Powerful, well-funded allies of Donald Trump are testing followers on the depths of their far right ideology in order to determine their loyalty to the former president — and build an ideological army to help carry out Trump and his team’s authoritarian agenda, new reporting finds.
Officials familiar with the plan told Axios that Trump allies are screening ideologies of thousands of people in hopes of recruiting a legion of up to 54,000 followers who could work in a future Trump administration and potentially serve the cause in other ways. This includes 20,000 people to serve in the administration, and replacing as many as 50,000 federal workers in “policy-adjacent” roles.
These followers would be instrumental in Trump and his allies’ conspiracy to orchestrate a complete takeover of the federal government, concentrating more power in the executive branch than ever before seen, as part of the far right’s Heritage Foundation-backed Project 2025. The power concentrated under the president — and his administration of ideological sycophants — would be unprecedented.
The group is fielding applications from those wishing to serve in the next administration and says that it has already added over 4,000 people to its “Presidential Personnel Database.” The project has contracted tech giant Oracle in order to use artificial intelligence to aid in screening.
The screening process is focused intensely on applicants’ ideological beliefs and less interested in their professional qualifications, despite the goal of having them serve in high-powered positions. This test is rigorous and essentially requires total fealty to Trump.
“Those queasy about testing the limits of Trump’s power will get flagged and rejected,” Axios reporters wrote.
Applicants will have their social media history thoroughly vetted, and also have to pass an ideological test quizzing their views on various conservative priorities, like the power afforded to the United Nations, whether or not the U.S. should reject immigrants based on their nationality, or whether private school vouchers should be expanded. Other questions include asking applicants to name a person and book that have most affected their political philosophy, as well as name “one living public policy figure whom you greatly admire and why.”
Project 2025, hatched up by the Heritage Foundation, is well-funded and has the backing of over 80 right-wing organizations, including prominent extremist ones like the Alliance Defending Freedom, ALEC, and Turning Point USA. The plot has been described as “an authoritarian roadmap to dismantling a thriving, inclusive democracy for all” by the Global Project Against Hate and Extremism, and indeed resembles a plot to install a totalitarian dictatorship led by Trump, historians and commentators have said.
This fealty for Trump wouldn’t stop within the governments’ ranks, if Trump’s recent comments are any indication. In a Truth Social post and in a speech on Veteran’s Day over the weekend, Trump vowed to “root out” the “Communists, Marxists, Fascist and Radical Left Thugs” — who he described as “vermin” — out of the country. Many experts pointed out that his extremist rhetoric resembles rhetoric used by dictators like Adolf Hitler.
If Trump has his way and the Project 2025 head-hunting scheme is successful, the government would be full of tens of thousands of people who agree that left-wing Americans should be purged and who would help carry out a new repressive wave of McCarthyism in the 21st century.
Trump is busy getting ready for Day One of his presidency – but so is Truthout.
Trump has made it no secret that he is planning a demolition-style attack on both specific communities and democracy as a whole, beginning on his first day in office. With over 25 executive orders and directives queued up for January 20, he’s promised to “launch the largest deportation program in American history,” roll back anti-discrimination protections for transgender students, and implement a “drill, drill, drill” approach to ramp up oil and gas extraction.
Organizations like Truthout are also being threatened by legislation like HR 9495, the “nonprofit killer bill” that would allow the Treasury Secretary to declare any nonprofit a “terrorist-supporting organization” and strip its tax-exempt status without due process. Progressive media like Truthout that has courageously focused on reporting on Israel’s genocide in Gaza are in the bill’s crosshairs.
As journalists, we have a responsibility to look at hard realities and communicate them to you. We hope that you, like us, can use this information to prepare for what’s to come.
And if you feel uncertain about what to do in the face of a second Trump administration, we invite you to be an indispensable part of Truthout’s preparations.
In addition to covering the widespread onslaught of draconian policy, we’re shoring up our resources for what might come next for progressive media: bad-faith lawsuits from far-right ghouls, legislation that seeks to strip us of our ability to receive tax-deductible donations, and further throttling of our reach on social media platforms owned by Trump’s sycophants.
We’re preparing right now for Trump’s Day One: building a brave coalition of movement media; reaching out to the activists, academics, and thinkers we trust to shine a light on the inner workings of authoritarianism; and planning to use journalism as a tool to equip movements to protect the people, lands, and principles most vulnerable to Trump’s destruction.
We urgently need your help to prepare. As you know, our December fundraiser is our most important of the year and will determine the scale of work we’ll be able to do in 2025. We’ve set two goals: to raise $150,000 in one-time donations and to add 1,500 new monthly donors.
Today, we’re asking all of our readers to start a monthly donation or make a one-time donation – as a commitment to stand with us on day one of Trump’s presidency, and every day after that, as we produce journalism that combats authoritarianism, censorship, injustice, and misinformation. You’re an essential part of our future – please join the movement by making a tax-deductible donation today.
If you have the means to make a substantial gift, please dig deep during this critical time!
With gratitude and resolve,
Maya, Negin, Saima, and Ziggy