The recent dismissal of multiple independent inspectors general (IGs) by Donald Trump—executed without legally mandated congressional notification—further exemplifies the chilling alignment with Project 2025, a radical conservative strategy to consolidate executive power and dismantle federal oversight. This playbook, crafted by The Heritage Foundation, Trump-aligned allies and the same people who wrote the playbook for Reagan, seeks to gut nonpartisan institutions under the guise of “draining the swamp,” instead replacing them with a regime of political loyalty. The removal of these watchdogs is not an isolated act but a calculated step toward eroding democratic safeguards, as outlined in *Project 2025*’s vision of unchecked executive authority.
I cover Project 2025 in exhaustive detail here: https://www.wizzense.com/post/project-2025-an-antithesis
Project 2025 is spearheaded by the Heritage Foundation and allied groups, explicitly calls for the dismantling of the so-called “deep state”—a derogatory label for career civil servants and independent oversight bodies that ensure accountability. Central to its agenda is the neutering of inspectors general, nonpartisan officials tasked with rooting out waste, fraud, and abuse across federal agencies. By framing these watchdogs as “obstacles” to ideological goals, the project advocates for their replacement with partisan loyalists, effectively transforming governance into a vehicle for political agendas rather than public service.
Why does this matter?
1. Consolidating Unchecked Power
Inspectors general act as critical bulwarks against corruption, conducting audits and investigations that hold agencies accountable. Their removal eliminates internal scrutiny, granting the executive branch freedom to operate without transparency. Project 2025 emphasizes this consolidation of authority as essential to bypassing bureaucratic “obstruction”—a euphemism for democratic checks.
2. Sabotaging Oversight Mechanisms
Independent IGs routinely uncover misconduct, from misuse of taxpayer funds to ethical violations. By ousting these officials, the administration dismantles a key channel for exposing executive overreach. This mirrors Project 2025’s broader goal of defanging oversight, including proposals to politicize the Justice Department and curtail congressional subpoena power.
3. Installing Loyalists Over Public Servants
Vacating IG roles creates opportunities to install ideological allies who prioritize fealty over facts. Project 2025 explicitly recommends vetting appointees for “allegiance to the president’s agenda,” ensuring that accountability mechanisms serve partisan interests rather than the public.
While Project 2025 and Trump frame their agenda as combating government inefficiency, their actions reveal a far darker objective: subverting institutions meant to protect democracy. The phrase “drain the swamp” has become Orwellian doublespeak for purging expertise and independence from federal agencies, replacing them with a pliant bureaucracy. This strategy risks enabling systemic corruption, as seen in administrations worldwide where oversight is neutered.
This is a flashing red light for democracy. Project 2025's roadmap, now being enacted, threatens to permanently warp governance, replacing impartiality with authoritarian control. Without robust oversight, executive power risks spiraling into tyranny, unchecked by the balances foundational to U.S. democracy.
This moment demands urgent scrutiny. Legislators, journalists, and citizens must challenge the normalization of these power grabs and reaffirm that public institutions belong to the people—not to any single leader. The erosion of accountability is not a partisan issue; it is an assault on the principles that sustain free societies. If left unchallenged, Project 2025 will leave democracy not just weakened, but unrecognizable.