
• Reinforce security at the US-Mexico border to stop the flow of illicit drugs.
• Impose harsher penalties, including the death penalty, for drug traffickers.
• Expand law enforcement efforts to dismantle drug supply chains and prosecute corrupt actors in the pharmaceutical industry

What Project 2025 said: "We will develop bold policy choices, employ innovative and sophisticated technology, and create a skilled, recovery-ready workforce to combat this crisis and ensure the safety of all Americans."

Since election day: 

• The US and Ecuador launched joint military operations against alleged “narco-terrorists” in Ecuador in early March.
• The US helped Mexico kill its most-wanted drug lord in late February.
• US overdose deaths reportedly fell by 34% in 2025.
• The Trump administration terminated hundreds of federal grants focused on mental health, addiction, and homelessness in January. He later reversed the decision amid bipartisan criticism.
• The US captured Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro in January, charging him with narco-terrorism conspiracy and cocaine importation conspiracy.
• Twenty-nine senators accused the Trump administration of diverting efforts against drug trafficking toward immigration enforcement efforts, in a letter to the White House in January.
• Trump pardoned former Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernández in December for being treated “unfairly.” Hernández was convicted of conspiring to import “more than 400 tons of U.S.-bound cocaine through Honduras between 2004 and 2022.” 
  Trump designated illicit fentanyl and its core chemicals as a “weapon of mass destruction” in December, calling it “closer to a chemical weapon than a narcotic.”
• Trump reportedly authorized billions of dollars in federal funding for overdose prevention and addiction recovery, in early December.
• The Trump administration is reportedly considering deploying troops to Mexico to combat drug cartels.
• Trump agreed to reduce tariffs from 20% to 10% on fentanyl-related Chinese imports, after a meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping in late October.
• The US Military killed dozens of alleged “narco-terrorists” on drug-smuggling vessels in Eastern Pacific and Caribbean oceans from early September to late-October. Trump also announced, “The land is going to be next.”
• The FBI announced that it charged 33 alleged Weymouth Street Drug Trafficking Organization members in mid-October.
• Trump said the US is in a “non-international armed conflict” with drug cartels in early October.
• The FDA issued “safety labeling changes to all opioid pain medications to better emphasize and explain the risks associated with their long-term use” in late July.
• Trump signed the HALT Fentanyl Act into law in July, classifying fentanyl analogs as Schedule I drugs and establishing a 10-year mandatory minimum for traffickers.
• The Office of Management and Budget's (OMB) recommendations for cuts to the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) – which were released in April 2025 – include cuts to federally funded naloxone (Narcan). No moves based on the recommendations have since been made.
• Trump has taken steps to appoint officials focused on border security in an effort to stop illicit opioids from entering the US.

Abortion

Society

During his campaign: 

• Pointing to his Supreme Court nominees from 2016, President Donald Trump took credit for overturning Roe v. Wade. He repeatedly referenced this during his 2024 campaign.
• After leaving the White House, Trump said he would work with Democrats and Republicans to compromise on the number of weeks into pregnancies that abortion should be legal and determine whether policies on abortion should be passed by states or the federal government.
• He criticized a bill that Gov. Ron DeSantis (FL-R) signed into law that banned abortion after six weeks of pregnancy, stating, “I think what he did is a terrible thing and a terrible mistake.”
• Trump said he thinks it is likely better to allow states to pass abortion policies than to pass federal policy but said, “I can live with it either way. … It could be state or it could be federal. I don’t frankly care.”
• Trump announced plans to expand in vitro fertilization (IVF) access in August 2024, saying, "your government will pay for—or your insurance company will be mandated to pay for—all costs associated with IVF treatment."
• In April 2024, Trump said overturning Roe v. Wade “wasn't about abortion so much as bringing it back to the states”
• When a reporter asked Trump if he would sign a federal bill banning abortion after 15 weeks, Trump said: “I don't think there would be any reason for it because all the states are going to have their own [bills].” Trump said he has “never, and will never advocate imposing restrictions on birth control, or other contraceptives” in a post on Truth Social.
• Trump has also expressed support for exceptions to abortion bans in cases of rape, incest, and when the mother’s life is at risk.

What Project 2025 said:

• The plan calls for “reviv[ing] a 19th century law, the Comstock Act, to ban any abortion medications and materials preventing materials from being sent through the U.S. Postal Service”.
• It urges the FDA to “reverse its approval of mifepristone,” the first pill in the most common medication abortion regimen.
• It states that “conservatives at both the state and federal levels, including in the next conservative administration, should strive vigorously to protect the unborn in every jurisdiction across America”

Since election day: 

• First Lady Melania Trump promoted legislation “set to protect America’s foster care children” as part of her “Fostering the Future” initiative in April.
• The Justice Department (DOJ) published a report "detailing the Biden administration's weaponization of the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act" in April, resulting in four prosecutors' terminations.
• The National Institutes of Health (NIH) announced federal funding cuts to research and grants that use aborted fetal tissue in late January.
• The US withdrew from the World Health Organization (WHO) in late January, weeks after WHO announced a 29% fetal mortality rate in 2025 due to abortions and recommended expansions to "comprehensive abortion care." The US cited the organization's failure to "adopt meaningful reforms to address political influence" upon its withdrawal.
• The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) quietly released tens of millions in previously withheld Title X funds to Planned Parenthood and other abortion providers in December, amid a lawsuit from the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) that was later dropped. Trump said in January that he wasn’t aware of the release.
• Trump told pro-life lawmakers to “be a little flexible” on the Hyde Amendment, in January.
• The Trump administration’s new guidance for US diplomats reportedly calls for annual records of nations’ total estimated abortions and state subsidizations.
• Trump announced plans in mid-October to reduce the cost of in vitro fertilization (IVF), expedite the fertility drug Pergoveris, and push for supplemental “fertility insurance” plans. He claimed to be unaware of disapproval from the pro-life community.
• The Trump administration reportedly cut the majority of staffers at the Office of Population Affairs (OPA) through reduction-in-force (RIF) notices in mid-October. The office’s stated focus is “a wide range of reproductive and adolescent health topics, including teen pregnancy prevention, family planning, and sterilization, as well as other population issues.”
• The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved a general version of the abortion pill mifepristone in early October, for distribution and consumption in states where medication abortions are legal.
• HHS is reportedly reviewing the safety of mifepristone, an abortion-inducing drug.
• Planned Parenthood was set to be defunded for one year under Trump's "One, Big, Beautiful Bill." A federal judge blocked the motion in late July, but an appeals court allowed the defunding during legal deliberations in September.
• The Department of Veteran Affairs (VA) revoked a Biden-era policy in early August that funded veterans’ abortions. The VA deemed abortions not a necessary medical service and opposed their taxpayer funding.
• The Trump administration revoked a Biden-era policy in June that directed doctors to perform "emergency abortions."
• The administration was initially touting support for the FDA in its opposition to some restrictions on the abortion pill mifepristone. It argued that legislation should be up to states individually.
• Trump signed an executive order in Feb. 2025 to expand access to IVF.
• Trump reinstated the “Mexico City Policy” in Jan. 2025 to end the use of taxpayer funding for nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) that are part of the abortion industry.
• On Trump’s first day in office, reproductiverights.gov became inactive. That week, Trump pardoned 23 pro-life advocates who were arrested by Biden’s Justice Department for allegedly violating the FACE Act.
• Trump signed an executive order enforcing the Hyde Amendment, which prohibits the use of federal taxpayer dollars for elective abortions, with the exceptions of rape, incest and threats to mothers' lives.
• Trump sent out a video to participants of the annual March for Life in Jan. 2025, saying, “In my second term, we will again stand proudly for families and for life.”
• Trump reportedly considered a $5,000 “baby bonus” for women, amidst a birth rate decline in the US. In June, he announced an investment of $1,000 in every American newborn.

Social Security

Society

During his campaign: Trump said in a Feb. 2024 interview with Fox News (Right bias), "Social Security will remain intact, except in cases of fraud or similar issues. It will be fortified, but it will not be diminished." He has doubled down on the claim numerous times since, and promised "no tax on Social Security benefits for our seniors."

What Project 2025 said: It has not called for cutting Social Security.

Since election day: 

• The Trump administration’s Fiscal 2027 Budget does not propose any Social Security cuts.
• On Tax Day, Trump touted “new and enhanced provisions” that include no taxes on Social Security and an increase in the standard deduction.
• The White House announced the “biggest tax refund season ever” in late January, with provisions to the Working Families Tax Cuts Act promising to eliminate taxes on tips, overtime, and Social Security.
• The Administration for Children and Families (ACF) reportedly sent letters to 39 governors across the US in December, in an effort to block state welfare agencies from holding Social Security survivor benefits from foster children.
• On Social Security’s 90th anniversary in August, the White House marked improvements in customer service, technology, backlog reduction, and accountability.
• Trump has called for ending taxation on Social Security benefits. He has also called for measures to reduce fraud, such as enhanced ID verification and ending paper checks.
• House Republicans have proposed a $4,000 tax deduction for seniors, but not a complete elimination of Social Security taxes.
• There have been no cuts to benefits or changes to the retirement age.

Ukraine Conflict

Foreign Policy

During his campaign: President Donald Trump said multiple times he could quickly end the conflict if elected. He called for a ceasefire and decreased involvement in the conflict to focus on domestic issues. While meeting with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, he allegedly stated he would “not give a single penny” for the conflict. 

What Project 2025 said:

• “With respect to Ukraine, continued U.S. involvement must be fully paid for; limited to military aid (while European allies address Ukraine’s economic needs); and have a clearly defined national security strategy that does not risk American lives.”
• “Regardless of viewpoints, all sides agree that Putin’s invasion of Ukraine is unjust and that the Ukrainian people have a right to defend their homeland. The conflict has severely weakened Putin’s military strength and provided a boost to NATO unity and its importance to European nations.”

Since election day:

• Russia and Ukraine confirmed a ceasefire from May 9 to May 11, which Trump said was per his request.
• Trump said he “suggested a little bit of a ceasefire” with Russian President Vladimir Putin in late April, which could happen “relatively quickly.” “He told me he’d like to be involved with the enrichment [of Iran] if he can help us get it,” Trump said. “I said, I’d much rather have you be involved with ending the war with Ukraine.”
• First Lady Melania Trump has facilitated multiple family reunifications for Ukrainian minors displaced during the war.
• Ukrainian and Russian officials reportedly had a “productive” day of ceasefire talks in February, after Russia attacked Ukraine’s power grid.
• Trump invited both Ukraine and Russia to join his new “Board of Peace.” Neither country accepted or denied as of late January.
• Russian President Vladimir Putin reportedly agreed to Trump’s late January request to hold a week-long ceasefire with Ukraine amid severe cold.
• The US reportedly told Ukraine in late January that security guarantees from the US would require the country to sign a peace deal with Russia.
• Trump reportedly said in January, “I think Ukraine is less ready to make a [peace] deal,” and blamed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky for the delay.
• Trump offered Zelensky a 15-year security guarantee in late December.
• Ukraine preliminarily agreed to sign Trump's peace deal amid pressure from the US in late November. Russia has not agreed.
• Trump proposed a 28-point peace plan, aimed at ending the Russia-Ukraine War, reportedly giving Ukraine a deadline of Thanksgiving to sign it.
• Trump said “[he and Chinese President Xi Jinping are] going to work together on Ukraine,” after a meeting in late October.
• Trump announced in late October that the Defense Department would begin “immediately” testing nuclear weapons to remain militarily ahead of Russia and China.
• Trump cancelled a meeting with Putin and announced sanctions on Russia’s largest oil companies after Russia furthered its strikes in Ukraine in mid-October.
• “I think Ukraine, with the support of the European Union [particularly NATO], is in a position to fight and WIN all of Ukraine back in its original form… Why not?” Trump said in late September, marking a shift in his prior stances.
• In response to Russia’s continued attacks on Ukraine, Trump threatened to increase and expand sanctions in September.
• Trump and Putin met in August to discuss a potential endpoint to the Russia-Ukraine conflict. Trump then met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who said he was “ready” to meet trilaterally with both Trump and Putin.
• Trump announced plans to reclaim Ukrainian territory under Russian control, ahead of his August 15th meeting with Putin.
• Putin reportedly proposed a deal to President Donald Trump in early August that would end the Russia-Ukraine conflict if reached. Zelenskyy rejected the deal the next day.
• In July, Trump threatened Russia with tariffs of 100% if a Russia-Ukraine peace agreement is not reached within 50 days. The Russian government called the threat “unacceptable” and escalated attacks on Ukraine. Later that month, Trump shortened the deadline to 10-12 remaining days and positioned nuclear submarines near Russia. 
• Trump announced in early July that the US will resume weapons shipments to Ukraine, after some shipments were halted a week earlier. He later announced a plan for NATO allies to purchase US weapons to send to Ukraine.
• Zelenskyy met with Trump during the NATO summit in late June. Trump asserted that NATO's agreement to increase defense spending "will help prevent future disasters like the horrible situation with Russia and Ukraine."
• Trump said in June, ahead of the G7 summit, that ousting Russia from G7 (formerly G8) "was a big mistake."
• Trump and Putin reportedly agreed to a prisoner exchange in late May, though details have not been disclosed.
• Trump announced that permanent ceasefire negotiations would begin between Russia and Ukraine, after speaking with Putin in May.
• He urged Putin to cease attacks on Ukraine while pushing Zelenskyy to end the war and potentially cede Crimea.
• As for funding, Trump has not committed new aid to Ukraine and floated the idea of pulling the plug on previous aid commitments. 

Israel-Hamas Conflict

Foreign Policy

During his campaign: 

• President Donald Trump initially criticized Israeli leaders for purported intelligence failures after Hamas’ attack on Oct. 7, 2023, but pledged to “fully support” Israel.
• He disapproved of the White House’s dealings on hostages during Joe Biden’s presidency, pointing out that American hostages were slow to be returned.
• Trump has said he would reject refugees from Gaza from entering the US.
• He also declared that Israel must “finish the problem” against Hamas and avoided an explicit position on a ceasefire when asked about it.
• He reportedly spoke with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu about ending the conflict quickly and stopping the killings.

What Project 2025 said: “Sustain support for Israel even as America empowers Gulf partners to take responsibility for their own coastal, air, and missile defenses both individually and working collectively.”

Since election day: 

• Trump “prohibited” Israel from continuing to bomb Lebanon in April. “The USA will, separately, work with Lebanon, and deal with the Hezbollah situation in an appropriate manner,” he declared on Truth Social. Israel nonetheless launched new strikes on Lebanon in May.
• The US, Israel, and Iran reportedly agreed to a conditional two-week ceasefire in April. However, Israel continued strikes on Lebanon, where Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said was not included in the ceasefire agreement.
• The US and Israel reportedly disagreed over Israeli strikes on Iranian fuel depots in early March, despite US threats to strike Iranian power plants.
• The Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry said strikes in February killed at least 24 Palestinians, including two babies. Israel said the strikes were in response to Hamas violating the ceasefire agreement on January 30. Israel Defense Forces (IDF) also claimed Hamas misused ambulances, hospitals, and schools to regain control of the northern Gaza Strip.
• The Rafah crossing partially reopened in February.
• Trump indicated that Hamas may disarm from its war with Israel in late January, after over two years of active conflict.
• Trump expanded his "Board of Peace" in January, which he announced in September as part of his ceasefire plan for the Israel-Hamas conflict in Gaza. The Board both established “a newly appointed Palestinian Technocratic Government” and invited Israel as a member state. Israel reportedly agreed to join.
• Trump also announced the formation of the National Committee for the Administration of Gaza (NCAG) as part of his peace plan for Gaza.
• Israel announced that it would reopen the Rafah Crossing in late January, in line with Trump’s peace plan.
• Trump confirmed the second phase of his Gaza peace plan in January, saying, “As Chairman of the Board of Peace, I am backing a newly appointed Palestinian Technocratic Government, the National Committee for the Administration of Gaza, supported by the Board's High Representative, to govern Gaza during its transition.”
• Trump called for Netanyahu’s pardon, in a letter to Israeli President Isaac Herzog that was released in November.
• Trump announced he would add Kazakhstan to the Abraham Accords in early November.
• Hamas reportedly released all living and deceased Israeli hostages amid a ceasefire in October.
• Trump said in mid-October that Israel “would lose all of its support from the United States” if it annexed the West Bank.
• Trump and Netanyahu reportedly agreed on a peace proposal to potentially end the war in Gaza, in late September.
• The Trump administration reportedly presented a “21-point plan for peace in the Middle East” in late September.
• Trump asserted in early September, “The Israelis have accepted my Terms. It is time for Hamas to accept as well. I have warned Hamas about the consequences of not accepting. This is my last warning, there will not be another one!”
• Trump has reportedly distanced himself from direct involvement in the Israel-Hamas conflict.
• The UN opposed Israel’s plan to take over Gaza City and said it “must be immediately halted” in early August.
• Trump announced aid plans for Gaza in late July, saying, “We have to help on a humanitarian basis before we do anything. We have to get the kids fed.”
• He announced in early July that Israel agreed to a 60-day ceasefire, and he urged Hamas to do the same.
• US involvement in Israel's strikes on Iran in June is unknown to the public, since Trump made unclear statements.
• Trump announced on May 30, "They’re very close to an agreement on Gaza... We’ll let you know about it during the day or maybe tomorrow." No agreement was reportedly made.
• Israeli-American hostage Edan Alexander was released from Hamas in May. Trump referred to the release as "great news."
• Trump suggested the U.S. would clean up and redevelop Gaza, which he described as a “hellhole,” after Palestinians are resettled elsewhere. He said the U.S. could turn Gaza into the “Riviera of the Middle East,” where the “world’s people,” including Palestinians, would live.
• Trump has said Palestinians may not have the right to return to Gaza, while expressing humanitarian concerns about those who live there currently.
• Trump most recently opposed Israel’s proposed strikes on Iran.
• He reportedly told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on April 25, 2025, “We’ve got to be good to Gaza.”

Defense Spending

Foreign Policy

During his campaign: 

• Trump supported defense budgets upwards of $700B and increasing the military-industrial base. 

What Project 2025 said: 

• "Increase the Army budget to remain the world’s preeminent land power."
• "Expand and modernize the U.S. nuclear force so that it has the size, sophistication, and tailoring to deter Russia and China simultaneously."
• "Increase the Air Force budget by 5 percent annually (after adjusting for inflation) to reverse the decline in size, age, and readiness and facilitate the transition to a more modern, lethal, and survivable force."

Since election day: 

• Congress passed a bill to fund most Homeland Security (DHS) agencies on April 30, ending a 76-day lapse.
  • DHS funding fell into limbo on Feb. 13, after Congress failed to agree on a resolution. Trump ordered DHS to “immediately pay our TSA Agents in order to address this Emergency Situation” in late March. 
• Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth defended the government’s funding of the Iran War in late April, claiming the cost was worth ensuring that Iran does not possess a nuclear weapon.
• The first six days of the Iran War reportedly cost the US roughly $11.3 billion, during which the US enacted multiple strikes, allegedly including one on an Iranian school that left at least 175 dead. 
• Trump launched an executive order in early February, “Establishing an America First Arms Transfer Strategy,” which outlines plans to “increase production and build production capacity for weapons and platforms” and “use foreign purchases and capital to support domestic reindustrialization.”
• Trump remained steadfast in his aim to acquire Greenland for the US, during a speech at the World Economic Forum in January.
• The Department of Energy secretly imposed several deregulatory measures on nuclear safety directives in the fall and winter, according to an NPR (Lean Left bias) exclusive report.
• Trump announced that the US sent “a massive armada” to Iran in late January and threatened to attack the country if it does not reach a “fair and equitable deal” with the US.
• Trump said in January that he was weighing military options in Iran amid persistent violence in the nation. However, he later said his administration had it on “good authority” that “there’s no plan for executions.”
• Trump signed an executive order in January to “stop defense contractors from putting stock buybacks and excessive corporate distributions ahead of production capacity, innovation, and on-time delivery for America’s military.”
• Trump asked Congress for a $500 billion defense spending increase for 2027, which would bring the Pentagon’s budget to $1.5 trillion.
• Congress passed a $900 billion defense spending package in December. 
• Trump announced plans for a “golden fleet” of naval battleships in December, each of which would be “the largest battleship in the history of the world ever built.”
• The Trump administration is reportedly considering deploying troops to Mexico to combat drug cartels.
• Trump directed the Defense Department in early November to prepare for military action in Nigeria, to combat alleged terrorism against Christians.
• The Pentagon reportedly ordered a 23,500-member quick reaction force (QRF) of the National Guard in early November, to combat domestic crimes.
• Trump announced in late October that the Defense Department would begin “immediately” testing nuclear weapons to remain militarily ahead of Russia and China.
• The Defense Department reportedly accepted an anonymous donation of $130 million to financially support military service members during the government shutdown.
• The US agreed to strengthen the AUKUS defense deal with Australia and the United Kingdom in mid-October. The US also announced plans to sell up to five nuclear submarines to Australia as early as 2032.
• Trump ordered the Pentagon to pay military troops during the government shutdown using fiscal year 2026 funds.
• The US government shut down at midnight on Oct. 1, delaying military and civilian officers’ payments while they continue their duties.
• The Supreme Court allowed the Trump administration to withhold an allotted $4 billion in funding in late September, which would have otherwise had to be spent by the end of the government’s fiscal year.
• The Trump administration moved to seek an additional $58 million from Congress to protect the executive and judicial branches, after the assassination of Charlie Kirk in September.
• Trump issued an executive order in September to establish “Department of War” as an additional title of the Department of Defense.
• The US House approved an $832 billion defense spending bill in July. The Senate Appropriations Committee reportedly approved a bipartisan $852 billion plan later that month.
• Trump announced in early July that the US will resume weapons shipments to Ukraine, after some shipments were halted a week earlier. He later announced a plan for NATO allies to purchase US weapons to send to Ukraine.
• NATO’s 32 member countries agreed in late June to increase their defense spending targets from 2% of each member’s gross domestic product (GDP) to 5% within the next decade, after encouragement from Trump. The allies have reportedly since met the target.
• Trump's "big, beautiful bill" is set to allot funds to hire an additional 3,000 border patrol officers. It would also use $50 billion to increase security across the US-Mexico border with fencing, impose a fee on asylum-seekers, and allot $25 billion for Trump’s "Golden Dome for America."
  • Trump announced plans in May for the “Golden Dome” missile defense shield, which he predicted would cost $175 billion.
• Trump said the US could see an annual defense budget of over $1 trillion. “We have to build our military, and we’re very cost conscious, but the military is something that we have to build, and we have to be strong, because you got a lot of bad forces out there now,” he said.
• Hegseth cut $5.1 billion in “wasteful Defense Department contracts” in April 2025, and has called for cuts of up to 8% in the Pentagon budget for each of the next five years.

Intergovernmental Organizations (IGOs)

Foreign Policy

During his campaign: Trump criticized NATO, and the WHO, and pledged to re-withdraw from the Paris Agreement, an action he took during his first presidency. Trump reportedly told a NATO leader that the US would not defend them if they were attacked and delinquent on NATO dues, discussing the potential for a two-tiered NATO alliance.

What Project 2025 said: “The United States should withdraw from any international organization or agreement that undermines U.S. sovereignty, including the United Nations and its agencies, the World Health Organization (WHO), and the Paris Agreement.”

Since election day:

• Trump gave the European Union (EU) until July 4 to fulfill its trade deal with the US, in exchange for complete tariff exemptions.
• Trump said, "NATO wasn’t there when we needed them, and they won’t be there if we need them again,” after meeting with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte on the Iran War in April.
• Trump suggested he may withdraw the US from NATO in early April, saying, “I always knew they were a paper tiger.”
• Trump’s "Board of Peace," initially announced in September, expanded in January to invite dozens of member states and establish “a newly appointed Palestinian Technocratic Government.”
• The US officially withdrew from the World Health Organization (WHO) due to “[failures to] adopt meaningful reforms to address political influence.”
• Trump signed a memorandum to withdraw the US from 66 international organizations that “no longer serve American interests,” in January.
• Trump said in January, “We will always be there for NATO, even if they won't be there for us.”
• The Trump administration moved to pull the US from the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) treaty in January.
• The US pledged $2 billion in humanitarian aid to the United Nations (UN) in late December. It remains the largest US donor, though the pledge is a significant decrease from that of previous years.
• The Trump administration stated in December that “it is more than plausible that within a few decades at the latest, certain NATO members will become majority non-European.”
• Trump’s 28-point peace proposal, aimed at ending the Russia-Ukraine War, reportedly calls for an end to NATO expansion.
• Trump criticized the UN in late September, suggesting that it was ignoring and exaggerating global problems. He furthermore said, “All of these predictions made by the United Nations and many others [about climate change], often for bad reasons, were wrong.”
• “I think Ukraine, with the support of the European Union [particularly NATO], is in a position to fight and WIN all of Ukraine back in its original form… Why not?” Trump said in late September.
• Trump said in September that he’s “ready” to enhance sanctions on Russia if NATO parallels the motion. He stated in a post, “I am ready to 'go' when you are. Just say when?”
• The Trump administration blocked Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas from attending a September UN meeting in New York.
• The White House announced an end to a security program in Eastern Europe that acts in offense to Russia, in early September.
• The UN opposed Israel’s plan to take over Gaza City and said it “must be immediately halted” in early August.
• Trump announced in early July that the US will resume weapons shipments to Ukraine via NATO, after some shipments were halted a week earlier. He later announced a plan for NATO allies to purchase US weapons to send to Ukraine.
• NATO’s 32 member countries agreed in late June to increase their defense spending targets from 2% of each member’s gross domestic product (GDP) to 5% within the next decade, after encouragement from Trump. The allies have reportedly since met the target.
• Trump reportedly nominated Air Force Lt. Gen. Alexus Grynkewich to lead US NATO forces in Europe, in early June.
• He said in June, ahead of the G7 summit, that ousting Russia from G7 (formerly G8) "was a big mistake."
• Trump ordered the US to withdraw from the UN's Human Rights Council, WHO, Paris Agreement, and several other IGOs in Jan. and Feb. 2025.

China

Foreign Policy

During his campaign: Trump confirmed that he would impose tariffs of at least 60% on Chinese goods if re-elected, potentially mirroring his first term when he imposed $250B in tariffs. He opposed a TikTok ban that was considered in Congress for national security reasons, arguing that it would help Meta instead.

What Project 2025 said: Describes China as “a totalitarian enemy of the United States” and calls for making “defeating the Chinese Communist Party its highest priority.” 

Since election day:

• The US seized an Iranian cargo ship with ties to China in April.
• Trump launched global tariffs of 10% in late February, after the Supreme Court ruled against his previous use of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act to impose sweeping tariffs. They are set to last 150 days under Section 122 of the Trade Act of 1974.
• Trump said he had an “excellent” call with Chinese President Xi Jinping in February. The two leaders are expected to meet in May.
• Trump approved the “largest-ever arms sale package” to Taiwan, worth $11 billion, in January.
• TikTok announced a deal with the US in January in line with Trump's September executive order.
• Trump said the US needs to acquire Greenland from “the standpoint of national security,” in January, referencing “Russian and Chinese ships all over [Greenland].”
• The US announced an $11.1 billion arms sale to Taiwan in December.
• The Trump administration delayed tariffs on Chinese semiconductors until 2027.
• Trump announced an unofficial deal in December to allow Nvidia to export its H200 artificial intelligence chips to “approved customers” in China and other countries, in exchange for 25% of revenue from the sales.
• The US is reportedly set to deepen its relationship with Taiwan – China's adversary – and decrease its limits on engagement with the country.
• Trump reportedly decided not to negotiate the export of advanced Nvidia AI chips to China in early November.
• Trump agreed to reduce tariffs on Chinese imports, including a reduction from 20% to 10% on fentanyl-related products, after a meeting with Xi in late October. He also announced, “We’re going to work together on Ukraine.”
  • The deal is also set to “effectively eliminate China’s current and proposed export controls on rare earth elements and other critical minerals,” and “open China’s market to US soybeans and other agricultural exports.”
• Trump announced in late October that the Defense Department would begin “immediately” testing nuclear weapons to remain militarily ahead of Russia and China.
• Trump imposed fees on Chinese ships using American ports in mid-October.
• Trump announced an arrangement with China in late September to create a US-based version of TikTok. Negotiations with China were extended for 120 days.
• The US and China reportedly reached an unspecified agreement on TikTok in September to both instill US access to the app and assure national security.
• Trump announced in late August that he would allow 600,000 visas for Chinese students to attend US universities. However, the Trump administration released a proposal in late August to “limit the amount of time that [foreign students] are allowed to remain in the United States without additional screening and vetting.”
• The two countries agreed to pause most tariffs on one another for 90 days, in May. Later that month, Trump said China "totally violated its agreement with US." Trump extended the pause for an additional 90 days on August 12th.
• The two countries reached a trade deal in late June, according to Trump. Details were not disclosed at the time of the announcement.
• They reportedly agreed to another deal in June in which China will supply the US with its magnets and rare earth minerals, and the US will allow Chinese students to study at its universities.
• Trump announced tariffs of as much as 145% on China in April 2025. Trump also added over 50 Chinese companies to an export blacklist and has blamed the Chinese Communist Party for the COVID-19 pandemic.

Department of Education

Education

During his campaign: Trump promised to eliminate the department.

What Project 2025 said: "Shut it down. Eliminate the Department of Education."

Since election day:

• The Education Department said it will shift some of its employees to the Department of Labor in January to “[realign] postsecondary education to ensure students are prepared for success in the workforce.”
• The Education Department reportedly launched an investigation into Brown University’s security, following a fatal shooting in December.
• The Trump administration is reportedly moving forward with dismantling the Education Department, transferring six of its offices to separate departments.
• The Trump administration reportedly laid off 466 Education Department employees in mid-October, reducing the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services (OSERS) to three workers.
• The Education Department rescinded guidelines for educators pertaining to English learners.
• The Trump administration asked the Supreme Court in early June to permit its dismantling of the Education Department, including employee layoffs. The court granted its permission to resume layoffs in July.
• The Education Department's Civil Rights Office said in late June that California violated Title IX by allowing non-biological women to compete in women's sports.
• A federal judge blocked the elimination of the Education Department in May, reinstating the department's employees.
• It cut $1 billion in grants for school mental health services that reportedly included DEI requirements, in late April 2025.
• The department has seen widespread cuts, though fully eliminating it requires an act of Congress. Follow updates on changes to the department here.

Student Debt

Education

During his campaign: Trump didn’t have a clear policy plan for student loan debt, though he criticized the previous administration’s attempts at widespread debt cancellation.

What Project 2025 said: “The new administration must end the practice of acting like the federal student loan portfolio is a campaign fund to curry political support and votes. The new administration must end abuses in the loan forgiveness programs. Borrowers should be expected to repay their loans.”

Since election day:

• The Education Department suggested it would increase student loan forgiveness in March after legal delays.
• The Trump administration will reportedly begin collecting portions of student loan borrowers’ wages in January.
• The Department of Education announced an end to the Biden-era “Saving on a Valuable Education” (SAVE) Plan for student loan forgiveness in December, deeming it “illegal.”
• The Education Department may redefine “professional degrees,” which would limit qualifications for higher federal student loan limits.
• The Trump administration agreed to resume two student loan forgiveness plans (Income-Contingent Repayment and Pay as You Earn) in mid-October that it previously discontinued.
• The Trump administration is reportedly considering selling some student loan debt, which amounts to about $1.6 trillion in total, to the private market.
• The Education Department is reportedly increasing student debt collection and enforcement.
• Trump's revised "One, Big, Beautiful Bill Act" is set to discontinue several Biden-era student loan repayment plans; however, it would allow borrowers to pick between traditional repayments or use of a "Repayment Assistance Plan" (RAP) – plans based on borrowers' incomes.
• The Department of Education announced in April 2025 that it would begin collecting on defaulted student loans.

Gender Identity and Race in Schools

Education

During his campaign: President Donald Trump was against affirmative action in schools. He called to open “civil rights investigations into any school district that has engaged in race-based discrimination” and said he will “cut funds for schools teaching Critical Race Theory.” He also supported preventing transgender women from competing in women’s sports.

What Project 2025 said: 

• Calls to "disallow students using names or pronouns that don’t match the sex on their birth certificate, and [state] that no school employee should be ‘forced’ to use a student’s pronoun."
• Refers to “transgender ideology” as a “devastating effect on school-aged children today,” and equates it to pornography, calling for it to be outlawed

Since election day:

• The Education Department reported in March that Jefferson County, Colorado, schools violated Title IX by allowing transgender athletes to play on teams not aligned with their biological sexes. It threatened to cut funding within ten days of the announcement if the policy is not reformed.
• The Trump administration reportedly proposed a rule in March that would require all federally funded institutions to verify the absence of DEI programs.
• US District Judge Stephanie Gallagher, whom Trump appointed, blocked the Trump administration’s funding cuts to schools that use diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs, due to free speech criticisms in August. The Trump administration dropped its appeal to the ruling in January.
• The Trump administration is reportedly directing Head Start providers to avoid affirmative action-related terms such as “race” and “pregnant people.”
• The Education Department launched investigations into 15 K-12 schools that allegedly allow transgender women in women’s sports, in January.
• The Trump administration proposed the “Compact for Academic Excellence in Higher Education” to nine universities in early October, promising certain benefits in exchange for compliance with the agreement, which includes the ceasing of affirmative action practices.
• Both the Education Department and the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) found Minnesota schools in violation of Title IX by allowing transgender girls and women in girls’ and women’s sports, in late September.
• The Education Department announced in September that it was redirecting roughly $500 million to Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) and Tribally Controlled Colleges and Universities (TCCUs).
• The Department of Justice (DOJ) filed a lawsuit against the Rhode Island Department of Education and the Providence Public School District in September due to a student loan forgiveness program that reportedly excludes white educators.
• The Trump administration canceled a $12.4 million sexual education grant to California in August due to the state's lack of compliance with revisions to “radical gender ideology.”
• The Education Department launched an investigation into multiple Kansas public school districts in August, due to alleged violations of Title IX and the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) by allowing transgender girls in girls’ sports.
• The National Center for Education Statistics will begin auditing college admissions processes to screen for racial discriminatory practices.
• Brown University agreed to comply with certain government policies in late July, such as recognizing the two chromosomal genders and ending affirmative action practices, to restore its federal research funding. It also agreed to pay a $50 million settlement.
• The Trump administration threatened to cut all of Harvard's federal funding in late June, after formally finding the university “in violent violation of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act."
• The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) reportedly found that the Invent2Prevent program was largely promoting DEI initiatives – despite its initial design – costing DHS about $1.5 million.
• The Education Department's Civil Rights Office said in late June that California violated Title IX by allowing non-biological women to compete in women's sports.
• The department launched a probe into some Connecticut public schools for potentially allowing transgender students to use facilities aligning with their chosen gender identities, in late May.
• The Trump administration ordered schools to adhere to certain standards, such as the termination of DEI programs. A judge blocked the move in April 2025.
• Trump signed an executive order in Feb. 2025, banning transgender women from competing in women’s sports “to protect opportunities for women and girls to compete in safe and fair sports.”

Federal Funding

Education

During his campaign: President Donald Trump called to cut the federal funding of schools and school programs that push “critical race theory, gender ideology, or other inappropriate racial, sexual, or political content onto our children.” He also promised to expand school choice.

What Project 2025 said: The plan calls for the government's role in education to be "that of a statistics-gathering agency that disseminates information to the states."

Since election day:

• The White House asserted in March that Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill” “makes education more affordable by giving every American newborn a Trump Account, which makes it easier for families to use 529 accounts for elementary and high school, not just college.”
• The Trump administration reportedly proposed a rule in March that would require all federally funded institutions to verify the absence of DEI programs.
• The Defense Department cut ties with all graduate military education, fellowships, and certificate programs at Harvard University in February, largely due to the university’s “‘hate America’ activism” and woke culture.
  • The department also announced that graduate programs will be evaluated at civilian universities across the US.
• US District Judge Stephanie Gallagher, whom Trump appointed, blocked the Trump administration’s funding cuts to schools that use diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs, due to free speech criticisms in August. The Trump administration dropped its appeal to the ruling in January.
• The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) tightened reporting requirements for states’ childcare funding, including “attendance records, licensing, inspection and monitoring reports, complaints and investigations,” temporarily freezing funding.
• Northwestern University agreed to pay $75 million to the US to restore its federal research funding and end investigations into potential discriminatory practices.
• Cornell University agreed to comply with the Trump administration and pay $30 million to the US government and an additional $30 million to fund research aimed at supporting US farmers, in order to restore its federal funding in November.
• The Trump administration proposed the “Compact for Academic Excellence in Higher Education” to nine universities in early October, promising certain financial benefits in exchange for compliance with the agreement.
• The Education Department announced in September that it was redirecting roughly $500 million to Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) and Tribally Controlled Colleges and Universities (TCCUs).
• Brown University agreed to pay a $50 million settlement in late July to restore its federal research funding. It also agreed to comply with certain government policies, such as recognizing the two chromosomal genders and ending affirmative action practices.
• Columbia University agreed to pay the Trump administration a $200 million settlement in July to restore its federal funding.
• Trump's "big, beautiful bill" is set to expand school choice through a donation incentive.
• The Trump administration attempted to enact funding cuts on schools that purportedly don’t adhere to the termination of DEI-related programs.
• It threatened to cut all of Harvard's federal funding in late June, after formally finding the university “in violent violation of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act." A judge ruled cuts unlawful in September.
• The Education Department reportedly cut $1 billion in grants for mental health services due to DEI imposition, in late April 2025. The Trump administration reportedly withheld an estimated $5 to $6.8 billion in funding from state and local schools. Follow updates on these cuts.

College Tuition

Education

During his campaign: President Donald Trump was against free college during his campaign; however, he planned to launch a tuition-free online university called American Academy, which would be paid for by “taxing, fining, and suing excessively large private university endowments.”

What Project 2025 said: “The President should issue an executive order stating that a college degree shall not be required for any federal job unless the requirements of the job specifically demand it.”

Since election day:

• The Education Department uncovered widespread federal financial aid fraud in California and Minnesota, according to Under Secretary of Education Nicholas Kent in January.
• The Justice Department (DOJ) sued Virginia in late December for granting financial assistance to unauthorized immigrants at public colleges and universities.
• The Trump administration sued California in November for reportedly allowing about 80,000 unauthorized immigrants into the state’s colleges and universities.
• The Trump administration directed states to cease granting in-state tuition discounts to unauthorized immigrant students in late July.
• American Academy has not been established.

Teacher Pay

Education

During his campaign: President Donald Trump called to make “significant cuts to administrative personnel and the end of teacher tenure and the election of school principals.” 

What Project 2025 said: Project 2025 does not directly propose increasing teacher pay; instead, it calls for eliminating major federal education funding streams that support teacher salaries and retention.

Since election day: No legislative action has been taken to alter teacher pay.

Universal Pre K

Education

During his campaign: According to his voter base, he does not support the funding of universal pre-K.

What Project 2025 said: “Research has demonstrated that federal Head Start centers, which provide preschool care to children from low-income families, have little or no long-term academic value for children."

Since election day: No legislative action has been taken to establish universal pre-K.

Religion

Society

During his campaign: 

• Trump said religion was “under threat” in the US, and said Christian leaders would have “direct access” to him.
• Trump promised to permanently repeal the Johnson Amendment, which prohibits churches from endorsing candidates for public office.
• Trump received criticism for selling “God Bless the USA” Bibles in March 2024, stating, “This Bible is a reminder that the biggest thing we have to bring back America and to make America great again is our religion. Religion is so important. It's so missing. But it’s going to come back and it's going to come back strong just like our country is going to come back strong.” 

What Project 2025 said: 

• “Secure our God-given individual rights to live freely.”
• “God ordained the Sabbath as a day of rest,” referring exclusively to Sunday, as opposed to the days of rest held by other religions.
• The federal government should “maintain a biblically based, social science-reinforced definition of marriage and family.”

Since election day: 

• The University of Pennsylvania has until May 1 to supply records on its Jewish employees to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission as part of an antisemitism probe.
• Trump appeared to depict himself as Jesus Christ in an AI-generated Truth Social post in April.
• Amid ongoing disputes with Pope Leo XIV, Trump said in April, "I don't want a Pope who criticizes the President of the United States because I'm doing exactly what I was elected [to do]… [Leo] was only put there by the Church because he was an American, and they thought that would be the best way to deal with President Donald J. Trump."
• The Pentagon denied an April report that alleged federal officials said the US military could "do whatever it wants" and that the Church should "take its side" in its war with Iran in January. 
• Military chaplains must now wear insignia displaying their religious affiliation instead of their rank, which Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced in late March.
• Trump is reportedly considering offering asylum to Jews experiencing antisemitism in Great Britain.  
• The US launched strikes against ISIS militants in north-western Nigeria on Christmas Day in response to their alleged massacres of Christians.
• The State Department announced in early December that it will deny visas to those “who have directed, authorized, significantly supported, participated in, or carried out violations of religious freedom.”
• The White House published an executive order in November that instructed federal officials to improve foster care system conditions, data collections, and resources – including through “faith-based organizations and houses of worship” – barring the discrimination of “qualified individuals or organizations based upon their sincerely-held religious beliefs or moral convictions.”
• Trump directed the Defense Department in early November to prepare for military action in Nigeria, to combat alleged terrorism against Christians.
• The White House released its “Top 100 Victories for People of Faith” in September.
• The Trump administration launched the “America Prays” initiative in September to encourage religious practices in the US. He also directed the Department of Education to “issue new guidance protecting the right to prayer in our public schools.”
• A federal judge blocked religious exemptions from an Obamacare birth control mandate that were established by the Trump administration, in August.
• The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) granted houses of worship approval in July to endorse political candidates without endangering their tax-exempt status.
• Trump suggested Pope Leo XIV could host peace negotiations between Russia and Ukraine at the Vatican, in May.
• He established a task force to “eradicate anti-Christian bias” and has hosted White House events with faith leaders. In early May, the Justice Department launched an investigation into Washington State Senate Bill 5375, which requires clergy to break their spiritual seal of confidentiality during Confession to report instances of child abuse. The department's press release refers to the bill as "anti-Catholic."
• Trump said, during his National Day of Prayer speech on May 1, "This is a religious ceremony, but that's part of the religion; because if your taxes go up 68 percent, you might give up your religion. You might have no choice. You'll be working too hard to make it." That same day, he established the Religious Liberty Commission via an executive order.
• By executive order, Trump established the “White House Faith Office.”
• On Easter Monday 2025, Trump declared he was “bringing religion back to America.”
• The Johnson Amendment remains in place.

Gun Ownership

Gun Control

During his campaign: 

• In the past, he has expressed openness to strengthening background checks.
• Trump also said he would reverse all gun control measures that the Biden administration passed and fire the director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), if elected.
• He told NRA supporters, “No president has fought harder to protect your Second Amendment rights” and said, “No one will lay a finger on your firearms if I win the election.”
• However, he also said he would call on local law enforcement to “strictly enforc[e] existing gun laws against convicted felons.”

What Project 2025 said: Project 2025 opposes weapons bans, universal background checks, red flag laws, and enhanced storage guidelines.

Since election day:

• The Justice Department (DOJ) reclassified state-licensed medical marijuana from a Schedule I to a Schedule III drug in late April; however, federal law still prohibits gun ownership for anyone who is an “unlawful user of, or addicted to, marijuana or any depressant, stimulant, narcotic drug, or any other controlled substance.”
• The DOJ and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) released 34 notices of final and proposed gun policy reforms in late April, including the proposed repeal of the Youth Handgun Safety Act notification requirement. Some speculated the collective measures could even legalize an “Amazon for guns.”
  • The reforms follow up on Trump's Feb. 2025 executive order "Protecting Second Amendment Rights."
• Trump launched an executive order in early February, “Establishing an America First Arms Transfer Strategy,” which outlines plans to “increase production and build production capacity for weapons and platforms” and “use foreign purchases and capital to support domestic reindustrialization.”
• After law enforcement shot and killed ICE protester Alex Pretti, who was armed but processed a gun license, in late January, Trump said he did not consider Pretti an assassin but, “With that being said, you can't have guns. You can't walk in with guns. You just can’t.” 
• The White House announced in late January that shooting deaths are the lowest since 2015 under Trump’s leadership.
• The DOJ launched a new Second Amendment Rights division.
• Trump nominated ATF Deputy Director Robert Cekada to lead the agency, seemingly sparking approval from gun rights activists.
• The DOJ is reportedly considering barring gun ownership for transgender individuals, due to gender dysphoria.
• The White House released a statement after the Minneapolis school shooting in late August. It called the shooting a “senseless [act] of violence” but did not directly address gun violence culture or policies.
• The Justice Department reportedly asked the Supreme Court in August to overturn an appeals court’s decision that loosens gun control measures for pot smokers and other former drug users.
• The Trump administration reportedly proposed a pathway to gun ownership for some individuals with criminal histories in July if they are not deemed a threat to public safety. The case-by-case pathway would not apply to violent felons or registered sex offenders.
• Trump's "big, beautiful bill" is set to eliminate the transfer tax on suppressors, enacted under the National Firearms Act of 1934.
• In Feb. 2025, Trump signed an executive order directing then-Attorney General Pam Bondi to review and propose plans to undo a wide range of gun safety measures enacted under President Biden. The order targets:
  • Regulations on “ghost guns” (untraceable firearms assembled from kits)
  • Expanded background checks, including those closing the “gun show loophole”
  • The ATF’s “zero tolerance” policy, which had led to the revocation of licenses for gun dealers with serious regulatory violations
  • Any other executive actions or agency rules from the Biden administration that may have restricted gun rights
• As a result of the executive order, Bondi announced in April 2025 the reversal of the ATF’s “zero tolerance” enforcement policy. This move makes it harder to revoke the licenses of gun dealers who break the law, a change welcomed by gun rights groups and criticized by gun safety advocates.
• Trump established a “Second Amendment Enforcement Task Force” within the DOJ to develop and execute strategies for advancing and protecting gun rights.

Weapons Bans

Gun Control

During his campaign: President Donald Trump signaled support for stricter background checks after mass shootings in El Paso, Texas and Dayton, Ohio but did not call on Congress to pass background check legislation. 

What Project 2025 said: Calls for eliminating federal and state bans on assault weapons, weakening restrictions on carrying firearms in public, passing national concealed carry reciprocity, and weakening federal oversight of the gun industry.

Since election day:

• The Justice Department (DOJ) sued Denver, Colorado, over its “assault weapons” and large-capacity magazines ban in early May, arguing it “directly violates the right to bear arms.”

RELATED: Analyzing the Many Different Definitions of "Assault Rifle" | AllSides 

• The DOJ reduced state-licensed medical marijuana from a Schedule I to a Schedule III drug in late April; however, no legislation reforming weapons bans over marijuana usage accompanied the reclassification.
• The DOJ sued DC’s Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) over its semi-automatic weapons ban, in December.
• The Trump administration reversed Biden-era restrictions on civilian firearms exports to foreign countries in late September.
• The DOJ is reportedly considering a complete gun ban for transgender individuals, due to gender dysphoria.
• The Trump administration reportedly proposed a pathway to gun ownership for some individuals with criminal histories in July if they are not deemed a threat to public safety. The case-by-case pathway would not apply to violent felons or registered sex offenders.
• The DOJ lifted the ban on forced-reset triggers, allowing sales to resume, in May. The move prompted multiple state lawsuits.
• After a Florida State University shooting in April 2025 left two dead, Trump said, “I have an obligation to protect the Second Amendment. I ran on the Second Amendment, among many other things, and I will always protect the Second Amendment.” He took the stance that “the gun doesn't do the shooting, the people do.” 

Armed Personnel in Schools

Gun Control

During his campaign: 

• President Donald Trump suggested arming school teachers as a response to shootings, giving them extra pay as an incentive, and he clarified that teachers would require special training in order to be armed. He said, “I don’t want teachers to have guns, I want certain highly adept people, people that understand weaponry, guns — if they really have that aptitude.”
• Trump also suggested that buildings should have a single point of entry, stronger fencing, and metal detectors, and he pledged in his 2016 campaign to end gun-free zones in schools.

What Project 2025 said: The plan encourages states to redirect education funding to arm teachers and provide bonuses to those who carry weapons.

Since election day: No legislative action has been taken on school security.

•  A Biden-appointed judge allowed Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials to operate pro tempore near Minnesota schools, denying a temporary injunction in early May.

Policing

Criminal Justice

During his campaign: Trump pledged a “record investment in hiring, retention and training” for law enforcement.

What Project 2025 said: Project 2025 proposes federal intervention against local officials who decline to prosecute low-level offenses or who support non-cash bail systems, and it encourages the Department of Justice to take legal action against such policies.

Since election day:

• Trump launched a new counterterrorism strategy in May that specifically names narcoterrorists and transnational gangs, legacy Islamist terrorists, and violent left-wing extremists – including Antifa – as domestic threats.
• Trump established a $1.8 billion "Anti-Weaponization Fund” in May, as part of a legal settlement with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). It was later blocked by a federal judge.
  • RELATED: Biden Admin 'Weaponized' the FACE Act: DOJ Report | AllSides
• Trump launched “The Task Force to Eliminate Fraud” in March, led by Vice President JD Vance. The White House touted the task force’s “unrelenting, full-scale assault on the fraudsters” in May, highlighting actions such as “block[ing] $60 million in fraudulent student loan applications.”
• The Pentagon reportedly increased its military presence on the US-Mexico border to combat drug cartels in March.
• Trump credited the 43% year-over-year crime reduction in Memphis, Tennessee, to his “Memphis Safe Task Force” in March. His administration launched the task force in Sept. 2025.
• Organized cooperation between Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and local law enforcement reportedly increased by 950% in 2025.
• The FBI searched a Washington Post (Lean Left) reporter’s home in January, in what some are criticizing as an overstep of federal power.
• The Trump administration is reportedly considering deploying troops to Mexico to combat drug cartels.
• The Pentagon reportedly ordered a 23,500-member quick reaction force (QRF) of the National Guard in early November, to combat domestic crimes.
• The Trump administration reportedly authorized the CIA for covert operations in Venezuela, in mid-October.
• Trump said he would invoke the Insurrection Act on noncompliant US cities “if it was necessary,” in early October. He said, “If people were being killed and courts were holding us up or governors or mayors were holding us up, sure, I'd do that… We have to make sure that our cities are safe.” He later called events in Portland, Ore., which included anti-ICE protests and a federal judge’s block on his orders, an insurrection.
• Trump sent 300 National Guard soldiers to Chicago in early October, prompting a lawsuit from the city and state of Illinois. The Supreme Court blocked the deployment in late December.
• The FBI reportedly severed ties with the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), in early October.
• The FBI also reportedly fired 15 to 20 agents who knelt with protestors during the 2020 George Floyd protests, in late September.
• Trump moved federalization efforts to Memphis, Tenn. in September. He also said he would re-federalize Washington, DC, if its police department does not comply with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
• ICE is reportedly set to expand policing and deportations in New York, Seattle, Portland, Chicago, and Los Angeles.
• Trump federalized Washington, D.C., in August in an effort to “stop violent crime.”
• The White House announced in early August that federal law enforcement will be directed to Washington, D.C., in an effort to lower the violent crime rate.
• The FBI launched a criminal investigation in July of former CIA Director John Brennan and former FBI Director James Comey for potential misconduct related to the 2016 Trump-Russia probe.
• Trump deployed thousands of military troops to Los Angeles, Calif. in June, in an effort to crack down on anti-ICE protests.
• The Trump administration announced, in May, that it would be rolling back Biden-era police reform in some cities that have exhibited police-caused killings and brutality.
• Trump has signed several executive orders related to law enforcement, including:
  • STRENGTHENING AND UNLEASHING AMERICA’S LAW ENFORCEMENT TO PURSUE CRIMINALS AND PROTECT INNOCENT CITIZENS
  • Executive Order on Restoring the Death Penalty and Protecting Public Safety

Crime

Criminal Justice

During his campaign: Trump vowed to restore "law and order" amid what he framed as a crisis of crime in America.

What Project 2025 said: It frames crime as a major national crisis and calls for “restoring law and order” by increasing federal law enforcement presence and expanding mandatory minimum sentences.

Since election day:

• Trump is requesting $152 million to reopen Alcatraz as a "state-of-the-art" prison facility, as part of a $1.7 billion increase to the Federal Bureau of Prisons in his 2027 fiscal year budget proposal.
• The Justice Department (DOJ) indicted the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) for alleged fraud and systemic racism in late April.
• The FBI raided 22 Minnesota facilities in late April, as part of its ongoing fraud investigations into the state’s social welfare programs.
• Trump’s “Operation Metro Surge” removed over 4,000 criminal unauthorized immigrants from Minnesota, according to a White House announcement in early February.
• Trump signed an executive order in early February to allow the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to “access criminal history record information (CHRI) in the custody of Federal criminal justice agencies to the maximum extent permitted by law.”
• US murder rates have reportedly reached a 125-year low, and violent crime rates have cooled "across major US cities” as well.
• The FBI announced in late December that violent crime arrests doubled in 17 of its field offices during Trump’s first year in comparison to former President Joe Biden.
• Trump announced in November that crime in Chicago “drop[ped] dramatically” as a result of his administration’s federal crackdown in the city.
• The US Military killed dozens of alleged “narco-terrorists” on drug-smuggling vessels in Eastern Pacific and Caribbean oceans from early September to late-October. Trump announced, “The land is going to be next.”
• The FBI announced that it charged 33 alleged Weymouth Street Drug Trafficking Organization members in mid-October.
• Trump moved to federalize Memphis, Tenn. in September, following similar efforts in Washington, DC.
• He announced two strikes on a Venezuelan boat that allegedly was carrying drug dealers in September.
• Trump signed a series of executive orders in late August in a supposed effort to crack down on crime.
• The FBI arrested a woman on its “Ten Most Wanted Fugitives List” in August.
• Trump announced plans in August to deploy National Guard troops – and possibly FBI agents – to Washington, D.C., in an effort to “stop violent crime.”
• Trump expressed plans in July to reopen the infamous Alcatraz prison in California.
• According to the Real-Time Crime Index (RTCI), violent crime dropped 14% and property crime fell 16% in the first three months of 2025 compared to the same period in 2024, with murder rates in major cities down 21–23%.
• The administration has expanded the use of the death penalty and intensified federal prosecutions.
• Trump’s Justice Department has initiated civil rights investigations into “radical left” prosecutors and pressured local jurisdictions to adopt his preferred policing methods, such as stop-and-frisk.

Human Trafficking

Criminal Justice

During his campaign: 

• In 2020, Trump detailed his plan to combat human trafficking.
• “When I'm back in the White House, ... I will urge Congress to ensure that anyone caught trafficking children across our border receives the death penalty... immediately,” Trump said in 2023.
• Trump said he’d use Title 42 to “end the child trafficking crisis by returning all trafficked children to their families in their home countries, without delay.”

Since election day:

• The Justice Department (DOJ) will not release more files on alleged sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein, according to acting Attorney Gen. Todd Blanche in April.
• The DOJ released about three million partially redacted Epstein Files in late January, three weeks beyond the legal mandate. 
  • RELATED: The Latest Epstein File Dump: New Storylines You May Have Missed | AllSides
• Trump ratified the "Trafficking Survivors Relief Act" in January, “which establishes a process to allow human trafficking victims to file motions to vacate their convictions and expunge their arrest records for certain criminal offenses committed as a direct result of their being trafficked.”
• Twenty-nine senators accused the Trump administration of diverting efforts against human trafficking and child exploitation toward immigration enforcement efforts, in a letter to the White House in January.
• The Justice Department cut nearly $90 million in funding for over 100 anti-trafficking organizations since October, according to The Guardian (Left bias).
• The Trump administration has located 62,000 undocumented children in the US as of early December, some of whom had been sex trafficked or in forced labor, according to Border Czar Tom Homan.
• Trump signed a bill in November to release the Epstein files and reportedly directed the Justice Department (DOJ) to investigate Jeffrey Epstein’s alleged connections to Democratic politicians.
• The US State Department released its 2025 Trafficking in Persons (TIP) Report in late September, after a three-month delay, stating, “Despite progress made over two decades, governments continue to struggle to identify most trafficking victims.”
• The State Department cut half of the Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons’ (TIP) full-time employees in July. The cuts came amidst ongoing skepticism of Trump’s involvement with Jeffrey Epstein, the infamous deceased sex trafficker.
• Rep. Maxwell Frost (D-FL) accused the Trump administration of "human trafficking," after the Supreme Court allowed migrants to be deported to "third countries" in late June.
• The Justice Department’s cuts to federal grants in April 2025 include cuts to police training on how to investigate disabled victims of human trafficking.

Private Prisons

Criminal Justice

During his campaign: President Donald Trump used private prisons to detain unauthorized immigrants and asylum seekers and agreed to long-term contracts with several companies, during his first term.

Since election day: Trump has furthered the use of private prisons to detain unauthorized immigrants. Private prison companies are reportedly seeing an industry boom due to reestablishment of the detention facilities that Trump imposed in Jan. 2025.

• Trump tapped former private prison administrator David Venturella to lead Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) operations in May.
• ICE reportedly hired a subsidiary of a private prison company to locate unauthorized immigrants.

Related: Tracking Controversial Deportations Under the Trump Administration | AllSides

Capital Punishment

Criminal Justice

During his campaign: President Donald Trump supported the death penalty on a federal level; 13 criminals were executed under his first presidency by the federal government. He also expressed interest in instituting the death penalty for drug traffickers.

What Project 2025 said: Calls for the next Administration to execute every person who is currently sitting on federal death row.

Since election day:

• The Justice Department (DOJ) is reportedly reauthorizing the use of firing squad and pentobarbital injection executions.
• The DOJ is reportedly seeking the death penalty for the man who allegedly killed two Israeli Embassy staffers in Washington in May 2025.
• US executions in 2025 reportedly hit the highest level in 16 years.
• Trump said in February that the Justice Department (DOJ) will seek capital punishment if Nancy Guthrie is killed by her kidnappers.
• Then-US Attorney General Pam Bondi said she will seek the death penalty for the shooter of two National Guard servicemembers in Washington, DC, in late November.
• The DOJ will reportedly support capital punishment for Decarlos Dejuan Brown Jr., who killed Iryna Zarutska in August.
• Trump signed a memorandum in late September to “fully enforce Federal capital punishment laws to deter and punish the most heinous crimes in our Nation’s capital.” The order instructs prosecutors to “seek the death penalty in all appropriate cases in the District of Columbia where the evidence and applicable facts justify such a sentence.”
  • Trump was seeking to reinstate the death penalty in Washington, D.C., as a punishment for murderers. He said in late August, “If somebody kills somebody in the capital, Washington, D.C., we’re going to be seeking the death penalty… We have no choice.”
• Then-Attorney General Pam Bondi and Trump's Department of Justice are seeking the death penalty for Teresa Youngblut, who allegedly shot and killed two Border Patrol agents in Jan. 2025.
• Trump directed the US attorney general to, “where consistent with applicable law, pursue Federal jurisdiction and seek the death penalty regardless of other factors for every federal capital crime involving the murder of a law-enforcement officer or a capital crime committed by an alien illegally present in this country,” in Jan. 2025. 

Whistleblowers

Criminal Justice

During his campaign: President Donald Trump said he was considering a pardon for Edward Snowden in 2020, though he implied he should be executed in 2013. In a 2021 post-presidency interview with Candace Owens, Trump defended his decision to not pardon Snowden or Julian Assange because there were “good people on both sides… and you have some bad people on one side.” He reportedly decided to “let the courts work it out.” 

Since election day: No major legislative action on whistleblowers has been taken. 

• The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) proposed that all federal employees sign nondisclosure agreements (NDAs) in late May.
• The Trump administration is reportedly moving to establish a rule to “exclude senior employees from legal protections that prohibit US government agencies from retaliating against whistleblowers who accuse them of wrongdoing.”
• The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) proposed monetary compensation for whistleblowers who expose financial crimes in late March.
• A federal judge blocked the Trump administration from revoking the security clearance of whistleblower attorney Mark Zaid in late December.

Cash Bail

Criminal Justice

During his campaign: President Donald Trump did not support the abolition of cash bail. After New York had reformed its bail system, he said the state was letting out “hardened and bad” criminals.

What Project 2025 said: Calls to reverse bail reform and supports restoring or expanding the use of cash bail. The plan criticizes local prosecutors and jurisdictions that have eliminated or restricted cash bail, arguing these policies are “soft on crime” and undermine public safety.

Since election day: No legislative action on cash bail has been passed; however, a Trump executive order from late August reportedly aims to eliminate cashless bail.

Marijuana Legalization

Criminal Justice

During his campaign: President Donald Trump expressed support for the legalization of marijuana as a Schedule III drug, despite previous oppositions. 

Since election day: 

• Trump ordered the FDA to expedite reviews of some psychedelic drugs in April.
  • RELATED: The Trump Admin's Embrace of Psychedelics: 'Breakthrough' or Premature? | AllSides 
• The US Army removed its restrictions on potential recruits who have been convicted for possessing marijuana and/or associated paraphernalia, in March. 
• Trump reclassified marijuana “from a Schedule I to a Schedule III controlled substance with legitimate medical uses,” via an executive order in December. He also directed various health departments to impose measures to “allow Americans to benefit from access to appropriate full-spectrum CBD products while preserving the Congress’s intent to restrict the sale of products that pose serious health risks.”
• The Republican-led Senate’s bill to reopen the government is set to recriminalize many cannabis products that were decriminalized in 2018. Trump signed the provision in November.
• Trump reportedly supports congressional efforts to pass further marijuana legalization; however, the Justice Department reportedly asked the Supreme Court in August to overturn an appeals court’s decision that loosens gun control measures for pot smokers and other former drug users.