White House correspondent Maggie Haberman mentioned on Thursday that some GOP lawmakers felt “quietly annoyed” by President Trump’s references to a conservative initiative called Project 2025 during the government shutdown.
Recently, the president has been highlighting a meeting with Russell Vought, the director of the White House Management and Budget (OMB), who was a key figure in co-authoring Project 2025 under the Heritage Foundation. This initiative lays out a legislative agenda that includes aggressive deportation measures, rollbacks on reproductive rights, and changes aimed at diminishing the emphasis on diversity and inclusive language in the federal government.
“Even some Republicans have expressed their annoyance towards Trump’s social media posts showcasing ties to Vought’s Project 2025,” Haberman commented during her discussion with host Kaitlan Collins.
She explained that while Project 2025 wasn’t technically a campaign platform, there were overlaps between some of Trump’s campaign advisors and the project team.
Haberman also mentioned that polling has shown the initiative to be “objectively unpopular,” highlighting why Trump’s campaign seems to be distancing itself from this conservative playbook.
“Now he’s openly discussing it, which just gives Democrats more ammunition to blame the closures on him,” she added. “This complicates his situation.”
Trump has stated intentions to utilize shutdowns as leverage to enforce significant layoffs within federal agencies and to cut programs backed by Democrats.
“I’m meeting today with Project 2025’s Rus Vought to decide which Democratic institutions are political fraud,” he remarked. “It’s unbelievable that the radical left has put me in this unprecedented position. They aren’t foolish—this is their subtle way to make America great again!”
In a recent video shared on Truth Social, Trump featured an AI-generated clip portraying Vought as a formidable figure capable of swiftly cutting federal funds.
The president has reproached Democrats on social media for the shutdown, asserting their demands for extending premium subsidies and reversing Medicaid cuts are to blame.
Democrats and unions have criticized plans that seem to undermine their influence amid this political standoff.
“The administration is harming federal workers nationwide, and it’s likely to get even worse,” stated the United States Federation of Employees (AFGE), which has filed a lawsuit alongside several other democratic groups and unions.
The lawsuit argues that using federal employees as bargaining chips in Congressional negotiations should be declared illegal.
