Summary of Impacts
Project 2025 suggests reducing fossil fuel production regulations, which will accelerate climate change. Reduced regulations will reduce air quality and increase negative public health outcomes. Over-reliance on fossil fuels will jeopardize future energy security and stability, and increase American dependence on foreign oil sources.
Key Quotes
“Eliminate the Clean Energy Corps by revoking funding and eliminating all positions and personnel hired under the program.”
(McNamee 418)
“Eliminate energy efficiency standards for appliances.”
(McNamee 411)
“Make the design, development, and deployment of new nuclear warheads a top priority.”
(McNamee 430)
Impacts on the Department of Justice
Project 2025 aims to drastically change how our country’s justice system works by making big changes within the Department of Justice (DOJ). It claims these changes will make things more efficient, but they are designed to help a certain group of people who are very conservative gain more power. This would harm the principles that make our justice system fair and impartial.
The plan includes moving around how resources are used in the DOJ so that they match what the leaders want. They also want to get rid of some offices, change how they hire new employees, and put all the important decisions under one person’s control. This would prevent the DOJ from being able to work independently and would likely use this power against people who disagree with them.
Additionally, they want to make sure immigration laws are enforced in a way that is very strict and unfair to some groups of immigrants. This shows how far they’re willing to go to get what they want. It’s important for us to understand these changes because they could affect our country’s justice system in big ways.
Critical Analysis
The plan for the Department of Justice (DOJ) hides several dangerous flaws that threaten democracy and justice. On the surface, it aims to make the DOJ more efficient by eliminating redundancy. However, a closer look reveals a sinister goal: to fill the DOJ with loyalists who will politicize its work, undermining the rule of law.
By planning an ideological purge within the DOJ, this project risks erasing its impartial legacy and turning it into a tool for a despotic regime. This not only targets government officials but also leads to discriminatory policies that harm marginalized groups, eroding public trust and fear among vulnerable populations.
The proposal to enforce laws based solely on the President’s interpretation is alarming because it gives the executive branch unchecked power, undermining democracy’s checks and balances. Additionally, labeling opposing views as “racist” or “economically destructive” is a tactic to discredit dissent, consolidating power.
Detrimental Impacts
The proposed policies for the Department of Justice stands to affect the following:
AFFECTED GROUPS
The emphasis on strict immigration enforcement and reversal of Biden-era policies could lead to increased deportations and family separations, causing significant harm to immigrant communities. The focus on securing the border and using military personnel for arrest operations could create a hostile environment for immigrants and asylum seekers, deterring them from seeking refuge in the U.S.
The focus on violent crime and career criminals could lead to over-policing and disproportionate targeting of racial and ethnic minorities, exacerbating existing racial disparities in the criminal justice system. Additionally, aggressive prosecution of drug-related crimes and securing the border could result in harsher penalties and increased incarceration rates for minority communities, particularly those of Hispanic and African American descent.
The criticism of DEI initiatives and the call for their elimination could undermine efforts to promote LGBTQ+ inclusion and protection, leading to increased discrimination and marginalization. The text’s opposition to compelled speech in cases like 303 Creative v. Elenis could be interpreted as support for allowing businesses to discriminate against LGBTQ+ individuals based on religious beliefs.
The emphasis on law enforcement and prosecution could lead to increased incarceration rates for economically disadvantaged individuals, who may lack the resources to navigate the criminal justice system effectively.
General Public
The focus on violent crime and career criminals will divert resources away from addressing domestic violence and sexual assault, leaving survivors without adequate support and protection. This will perpetuate cycles of violence and trauma.
Future Consequences
Strict immigration enforcement and aggressive prosecution of immigration-related offenses will lead to increased deportations, family separations, and a hostile environment for immigrants. This will cause significant emotional and economic harm to immigrant communities.
The proposed policies will likely exacerbate racial disparities in the criminal justice system, leading to higher incarceration rates and harsher penalties for racial and ethnic minorities. This will further entrench systemic racism and inequality.
The elimination of DEI initiatives and opposition to compelled speech protections will undermine efforts to promote LGBTQ+ inclusion and protection. This will lead to increased discrimination and marginalization of LGBTQ+ individuals in various sectors, including employment, education, and healthcare.
Increased incarceration rates and aggressive immigration enforcement will disproportionately impact economically disadvantaged individuals and families, leading to economic instability and hardship. This will further entrench poverty and inequality.
Conclusion
The threats from Project 2025 are immediate and threaten our democracy’s very existence. It involves taking over the Department of Justice, which should serve everyone, not just a specific ideology. This isn’t about rearranging offices; it’s about forcing an agenda that goes against fairness, justice, and equality.
Quotes from the Mandate
Page numbers refer to the Mandate for Leadership PDF
In addition to ensuring speedy application of the policy proposals in this chapter, a vast expansion of political appointees in the DOJ would likely mean mass layoffs for existing DOJ employees.
If this agreement is overturned, children will suffer and potentially be detained indefinitely. For more information and history about the Flores Settlement Agreement, see this factsheet.
This policy would discourage immigrant cooperation with local law enforcement, likely leading to an increase in crime in those communities. For more information about sanctuary policies, see this fact sheet.
To apparently justify this policy, the author jumps through a series of claims related to the 2020 presidential election in Pennsylvania. Notably, the extraordinary circumstances of the Covid-19 pandemic (which necessitated voting flexibility) were not mentioned. Among their claims was that the Election Crimes Branch doesn’t prosecute fraudulent voter registration, which isn’t true. They also took issue with how the Election Crimes Branch apparently advised states to deal with intimidation and violence, but their source was a District Election Officer contact list (unclear how that would prove anything) that no longer exists.
All this to say, the intent of this policy is unclear. Oddly, they repeatedly mention the (perceived) failings of the Election Crimes Branch (their proposed division) but did not specifically mention any offenses of the Civil Rights Division. Perhaps the intent is to make it more difficult to prosecute voter suppression related to race, color, religion, or national origin.
