Democracy Policy

Hi Friend,

Imagine a future where the president has unchecked power, public agencies are weaponized, and Americans’ fundamental rights are stripped away. This is not a dystopian novel—it’s the reality outlined in Project 2025, an authoritarian playbook designed by extreme right-wing operatives.

I’m Michael Sozan, senior fellow for Democracy and Government Reform at CAP. In my latest report, co-authored with Ben Olinsky, I expose several strategies outlined in Project 2025 to gut our system of checks and balances and uproot the democracy we’ve known for over two centuries. From weaponizing the government to squash public dissent to controlling the media, Project 2025’s authoritarian plans aim to give a president unprecedented control of the federal government and the lives of everyday Americans.

Project 2025 is not just a policy proposal, it’s a new model for radical politicians to enforce their extremist, unpopular agenda on us all. Here are some of its features:

• The consolidation of unchecked power in the presidency
• The subversion of justice by politicizing independent agencies, including the Department of Justice
• The installation of MAGA loyalists throughout the government, bypassing the will of Congress
• The erosion of independent media and civil liberties Illegally ignoring laws passed by Congress to withhold funding from cities and states for political purposes

Once these guardrails are gone, reversing this kind of backsliding could be nearly impossible. The vision is all the more terrifying in light of the U.S. Supreme Court’s recent ruling giving a president unprecedented immunity from the American criminal legal system. Check out the report to understand how this authoritarian playbook could become reality.

Best,

Michael Sozan
Senior Fellow
Center for American Progress