A CNN analysis of the 53 executive orders and actions from Trump’s first week in office found that more than two-thirds – 36 – evoke proposals outlined in “Mandate for Leadership,” Project 2025’s 922-page
blueprint for the next Republican president. The overlap includes early steps taken by Trump to execute some of his most-touted pledges: cracking down on illegal immigration; dismantling diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives; and rolling back environmental restrictions on oil and gas exploration.
But the framework offered in “Mandate for Leadership” also foreshadowed some of Trump’s more provocative and less expected early actions.
It calls for “quickly and aggressively” punishing countries that refuse deported migrants – as Trump did Sunday when Colombia blocked two US military planes carrying deportees. It advises the president to “immediately revoke the security clearance” of top national security officials accused by conservatives of political bias, a move Trump executed within hours of taking office. And Trump’s directive to curb foreign aid from countries “not fully aligned” with his global aims appeases Project 2025’s concern that these programs are “disconnected from the strategy and practice of U.S. foreign policy.”
