CULTURE WARS AND THE MILITARY
Project 2025 called for the reinstatement of military personnel discharged for refusing COVID-19 vaccines. Transgender troops, on the other hand, should be kicked out, it said.
Trump signed orders reinstating vaccine-sceptical service members and declaring gender dysphoria inconsistent with troop “readiness” and “lethality”.
Project 2025 also called for an end to “Marxist indoctrination” in the military, singling out diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives in the armed forces and across the government.
It recommended purging the federal bureaucracy of terms considered “woke” by conservatives, from “sexual orientation” and “gender identity” to “reproductive rights”.
“Sex”, it said, should mean biological sex recognised at birth and has nothing to do with people’s identity preferences.
Trump abolished DEI offices funded by the defence and homeland security departments – along with “illegal” DEI initiatives in every department.
He ordered an end to hiring practices based on “illegal racial discrimination under the guise of ‘equity'” and set US policy to recognise “two sexes, male and female”.
He also revoked a Biden administration memorandum supporting abortion access abroad, following a recommendation from the Heritage Foundation.
In education, Project 2025 pushed for parental choice and wanted the Civil Rights Act (CRA) invoked to end “gender ideology and critical race theory” in schools.
Trump issued edicts prioritising “education freedom” and cited the CRA in an executive order withdrawing funding from public schools failing to respect parents’ rights and discrimination laws.
