The Trump and Harris Memos

Republican nominee Donald Trump and presumptive Democratic nominee Vice President Kamala Harris will face off in the 2024 presidential election — and the stakes for our civil rights and liberties are higher than ever. The Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank, has introduced Project 2025, a roadmap to take away our freedoms by chipping away at checks and balances. Coupled with the Supreme Court’s recent ruling expanding presidential immunity from criminal prosecution while in office, Project 2025 threatens to dismantle democracy as we know it.

Though the ACLU doesn’t endorse or oppose candidates for elected office, we recognize there will be drastically different realities for the country depending on which candidate wins in November. Regardless of a candidate’s political affiliation, the ACLU will stand for any executive action to protect and expand civil rights and liberties, and stand against any executive action that threatens them. Our legal, legislative, and advocacy experts are preparing for any administration by identifying the challenges and opportunities that each candidate brings, and the concrete actions the ACLU will take in response.

Ahead of the election, we are sharing our roadmap in a series of 13 memos — seven memos on a potential second Trump administration and six on potential Harris administration — to be released through August. The memos will address a range of issues from immigrants’ rights, abortion access, LGBTQ rights, First Amendment freedoms, racial equity, criminal legal reform, and more. Check back every week for a new memo outlining what a potential Trump and Harris administration means for our most fundamental freedoms, and what the ACLU is doing to ensure the nation lives up to the promise of the Constitution.

Created by the Heritage Foundation, Project 2025 is a series of policy proposals that would reshape the American government to favor right-wing conservative ideals. If the Trump administration regains power in the White House, the initiative will see key positions in federal agencies filled by the most extreme members of the Republican Party, who would then work to dismantle policies put in place to protect our civil rights and liberties and establish a more authoritarian rule of law.

As Project 2025 makes clear, a second Trump administration would be more aggressive in reshaping our government to suit its agenda, and the ACLU is also preparing its own strategies of defense. With over 100 years of experience and expertise bolstering us, we are laying our own groundwork to defend individuals’ constitutional freedoms. Along with our network of affiliates and coalition partners in all 50 states, we are armed with tools and tactics to protect against executive action that would take away our rights.