Mandate forLeadershipThe Conservative PromiseForeword by Kevin Roberts,PhDEdited by Paul Dans and Steven GrovesMandate forLeadershipThe Conservative PromiseProject 2025PRESIDENTIAL TRANSITION PROJECT214 Massachusetts Ave.,NEWashington,DC 20002(202)546-4400 heritage.orgAll rights reserved.Printed in the United States of AmericaISBN:978-0-89195-174-2Mandate forLeadershipThe Conservative PromiseForeword by Kevin D.Roberts,PhDEdited by Paul Dans and Steven GrovesContentsACKNOWLEDGMENTSixTHE PROJECT 2025 ADVISORY BOARD.THE 2025 PRESIDENTIAL TRANSITION PROJECT:A NOTE ON“PROJECT2025”.AUTHORS.CONTRIBUTORSXXVFOREWORD:A PROMISE TO AMERICA1Kevin D.Roberts,PhDSECTION 1:TAKING THE REINS OF GOVERNMENT.......191.WHITE HOUSE OFFICE.23Rick Dearborn2.EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENTOF THE UNITED STATES.43Russ Vought3.CENTRAL PERSONNEL AGENCIES:MANAGING THE BUREAUCRACY.69Donald Devine,Dennis Dean Kirk,and Paul DansSECTION 2:THE COMMON DEFENSE874.DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE.91Christopher Miller5.DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY133Ken Cuccinelli6.DEPARTMENT OF STATE171Kiron K.Skinner7.INTELLIGENCE COMMUNITY.201Dustin J.Carmack8.MEDIA AGENCIES235U.S.AGENCY FOR GLOBAL MEDIA235Mora NamdarCORPORATION FOR PUBLIC BROADCASTING246Mike Gonzalez9.AGENCY FOR INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT....253Max PrimoracSECTION 3:THE GENERAL WELFARE28310.DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE.289Daren Bakst11.DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION319Lindsey M.Burke12.DEPARTMENT OF ENERGYAND RELATED COMMISSIONS.363Bernard L.McNamee13.ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY..417Mandy M.Gunasekara14.DEPARTMENT OF HEALTHAND HUMAN SERVICES449Roger Severino15.DEPARTMENT OF HOUSINGAND URBAN DEVELOPMENT503Benjamin S.Carson,Sr.,MD16.DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR.517William Perry Pendley17.DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE545Gene Hamilton18.DEPARTMENT OF LABORAND RELATED AGENCIES581Jonathan Berry19.DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION619Diana Furchtgott-Roth20.DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS641Brooks D.TuckerSECTION 4:THE ECONOMY65721.DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE663Thomas F Gilman22.DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY691William L.Walton,Stephen Moore,and David R.Burton23.EXPORT-IMPORT BANK......717THE EXPORT-IMPORT BANK SHOULD BE ABOLISHED.717Veronique de RugyTHE CASE FOR THE EXPORT-IMPORT BANK724Jennifer Hazelton24.FEDERAL RESERVE731Paul Winfree25.SMALL BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION745Karen Kerrigan26.TRADE765THE CASE FOR FAIR TRADE765Peter NavarroTHE CASE FOR FREE TRADE.796Kent LassmanSECTION 5:INDEPENDENT REGULATORY AGENCIES27.FINANCIAL REGULATORY AGENCIES.SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSIONAND RELATED AGENCIES....829David R.BurtonCONSUMER FINANCIAL PROTECTION BUREAU837Robert Bowes28.FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION845Brendan Carr29.FEDERAL ELECTION COMMISSION.861Hans A.von Spakovsky30.FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION869Adam CandeubONWARD!.883Edwin J.FeulnerAcknowledgmentshis work,Mandate for Leadership 2025:The Conservative Promise,is a col-lective effort of hundreds of volunteers who have banded together in thespirit of advancing positive change for America.Our work is by no meansthe comprehensive compendium of conservative policies,nor is our group theexclusive cadre of conservative thinkers.The ideas expressed in this volume arenot necessarily shared by all.What unites us is the drive to make our country better.First and foremost,we thank the chapter authors and contributors who gaveso freely of their time in service of their country.We were particularly grateful to have the help of dedicated members of TheHeritage Foundation's management and policy teams.Executive Vice PresidentDerrick Morgan,Chief of Staff Wesley Coopersmith,Associate Director of Project2025 Spencer Chretien,and Thomas A.Roe Institute for Economic Policy StudiesDirector Paul Ray devoted a significant amount oftheir valuable time to reviewingand editing the lengthy manuscript and provided expert advice and insight.The job of transforming the work of dozens of authors and hundreds ofcontributors into a cohesive manuscript fell upon Heritage's formidable team ofeditors led by Director of Research Editors Therese Pennefather,Senior EditorWilliam T.Poole,Marla Hess,Jessica Lowther,Karina Rollins,and KathleenScaturro,without whose tireless efforts you would not be reading these words.The talented work of Data Graphics Services Manager John Fleming,Manager ofWeb Development and Print Projects Jay Simon,Director of Marketing ElizabethFender,Senior Graphic Designer Grace Desandro,and Senior Designer MelissaBluey came together to bring the volume to life.We also thank the dedicated juniorstaff who provided immeasurable assistance,especially Jordan Embree,SarahCalvis,and Jonathan Moy.Most important,we are grateful to the leadership,supporters,and donors ofeach of the Project 2025 advisory board member organizations and those of TheHeritage Foundation,without whom Project 2025 would not be possible.Thankyou.Paul Dans Steven Groves-ix-The Project 2025Advisory BoardAlabama Policy InstituteAlliance Defending FreedomAmerican CompassThe American ConservativeAmerica First Legal FoundationAmerican Accountability FoundationAmerican Center for Law and JusticeAmerican Cornerstone InstituteAmerican Council of Trustees and AlumniAmerican Legislative Exchange CouncilThe American Main Street InitiativeAmerican MomentAmerican Principles ProjectCenter for Equal OpportunityCenter for Family and Human RightsCenter for Immigration StudiesCenter for Renewing AmericaClaremont InstituteCoalition for a Prosperous AmericaCompetitive Enterprise InstituteConservative Partnership InstituteConcerned Women for AmericaDefense of Freedom InstituteEthics and Public Policy CenterFamily Policy AllianceFamily Research CouncilFirst Liberty InstituteForge Leadership NetworkFoundation for Defense of DemocraciesFoundation for Government AccountabilityFreedomWorksThe Heritage FoundationHillsdale CollegeHonest Elections ProjectMandate for Leadership:The Conservative PromiseIndependent Women's ForumInstitute for Energy ResearchInstitute for Women's HealthIntercollegiate Studies InstituteJames Madison InstituteKeystone PolicyThe Leadership InstituteLiberty UniversityNational Association of ScholarsNational Center for Public Policy ResearchPacific Research InstitutePatrick Henry CollegePersonnel Policy OperationsRecovery for America Now Foundation1792 ExchangeSusan B.Anthony Pro-Life AmericaTexas Public Policy FoundationTeneo NetworkYoung America's Foundation-xii-The 2025 PresidentialTransition ProjectA NOTE ON“PROJECT2025”ewant you!The 2025 Presidential Transition Projectis the conservativemovement's unified effort to be ready for the next conservativeAdministration to govern at 12:00 noon,January 20,2025.Welcometo the mission.By opening this book,you are now a part of it.Indeed,one setof eyes reading these passages will be those of the 47th President of the UnitedStates,and we hope every other reader will join in making the incoming Admin-istration a success.History teaches that a President's power to implementan agendais at its apex duringthe Administration's opening days.To execute requires a well-conceived,coordinated,unified plan and atrained and committed cadre ofpersonnel toimplement it.In recentelection cycles,presidential candidates normally began transition planning in the latespringofelection yearoreven after the party's nomination was secured.That is too late.The federal government's complexity and growth advance at a seemingly logarithmicrate every four years.For conservatives to have afighting chance to take on the Adminis-trative State and reformour federal government,the work must start now.Theentiretyof this effort is to support the next conservative President,whoever he or she may be.In the winter of 1980,the fledging Heritage Foundation handed to President-electRonald Reagan the inaugural Mandate for Leadership.This collective work by conser-vative thought leaders and former government hands-most of whom were not part ofHeritage-set out policy prescriptions,agency by agency for the incoming President.The book literally put the conservative movement and Reagan on the same page,andthe revolution that followed might never have been,save for this band of committed andvolunteer activists.With this volume,we have gone back to the future-and then some.Mandate for Leadership:The Conservative PromiseIt's not 1980.In 2023,the game has changed.The long march of cultural Marxismthrough our institutions has come to pass.The federal government is a behemoth,weaponized against American citizens and conservative values,with freedom andlibertyunder siege as never before.The task at hand to reverse this tide and restoreour Republic to its original moorings is toogreat for any one conservative policy shopto spearhead.It requires the collective action of our movement.With the quickeningapproach of January 2025,we have two years and one chance to get it right.Project 2025 is more than 50 (and growing)of the nation's leading conservativeorganizations joining forces to prepare and seize the day.The axiom goes "person-nel is policy,"and we need a new generation of Americans to answer the call andcome to serve.This book is functionally an invitation for you the reader-Mr.Smith,Mrs.Smith,and Ms.Smith-to come to Washington or support those who can.Ourgoal is to assemble an army of aligned,vetted,trained,and prepared conservativesto go to work on Day One to deconstruct the Administrative State.The project is built on four pillars.Pillar I-this volume-puts in one place a consensus view of how majorfederal agencies must be governed and where disagreement exists bracketsout these differences for the next President to choose a path.Pillar II is a personnel database that allows candidates to build their ownprofessional profiles and our coalition members to review and voice theirrecommendations.These recommendations will then be collated and sharedwith the President-elect's team,greatly streamlining the appointment process.Pillar III is the Presidential Administration Academy,an onlineeducational system taught by experts from our coalition.For the newcomer,this will explain how the government functions and how to function ingovernment.For the experienced,we will host in-person seminars withadvanced training and set the bar for what is expected of senior leadership.In Pillar IV-the Playbook-we are forming agency teams and drafting tran-sition plans to move out upon the President's utterance of"so help me God."As Americans living at the approach of our nation's 250th birthday,we have beengiven much.As conservatives,we are as much required to steward this preciousheritage for the next generation.On behalf ofour coalition partners,we thank youand invite you to come join with us at project2025.org.Paul DansDirector,Project 2025