Navy Reads: September 2024

By Bill Doughty

Over the summer, the Heritage Foundation's Project 2025 exploded like a flaming paper bag left on a porch at Halloween.

Serious historians, insightful analysts, and late-night comedians have mercilessly torched the plan, so most prominent Republicans have run in another direction.

For example, ex-President Trump and running mate Sen. J.D. Vance try to wipe away their connections to what amounts to the Republicans’ actual platform, drafted by many members of Trump's former administration.

Project 2025 seeks to replace career civil service and military leaders with Trump supporters, conduct mass incarceration and deportations of immigrants, privatize public services and end many regulations, ignore climate change challenges, outlaw abortion, emphasize states’ rights over civil rights, whitewash history, eliminate the Department of Education (and funnel taxpayer funds to Christian schools), and create a “pursuit of blessedness” instead of a “pursuit of happiness”: “Religious devotion and spirituality are the greatest sources of happiness around the world,” according to the Heritage Foundation’s Project 2025 Presidential Transition Project.

But it’s complicated.

While most of Project 2025 is a dystopian plan to "take America back" (to the past), there are also some good recommendations on which reasonable people can agree: strengthen national defense and security, boost support for science and technology, and achieve “increasing accountability and transparency” (p263) and “streamline,” encourage or incentivize self-sufficiency.

The project calls for leaders to “eliminate outdated and ineffective concepts and focus on funding innovation” (p264) It calls for “Strengthening the Collection and Use of Data” (p265), “Improving Hiring, Staffing, and Recruitment Practices” and “efficient use of taxpayer dollars” (p266), and “Refocus on mission and eliminate duplication and waste.” (p394) Also good: Support for generic drugs.

Regarding social media: “The FTC should examine platforms’ advertising and contract-making with children as a deceptive or unfair trade practice, perhaps requiring written parental consent.” (P875)

The Heritage Foundation says the purpose of their project is: “…to present concrete proposals to revitalize our economy, strengthen our national security, and halt the centralization of power in the federal government.” And “to build an America where freedom, opportunity, prosperity, and civil society flourish for all.“ (p887)

Noble vision, but many of the strategies and tactics are questionable.

Over the summer I posted two essays on Project 2025 –– first an overview and then how the plan targets military leaders and DOD civilians. Below are my raw notes, with page number reference, about other parts of the project and what it may portend.

Some people blow smoke about how the project has nothing to do with Trump. They want to hide their heads in a bag and pretend it's not their platform.

But it’s good to remember that when there's smoke on our doorstep, there could be fire.

Additional Notes about Project 2025:

“The Office of Intelligence and Analysis should be eliminated” (p161)
Believe that life begins at conception and abortions are not medical care despite what science or medicine says… and

take away the guarantee of access to emergency abortion care under the Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act (p473)
Ramp up “abortion surveillance” to intimidate pregnant people who need abortion care. (p455)

No longer enforce laws that protect LGBTQ+ people and outlaw “transgender ideology” (p5, p255)
Provide taxpayer funds to organizations that promote the Christian Nationalists’ view of “biblically based” family structures only. (p481)
Take a government position that actively denies that American history has ever been racist (a throwback to biblical justification for slavery). (p8, p18)
“The Office of the Immigration Detention Ombudsman should be eliminated” Because, “OIDO was designed to create another impediment to detention through an additional layer of so-called oversight.” (p165)
Do away with a separate Office of Partnership and Engagement and merge it “into the Office of Public Affairs.” (p163)
Curtail reports from DHS to Congress and refocus offices such as OPA and OLA to no longer be independent but to serve as “advocates for the President.” (p164)
Cut back on DHS’s Office of Civil Rights and Civil Liberties and Privacy Office (p164)
“Exert leverage” over Congress by being “willing to place State Department appointees directly into those roles, pending confirmation,” not waiting for Senate action. (p173)
“Reboot ambassadors worldwide” by effectively replacing “foreign service ambassadors” with “political ambassadors.” (p174)
Re Russia’s war against Ukraine, find a rapprochement within U.S. conservative ideology: isolation vs. support to Ukraine, and change the focus away from Russia toward China. “The next conservative President has a generational opportunity to bring resolution to the foreign policy tensions within the movement and chart a new path forward that recognizes Communist China as the defining threat to U.S. interests in the 21st century.” (P182)
“The next Administration must end blind support for international organizations.” Support should be provided transactionally and only “If an international organization is effective and advances American interests…” (p190)
“It is paramount to create a healthy culture of respect for life, the family, sovereignty, and authentic human rights in international organizations and agencies.” And, “The U.S. government should not and cannot promote or fund abortion in international programs or multilateral organizations.” (P192)
Defund PBS and NPR, I.e.,“…strip the Corporation for Public Broadcasting of all taxpayer funding.” Because, “To stop public funding is good policy and good politics.” [The project refers to PBS and NPR as “liberal” but does not address breaking up monopolies of privately funded news services such as Sinclair or Murdoch’s holdings.]
Cut back on foreign aid: “rescind all climate policies from its foreign aid programs” (p257), “dismantle USAID’s DEI apparatus” (p258), “stop U.S. foreign aid from supporting the global abortion industry” (p261), “promote religious freedom, especially as it relates to abortion and gender ideology” (p262), “expand networks of private and faith-based health organizations” (p265), and “build on the Trump Administration’s branding policy” (p270)
USDA “should not place ancillary issues, such as environmental issues, ahead of agricultural production itself” and “farmers, and the food system in general, should be free from unnecessary government intervention” (p290) [No mention of curtailing big polluting industrial farms and protecting small family farms]
Re Secretary of Energy: “Under the next President, the Department of Energy should end the Biden Administration’s unprovoked war on fossil fuels, restore America’s energy independence, oppose eyesore windmills built at taxpayer expense…” (p286)
“Reform NRCS wetlands and erodible land compliance and appeals.” (P304)
“The USDA should strongly counter scare tactics regarding agricultural biotechnology and adopt policies to remove unnecessary barriers to approvals and the adoption of biotechnology.” And “Repeal the federal labeling mandate.” (P307) And “Eliminate or Reform the Dietary Guidelines.” (p309)
“Federal education policy should be limited and, ultimately, the federal Department of Education should be eliminated.” (p319)
“No public education employee or contractor shall use a name to address a student other than the name listed on a student’s birth certificate…” And “No public institution may require an education employee or contractor to use a pronoun that does not match a person’s biological sex if contrary to the employee’s or contractor’s religious or moral convictions.” And “Federal lawmakers should not allow public school employees to keep secrets about a child from that child’s parents.” (p346)
“The President should issue an executive order stating that a college degree shall not be required for any federal job unless the requirements of the job specifically demand it.”
“Stop the war on oil and natural gas.” (P365)
“Fund the design, development, and deployment of new nuclear warheads, including the production of plutonium pits in quantity.” And “End ineffective and counterproductive nonproliferation activities like those involving Iran and the United Nations.” (p372)
“Eliminate carbon capture utilization and storage (CCUS) programs.) (p376) And “End the focus on climate change and green subsidies.” And “Eliminate energy efficiency standards for appliances.) (378-9) And “Eliminate the Clean Energy Corps by revoking funding and eliminating all positions and personnel hired under the program.”
“Oppose ‘climate reparations.’” (P389)
“The United States must establish a strategic plan to promote its national security, energy, and economic interests in the Arctic. An analysis and plan to support the responsible development of Alaska’s energy assets should be a priority.” (p390)
Privatize nuclear cleanup: “Increase the use of commercial waste disposal.” (p396) And “…allow additional industry responsibility for managing waste, market pricing and competition for waste services, and the opportunity for Nevadans to have more partnership involvement with any nuclear facility at Yucca Mountain.” (P398)
“Continue to develop new warheads for each branch of the triad … Also undertake an evaluation of the need for nuclear antisubmarine and air defense weapons in light of emerging threats.” And “Maintain two production sites for plutonium pits (a key element of warhead production) at Los Alamos and Savannah River.” And “Reject ratification of the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty and indicate a willingness to conduct nuclear tests…” (p399)
The government “Should not use environmental issues like climate change as a reason to stop LNG projects” (such as building and deploying more pipelines). (P408)
Environmental Protection Agency restructuring, including “…eliminating the stand-alone Office of Environmental Justice and External Civil Rights.” And “…eliminating the stand-alone Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assistance.” And “Eliminating the Office of Public Engagement and Environmental Education as a stand-alone entity.” (p421) And “Determine the opportunity to downsize…” And “Revise guidance documents that control regulations such as the social cost of carbon…” (p422)
Re Climate Change: “Remove the Greenhouse Gas Reporting Program (GHGRP) for any source category that is not currently being regulated.” And “Repeal Biden Administration implementing regulations for the AIM Act that are unnecessarily stringent and costly.” (p425)
Make a new regulation on “what is and is not a ‘navigable water’ and respects privacy rights.” (p429)
Re EPA: “Eliminate the Office of Emergency Management and reassign its functions.” (p433) And “A top priority should be the immediate and consistent rejection of all EPA ORD (Office of Research and Development) and science activities that have not been authorized by Congress.” (p437) And “Repeal Inflation Reduction Act programs providing grants for environmental science activities.” (p440) And “Cutting EPA’s size and scope will deliver savings to the American taxpayer.” (p445)
Re HHS: “HHS should prioritize married father engagement in its messaging, health, and welfare policies.” And “In the context of current and emerging reproductive technologies, HHS policies should never place the desires of adults over the right of children to be raised by the biological fathers and mothers who conceive them.” (p451)
Re abortion: “The CDC should be split into two separate entities…” (p452) And “The CDC should eliminate programs and projects that do not respect human life and conscience rights and that undermine Department of Health and Human Services family formation.” And “It should fund studies into the risks and complications of abortion…” And There is never any justification for ending a child’s life as part of research… All such research should be prohibited as a matter of law and policy.” And “Because liberal states have now become sanctuaries for abortion tourism, HHS should use every available tool, including the cutting of funds, to ensure that every state reports exactly how many abortions take place within its borders, at what gestational age of the child, for what reason, the mother’s state of residence, and by what method. And Moreover, abortion should be clearly defined as only those procedures that intentionally end an unborn child’s life. Miscarriage management or standard ectopic pregnancy treatments should never be conflated with abortion.” (p454/5)
And “Comparisons between live births and abortion should be tracked across vari- ous demographic indicators to assess whether certain populations are targeted by abortion providers and whether better prenatal physical, mental, and social care improves infant outcomes and decreases abortion rates, especially among those who are most vulnerable.” (p455/6)
“The CDC should immediately end its collection of data on gender identity…” (p456)
FDA should “Reverse its approval of chemical abortion drugs…” And “Allowing mail-order abortions is a gift to the abortion industry..” (p458)
“End intramural research projects using tissue from aborted children…” (p461) And
“Prohibit abortion travel funding.” (p471)
“Announce nonenforcement of the Biden Administration’s COVID-19vaccination mandate on Medicaid and Medicare hospitals.” And “Refrain from imposing general COVID-19 mask mandates on health care facilities or personnel.” (p475)
Re Healthy Marriage and Relationship Education (HMRE) Program: “Protect faith-based grant recipients from religious liberty violations that maintain a biblically based, social science–reinforced definition of marriage and family.” (p481)
“Protect faith-based grant recipients from religious liberty violations that maintain a biblically based, social science–reinforced definition of marriage and family.” And “…programs should affirm that children require and deserve both the love and nurturing of a mother and the play and protection of a father.” And “HMRE program grants should be available to faith- based recipients who affirm that marriage is between not just any two adults, but one man and one unrelated woman.” And “.Implement a pro-fatherhood messaging campaign.” (p481)
“Eliminate the Head Start program.” (p482)
Re Health Resources Service Administration (HRSA): “Restore Trump religious and moral exemptions to the contraceptive mandate.” (P483) And “Eliminate men’s preventive services from the women’s preventive services mandate” And “Eliminate the week-after-pill from the contraceptive mandate…” And “Withdraw Ryan White guidance…” And “Ensure that training for medical professionals (doctors, nurses, etc.) and doulas is not being used for abortion training.” (p485)
“Prioritize funding for home-based childcare, not universal day care.” (P486)
“The Office of the Secretary should eliminate the HHS Reproductive Healthcare Access Task Force and install a pro-life task force…” (p489)
“HHS should restore OCR authority to review requests for and render opinions on the application of RFRA to requests for religious accommodation of people, families, and doctors who cannot in good conscience take or administer vaccines …” (p495)
Re Office for Civil Rights: “Remove all guidance issued under the Biden Administration concerning sexual orientation and gender identity under Section 1557…” (p495) And “OCR should withdraw its pharmacy abortion mandate guidance.” (p496) And “OCR should withdraw its Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) 86 guidance on abortion.”
Re: Secretary of Housing and Urban Development: “…initiate a HUD task force consisting of politically appointed personnel to identify and reverse all actions taken by the Biden Administration to advance progressive ideology.” And “Repeal climate change initiatives and spending in the department’s budget request.” (p508) And “Repeal the Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing (AFFH) regulation reinstituted under the Biden Administration and any other uses of special-purpose credit authorities to further equity.” And “Eliminate the new Housing Supply Fund.” And “Congress should enact legislation that protects life…” (p509)
Re Department of the Interior and Bureau of Land Management: “Conduct offshore oil and natural gas lease sales to the maximum extent permitted…” (p523) And “Reinstate President Trump’s plan for opening most of the National Petroleum Reserve of Alaska to leasing and development.” (p524)
Re Endangered Species Act: “Delist the grizzly bear in the Greater Yellowstone and Northern Continental Divide Ecosystems…” and “Delist the gray wolf in the lower 48 states…” And “Cede to western states jurisdiction over the greater sage-grouse…” And “Abolish the Biological Resources Division of the U.S. Geological Survey…” (p534)
Allow for “production of high-quality American coal.” (P535)
“End the war on fossil fuels and domestically available minerals and facilitate their development on lands owned by Indians and Indian nations.” And “End federal mandates and subsidies of electric vehicles.” (p537)
Re FBI: “Prohibit the FBI from engaging, in general, in activities related to combating the spread of so-called misinformation and disinformation by Americans who are not tied to any plausible criminal activity.” (P550) And “The next conservative Administration should eliminate any offices within the FBI that it has the power to eliminate without any action from Congress.”
Re DOJ: “Seek to terminate any unnecessary or outdated consent decree to which the United States is a party.” And “Enact policies and regulations that prohibit settlement payments to third parties.” (p558) And “Ensure the assignment of sufficient political appointees throughout the department.”
“Pursue” the “promulgation of every rule related to immigration that was issued during the Trump Administration.” (Including family separations?) (p568) And “…the Office of Legislative
Affairs (OLA) and the Office of Public Affairs… should be folded into one…” (p570)
Re Department of Labor: “Reverse the DEI Revolution in Labor Policy.” And “Issue an executive order banning, and Congress should pass a law prohibiting the federal government from using taxpayer dollars to fund, all critical race theory training (CRT).” (p582) And “Eliminate EEO-1 data collection.” And “Eliminate disparate impact liability.” (p583)
Rescind regulations prohibiting discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation, gender identity, transgender status, and sex characteristics.” (p584)
“Promote pro-life workplace accommodations for mothers.” And “Pass a law requiring equal (or greater) benefits for pro-life support for mothers and clarifying abortion exclusions.” And “Keep anti-life ‘benefits’ out of benefit plans.” (p585)
Re religion: “Provide robust protections for religious employers.” (p585) And “Issue an executive order protecting religious employers and employees.” And “Provide Robust Accommodations for Religious Employees.” (p586) And “Sabbath Rest.God ordained the Sabbath as a day of rest, and until very recently the Judeo-Christian tradition sought to honor that mandate by moral and legal regulation of work on that day.” And “…require that workers be paid time and a half for hours worked on the Sabbath. That day would default to Sunday, except for employers with a sincere religious observance of a Sabbath at a different time (e.g., Friday sundown to Saturday sundown).” (p589)
“EEOC should disclaim its regulatory pretensions.” (p586)
Re Department of Labor: “Hazard-Order Regulations. Some young adults show an interest in inherently dangerous jobs.” DOL should amend its hazard-order regulations to permit teenage workers access to work in regulated jobs with proper training and parental consent.” (P595)
“Prohibit the use of a BA (Bachelor of Arts) requirement in job descriptions.” (P596)
Re anti-Union policy: “…pass labor reforms that create non-union ‘employee involvement organizations.’” (p599)
“Remove ESG (Environmental, Social, Governance) considerations from ERISA (Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974).” (p606)
Re federal employees’ TSP (Thrift Savings Plan): Remove “‘mutual fund’ windows that encourage ESG.” (p608).
“Cap and phase down the H-2A visa program” for temporary agricultural workers.” (p611) And “Phase out the H-2B visa program…for nonagricultural seasonal workers.” (p612)
Re Department of Labor: “Maximize hiring of political appointees.” And “Implement a hiring freeze for career officials.” (p615)
The Department of Transportation should return “to the Trump Administration’s ‘rule on rules’ approach to regulations…” (p622) And “Reduce proposed fuel economy levels.” (p628) And “Reduce the amount of federal involvement in local infrastructure decisions.” (P629)
“Require the FAA to operate more like a business” (p633)
Re VA and Veterans Health Administration: “Rescind all departmental clinical policy directives that are contrary to principles of conservative governance starting with abortion services…” (p644) And “Work with Congress to sunset the Office of Accountability and Whistleblower Protection (OAWP).” (p653)
Re Department of Commerce: “Ensure senior policy and decision-making positions are always held by political appointees.” (p668)
“Break Up NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration).” (p674)
Re National Weather Service: “Focus the NWS on Commercial Operations.”
Re National Marine Fisheries Service: “Withdraw… America the Beautiful Initiative.” And “Modify Regulations Implementing the Marine Mammal Protection Act and the Endangered Species Act.” (p676)
“Downsize the Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research.” (p676)
“Break Up the Office of Marine and Aviation Operations…” And “Break Up the Office of Marine and Aviation Operations.” (p677)
Re Census Bureau: “A new Administration should work to actively engage with conservative groups and voices to promote response to the decennial census.” And “Add a citizenship question.” (p680)
Re Minority Business Advisory Council: “Conservative leadership at MBDA should focus the organization on: Conducting policy analysis on the benefit of free markets, the evils of socialism and Communism, and the destructive effect of taxes and regulations on minority businesses… (and) Creating policy-level operational priorities geared toward private sector action over government action… (p684)
Re Department of the Treasury: “The corporate income tax rate should be reduced to 18 percent.” And “ The next Administration should also push for legislation to fully repeal recently passed subsidies in the tax code, including the dozens of credits and tax breaks for green energy companies…” (p696)
Affirmative action for corporations: “…business loss limitation should be increased to at least $500,000. Businesses should also be allowed to fully carry forward net operating losses.” But “Special business tax preferences, such as a special deduction for energy-efficient commercial building properties, should be eliminated.” (p697)
“The U.S. should end its financial support and withdraw from the OECD (Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development). (P698)
“Identify every Treasury official who participated in DEI initiatives…” And “Treat the participation in any critical race theory or DEI initiative… as per se grounds for termination of employment.” (P708)
“The next Administration should eliminate the Climate Hub Office and withdraw from climate change agreements that are inimical to the prosperity of the United States.” And “…withdraw the U.S. from the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change and the Paris Agreement.” And “…use Treasury’s tools and authority to promote investment in domestic energy, including oil and gas. It should reverse support for international public- (and private-) based efforts promoting Environmental, Social, and Governance and Principles for Responsible Investment…” (p709)
“Congress should eliminate the U.S. Trade and Development Agency (USTDA).” (p710) And “The Export-Import Bank should be abolished.” (p717)
Re the Federal Reserve: “Eliminate the ‘dual mandate.’” (p732)
Re Small Business Association: Allow “Eligibility of religious entities for SBA loans.” (p754) [Taxpayer money should be used to support religion.]
“Strategically expand tariffs to all Chinese products and increase tariff rates…” And “Ban all Chinese social media apps such as TikTok and WeChat…” (p789) And “Hold the CCP accountable for the COVID-19 virus… (p790)
Independent Regulatory Agencies: Re Federal Election Commission: “The President assuming office in 2025 must ensure, if the three Republican commissioners do not wish to remain on the FEC past their terms, that nominees for these positions share the views oft hose commissioners.” And “The President should direct the DOJ and the attorney general not to prosecute individuals under an interpretation of the law with which the FEC…does not agree.” (p863)
More money in politics? “Contribution limits should generally be much higher, as they hamstring candidates and parties while serving not practical anticorruption purpose.” (P866)
Re Federal Trade Commission: “Should the FTC Enforce Antitrust—or Even Continue to Exist?” (p872) [More monopolies?]