A far-right policy blueprint for a second Trump administration, known as Project 2025, would gut critical environmental, energy, and food safety regulations, directly threatening Americans’ access to clean air, safe drinking water, and nutritious food.
The nearly 1,000-page plan lays out an aggressive deregulation strategy, prioritizing corporate interests over public health and environmental safety.
Among the most dangerous proposals in Project 2025 is the downgrading of the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) upcoming classification of perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) as hazardous chemicals. These “forever chemicals,” which are nearly impossible to eliminate from the environment, have been linked to cancer and other deadly diseases.
More than 200 million Americans may already be drinking water contaminated with PFAS, and the rollback of these protections would enable corporations to continue dumping these toxic chemicals without accountability.
Project 2025 doesn’t stop there—it would also delay the removal of lead pipes, extending the risk of lead poisoning for another 20 years, disproportionately affecting minority and low-income communities. The Biden administration has made progress in addressing this public health crisis, but Trump’s far-right allies are determined to undo those gains.
The plan goes even further by proposing to cut off funding for scientific research and public awareness campaigns. Under Project 2025, funding for the Integrated Risk Information System, a vital resource that tracks cancer-causing chemicals, would be slashed. The National Weather Service, which provides critical data for studying climate change, would also face deep cuts, leaving Americans less informed about the growing dangers posed by a warming planet.
In addition to attacking environmental protections, Project 2025 targets Americans’ right to know what’s in their food. The plan would dismantle the power of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), allowing corporate agriculture and food companies to continue selling ultra-processed, chemically altered products without oversight. It explicitly calls for repealing the federal labeling mandate, a move that would allow companies to mislead the public about the ingredients and nutritional value of their products.
Energy policies under Project 2025 would be equally disastrous. According to the nonpartisan Energy Innovation Technology & Policy (EITP), repealing Democratic policies like the Inflation Reduction Act and rolling back EPA fuel and vehicle standards would cause a spike in air pollution, resulting in 6,000 premature deaths by 2030 and a staggering 25,400 deaths annually by 2050.
“Rolling back these standards would significantly increase gasoline consumption, leading to higher emissions of health-damaging pollutants,” said Robbie Orvis, Senior Director for Modeling and Analysis at EITP.
The right-wing agenda in Project 2025 prioritizes fossil fuel industries at the expense of public health and environmental sustainability. If implemented, the blueprint would devastate efforts to combat climate change, leading to increased asthma attacks, hospitalizations, and respiratory diseases. By 2050, the plan is projected to cause 771,000 additional asthma attacks each year.
Project 2025 is a stark reminder of the dangers posed by far-right policies that prioritize corporate profit over the health and safety of the American people. If enacted, this blueprint would lead to widespread environmental degradation, public health crises, and untold suffering for millions of Americans.
