A think tank aims to have fully vetted and loyal conservatives with a ruling agenda in place and prepared to work by the next Republican president’s first day in office, according to a former White House official who spoke in the Campbell Room on March 30.

Career Services and Hillsdale College Republicans co-hosted the presentation about the Heritage Foundation’s 2025 Presidential Transition Project, also known as Project 2025. 

Spencer Chretien, associate director of Project 2025 as well as a former special assistant to the president and associate director of presidential personnel during the Trump administration, spoke about his employment in the White House and how students might work in the executive branch after they graduate. 

Chretien said the Heritage Foundation’s goal for Project 2025 is to turn conservatives into experts in government administration. 

“A conservative president and his people are outmanned by the permanent bureaucracy that stays beyond one president,” Chretien said. “We’re always figuring out things a little bit too late, and we lose valuable time when we do have political power because we are still learning the ropes of the federal bureaucracy.”

Chretien said the Heritage Foundation has representatives from more than 50 partner organizations that comprise the Project 2025 advisory board, including Alliance Defending Freedom, Hillsdale College, Liberty University, and Patrick Henry College. 

“The goal is to make what we’re doing so big that the next president cannot ignore it, and we can say to the next conservative president, ‘This is what the conservative movement has rallied behind. This is what the conservative movement expects and demands,’” Chretien said. 

Project 2025 is conducting much of the next conservative president’s work ahead of time, Chretien said. 

“We’re going to take care of vetting these people who are in our database ahead of time so that the day after the election, we can say to the next president, ‘Here are appropriate, approved, pre-vetted personnel recommended by our whole advisory board who want to come to Washington and work for you,’” Chretien said. 

Project 2025 also includes transition plans, according to Chretien. 

“We call it ‘the playbook,’” Chretien said. “This is taking the big ideas and hashing them out: what needs to happen the day before the inauguration, on the day of the inauguration, all the way out to the first six months.” 

Freshman Katie Crain said Project 2025 is a great way to prepare for the presidency if conservatives win and to match the liberals’ level of planning and organization. 

“If conservatives don’t band together, we’re just going to be pushed back more and more,” Crain said. “Right now we’re behind them, and even if we don’t win the election, this is still necessary.”

Executive Director of Career Services Ken Koopmans said the college has many connections, so this event is another opportunity for students for future career connections.

“This is just one more opportunity for students to learn about what’s going on in the conservative movement, learn about ways to get involved, meet people from Heritage, and meet somebody who worked in the Trump administration,” Koopmans said. 

Sophomore Rachel Schroder said she attended the Project 2025 event to take advantage of the networking opportunities. 

“I’m most passionate about the pro-life cause, and Heritage has a whole department dedicated to life, religion, and family,” Schroder said. “I’m hoping to work for them in the future.”

Chretien said those who get involved in the transition project now will be favored when it comes time to hire the next conservative administration.

“Don’t be like all the people who get involved the day after the election, but get involved now,” Chretien said. 

Students can sign up for the Project 2025 Presidential Administration Academy at project2025.org. Invitations to create profiles in Project 2025’s personnel database are sent to everyone who signs up for the Academy, putting students in the pool for employment consideration in the next conservative administration.

“If you’ve got the right values, the right loyalty, and you have the willingness to to work hard, you’ll learn how to be a policy expert and how to navigate the bureaucracy,” Chretien said. “You’ll learn the gears of government, but you can’t learn what’s in your heart.”