- Project 2025 is an ultra-conservative playbook and policy wish list for a second Trump presidency.
- The 922-page book outlines policy goals, but its potential impacts aren't easily identifiable.
Project 2025, a wish list of policy goals for a second Donald Trump presidency written by The Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank, has faced increasing scrutiny for advocating for — among other extreme positions — the elimination of the Department of Education and imprisoning creators of pornography.
But the dense playbook, clocking in at 922 pages, is a slog to sift through, making it difficult for average voters to identify what the project's "Mandate for Leadership: the Conservative Promise" says about issues they care about.
Media reports cover some of the most striking proposals — like dismantling entire federal agencies and enshrining Christian values into law — but the playbook touches on everything from environmental regulations to labor laws.
Enter Rajat Paharia, a former Google product manager who believes everyone should see what Project 2025 could mean for them. Paharia created 25 and Me, an AI-powered website that allows viewers to sort by topic and read for themselves what the playbook has to say on issues like civil rights, drug prices, and veterans affairs.
"Americans have such varied interests and are affected by such varied things, I think it's going to be very difficult for any one individual to be able to find all the information that's relative to them and how this might impact them," Paharia told Business Insider. "So there was clearly kind of a gap in the market here, so to speak, and potentially, I could make something to help."
It took Paharia about three days, with the help of Google Gemini and GitHub Copilot, to create the website. The AI tools helped him identify excerpts in the playbook that touched on various topics and then listed each reference with citations to its source in the book.
Want to know what Project 2025 says about food stamps? Check pages 298-303. Reproductive rights? References start around page 450.
"Over and over again, it feels like many people in this country have voted against their own self-interest, and a lot of times, I believe — potentially naively or foolishly — that's because they don't know that's what they're doing," Paharia said. "They're voting on a certain set of issues that they understand and hear about and know about, but they don't understand the other things that their elected representatives are pushing or standing behind that will negatively affect them."
The Trump campaign has distanced itself from Project 2025 after a swath of bad press and attacks by Democrats. The former president claimed last month he has "no idea" who is behind the playbook. However, numerous reports indicate that over 140 former Trump administration members had contributed to Project 2025, and The Heritage Foundation has historically had close ties to the candidate.