The conservative think tank behind the controversial Project 2025 blueprint for Donald Trump's presidency has set its sights on 2026, promising a coming "golden age" for America. The Heritage Foundation, whose 900-page manifesto heavily influenced the administration's first year, has published a new agenda titled "Restoring America's Promise".
From Blueprint to Reality: The Project 2025 Legacy
By the close of 2025, the Trump administration had implemented more than half of the items from the Heritage Foundation's extensive Project 2025 wishlist. The plan, formally known as Mandate for Leadership: The Conservative Promise, was drafted by a network of Trump allies who subsequently assumed key roles in the federal government.
Its radical proposals included a vast expansion of executive power, severe cuts to government spending and social services, a dramatic reduction of the federal workforce, the rollback of LGBT+ rights, and a comprehensive anti-immigration agenda. With the plan's authors now embedded in the administration, its transition from paper to policy has been swift.
The 2026 Agenda: Dismantling the 'Deep State' and Restoring Foundations
The group's strategy for the coming year, announced in early January 2026, pledges to "dismantle the deep state" in Washington while working at a state level to restore traditional family structures and American institutions. This push is framed around the nation's approaching 250th anniversary.
A new national advertising campaign declares "the golden age is a choice," showcasing patriotic imagery and narrators speaking of prioritising family, national security, and the dignity of work. A Heritage spokesperson told The Independent that while their mission to "build a better America" remains, their strategy is shifting.
The refocused agenda is built on "Four Cornerstones":
- The American Family
- The Dignity of Work and the Future of Free Enterprise
- National Security
- American Heritage and Citizenship
Policy Priorities Echoing the Trump Era
The detailed vision includes nine key priorities that mirror right-wing campaigns dominant since 2016. Top of the list is countering the Chinese Communist Party, identified as the primary foreign threat. Other major goals include:
Eliminating federal regulations deemed burdensome to business, ending "immigration chaos" by bolstering mass deportation efforts, and ensuring "election integrity" through proof-of-citizenship requirements at polling stations.
The foundation also aims to expand "education freedom" by abolishing the Department of Education, restore "digital sovereignty" by targeting Big Tech firms, promote an anti-abortion "family first" agenda, and "unleash American energy" by discarding climate crisis regulations.
Plans to "root out the deep state" explicitly call for centralising presidential control over the federal government and opposing the authority of independent accountability agencies.
Institutionalising Influence: From Policy to the Constitution
The Heritage Foundation's influence extends beyond policy into the judicial sphere. It has separately published an 800-page, clause-by-clause analysis of the Constitution, co-written by conservative judges considered potential Supreme Court nominees.
"The Heritage Guide to the Constitution" features a foreword by Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito and contributions from over 30 ideologically aligned judges. Its 18-member judicial advisory board contains no judges appointed by Democratic presidents; all but three were appointed by Donald Trump himself.
Project 2025 Authors in Power
Despite Donald Trump's initial attempts to distance himself from Project 2025 during the 2024 election—claiming he knew "nothing" about it—its authors were swiftly installed in powerful positions.
Russell Vought, who wrote the chapter on transforming the executive branch, was appointed Director of the White House Office of Management and Budget. In October 2025, Trump publicly praised Vought's Project 2025 connection on Truth Social.
Other key appointments include Brendan Carr (Federal Communications Commission), Tom Homan (Border Czar and former ICE acting director), and John Ratcliffe (former CIA Director nominee), all of whom contributed to the Project 2025 manifesto. Stephen Miller, overseeing immigration policy as Deputy Chief of Staff, also had his organisation initially listed as a contributor.
The foundation faced internal strife later in 2025, with reports of "open rebellion" after president Kevin Roberts defended Tucker Carlson following his interview with white nationalist Nick Fuentes. This highlighted broader schisms within conservatism as it prepares for a future beyond Trump's presidency.
