That sound you are hearing from the lavish Washington, D.C. headquarters of the Heritage Foundation, is that of staffers polishing their jackboots for a much-anticipated January 20, 2025 return to Donald Trump’s White House. The Heritage Foundation, the Darth Vader of modern-day right-wing think tanks, has been all about gutting government positions, policies and services since its founding in 1973. Not since the early days of the Reagan administration has it been closer to achieving its goal.
To accomplish the final takedown of the administrative state, the Heritage Foundation has brought together more than 100 conservative tax-exempt organizations with an estimated $2 billion dollars in support of the election of Donald Trump and the perpetuation of MAGA agenda.
As Thomas Edsall recently reported in The New York Times (https://www.nytimes.com/2024/04/03/opinion/leonard-leo-heritage-trump-2025.html) “Most of the work performed by these nonprofit groups is conducted behind closed doors. Unlike traditional political organizations, these groups do not disclose their donors and must reveal only minimal information on expenditures. In many cases, even this minimal information will not be available until after the 2024 election.
“Nonprofits like these are able to maintain a cloak of secrecy by positioning themselves as ‘charitable organizations’ under section 501(c)(3) of the tax code or as ‘social welfare organizations’ under section 501(c)(4),” Edsall noted.
Edsall described what he called “three power centers” shaping policy of an anticipated Trump second term:
The first is made up of groups pieced together by Leonard Leo, a co-chairman of the Federalist Society, renowned for his role in the conservative takeover of the Supreme Court and of many key posts in the federal and state judiciaries.
…. The second nexus of right-wing tax-exempt groups is the alliance clustered on Capitol Hill around the intersection of 3rd Street SE and Independence Avenue — offices and townhouses that fashion themselves as “patriots’ row.”
The third center is coordinated by the Heritage Foundation, which, under the leadership of Kevin D. Roberts, who assumed the presidency in 2021, has become a committed ally of the MAGA movement. Heritage, in turn, has created Project 2025 in preparation for a potential Trump victory in November.
“Project 2025 (https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2024/3/5/2227598/-The-Heritage-Foundation-s-Mandate-For-Leadership-An-Undisguised-Final-Solution-for-Democracy) is a fascist takeover scheme devised by the Heritage Foundation,” Mark Frauenfelder recently pointed out. “Its 920-page manifesto reads like a a blueprint for achieving a Handmaid's Tale style theocracy, where presidential powers are limitless, environmental regulations are slashed, and civil liberties, particularly for the LGBTQ community and immigrants, are wiped out” (boingboing.net/...)
In her latest issue of Public Notice, Lisa Needham says Project 2025 checks all the Christian Nationalist boxes: "Banning the abortion pill nationwide? Check. Rolling back protections for LGBTQ people? Check. Deporting literally millions of undocumented immigrants? Check" (www.newsweek.com/...)
The Heritage Foundation is the conservative movement’s most powerful think tank. It has provided blueprints on all sorts of issues for the first Trump administration, active during the transition, vetting candidates for administration positions and providing the critical list of potential conservative Supreme Court nominees. With a second Trump term in the offing, it will be more than prepared to provide loyal administration soldiers.