The Trump campaign has issued a clear warning to the Heritage Foundation and other leaders of Project 2025: Keep quiet or face consequences as “it will not end well for you.”
Some former Trump administration officials who contributed to Project 2025’s controversial 900-page manifesto appear to have heeded the message. Project 2025 recently made adjustments to its list of individual contributors, completely removing two names and modifying two others to remove their employment affiliations with well-known firms.
In recent weeks, former President Donald Trump has been distancing himself from Project 2025. Conservative organizations have also quietly disassociated themselves from the Project 2025 advisory board, including some heavily involved in drafting the playbook.
Following the removal of Project 2025’s director, Paul Dans, who previously served in the Trump administration, the Washington Post reported that “there had been requests from people to get their names taken off the work.” A campaign spokesperson reportedly threatened to blacklist other Project 2025 affiliates from future positions in the Trump administration.
All four individuals identified by The Intercept had been listed as Project 2025 contributors since April 2023, when the Heritage Foundation first released the playbook. Changes to these contributors were made quietly on various dates in July, including three after Trump stated that he had no knowledge of the project’s origins. Heritage did not respond to inquiries regarding these modifications or whether other contributors had requested to have their names or affiliations removed.
“The contributors listed below generously volunteered their time and effort to assist the authors in the development and writing of this volume’s 30 chapters,” reads a disclaimer on the Project 2025 contributors list, which currently includes over 250 names. “The policy views and reform proposals herein are not an all-inclusive catalogue of conservative ideas for the next President, nor is there unanimity among the contributors or the organizations with which they are affiliated regarding the recommendations.”
David Moore, dean of Brigham Young University Law School, is the most notable name to disappear from the Project 2025 list. Moore, who previously served in the Trump administration, did not respond to queries. His name was removed shortly after Trump’s statement distancing himself from Project 2025.
Another former Trump official, attorney Sohan Dasgupta, also had his name and affiliation with a law firm removed from the Project 2025 list. Dasgupta, who did not respond to questions, served in various roles within the Trump administration.
Earl Comstock and Joel Frushone, two other individuals listed as contributors, had their entries modified to exclude their employers. Comstock, who served in the Trump Department of Commerce, is now employed at a law firm in Washington, D.C. Frushone, who worked during the Trump years as a spokesperson for government agencies, is currently associated with an accounting and consulting firm. Both individuals did not comment on their involvement in Project 2025.
