4 August 2024

Head of Project 2025 Steps Down Following Trump Criticism

Andrew Restuccia and Vivian Salama

The Heritage Foundation official who leads Project 2025, the conservative road map for the next Republican administration, is stepping down after former President Donald Trump and his aides publicly criticized the group and Democrats decried its proposals as radical and dangerous.

Paul Dans, the group’s director, informed Heritage Foundation staff this week of his decision to step down, according to people familiar with the discussions. Dans didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

Trump campaign senior advisers Susie Wiles and Chris LaCivita pounced on the news. “Reports of Project 2025’s demise would be greatly welcomed and should serve as notice to anyone or any group trying to misrepresent their influence with President Trump and his campaign—it will not end well for you,” they said in a statement.

In recent weeks, Wiles made calls to Heritage officials asking them to lower Project 2025’s profile, according to people familiar with the discussions. LaCivita made his distaste for the group known at the Republican National Convention this month when he called Project 2025 a “pain in the ass.”

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