Donald Trump said he has “no idea” who’s behind it. His presidential transition chair and the man he picked to be the secretary of commerce said he wouldn’t touch it. “They made themselves nuclear,” he said.

Paul Dans, the former director of Project 2025, once described his plans to make a “conservative Linkedin” containing information on thousands of potential hires for the Trump administration. He envisioned it as a personnel machine for rooting out the “deep state” and replacing federal employees with devoted MAGA loyalists.

Trump named Vought, who played a central role in designing Project 2025, to head up the Office of Management and Budget in his second term.

Several Project 2025 authors and contributors are not just connected to President-elect Donald Trump, but also nominated for roles in his administration.

Transition officials have used Project 2025's extensive personnel database for potential candidates to hire for the incoming administration, a person familiar the plans said.