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Nov 21, 2024

POLITICO'S West Wing Playbook: Transition of Power

By Adam Wren, Gavin Bade, Alice Miranda Ollstein, Natalie Allison and Ben Johansen

Presented by Novo Nordisk

Welcome to POLITICO’s West Wing Playbook, your guide to the preparations, personnel decisions and policy deliberations of Donald Trump’s transition. POLITICO Pro subscribers receive a version of this newsletter first.

DONALD TRUMP spent his presidential campaign running from Project 2025. Now, he’s using it to stock his White House and administration.

In recent days, Trump has tapped nearly a half dozen Project 2025 authors and contributors, including BRENDAN CARR, who Trump picked this week to lead the Federal Communications Commission; former Rep. PETE HOEKSTRA, who got the nod for ambassador to Canada; and JOHN RATCLIFFE, who was tapped for director of the Central Intelligence Agency. One of Trump’s first selections – TOM HOMAN as “border czar” – was also a Project 2025 contributor.

The next Project 2025 alum to join the administration could be RUSS VOUGHT, the president-elect’s former director of the Office of Management and Budget, who is being closely considered for a return to the role, POLITICO reported this week. That’s despite Trump once calling the group’s work product “absolutely ridiculous and abysmal,” and the leader of his transition team, HOWARD LUTNICK, saying the group had made itself “nuclear.”

Not anymore.

“I don't think the Trump administration sees Project 2025 as toxic,” said MICHAEL CANNON, director of health policy at the CATO Institute, who advised the Heritage Foundation project but declined to be listed as one of its authors. “So, it should not surprise us when some of the people who contributed to that effort get picked up by the administration.”

Now Project 2025 alums are slated to have key roles in his administration — particularly on the economy, immigration and dismantling the administrative state.

And with the most recent round of controversial Cabinet nominees, Cannon quipped, the Trump transition is “doing their level best to make Project 2025 look reasonable.”

Still, there are limits. ROGER SEVERINO, an anti-abortion stalwart who held a prominent role at HHS during the first Trump administration and was the lead author of Project 2025’s health care chapter, was rejected by Trump’s transition team to fill the No. 2 job at the agency over his participation in the project. Anti-abortion groups had lobbied hard for his nomination, but Trump’s team is trying to distance itself from the strict federal curbs on abortion Severino called for in Project 2025, after running on promises to leave the issue to the states.

In some cases – like Vought – it’s unclear whether the influence of Project 2025 alumni ever truly ceased, even when Trump repeatedly disavowed the project on the campaign trail. Despite those pronouncements, Vought has played a key role behind the scenes, informally advising the Trump campaign on trade and economic policy alongside Trump loyalists like VINCE HALEY, the campaign’s policy lead, and ROBERT LIGHTHIZER, Trump’s former trade chief.

Vought wrote a section of the Heritage report on paring back federal spending and regulations, as well as Project 2025’s 180-day transition paybook. In an appearance on TUCKER CARLSON’s show on X, he said he would pursue a “massive deregulatory agenda” alongside ELON MUSK and VIVEK RAMASWAMY and be “as radical or aggressive as you can” in reducing full-time federal employees and contractors.

Officials at the Heritage Foundation, amid a rocky summer where some prominent Republicans were criticizing the group — namely, top operatives on the Trump campaign, like senior adviser CHRIS LaCIVITA — were already anticipating that their standing would vastly improve after the election. Throughout much of 2024, the think tank took the position of “we’re going to slide down a little bit and be quiet,” said a Heritage official granted anonymity to speak freely.

But by October, the official said, there were already signs that there “was less cautiousness about Project 2025 and Heritage,” giving way to quick nominations of Heritage fellows and Project 2025 contributors to Trump’s new administration.

At a book release party last week for Heritage president KEVIN ROBERTS — whose September publication date was pushed back until after the election, amid concerns about the Project 2025 brand — Rep. RALPH NORMAN (R-S.C.) was among several members of Congress there to lend support for the organization.

“I told Kevin, I think it helps,” Norman told POLITICO of all the backlash and hand wringing over Heritage and Project 2025 in recent months, arguing that the publicity would ultimately serve to be helpful to the organization implementing its agenda.

More on Trump's history with Project 2025 here.

MESSAGE US — Are you CHRIS LaCIVITA? We want to hear from you. And we’ll keep you anonymous! Email us at westwingtips@politico.com.

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POTUS PUZZLER

Which president was the first to celebrate Thanksgiving outside of the United States?

Pro Exclusive

Carson seen as favorite to return as HUD secretary, via our KATY O’DONNELL and VICTORIA GUIDA

Former Pence comms director leading HHS comms for Kennedy, via our CHELSEA CIRRUZZO

Freedom Caucus leader sees opening for new SNAP restrictions amid MAHA movement, via our MEREDITH LEE HILL

The reporting in this section is exclusively available to POLITICO Pro subscribers. Pro is a personalized policy intelligence platform from POLITICO. If you are interested in learning more about how POLITICO Pro can support your team through the 2024 transition and beyond, visit politicopro.com.

Heads up, we're all transition all the time over on our live blog: Inside Congress Live: Transition of Power. Bookmark politico.com/transition to keep up with us.

THE BUREAUCRATS

MAYBE THE REAL TREASURE WAS THE FRIENDS WE MET ALONG THE WAY: MATT GAETZ, Trump’s controversial — to put it lightly — pick for attorney general, withdrew his name from consideration, saying in a social media post Thursday that his nomination had become a distraction, our OLIVIA BEAVERS reports. Gaetz held multiple meetings with GOP senators over the past several days as he sought to game out his chances of getting confirmed, with Vice President-elect JD VANCE assisting in his confirmation process.

Even senators who supported him had expressed doubts that he would get through, given he could only lose three Republican votes, assuming Democrats are uniformly opposed. NYT’s JONATHAN SWAN reported there were at least four GOP senators opposed to his nomination: Alaska Sen. LISA MURKOWSKI, Maine Sen. SUSAN COLLINS, Kentucky Sen. MITCH McCONNELL and Utah Sen.-elect JOHN CURTIS.

McConnell kept it short when talking of Gaetz’s withdrawal: “I think that was appropriate.”

Gatez’s announcement came just after CNN’s PAULA REID and SARAH FERRIS scooped that the House Ethics Committee had been informed of a second sexual encounter between the former lawmaker and a 17-year-old in 2017.

Want to know what's really happening with Congress's make-or-break spending fights? Get daily insider analysis of Hill negotiations, funding deadlines, and breaking developments—free in your inbox with Inside Congress. Subscribe now.

NOT LOOKING GREAT FOR HEGSETH EITHER: A police report released Wednesday provided graphic details of a sexual assault allegation in 2017 against PETE HEGSETH, Trump’s Defense secretary nominee, AP’s MARTHA MENDOZA, BRIAN SLODYSKO and JULIET LINDERMAN report. A woman told police that Hegseth sexually assaulted her after he took her phone, blocked the door to a California hotel room and refused to let her leave.

Hegseth’s attorney said a payment was made to the woman as part of a confidential settlement a few years after the police investigation because Hegseth was concerned she would file a lawsuit that could get him fired from Fox News. Hegseth has denied any wrongdoing.

Our defense team wrote up a list of the senators to watch closely as the nominee advocates for himself on Capitol Hill today. They could upend his confirmation if they don’t like what he says in light of this new allegation.

McMAHON FACES ALLEGATIONS, TOO: Trump’s Education secretary nominee, LINDA McMAHON, was sued for allegedly enabling sexual abuse of children as the former CEO of World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE), CNN’s JOHN TOWFIGHI reports. The lawsuit claims McMahon, her husband, the WWE and TKO Group Holdings knowingly allowed an employee, MELVIN PHILLIPS JR., to use his position as ringside announcer to sexually exploit children from as early as the 1980s.

OVERALL, NOT THE BEST DAY FOR DON: In audio uncovered by CNN’s ANDY KACZYNSKI, ROBERT F. KENNEDY JR. applauded descriptions of Trump and his supporters as “belligerent idiots,” “outright Nazis,” "cowards” and “bootlickers.” He compared Trump to Adolf Hitler, before backtracking, concluding that Trump was not Hitler, because “Hitler was interested in policy.”

But as the legendary MARLON BRANDO once put it, Trump clearly made Kennedy an offer he couldn’t refuse: a job.

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Agenda Setting

SEE YA, GARY: Securities and Exchange Commission Chair GARY GENSLER, who pursued a sweeping and controversial agenda as Wall Street’s chief overseer over the last three-plus years, plans to step down on Jan. 20, our DECLAN HARTY reports. His departure will clear the way for Trump to install his yet-to-be-named pick to lead the top U.S. financial markets regulator.

Gensler’s exit will cap one of the most memorable periods in the SEC’s history as the regulator sought to enact a slate of ambitious rules and pursue lawsuits that led to high-profile clashes with both the traditional financial world and the crypto industry.

IN THE GRAND SCHEME OF THINGS … Current and former NATO officials are struggling to get a read on MATTHEW WHITAKER, Trump’s pick for ambassador to the alliance, our ROBBIE GRAMER and JACK DETSCH report. But one common refrain among the officials is that it could have been worse.

Whitaker is virtually unknown in Brussels, according to several interviews with current and former alliance defense officials. But, many of them argue, at least they’re getting a nominee with a direct line to Trump — and someone who isn’t himself openly hostile to the organization.

Don't just read headlines—guide your organization's next move. POLITICO Pro's comprehensive Data Analysis tracks power shifts in Congress, ballot measures, and committee turnovers, giving you the deep context behind every policy decision. Learn more about what POLITICO Pro can do for you.

What We're Reading

Donald Trump gets a brutal reality check (POLITICO’s Kyle Cheney)

Here Are the GOP Senators Best Positioned to Take on Trump (POLITICO’s Jonathan Martin)

How Elon Musk Became a Kingmaker (TIME Magazine’s Simon Shuster)

POTUS PUZZLER ANSWER

President FRANKLIN D. ROOSEVELT was the first president to celebrate Thanksgiving outside of the United States when he had Thanksgiving dinner in the south Atlantic on board the U.S.S. Indianapolis on his way to the Inter-American Peace Conference in Buenos Aires, according to the White House Historical Association.

Thanks to the White House Historical Association for this question!

A CALL OUT! Do you think you have a harder trivia question? Send us your best one about the presidents, with a citation or sourcing, and we may feature it!

Edited by Jennifer Haberkorn and Rishika Dugyala

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The Novo Nordisk Foundation has awarded thousands of grants worth approximately $5 billion over the last five years. Learn more about how we drive change to defeat serious chronic diseases here.