With the second Trump administration and the 119th Congress in power, the Center for Progressive Reform is defending our safeguards and standing up for our democracy. We’re also driving, supporting, and showcasing progress and positive developments on climate justice, environmental justice, a just energy transition, and more when and where they occur in the states.
In its first 100 days, the second Trump administration has repeatedly attacked our system of standards and safeguards and damaged our democracy. But the administration’s efforts haven’t been without significant stumbles, setbacks, and blunders. The Center’s scholars and staff have been delving into the impacts and outcomes of these initial 100 days. Explore the links in this section to find out what they observed and learned.
* Legal Planet, “100 Days of Anti-Environmental Mayhem” (by Daniel Farber)
* Slate, “DOGE and Project 2025 Don’t Want the Same Thing” (by James Goodwin)
* The Regulatory Review, “On Direct Exercises of Presidential Power” (by Richard Pierce)
* Bloomberg Law, “Trump’s First 100 Days: Workplace Agencies Hamstrung by Firings” (feat. Sharon Block)
* The Guardian, “Trump 100 days: White House action plan makes Project 2025 look mild” (feat. James Goodwin and our Project 2025 tracker)
* Grist, “Project 2025 was extreme. Trump’s first 100 days have been even more radical.” (feat. James Goodwin and our Project 2025 tracker)
* DW, “How Durable Are Donald Trump’s Executive Orders?” (feat. James Goodwin and our Project 2025 tracker)
* The New York Times, “A Road Map of Trump’s Lawless Presidency, According to 35 Legal Scholars” (feat. Daniel Farber)
As a candidate for president, Donald Trump repeatedly denied any knowledge of or full support for the Project 2025 agenda. As president, however, Trump and his team are now warmly embracing its recommendations and including them in early executive orders.
Trump has also nominated several Project 2025 contributors to key positions in his administration, including key architect Russell Vought. Vought leads the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB), a role he played during Trump 1.0.
We’ve coordinated with Governing for Impact to track the Trump administration’s implementation of Project 2025 recommendations. Visit our tracker page to explore the databases we’ve compiled.
We’ve also offered a constructive alternative to Project 2025, and while we don’t expect the second Trump administration to take it up, it can serve as an outline for future administrations focused on the public interest.
The Center for Progressive Reform is tracking numerous Congressional Review Act (CRA) resolutions, the threats they pose to our public protections, and the benefits that would be lost if they pass. Learn more about this dangerous anti-regulatory law and the special interests behind the resolutions in the 119th Congress.
The so-called Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), under the questionable leadership of Elon Musk, has quickly become the signature initiative of the second Trump administration. Personnel associated with DOGE have fanned out across the executive branch, dismantling them from within by hacking their IT infrastructure, firing staff, and attempting to shut down entire agencies.
DOGE’s actions epitomize the administration’s hostile attitude toward the law and the U.S. Constitution. Despite assertions that it would act with complete transparency, instead DOG has done so covertly, with little to no checks from the executive or legislative branches.
To help congressional leaders, policymakers, and citizens understand the ways that DOGE’s actions may be unlawful, the Center has established the Unmasking DOGE tool that catalogues the numerous legal infirmities that underlie both DOGE as an institution and the specific actions it is carrying out. The tool also assembles background resources and materials related to legal challenges, and it outlines a variety of legal and advocacy strategies for responding to DOGE. You can explore the embedded tracker below, or you can click to open a full-size version in a new tab.
We plan to update this tool on a regular basis by cataloging ongoing developments in lawsuits, academic think pieces, and information and analyses from other reputable sources.
Contributing to this project are Center for Progressive Reform Board Member and Member Scholar Alejandro Camacho and volunteer law students Serapia Kim, Semmie Lee, Maggie Maser, Rachel Sondkar, and Derek Yeghiazarian.
Suggested citation: Online Tool, Serapia Kim, Semmie Lee, Maggie Maser, Rachel Sondkar, Derek Yeghiazarian, Alejandro Camacho, and Center for Progressive Reform, Unmasking DOGE (March 18, 2025), https://progressivereform.org/tracking-trump-2/#unmasking-doge-tracker
As Member Scholar Daniel Farber notes, it’s a tribute to the significance of state climate policies that President Donald Trump devoted an entire executive order to excoriating them as “fundamentally irreconcilable” with his own, fossil fuel-promoting energy policy. Yet, despite all the drama in DC, state governments have continued to make quiet progress in their efforts to expand clean energy and phase out fossil fuels. These states are focused on tangible steps forward, not on capturing online clicks, so their efforts may escape notice. But the cumulative effect of these month-by-month, smaller-scale initiatives is significant.
If you’re a member of the media and you’d like to interview one of our expert scholars or staff members, please contact our communications staff.
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