Trump Plans "Project 25" Agency Cuts as Shutdown Continues

3 HOURS AGO·UPDATED 3 HOURS AGO

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Above: Russ Vought speaks at the National Conservative Convention in Washington D.C., on Oct. 3, 2025. Image copyright: Dominic Gwinn/Middle East Images/AFP/Getty Images

The Spin

Republican narrative

The U.S. government shutdown unleashes Trump's promise to dismantle a bloated bureaucracy that Musk's chaotic DOGE failed to deliver. With Vought — Project 2025's architect — wielding authority, non-essential workers face justified culling. Democrats' obstruction ironically hands Republicans the scalpel to excise programs inconsistent with voter mandates. This isn't dysfunction — it's overdue reform. Federal excess finally confronts accountability, transforming shutdown chaos into the structural government reduction Americans demanded.

The Telegraph Daily Mail

Democratic narrative

Trump's apparent resurrection of Project 2025 unveils naked authoritarian consolidation: gutting scientific research, criminalizing dissent, weaponizing state power alongside billionaire-controlled media monopolies to silence dissent. This isn't reform — it's systematic dismantling of institutional independence. Universities hemorrhage talent, information becomes partisan propaganda, and citizens are reduced to consumers. Democracy doesn't survive when governmental brutality merges with corporate thought-control under unitary executive tyranny.

The Washington Post The New York Times