Former Maryland Governor Larry Hogan (R) criticized Project 2025 in a recent op-ed, calling the policy priorities laid out in the conservative agenda “unreasonable and dangerous.”
Hogan said in a statement published Friday. The Washington Postargued that “traditional American values” were under threat from both sides.
“On the left, the refusal to explicitly stand up to anti-Semitism, pro-Hamas protesters, advocates of defunding the police, open borders activists and other extremists has done great damage,” Hogan wrote. “But on the right, there is no clearer example of a threat to American values than Project 2025.”
The 900 Policy Agenda, led by the conservative Heritage Foundation and seen as an unofficial presidential transition project, is divided into sections based on five main themes: “Taking control of power,” “the common defense,” “the general welfare,” “the economy,” and “independent regulatory institutions.”
Project 2025 has the backing of more than 100 right-wing groups and conservatives who critics say could staff a second Trump administration if he is re-elected in November.
But Trump called attempts to link him to the dossier “total disinformation” and insisted he had “nothing to do with it.”
Hogan said it would be a “disservice” to call the plan’s ideas radical, even as Republicans downplay its impact.
“In truth, Project 2025 destroys many of the principles that made this country great,” he said in the opinion piece.
Hogan, who is running for the Senate seat being vacated by retiring Sen. Ben Cardin (D-Md.), noted that one of the plan’s main targets is federal employees, which could affect more than 150,000 Maryland residents.
“The objective is to remove nonpartisan civil servants who, in large part, are doing their jobs patriotically, without fanfare or political agenda, and replace them with those loyal to the president,” Hogan said. “Republicans who believe this power grab will benefit them in the short term will ultimately regret giving this level of authority to a Democratic president.”
The former governor, whose father was an FBI agent, said the plan would weaken the Justice Department’s independence from the president. “Impartial justice should not be abandoned by choice or design,” Hogan said.
Among the “absurd and dangerous” policies included in the plan, Hogan highlighted the possibility of dismantling the Department of Education and the Federal Reserve System, as well as mass deportations.
“This extreme approach doesn’t sit well with the American people,” Hogan said. “Most Americans, regardless of party affiliation, have more in common with each other than many realize.”
“They want common sense solutions to lower the cost of living, keep their communities safe, and fix our broken immigration system and secure our border,” he continued. “Instead of addressing these issues, Project 2025 has chosen all-out war with the other side, making it impossible to find common ground.”
