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1. GDA-0 Project 2025 PRESIDENTIAL TRANSITION PROJECT Β© 2023 by The Heritage Foundation 214 Massachusetts Ave., NE Washington, DC 20002 (202) 546-4400 | heritage.org All rights reserved. .

2. GDA-53 Executive Vice President Derrick Morgan, Chief of Staff Wesley Coopersmith, Associate Director of Project 2025 Spencer Chretien, and Thomas A. .

3. GDA-61 Paul Dans & Steven Groves The Project 2025 Advisory Board Alabama Policy Institute Alliance Defending Freedom American Compass The American Conservative America First Legal Foundation American Accountability Foundation American Center for Law and Justice American Cornerstone Institute American Council of Trustees and Alumni American Legislative Exchange Council The American Main Street Initiative American Moment American Principles Project Center for Equal Opportunity Center for Family and Human Rights Center for Immigration Studies Center for Renewing America Claremont Institute Coalition for a Prosperous America Competitive Enterprise Institute Conservative Partnership Institute Concerned Women for America Defense of Freedom Institute Ethics and Public Policy Center Family Policy Alliance Family Research Council First Liberty Institute Forge Leadership Network Foundation for Defense of Democracies Foundation for Government Accountability FreedomWorks The Heritage Foundation Hillsdale College Honest Elections Project Independent Women's Forum Institute for the American Worker Institute for Energy Research Institute for Women's Health Intercollegiate Studies Institute James Madison Institute Keystone Policy The Leadership Institute Liberty University National Association of Scholars National Center for Public Policy Research Pacific Research Institute Patrick Henry College Personnel Policy Operations Recovery for America Now Foundation 1792 Exchange Susan B. .

4. GDA-62 Anthony Pro-Life America Texas Public Policy Foundation Teneo Network Young America's Foundation The 2025 Presidential Transition Project A NOTE ON "PROJECT 2025" We want you! The 2025 Presidential Transition Project is the conservative movement's unified effort to be ready for the next conservative Administration to govern at 12:00 noon, January 20, 2025. .

5. GDA-65 Indeed, one set of eyes reading these passages will be those of the 47th President of the United States, and we hope every other reader will join in making the incoming Administration a success. .

6. GDA-66 History teaches that a President's power to implement an agenda is at its apex during the Administration's opening days. .

7. GDA-68 In recent election cycles, presidential candidates normally began transition planning in the late spring of election year or even after the party's nomination was secured. .

8. GDA-72 The entirety of this effort is to support the next conservative President, whoever he or she may be. .

9. GDA-73 In the winter of 1980, the fledging Heritage Foundation handed to President-elect Ronald Reagan the inaugural Mandate for Leadership. .

10. GDA-74 This collective work by conservative thought leaders and former government hands --- most of whom were not part of Heritage --- set out policy prescriptions, agency by agency for the incoming President. .

11. GDA-75 The book literally put the conservative movement and Reagan on the same page, and the revolution that followed might never have been, save for this band of committed and volunteer activists. .

12. GDA-79 The long march of cultural Marxism through our institutions has come to pass. .

13. GDA-92 l Pillar I --- this volume --- puts in one place a consensus view of how major federal agencies must be governed and where disagreement exists brackets out these differences for the next President to choose a path. .

14. GDA-94 These recommendations will then be collated and shared with the President-elect's team, greatly streamlining the appointment process. .

15. GDA-95 l Pillar III is the Presidential Administration Academy, an online educational system taught by experts from our coalition. .

16. GDA-98 l In Pillar IV --- the Playbook --- we are forming agency teams and drafting transition plans to move out upon the President's utterance of "so help me God." As Americans living at the approach of our nation's 250th birthday, we have been given much. .

17. GDA-124 economic relationship with China, and climate-related financial risk. .

18. GDA-125 Previously, Burton was General Counsel at the National Small Business Association; a partner in the Argus Group; Vice President, Finance, and General Counsel for New England Machinery; and manager of the U.S. .

19. GDA-157 Rick Dearborn served as Deputy Chief of Staff for President Donald Trump and was responsible for the day-to-day operations of five separate departments of the Executive Office of the President. .

20. GDA-158 He also served as Executive Director of the 2016 President-elect Donald Trump transition team. .

21. GDA-161 Between his two tours in Senator Sessions' office, he was appointed by President George W. .

22. GDA-171 He was President Ronald Reagan's first-term Office of Personnel Management Director when The Washington Post labeled him "Reagan's Terrible Swift Sword of the Civil Service" for cutting bureaucracy and reducing spending by billions of dollars. .

23. GDA-176 Diana worked in senior roles in the White House under Presidents Ronald Reagan, George H.W. .

24. GDA-193 Gene Hamilton is Vice-President and General Counsel of America First Legal Foundation. .

25. GDA-202 Karen Kerrigan is President and CEO of the Small Business & Entrepreneurship Council and has helped to strengthen U.S. .

26. GDA-206 Dennis Dean Kirk is Associate Director for Personnel Policy with the 2025 Presidential Transition Project at The Heritage Foundation. .

27. GDA-209 He served in President George Bush's Administration in the U.S. .

28. GDA-211 During the Trump Administration, Dennis served in senior positions at the Office of Personnel Management and was nominated by President Trump to be Chairman of the Merit Systems Protection Board. .

29. GDA-212 Kent Lassman is President and CEO of the Competitive Enterprise Institute. .

30. GDA-237 State Department and was appointed by President Donald Trump to perform the duties of the Assistant Secretary of State for Consular Affairs. .

31. GDA-238 She also served as Vice President of Legal, Compliance, and Risk at the U.S. .

32. GDA-240 Peter Navarro holds a PhD in economics from Harvard and was one of only three senior White House officials to serve with Donald Trump from the 2016 campaign to the end of the President's first term. .

33. GDA-241 He was the West Wing's chief China hawk and trade czar and served as Director of the Office of Trade and Manufacturing Policy and Defense Production Act Policy Coordinator. .

34. GDA-242 His books include The Coming China Wars (2006); Death by China (2011); Crouching Tiger (2015); and his White House memoirs In Trump Time (2021) and Taking Back Trump's America (2022). .

35. GDA-247 He was an attorney on Capitol Hill, a senior official for President Ronald Reagan, and leader of the Bureau of Land Management for President Donald Trump. .

36. GDA-248 For 30 years, he was president of Mountain States Legal Foundation where he argued and won cases before the Supreme Court of the United States. .

37. GDA-256 Roger Severino is Vice President of Domestic Policy at The Heritage Foundation. .

38. GDA-262 Skinner is President and CEO of the Foundation for America and the World, Taube Professor of International Relations and Politics at Pepperdine University's School of Public Policy, W. .

39. GDA-271 He helped to craft the policy framework for President-elect Trump's transition team and served as the Senior Policy Adviser for National Security and Veterans Affairs to Senator Richard Burr from 2010 to 2015. .

40. GDA-276 He is a former member of President Donald Trump's Advisory Commission on Election Integrity. .

41. GDA-280 Russ Vought is Founder and President of the Center for Renewing America. .

42. GDA-281 A longtime conservative leader on Capitol Hill, Russ served in President Trump's Cabinet as Director of the Office of Management and Budget, where he oversaw the implementation of the presidential budget, key policies on deregulation, and a landmark effort to eliminate critical race theory and other radical ideologies in executive agencies. .

43. GDA-288 Walton served in President-elect Donald Trump's transition team as Agency Action Leader for all the federal economic agencies. .

44. GDA-290 He is the immediate past President of the Council for National Policy. .

45. GDA-291 His extensive board service includes The Heritage Foundation, American Conservative Union, American Enterprise Institute, U.S. .

46. GDA-294 Before rejoining Heritage in 2018, Paul was Deputy Assistant to the President, Deputy Director of the Domestic Policy Council, and Director of Budget Policy at the White House. .

47. GDA-295 During the 2016 presidential transition, he led the team responsible for the Office of Management and Budget. .

48. GDA-299 EDITORS Paul Dans is Director of the 2025 Presidential Transition Project at The Heritage Foundation, organizing policy and personnel recommendations and training for appointees in the next presidential Administration. .

49. GDA-314 The policy views and reform proposals herein are not an all-inclusive catalogue of conservative ideas for the next President, nor is there unanimity among the contributors or the organizations with which they are affiliated with regard to the recommendations. .

50. GDA-331 Moley Caitlin Moon, American Center for Law & Justice David Moore, Brigham Young University Law School Clare Morell, Ethics and Public Policy Center Mark Morgan, The Heritage Foundation Hunter Morgen, American Cornerstone Institute Rachel Morrison, Ethics and Public Policy Center Jonathan Moy, The Heritage Foundation Iain Murray, Competitive Enterprise Institute Ryan Nabil, National Taxpayers Union Michael Nasi, Jackson Walker LLP Lucien Niemeyer, The Niemeyer Group, LLC Nazak Nikakhtar, Wiley Rein LLP Milan "Mitch" Nikolich Matt O'Brien, Immigration Reform Law Institute Caleb Orr, Boyden Gray & Associates Michael Pack Leah Pedersen Michael Pillsbury, The Heritage Foundation Patrick Pizzella, Leadership Institute Robert Poole, Reason Foundation Kevin Preskenis, Allymar Health Solutions Pam Pryor, National Committee for Religious Freedom Thomas Pyle, Institute for Energy Research John Ratcliffe, American Global Strategies Paul Ray, The Heritage Foundation Joseph Reddan, Flexilis Forestry, LLC Jay W. .

51. GDA-353 Overseas, a totalitarian Communist dictatorship in Beijing is engaged in a strategic, cultural, and economic Cold War against America's interests, values, and people --- all while globalist elites in Washington awaken only slowly to that growing threat. .

52. GDA-367 Conservatives should be confident that we can rescue our kids, reclaim our culture, revive our economy, and defeat the anti-American Left --- at home and abroad. .

53. GDA-372 The legacy of Mandate for Leadership, and indeed of the entire Reagan Revolution, is that if conservatives want to save the country, we need a bold and courageous plan. .

54. GDA-374 THE CONSERVATIVE PROMISE This volume --- The Conservative Promise --- is the opening salvo of the 2025 Presidential Transition Project, launched by The Heritage Foundation and our many partners in April 2022. .

55. GDA-378 Contributors include former elected officials, world-renowned economists, and veterans from four presidential Administrations. .

56. GDA-386 4. Secure our God-given individual rights to live freely --- what our Constitution calls "the Blessings of Liberty." What makes these four pieces of the conservative promise so valuable to the next President is that they cut through superficial distractions and focus on the moral and foundational challenges America faces in this moment of history. .

57. GDA-390 In 1979, the threats we faced were the Soviet Union, the socialism of 1970s liberals, and the predatory deviancy of cultural elites. .

58. GDA-393 His platform in the culture wars? The "community of values embodied in these words: family, work, neighborhood, peace and freedom." This book --- and Project 2025 as a whole --- will arm the next conservative President with the same kind of strategic clarity, but for a new age. .

59. GDA-394 PROMISE #1: RESTORE THE FAMILY AS THE CENTERPIECE OF AMERICAN LIFE AND PROTECT OUR CHILDREN. .

60. GDA-395 The next conservative President must get to work pursuing the true priority of politics --- the well-being of the American family. .

61. GDA-416 Furthermore, the next conservative President must understand that using government alone to respond to symptoms of the family crisis is a dead end. .

62. GDA-422 Today the Left is threatening the tax-exempt status of churches and charities that reject woke progressivism. .

63. GDA-424 The next conservative President must make the institutions of American civil society hard targets for woke culture warriors. .

64. GDA-435 That is, of course, the best argument for universal school choice --- a goal all conservatives and conservative Presidents must pursue. .

65. GDA-437 States, cities and counties, school boards, union bosses, principals, and teachers who disagree should be immediately cut off from federal funds. .

66. GDA-442 But the pro-family promises expressed in this book, and central to the next conservative President's agenda, must go much further than the traditional, narrow definition of "family issues." Every threat to family stability must be confronted. .

67. GDA-453 In particular, the next conservative President should work with Congress to enact the most robust protections for the unborn that Congress will support while deploying existing federal powers to protect innocent life and vigorously complying with statutory bans on the federal funding of abortion. .

68. GDA-456 In summary, the next President has a moral responsibility to lead the nation in restoring a culture of life in America again. .

69. GDA-457 PROMISE #2: DISMANTLE THE ADMINISTRATIVE STATE AND RETURN SELF-GOVERNANCE TO THE AMERICAN PEOPLE. .

70. GDA-475 That distinction belongs to the "Administrative State," the dismantling of which must a top priority for the next conservative President. .

71. GDA-486 The federal government is growing larger and less constitutionally accountable --- even to the President --- every year. .

72. GDA-487 l A combination of elected and unelected bureaucrats at the Environmental Protection Agency quietly strangles domestic energy production through difficult-to-understand rulemaking processes; l Bureaucrats at the Department of Homeland Security, following the lead of a feckless Administration, order border and immigration enforcement agencies to help migrants criminally enter our country with impunity; l Bureaucrats at the Department of Education inject racist, anti-American, ahistorical propaganda into America's classrooms; l Bureaucrats at the Department of Justice force school districts to undermine girls' sports and parents' rights to satisfy transgender extremists; l Woke bureaucrats at the Pentagon force troops to attend "training" seminars about "white privilege"; and l Bureaucrats at the State Department infuse U.S. .

73. GDA-488 foreign aid programs with woke extremism about "intersectionality" and abortion.3 Unaccountable federal spending is the secret lifeblood of the Great Awokening. .

74. GDA-491 The Administrative State holds 100 percent of its power at the sufferance of Congress, and its insulation from presidential discipline is an unconstitutional fairy tale spun by the Washington Establishment to protect its turf. .

75. GDA-495 The President cannot hide behind the agencies; as his many executive orders make clear, his is the responsibility for the regulations that threaten American communities, schools, and families. .

76. GDA-496 A conservative President must move swiftly to do away with these vast abuses of presidential power and remove the career and political bureaucrats who fuel it. .

77. GDA-501 As monolithic as the Left's institutional power appears to be, it originates with appropriations from Congress and is made complete by a feckless President. .

78. GDA-502 A conservative President must look to the legislative branch for decisive action. .

79. GDA-504 But in the meantime, there are many executive tools a courageous conservative President can use to handcuff the bureaucracy, push Congress to return to its constitutional responsibility, restore power over Washington to the American people, bring the Administrative State to heel, and in the process defang and defund the woke culture warriors who have infiltrated every last institution in America. .

80. GDA-505 The Conservative Promise lays out how to use many of these tools including: how to fire supposedly "un-fireable" federal bureaucrats; how to shutter wasteful and corrupt bureaus and offices; how to muzzle woke propaganda at every level of government; how to restore the American people's constitutional authority over the Administrative State; and how to save untold taxpayer dollars in the process. .

81. GDA-506 Finally, the President can restore public confidence and accountability to our most important government function of all: national defense. .

82. GDA-508 The next conservative President must end the Left's social experimentation with the military, restore warfighting as its sole mission, and set defeating the threat of the Chinese Communist Party as its highest priority. .

83. GDA-509 The next conservative President must possess the courage to relentlessly put the interests of the everyday American over the desires of the ruling elite. .

84. GDA-514 A President who refuses to do so and uses his or her office to reimpose constitutional authority over federal policymaking can begin to correct decades of corruption and remove thousands of bureaucrats from the positions of public trust they have so long abused. .

85. GDA-515 PROMISE #3: DEFEND OUR NATION'S SOVEREIGNTY, BORDERS, AND BOUNTY AGAINST GLOBAL THREATS. .

86. GDA-521 and other centers of Leftist power like the media and the academy, this statement of basic civics is branded hate speech. .

87. GDA-527 Those who run our so-called American corporations have bent to the will of the woke agenda and care more for their foreign investors and organizations than their American workers and customers. .

88. GDA-529 university president or Wall Street hedge fund manager has more in common with a socialist, European head of state than with the parents at a high school football game in Waco, Texas. .

89. GDA-531 But under our Constitution, they are the mere equals of the workers who shower after work instead of before. .

90. GDA-539 That's why they are eager for America to sign international treaties on everything from pharmaceutical patents to climate change to "the rights of the child" --- and why those treaties invariably endorse policies that could never pass through the U.S. .

91. GDA-541 Like the progressive Woodrow Wilson a century ago, the woke Left today seeks a world, bound by global treaties they write, in which they exercise dictatorial powers over all nations without being subject to democratic accountability. .

92. GDA-546 "Cheap grace" aptly describes the Left's love affair with environmental extremism. .

93. GDA-555 For 30 years, America's political, economic, and cultural leaders embraced and enriched Communist China and its genocidal Communist Party while hollowing out America's industrial base. .

94. GDA-557 Unfettered trade with China has been a catastrophe. .

95. GDA-559 For a generation, politicians of both parties promised that engagement with Beijing would grow our economy while injecting American values into China. .

96. GDA-564 And all along, the corporations profiting failed to export our values of human rights and freedom; rather, they imported China's anti-American values into their C-suites. .

97. GDA-565 Even before the rise of Big Tech, Wall Street ignored China's serial theft of American intellectual property. .

98. GDA-569 The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) dictated terms, only to break them whenever it suited them. .

99. GDA-572 economy than it is a tool of China's government. .

100. GDA-585 A casual reader might take the last few pages as surveying a broad array of challenges facing the American people and the next conservative President: supranational policymaking, border security, globalization, engagement with China, manufacturing, Big Tech, and Beijing-compromised colleges. .

101. GDA-586 But these really are not many issues, but two: (1) that China is a totalitarian enemy of the United States, not a strategic partner or fair competitor, and (2) that America's elites have betrayed the American people. .

102. GDA-592 Economic engagement with China should be ended, not rethought. .

103. GDA-596 The next conservative President should go beyond merely defending America's energy interests but go on offense, asserting them around the world. .

104. GDA-599 It's not just about higher wages for workers who didn't go to college, though they would receive the raises they have missed out on for two generations. .

105. GDA-600 Full-spectrum strategic energy dominance would facilitate the reinvigoration of America's entire industrial and manufacturing sector as we disentangle our economy from China. .

106. GDA-601 Globally, it would rebalance power away from dangerous regimes in Russia and the Middle East. .

107. GDA-604 And it would clarify our intentions to Beijing that the next President can ensure that a large part of America's reindustrialization is in the production of the equipment we will need to dissuade future foreign meddling with U.S. .

108. GDA-606 PROMISE #4 SECURE OUR GOD-GIVEN INDIVIDUAL RIGHT TO ENJOY "THE BLESSINGS OF LIBERTY." The Declaration of Independence famously asserted the belief of America's Founders that "all men are created equal" and endowed with God-given rights to "Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness." It's the last --- "the pursuit of Happiness" --- that is central to America's heroic experiment in self-government. .

109. GDA-619 So must the next conservative President look to these documents when the elites mount their next assault on liberty. .

110. GDA-620 Left to our own devices, the American people rejected European monarchy and colonialism just as we rejected slavery, second-class citizenship for women, mercantilism, socialism, Wilsonian globalism, Fascism, Communism, and (today) wokeism. .

111. GDA-621 To the Left, these assertions of patriotic self-assurance are just so many signs of our moral depravity and intellectual inferiority --- proof that, in fact, we need a ruling elite making decisions for us. .

112. GDA-622 But the next conservative President should be proud, not ashamed of Americans' unique culture of social equality and ordered liberty. .

113. GDA-623 After all, the countries where Marxist elites have won political and economic power are all weaker, poorer, and less free for it. .

114. GDA-626 And the next conservative President should champion the dynamic genius of free enterprise against the grim miseries of elite-directed socialism. .

115. GDA-627 The promise of socialism --- Communism, Marxism, progressivism, Fascism, whatever name it chooses --- is simple: Government control of the economy can ensure equal outcomes for all people. .

116. GDA-630 This is not a failing of one nation or socialist party, but inherent in human nature. .

117. GDA-632 By contrast, Communist North Korea is almost completely dark, except for the small dot of the capital city, Pyongyang, where a psychotic dictator and his cronies live. .

118. GDA-635 We see the same corruption expressed on an individual level whenever billionaire climate activists, who want to outlaw carbon-fueled transportation, fly to A-list conferences on their private jets. .

119. GDA-637 For socialists, who are almost always well-to-do, socialism is not a means of equalizing outcomes, but a means of accumulating power. .

120. GDA-642 Venezuela was once the richest nation in South America; today, a decade after a Marxist dictator took over, 94 percent of Venezuelans live in poverty.4 Even socialist Senator Bernie Sanders' home state of Vermont was forced to repeal the state's single-payer health care system just three years after creating it. .

121. GDA-643 In every case, socialist elites promised that if only they could direct the economy, everything would be better. .

122. GDA-645 In socialist nation after socialist nation, the only way the government could keep its disgruntled people in line was to surveil and terrorize them. .

123. GDA-651 The next President should promote pro-growth economic policies that spur new jobs and investment, higher wages, and productivity. .

124. GDA-653 It should promote educational opportunities outside the woke-dominated system of public schools and universities, including trade schools, apprenticeship programs, and student-loan alternatives that fund students' dreams instead of Marxist academics. .

125. GDA-654 Just as important as expanding opportunities for workers and small businesses, the next President should crack down on the crony capitalist corruption that enables America's largest corporations to profit through political influence rather than competitive enterprise and customer satisfaction. .

126. GDA-660 The next conservative President must defend our First Amendment rights. .

127. GDA-665 This book, this agenda, the entire Project 2025 is a plan to unite the conservative movement and the American people against elite rule and woke culture warriors. .

128. GDA-667 In the past decade, though, the breakdown of the family, the rise of China, the Great Awokening, Big Tech's abuses, and the erosion of constitutional accountability in Washington have rendered these divisions not just inconvenient but politically suicidal. .

129. GDA-677 The next conservative President will enter office on January 20, 2025, with a simple choice: greatness or failure. .

130. GDA-679 The Conservative Promise represents the best effort of the conservative movement in 2023 --- and the next conservative President's last opportunity to save our republic. .

131. GDA-683 3. Simon Hankinson, "'Woke' Public Diplomacy Undermines the State Department's Core Mission and Weakens U.S. .

132. GDA-686 org/global-politics/report/woke-public-diplomacy-undermines-the-state-departments-core-mission-and. .

133. GDA-689 Section One TAKING THE REINS OF GOVERNMENT A merica's Bicentennial, which culminated on July 4, 1976, was a spirited and unifying celebration of our country, its Founding, and its ideals. .

134. GDA-690 As we approach our nation's 250th anniversary, which will take place during the next presidency, America is now divided between two opposing forces: woke revolutionaries and those who believe in the ideals of the American revolution. .

135. GDA-696 This is evident today: Whether it be mask and vaccine mandates, school and business closures, efforts to keep Americans from driving gas cars or using gas stoves, or efforts to defund the police, indoctrinate schoolchildren, alter beloved books, abridge free speech, undermine the colorblind ideal, or deny the biological reality that there are only two sexes, the Left's steady stream of insanity appears to be never-ending. .

136. GDA-698 Highlighting this need, former director of the Office of Management and Budget Russ Vought writes in Chapter 2, "The modern conservative President's task is to limit, control, and direct the executive branch on behalf of the American people." At the core of this goal is the work of the White House and the central personnel agencies. .

137. GDA-699 Article II of the Constitution vests all federal executive power in a President, made accountable to the citizenry through regular elections. .

138. GDA-700 Our Founders wrote, "The executive Power shall be vested in a President of the United States of America." Accordingly, Vought writes, "it is the President's agenda that should matter to the departments and agencies," not their own. .

139. GDA-704 What's more, knowledge of such rules is used to thwart the President's appointees and agenda. .

140. GDA-708 In order to carry out the President's desires, political appointees must be given the tools, knowledge, and support to overcome the federal government's obstructionist Human Resources departments. .

141. GDA-714 Empowering political appointees across the Administration is crucial to a President's success. .

142. GDA-715 Above all, the President and those who serve under him or her must be committed to the Constitution and the rule of law. .

143. GDA-716 This is particularly true of a conservative Administration, which knows that the President is there to uphold the Constitution, not the other way around. .

144. GDA-718 In Chapter 1, former deputy chief of staff to the President Rick Dearborn writes that the White House Counsel "must take seriously the duty to protect the powers and privileges of the President from encroachments by Congress, the judiciary, and the administrative components of departments and agencies." Equally important, the President must enforce the Constitution and laws as written, rather than proclaiming new "law" unilaterally. .

145. GDA-719 Presidents should not issue mask or vaccine mandates, arbitrarily transfer student loan debt, or issue monarchical mandates of any sort. .

146. GDA-724 Political appointees who are answerable to the President and have decision-making authority in the executive branch are key to this essential task. .

147. GDA-726 The following chapters detail how the next Administration can be responsive to the American people (not to entrenched "elites"); how it can take care that all the laws are "faithfully executed," not merely those that the President desires to see executed; and how it can achieve results and not be stymied by an unelected bureaucracy. .

148. GDA-729 But like nearly everything else in life, there is no substitute for firsthand experience, which this manual has compiled from the experience of presidential appointees and provides in accessible form for future use. .

149. GDA-731 The Constitution gives the "executive Power" to the President.1 It designates him as "Commander in Chief"2 and gives him the responsibility to "take Care that the Laws be faithfully executed."3 It further prescribes that the President might seek the assistance of "the principal Officer in each of the executive Departments."4 Beginning with George Washington, every President has been supported by some form of White House office consisting of direct staff officers as well as a Cabinet comprised of department and agency heads. .

150. GDA-732 Since the inaugural Administration of the late 18th century, citizens have chosen to devote both their time and their talent to defending and strengthening our nation by serving at the pleasure of the President. .

151. GDA-734 The President must rely on the men and women appointed to the WHO. .

152. GDA-737 Their agenda must therefore be the President's agenda. .

153. GDA-738 Choosing who will carry out that agenda on a daily basis is not only one of the first decisions a President makes in office, but also one of the most critical. .

154. GDA-740 CHIEF OF STAFF As with most of the positions that will be covered in this first chapter, the Chief of Staff is also an Assistant to the President. .

155. GDA-742 Of all presidential staff members, the chief is the most critical to implementation of the President's vision for the country. .

156. GDA-743 The chief also has a dual role as manager of the staffs of both the WHO and the Executive Office of the President (EOP).5 The Chief of Staff's first managerial task is to establish an organizational chart for the WHO. .

157. GDA-746 These contacts should include the White House Liaisons who are selected by the Office of Presidential Personnel (PPO). .

158. GDA-747 Receiving guidance from the President, the chief endeavors to implement the President's agenda by setting priorities for the WHO. .

159. GDA-748 This process begins by taking stock of the President's campaign promises, identifying current and prospective opportunities, and then delegating policy priorities among the departments and agencies of the Cabinet and throughout the three White House policy councils: l The National Economic Council (NEC); l The Domestic Policy Council (DPC); and l The National Security Council (NSC). .

160. GDA-749 The President is briefed on all of his policy priorities by his Cabinet and senior staff as directed by the chief. .

161. GDA-753 All senior staff report to the Chief of Staff, either directly or through his two or three deputies, unless the President determines that a particular Assistant to the President reports directly to him. .

162. GDA-759 His use of his deputies, meetings with senior staff, and direction provided to the WHO must all balance with the daily needs of the President. .

163. GDA-762 DEPUTY CHIEFS OF STAFF In recent years, Presidents typically have appointed two Deputy Chiefs of Staff: a Deputy Chief of Staff for Management and Operations and a Deputy Chief of Staff for Policy. .

164. GDA-768 Most principal deputies have functioned as doorkeepers, sorting through action items, taking on those that can be handled at their own level, and passing up others that truly require the attention of the Chief of Staff or the President. .

165. GDA-772 The Deputy Chief of Staff for Management and Operations oversees the President's schedule and all logistical aspects of his movement within and outside of the White House (for example, both air travel on Air Force One and Marine One and ground transportation). .

166. GDA-773 This deputy also interfaces directly with the Secret Service as well as the military offices tasked with keeping the President and his family safe. .

167. GDA-781 This deputy chief works directly with the Chief of Staff, Cabinet officers, and all three policy councils to support the development and implementation of the President's agenda. .

168. GDA-783 SENIOR ADVISERS Presidents have surrounded themselves with senior advisers whose experience and interests are not necessarily neatly defined. .

169. GDA-785 The most powerful senior advisers frequently have had a long personal relationship with the President and often have spent a significant amount of time with him within and outside of the White House. .

170. GDA-792 OFFICE OF WHITE HOUSE COUNSEL The Office of White House Counsel provides legal guidance to the President and elements of the EOP on a host of issues, including presidential powers and privileges, ethics compliance, review of clemency applications, and judicial nominations. .

171. GDA-793 The selection of White House Counsel is one of the most important decisions an incoming President will make. .

172. GDA-795 Rather, it is dedicated to guiding the President and his reports on how (within the bounds of the law) to pursue and realize the President's agenda. .

173. GDA-796 While the White House Counsel does not serve as the President's personal attorney in nonofficial matters, it is almost impossible to delineate exactly where an issue is strictly personal and has no bearing on the President's official function. .

174. GDA-797 The White House Counsel needs to be deeply committed both to the President's agenda and to affording the President proactive counsel and zealous representation. .

175. GDA-798 That individual directly advises the President as he performs the duties of the office, and this requires a relationship that is built on trust, confidentiality, and candor. .

176. GDA-802 Its staff must take seriously the duty to protect the powers and privileges of the President from encroachments by Congress, the judiciary, and the administrative components of departments and agencies. .

177. GDA-806 Here again, subordinates should be deeply committed to the President's agenda and see their role as helping to accomplish the agenda through problem solving and advocacy. .

178. GDA-807 They should not erect roadblocks out of an abundance of caution; rather, they should offer practical legal advice on how to promote the President's agenda within the bounds of the law. .

179. GDA-813 The White House Counsel also works closely with the DOJ Office of Legal Counsel to seek opinions on, for example, matters of policy development and the constitutionality of presidential power and privileges and with OLA and the DOJ Office of Legal Policy on presidential judicial nominees. .

180. GDA-814 When a new President takes office, he will need to decide expeditiously how to handle any major ongoing litigation or other pending legal matters that might present a challenge to his agenda. .

181. GDA-815 To offer guidance, the White House Counsel must get up to speed as quickly as possible on all significant ongoing legal challenges across the executive branch that might affect the new Administration's policy agenda and must be prepared at the outset of the Administration to present recommendations to the President, including recommendations for reconsidering or reversing positions of the previous Administration in any significant litigation. .

182. GDA-821 Attorneys in the Office of White House Counsel must therefore work collaboratively within the White House and the Department of Justice, relying on each other as a team, to ensure that proper legal guidance is delivered to the President. .

183. GDA-822 The President should choose a White House Counsel who is well-versed in the Constitution, administrative and regulatory law, and the inner workings of Congress and the political process. .

184. GDA-823 Instead of choosing a specialist, the President should hire a counsel with extensive experience with a wide range of complex legal subjects. .

185. GDA-824 Moreover, while a candidate with elite credentials might seem ideal, the best one will be above all loyal to the President and the Constitution. .

186. GDA-828 Because of its gatekeeping function, the position of Staff Secretary is one of extreme trust, and the individual who possesses it should be vetted to work as an "honest broker" in the President's service. .

187. GDA-831 This includes presidential decision memos; bills passed by Congress (which may be accompanied by signing or veto statements); and briefing books, reading materials, samples of constituent mail, personal mail, and drafts of speeches. .

188. GDA-832 The Staff Secretary makes certain that these materials are complete, well-ordered, and up to date before they reach the President. .

189. GDA-835 The President may have questions after reviewing incoming material, may wish to seek more information, or may demand revisions. .

190. GDA-837 One of the Staff Secretary's critical functions is managing and overseeing the clearance process for the President's daily/nightly briefing book. .

191. GDA-838 This book is filled with all the reading material and leading documentation the President needs in the morning and the evening to help him make decisions. .

192. GDA-839 The Staff Secretary also oversees the use of the President's signature, whether by hand or by autopen, and manages the Office of the Executive Clerk, Office of Records Management, and Office of Presidential Correspondence. .

193. GDA-840 OFFICE OF COMMUNICATIONS The Office of Communications, which operates under the Director of Communications, conveys the President's agenda to the public through various media, including speeches and remarks, press briefings, off-the-record discussions with reporters, and social media. .

194. GDA-841 Depending on how a President chooses to structure his White House, the Office of Communications may include the Office of the Press Secretary (Press Office), but no matter how it is structured, the office must work closely with the Press Office as well as the President's speechwriters and digital strategists. .

195. GDA-847 The best resource for the Office of Communications is the President. .

196. GDA-848 The President conveys the White House's overall message through one or two inaugural addresses, State of the Union addresses, speeches to Congress, and press conferences. .

197. GDA-850 The Communications Director and Press Secretary in particular should be careful to avoid contradicting the President or delivering conflicting information. .

198. GDA-852 Speechwriting is a unique talent: The writers selected must understand policy, should have a firm grasp of history and other liberal-arts disciplines, and should be able to learn and adopt the President's style of rhetoric and mode of delivery. .

199. GDA-853 The Press Secretary is the President's spokesperson, communicating to the American people through the media. .

200. GDA-856 The Communications Director must convey the President's mission to the American people. .

201. GDA-857 Especially for conservatives, this means navigating the mainstream media to ensure that the President's agenda is conveyed effectively and accurately. .

202. GDA-860 OFFICE OF LEGISLATIVE AFFAIRS (OLA) Created by President Dwight Eisenhower, the OLA has continued to serve as the liaison between the White House and Congress. .

203. GDA-861 The White House must work with congressional leaders to ensure presidential nominees, for roles such as Cabinet secretaries and ambassadors, are confirmed by the Senate. .

204. GDA-862 The White House also relies on Congress to enact reforms promised by the President on the campaign trail, whether those promises relate to health care, education, or national defense. .

205. GDA-863 Because Congress holds the power of the purse, White House staffers must ensure that there is enough support on the Hill to secure the necessary funding through the appropriations process to fulfill the President's agenda. .

206. GDA-865 Regardless of the person to whom the OLA reports, however, the office exercises a certain autonomy on behalf of the President and the Chief of Staff in directly influencing congressional leaders of both major political parties. .

207. GDA-866 The OLA often must function as the mediator among the parties and find common ground to facilitate the successful enactment of the President's agenda. .

208. GDA-868 If other actors within the White House maintain their own relationships with congressional leaders and staffers, it may appear that the President's agenda is fractured and lacks consensus. .

209. GDA-869 This dynamic has caused real problems for many Presidents in the past. .

210. GDA-872 Externally, OLA staffers have to communicate continuously with congressional offices of both parties in both the House and the Senate to ensure that the President has enough support to enact his legislative priorities or sustain votes. .

211. GDA-876 Furthermore, the President should seek out individuals who can advance his agenda and at the same time forge pathways with members of the opposing political party on other priorities. .

212. GDA-878 The President cannot afford to have a tennis player on --- much less as the leader of --- his football team. .

213. GDA-879 OFFICE OF PRESIDENTIAL PERSONNEL (PPO) The political axiom that "personnel is policy" was popularized under President Ronald Reagan during the 1981 presidential transition. .

214. GDA-880 One of the most important offices in the White House is the PPO, which was created under President Richard Nixon to centralize political appointments. .

215. GDA-881 Departments and agencies had and still have direct legal authority on hiring and firing, but the power to fill Schedule C positions --- the core of political jobs --- is vested with the President. .

216. GDA-883 PPO's primary responsibility is to staff the executive branch with individuals who are equipped to implement the President's agenda. .

217. GDA-887 The Office of Presidential Personnel is responsible for: l Identifying potential political personnel both actively through recruitment and passively by fielding resumes and adjudicating requests from political actors. .

218. GDA-889 l Making recommendations to the President and to other appointment authorities on behalf of the President. .

219. GDA-891 l Maintaining a strong relationship with the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) both for operational purposes and to effectuate the President's direct Title 5 authorities. .

220. GDA-892 The President is in charge of the federal workforce and exercises control principally by working through the Director of the Office of Personnel Management. .

221. GDA-896 In most Administrations, PPO will staff more than 100 positions during a transition and thousands of noncareer positions during the President's first term. .

222. GDA-897 Direct authority and a strong relationship with the President are necessary attributes for any PPO Director. .

223. GDA-901 In addition, whatever one's view of the constitutionality of various civil service rules (for example, the Federal Vacancies Reform Act of 19986) might be, it is necessary to ensure that departments and agencies have robust cadres of political staff just below senior levels in the event of unexpected vacancies. .

224. GDA-902 OFFICE OF POLITICAL AFFAIRS (OPA) The OPA is the primary office within the executive branch for managing the President's political interests. .

225. GDA-903 Although its specific functions vary from Administration to Administration, the OPA typically serves as the liaison between the President and associated political entities: national committees, federal and state campaigns, and interest groups. .

226. GDA-904 Within legal guidelines, the OPA engages in outreach, conducts casework, and --- if the President is up for reelection --- assists with his campaign. .

227. GDA-905 The OPA may also monitor congressional campaigns, arrange presidential visits with other political campaigns, and recommend campaign staff to the Office of Presidential Personnel for service in the executive branch. .

228. GDA-906 The OPA further serves as a line of communication between the White House and the President's political party. .

229. GDA-907 This includes both relaying the President's ambitions to political interests and listening to the needs of political interests. .

230. GDA-911 Because nearly all White House activities are in some way inherently political, the OPA needs to be aware of all presidential actions and activities --- including travel, policy decisions, speeches, nominations, and responses to matters of national security --- and consider how they might affect the President's image. .

231. GDA-914 Most important, the OCA coordinates all Cabinet meetings with the President. .

232. GDA-920 The OCA coordinates with the Chief of Staff's office and the Office of Communications to promote the President's agenda through the Cabinet departments and agencies. .

233. GDA-922 In prior Administrations, the OCA has played a vital role by tracking the President's agenda for the Chief of Staff, Deputy Chiefs, and senior advisers. .

234. GDA-924 In the future, amplifying this function would truly benefit both the President and the conservative movement. .

235. GDA-928 Because many Cabinet officials have been former presidential candidates, governors, ambassadors, and Members of Congress, the ideal candidate should also possess the ability to interact with and persuade accomplished individuals. .

236. GDA-929 OFFICE OF PUBLIC LIAISON (OPL) The OPL is critically important in building coalitions and support for the President's agenda across every aligned social, faith-based, minority, and economic interest group. .

237. GDA-934 Since a President's agenda is always in motion, it is important for the OPL to facilitate listening sessions to receive the views of the various leaders and members of key interest groups. .

238. GDA-939 Additionally, the OPL has had an outsized role in presidential scheduling and both official and political travel. .

239. GDA-940 The OPL Director should come from the President's election campaign or Capitol Hill --- but should not have deeply entrenched connections to a K Street entity or any other potential stakeholder. .

240. GDA-960 WHITE HOUSE POLICY COUNCILS As the federal government has ballooned in size over the past century, it has become increasingly difficult for the President alone to direct his agenda across the executive branch. .

241. GDA-961 Three White House policy councils have come into existence to help the President to control the bureaucracy and ensure continued alignment between agency leadership and White House priorities. .

242. GDA-963 Each is headed by an Assistant to the President and performs three significant functions. .

243. GDA-967 This process must ensure that all relevant offices are included; that competing or conflicting opinions are thoroughly discussed and evaluated; and, when there is disagreement among White House senior staff or among Cabinet members, a well-structured question is presented to the President for an intermediate or final decision. .

244. GDA-969 By virtue of working in the White House, the heads of the three policy councils will also function as independent policy advisers to the President. .

245. GDA-970 This aspect of the role will vary depending on the individual in this position and the President's governing philosophy. .

246. GDA-971 Incumbents have ranged from "honest brokers," who mostly coordinate and ensure that all opinions are fairly presented to the President, to "policy deciders," who largely drive a given policy topic on behalf of the President. .

247. GDA-975 It is essential to have a centralized process for evaluating and coordinating these decisions, especially if they involve more than one Cabinet department or agency with differing opinions on the best approach for securing the President's goals. .

248. GDA-977 This process helps to identify differences of opinion and reach a decision without having to take every issue to the President. .

249. GDA-981 A PCC is led by a Special Assistant to the President from the policy council and includes political Assistant Secretary-level experts from the relevant departments, agencies, or offices. .

250. GDA-985 A DC is a meeting of presidentially appointed executives chaired by the policy council's Deputy Assistant to the President and relevant Deputy Secretaries. .

251. GDA-989 This is the final opportunity for the President's most senior advisers to discuss the question, make sure that each principal's position is carefully understood, and see whether consensus or a compromise might be reached. .

252. GDA-990 If not, the Chief of Staff's office will schedule time for the PC to meet with the President for a final decision. .

253. GDA-994 While other chapters will cover specific policy goals for each department or agency, incoming policy councils will need to move rapidly to lead policy processes around cross-cutting agency topics, including countering China, enforcing immigration laws, reversing regulatory policies in order to promote energy production, combating the Left's aggressive attacks on life and religious liberty, and confronting "wokeism" throughout the federal government. .

254. GDA-997 Unlike the other policy councils, the NSC was established by statute.8 Statutory members and advisers who are currently part of the NSC include the President and Vice President; the Secretaries of State, Defense, and Energy; the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff; and the Director of National Intelligence.9 The NSC staff, and particularly the National Security Adviser, should be vetted for foreign and security policy experience and insight. .

255. GDA-998 The National Security Adviser and NSC staff advise the President on matters of foreign policy and national security, serve as an information conduit in times of crisis, and as liaisons ensuring that written communications are properly shared among NSC members. .

256. GDA-1001 The next Administration should try to limit the number of detailees to ensure more direct presidential control. .

257. GDA-1003 The NEC was established in 1993 by executive order and has four key functions: l To "coordinate the economic policy-making process with respect to domestic and international economic issues." l To "coordinate economic policy advice to the President." l To "ensure that policy decisions and programs are consistent with the President's stated goals" and "that those goals are being effectively pursued." l To "monitor implementation of the President's economic policy agenda."10 The NEC Director coordinates and implements the President's economic policy objectives by working with Cabinet secretaries, their departments, and multiple agencies. .

258. GDA-1009 The CEA is almost always led by a well-known academic economist, and the NEC is regularly led by someone with expertise in directing the President's economic policy process. .

259. GDA-1012 The Domestic Policy Council (DPC) consists of advisers to the President on noneconomic domestic policy issues as well as international issues with a significant domestic component (such as immigration). .

260. GDA-1013 It is one of the primary policy councils serving the President along with the NSC and NEC. .

261. GDA-1014 The Director serves as the principal DPC adviser to the President, along with members of the Cabinet, and the Deputy Director chairs the committee responsible for coordinating domestic policy development at the Deputy Secretary level. .

262. GDA-1016 The DPC also has policy experts (for example, Special Assistants to the President or SAPs) who are responsible for developing and coordinating, as well as for advising the President, on specific issues. .

263. GDA-1019 The DPC also needs to work closely with other offices within the Executive Office of the President to promote economic opportunity and private-sector innovation. .

264. GDA-1024 The President should establish an economic opportunity working group, chaired by the DPC Director, to coordinate the development of policies that promote economic opportunity. .

265. GDA-1027 OFFICE OF THE VICE PRESIDENT (OVP) In modern U.S. .

266. GDA-1028 history, the Vice President has acted as a significant adviser to the President. .

267. GDA-1029 Once elected, the VP helps to promote and, in many instances, put into place and execute the President's agenda. .

268. GDA-1030 The President may additionally determine the inclusion of OVP staff in White House meetings, including Policy Coordinating Committee, Deputies Committee, and Principals Committee discussions as has been done in various recent Administrations. .

269. GDA-1031 Recent Presidents have decided to give Vice Presidents space in the West Wing. .

270. GDA-1032 The VP's proximity to the President --- as well as to the Chief of Staff and additional senior advisers --- makes his or her role a powerful one within the West Wing. .

271. GDA-1033 Presidents typically tap VPs to lead various Administration efforts. .

272. GDA-1035 VPs traditionally also spearhead projects of personal interest that have been authorized by the President. .

273. GDA-1037 The Vice President, as President of the Senate, could be a President's emissary to the Senate. .

274. GDA-1038 OFFICE OF THE FIRST LADY/FIRST GENTLEMAN The First Lady or First Gentleman plays an interesting role in the formation, implementation, and execution of policy in concert with the President. .

275. GDA-1040 One advantage of the first spouse's taking on hot-button social issues is that any political backlash will be less severe than it would be for the President. .

276. GDA-1042 This group works exclusively with the first spouse and senior members of the White House along with EOP personnel to implement and execute the first spouse's priorities, which reflect the first spouse's passions and interests and are often identified as important in discussions with the President. .

277. GDA-1046 His or her staff also works with the President's policy team, members of the Cabinet, and other EOP staff. .

278. GDA-1047 AUTHOR'S NOTE: The preparation of this chapter was a collective enterprise of individuals involved in the 2025 Presidential Transition Project. .

279. GDA-1063 5. See Chapter 2, "Executive Office of the President," infra. .

280. GDA-1079 Later in 1949, as part of the Reorganization Plan, the Council was placed in the Executive Office of the President." The White House, "National Security Council," https://www.whitehouse.gov/nsc/ (accessed February 15, 2023). .

281. GDA-1080 9. See Chapter 2, "Executive Office of the President," infra. .

282. GDA-1081 10. President William J. .

283. GDA-1087 2 EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES Russ Vought In its opening words, Article II of the U.S. .

284. GDA-1088 Constitution makes it abundantly clear that "[t]he executive power shall be vested in a President of the United States of America."1 That enormous power is not vested in departments or agencies, in staff or administrative bodies, in nongovernmental organizations or other equities and interests close to the government. .

285. GDA-1089 The President must set and enforce a plan for the executive branch. .

286. GDA-1090 Sadly, however, a President today assumes office to find a sprawling federal bureaucracy that all too often is carrying out its own policy plans and preferences --- or, worse yet, the policy plans and preferences of a radical, supposedly "woke" faction of the country. .

287. GDA-1091 The modern conservative President's task is to limit, control, and direct the executive branch on behalf of the American people. .

288. GDA-1092 This challenge is created and exacerbated by factors like Congress's decades-long tendency to delegate its lawmaking power to agency bureaucracies, the pervasive notion of expert "independence" that protects so-called expert authorities from scrutiny, the presumed inability to hold career civil servants accountable for their performance, and the increasing reality that many agencies are not only too big and powerful, but also increasingly weaponized against the public and a President who is elected by the people and empowered by the Constitution to govern. .

289. GDA-1094 47, James Madison warned that "[t]he accumulation of all powers, legislative, executive, and judiciary, in the same hands, whether of one, a few, or many, and whether hereditary, self-appointed, or elective, may justly be pronounced the very definition of tyranny."2 Regrettably, that wise and cautionary note describes to a significant degree the modern executive branch, which --- whether controlled by the bureaucracy or by the President --- writes federal policy, enforces that policy, and often adjudicates whether that policy was properly drafted and enforced. .

290. GDA-1095 The overall situation is constitutionally dire, unsustainably expensive, and in urgent need of repair. .

291. GDA-1097 The great challenge confronting a conservative President is the existential need for aggressive use of the vast powers of the executive branch to return power --- including power currently held by the executive branch --- to the American people. .

292. GDA-1098 Success in meeting that challenge will require a rare combination of boldness and self-denial: boldness to bend or break the bureaucracy to the presidential will and self-denial to use the bureaucratic machine to send power away from Washington and back to America's families, faith communities, local governments, and states. .

293. GDA-1099 Fortunately, a President who is willing to lead will find in the Executive Office of the President (EOP) the levers necessary to reverse this trend and impose a sound direction for the nation on the federal bureaucracy. .

294. GDA-1100 The effectiveness of those EOP levers depends on the fundamental premise that it is the President's agenda that should matter to the departments and agencies that operate under his constitutional authority and that, as a general matter, it is the President's chosen advisers who have the best sense of the President's aims and intentions, both with respect to the policies he intends to enact and with respect to the interests that must be secured to govern successfully on behalf of the American people. .

295. GDA-1103 OFFICE OF MANAGEMENT AND BUDGET (OMB) OMB assists the President in the execution of his policy agenda across the government by employing many statutory and executive procedural levers to bring the bureaucracy in line with all budgetary, regulatory, and management decisions. .

296. GDA-1104 Properly understood, it is a President's air-traffic control system with the ability and charge to ensure that all policy initiatives are flying in sync and with the authority to let planes take off and, at times, ground planes that are flying off course. .

297. GDA-1105 OMB's key roles include: l Developing and enforcing the President's budget and executing the appropriations laws that fund the government; l Managing agency and personnel performance, procurement policy, financial management, and information technology; l Developing the President's regulatory agenda, reviewing new regulatory actions, reviewing federal information collections, and setting and enforcing federal information policy; and l Coordinating and clearing agency communications with Congress, including testimonies and views on draft legislation. .

298. GDA-1106 OMB cannot perform its role on behalf of the President effectively if it is not intimately involved in all aspects of the White House policy process and lacks knowledge of what the agencies are doing. .

299. GDA-1107 Internally to the EOP, ensuring that the policy-formulation procedures developed by the White House to serve the President include OMB is one of any OMB Director's major responsibilities. .

300. GDA-1110 The Director must view his job as the best, most comprehensive approximation of the President's mind as it pertains to the policy agenda while always being ready with actual options to effect that agenda within existing legal authorities and resources. .

301. GDA-1118 OMB can then direct on behalf of a President the amount, duration, and purpose of any apportioned funding to ensure against waste, fraud, and abuse and ensure consistency with the President's agenda and applicable laws. .

302. GDA-1121 No Director should be chosen who is unwilling to restore apportionment decision-making to the PADs' personal review, who is not aggressive in wielding the tool on behalf of the President's agenda, or who is unable to defend the power against attacks from Congress. .

303. GDA-1126 In addition, many key considerations involved in enacting a President's agenda hinge on existing legal authorities. .

304. GDA-1128 This is vital within OMB not only with respect to the adequate development of policy options for the President's review, but also with respect to agencies that attempt to protect their own institutional interests and foreclose certain avenues based on the mere assertion (and not proof) that the law disallows it or that, conversely, attempt to disregard the clear statutory commands of Congress. .

305. GDA-1130 OMB should work toward a "One OMB" position on behalf of the President and represent that view during the various policymaking processes. .

306. GDA-1133 The OMB Director should present a fiscal goal to the President early in the budget development process to address the federal government's fiscal irresponsibility. .

307. GDA-1135 Though some mistakenly regard it as a mere paper-pushing exercise, the President's budget is in fact a powerful mechanism for setting and enforcing public policy at federal agencies. .

308. GDA-1143 Because the RMOs are institutionally ingrained in nearly all policymaking and implementation across the executive branch, they play a critical role in helping the Director to implement the President's public policy agenda. .

309. GDA-1145 To enhance the OMB Director's ability to help the President drive policy at the agencies, the existing six RMOs should be divided into smaller subject-matter areas, allowing for more PADs, and each of these PADs should have a Deputy PAD. .

310. GDA-1147 Regardless of whether Congress adopts the President's full set of budget recommendations, the President should reintroduce the concept of administrative pay-as-you-go, or administrative PAYGO. .

311. GDA-1150 The principle may occasionally yield to other overarching requirements, such as a presidential regulatory budget, but in nearly all cases, administrative PAYGO plays a unique and indispensable role in enforcing fiscal responsibility at federal departments and agencies. .

312. GDA-1151 The President should use every possible tool to propose and impose fiscal discipline on the federal government. .

313. GDA-1155 The Management team includes the following offices led by presidentially appointed Senate-confirmed individuals: l The Office of Federal Procurement Policy (OFPP). .

314. GDA-1160 Each of these offices has responsibilities and authorities that a President can use to help drive policy across the government. .

315. GDA-1161 It is vital that the Director and his political staff, not the careerists, drive these offices in pursuit of the President's actual priorities and not let them set their own agenda based on the wishes of the sprawling "good government" management community in and outside of government. .

316. GDA-1162 Many Directors do not properly prioritize the management portfolio, leaving it to the Deputy for Management, but such neglect creates purposeless bureaucracy that impedes a President's agenda --- an "M Train to Nowhere." OFPP. .

317. GDA-1165 In the past, those governmentwide contracting rules have played a key role in helping to implement the President's policy agenda. .

318. GDA-1166 This office should be engaged early and often in OMB's effort to drive policy, including by obtaining transparency about entities that are awarded federal contracts and grants and by using government contracts to push back against woke policies in corporate America. .

319. GDA-1171 The Director should instruct OPPM to establish annual performance goals and review processes for agencies that reflect the President's agenda. .

320. GDA-1172 OPPM should also be part of the President's strategy to set and enforce sensible policies and practices for the federal workforce. .

321. GDA-1179 The office thus is an important part of the President's efforts to modernize, strengthen, and set technology-adoption policy for the executive branch. .

322. GDA-1181 Building on the example and work of the Trump Administration, President Biden established this office to centralize, carry out, and further develop the federal government's Buy-American and other Made-in-America commitments. .

323. GDA-1185 The President should maintain Executive Order (EO) 12866,4 the foundation of OIRA's review of regulatory actions. .

324. GDA-1187 Department of the Treasury.5 Regulatory analysis and OIRA review should also be required of the historically "independent" agencies as the Office of Legal Counsel has found is legally permissible.6 If the current Administration proceeds with its declared intent to modify aspects of EO 12866 or review OMB Circular A-4,7 the related document that provides the foundation for cost-benefit analysis, the next President should immediately begin to undo those changes and develop a rigorous, data-driven approach that will result in the least burdensome rules possible. .

325. GDA-1188 The next President should also revive the directive in Executive Order 138918 that significant guidance documents also must pass through OIRA review. .

326. GDA-1195 The next President should also reinstate the many executive orders signed by President Trump that were designed to make the regulatory process more just, efficient, and transparent. .

327. GDA-1198 Additionally, the President should revise and sign an updated version of President Ronald Reagan's Executive Order 1263018 on federal takings. .

328. GDA-1199 The next President should strengthen implementation of the Information Quality Act,19 robustly use the authority of the Paperwork Reduction Act,20 carefully enforce the Privacy Act,21 and ensure the sound execution of OIRA's statistical and other information policy functions. .

329. GDA-1203 The next President should work with Congress to pass significant regulatory policy and process reforms, which could go a long way toward reining in the administrative state. .

330. GDA-1204 Excellent examples of such legislation include the Regulatory Accountability Act,23 SMART Act,24 GOOD Act,25 Early Participation in Regulations Act,26 Unfunded Mandates Accountability and Transparency Act,27 and REINS Act.28 Finally, the next President should work with Congress to maximize the utility of the Congressional Review Act (CRA),29 which allows Congress to undo midnight regulatory actions (including those disguised as "guidance") on an accelerated timeline. .

331. GDA-1205 To leverage the CRA's power to the maximum extent, Congress and the President should enact the Midnight Rules Relief Act,30 which would help to ensure that multiple regulatory actions could be packaged and voted on at the same time. .

332. GDA-1206 Immediate and robust use of the CRA would allow the President to focus his rulemaking resources on major new regulatory reforms rather than devoting months or years to undoing the final rulemakings of the Biden Administration. .

333. GDA-1210 NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL (NSC) The National Security Council (NSC) was established by statute to support the President in developing and implementing national security policy by coordinating across relevant departments and agencies, integrating authorities and resources toward common ends, and objectively assessing progress toward established goals. .

334. GDA-1211 Led by the National Security Advisor (NSA), the NSC staff will be successful in implementing the President's national security goals only if it is made up of personnel with technical expertise and experience as well as an alignment to the President's declared national security policy priorities. .

335. GDA-1212 The NSC must then chart a course that articulates and achieves the President's national security goals and objectives. .

336. GDA-1213 The President should empower a strong NSC that not only has the power to convene the policy process, but also is entrusted with the full power of the presidency to drive the bureaucracy. .

337. GDA-1214 In organizing (by means of Presidential Directive31) an NSC staff that is more responsive and aligned with the President's goals and empowered to implement them, the NSA should immediately evaluate and eliminate directorates that are not aligned with the President's agenda and replace them with new directorates as appropriate that can drive implementation of the President's signature national security priorities. .

338. GDA-1215 In addition to realigning the staff organization to the President's priorities, the NSA should assign responsibility for implementation of specific policy initiatives to senior NSC officials from across the NSC staff structure. .

339. GDA-1217 Aligning NSC staff to the President's national security goals will provide clearer direction, a mandate for action, and a baseline of accountability that can be used to evaluate staff performance and the NSC's overall progress. .

340. GDA-1219 They should provide policy analysis for consideration by the broader NSC and relevant agencies and ensure timely responses to decisions made by the President. .

341. GDA-1221 The NSC staff and principals should work in tandem with the National Economic Council and OMB at all levels, presenting a united effort to achieve the President's goals and drawing on the latter's statutory authorities to guide the bureaucracy. .

342. GDA-1225 The accountable senior officials should be empowered to identify, recruit, clear, and hire staff who are aligned with and willing to shepherd the President's national security priorities. .

343. GDA-1230 Both should also conduct reviews of operational war plans and global force planning and allocations with the Secretary of Defense to align them with presidential priorities and review all key policy and guidance intended for implementation by the heads of the Department of Defense, the Department of State, and the Intelligence Community before they are authorized for distribution. .

344. GDA-1231 The NSC should rigorously review all general and flag officer promotions to prioritize the core roles and responsibilities of the military over social engineering and non-defense matters, including climate change, critical race theory, manufactured extremism, and other polarizing policies that weaken our armed forces and discourage our nation's finest men and women from enlisting to serve in defense of our liberty. .

345. GDA-1234 For instance, the NSA should return all nonessential detailees to their home agencies on their first day in office so that the new Administration can proceed efficiently without the personnel land mines left by the previous stewards and as soon as possible should replace all essential detailees with staff aligned to the new President's priorities. .

346. GDA-1236 In the end, change requires intervention, and the NSC staff should be appropriately recruited, manned, and empowered to achieve the President's national security and foreign policy objectives and maintain robust policy analysis and discussion while minimizing resistance from those who have an agenda or who jealously guard their resources and autonomy at the expense of national security and sound policy development. .

347. GDA-1238 Additionally, the White House Chief of Staff and NSA must ensure that the NSC is functioning in tandem with the rest of the White House staff to benefit from the best strategic thinking of the President's top advisers. .

348. GDA-1239 History shows that an unsupervised NSC staff can stray from its statutory role and adversely affect a President and his policies. .

349. GDA-1241 For instance, the NSC needs its own counsel to inform what legal options can be provided to the President. .

350. GDA-1242 The White House Counsel should be part of that policy process as the President's top legal adviser. .

351. GDA-1243 These recommendations provide a clear road map for rapidly sizing and solidifying the NSC staff to support and achieve the President's objectives beginning on Inauguration Day. .

352. GDA-1244 NATIONAL ECONOMIC COUNCIL (NEC) The National Economic Council is one of the policy councils serving the President along with the NSC and the Domestic Policy Council (DPC). .

353. GDA-1245 The Director serves as principal adviser to the President on domestic and international economic policy and communicates the President's economic message to the media. .

354. GDA-1249 The NEC's policy process is also used to determine whether the President should support or oppose legislation passed by Congress. .

355. GDA-1250 In addition to its leadership, the NEC has policy experts (for example, Special Assistants to the President or SAPs) who are responsible for developing and coordinating, as well as advising the President, on specific issues. .

356. GDA-1255 The NEC needs to work closely with other offices within the Executive Office of the President to promote innovation by the private sector and create an environment that will stimulate economic activity while reducing federal spending and debt. .

357. GDA-1262 It will be especially important for the NEC to work seamlessly with the Council of Economic Advisers (CEA), which provides the President and the White House offices with the latest economic data and forecasts, as well as estimates of the economic impact of proposed policies, and prepares the annual Economic Report of the President. .

358. GDA-1265 The NEC works closely with the White House Office of Communications and Office of Speechwriting to ensure that the White House's messaging and media engagement communicate the President's economic policy effectively. .

359. GDA-1266 The NEC also plays a key role in advancing the President's economic agenda by advising the Office of Presidential Personnel on appointments to key economic posts, including positions in financial regulatory agencies. .

360. GDA-1267 The NEC helps to ensure that each economic post is held by a person who shares the President's policy priorities and works well with the rest of the Administration's economic team. .

361. GDA-1275 Trade Representative provides the President with the internal White House resources necessary to formulate and execute a unified, whole-of-government approach to trade policy. .

362. GDA-1276 The President should ensure that the USTR is empowered to serve in that leadership role, much as other EOP components organize and drive a coordinated policy agenda on behalf of the President. .

363. GDA-1277 The People's Republic of China's predatory trade practices have disrupted the open-market trading system that has provided mutual benefit to all participating countries --- including China --- for decades. .

364. GDA-1278 The failure of the World Trade Organization (WTO) to discipline China for abrogation of its trading commitments has seriously undermined its credibility and made it a largely ineffective institution. .

365. GDA-1280 Chapter 26 of this book outlines recommended trade policy priorities for the incoming President. .

366. GDA-1281 However, regardless of the approach, successful implementation of that trade agenda will require the President to articulate a clear policy direction and instructions for the executive branch to operate in a coordinated fashion under the leadership of an empowered USTR. .

367. GDA-1282 To address these and other challenges, protect the American worker, and secure free and open markets for our communities and businesses, the next President must leverage the institutional resources and strength of the USTR and neither allow institutional interests to drive a fragmented trade policy that is developed from the ground up nor cater to parochial interests across government and Washington's broader industry of influence. .

368. GDA-1284 In order to achieve the President's policy goals, a strong USTR must be empowered to set trade policy from the White House with the authority and resources to represent the interests of the President's trade agenda with adequate budget, staff, analysis, and expertise to engage meaningfully in internal and interagency policy deliberations. .

369. GDA-1285 The USTR should organize and harness existing interagency trade committees to serve the President's trade agenda and drive a consensus among federal stakeholders, dispose of legacy advisory committees with members who serve special interests, direct action to implement policy priorities, measure progress toward implementing the President's agenda, and hold agencies and officials accountable for delivering the President's agenda. .

370. GDA-1286 The USTR's leadership should not only coordinate and enforce the President's agenda across the federal community, but also set and enforce the President's trade agenda internally. .

371. GDA-1287 Trade policy and priorities should be set by the President and implemented by the U.S. .

372. GDA-1291 COUNCIL OF ECONOMIC ADVISERS (CEA) Congress established the Council of Economic Advisers in 1946 to advise the President on economic policy based on data, research, and evidence. .

373. GDA-1293 The CEA has one presidentially appointed and Senate-confirmed chair, two presidentially appointed members who assist and often have expertise that complements the chair, and approximately 40 staff employees. .

374. GDA-1294 Statutorily, the CEA is charged with being the President's principal source of economic advice. .

375. GDA-1296 By law, the CEA is required to publish an annual Economic Report of the President within 10 days after submission of the budget. .

376. GDA-1304 Senior economists traditionally have not gone through the Office of Presidential Personnel process and more often than not are hired on an academic-year cycle. .

377. GDA-1305 As a result, senior economists hired in the summer of a presidential election year tend to remain on staff until the next summer even if a President from the opposite party takes power and installs a new slate of CEA political appointees for chair, members, etc. .

378. GDA-1307 A future Administration should consider hiring that reflects the White House calendar (mid-January) and involves the Office of Presidential Personnel. .

379. GDA-1308 NATIONAL SPACE COUNCIL (NSPC) The National Space Council is responsible for providing advice and recommendations to the President on the formulation and implementation of space policy and strategy. .

380. GDA-1310 Historically, it has been chaired by the Vice President at the President's direction, and its members consist of members of the Cabinet and other senior executive branch officials as specified by the President in Executive Order 13803.32 The NSpC's purpose is to ensure that the President's priorities relative to space are carried out and, as necessary, to resolve policy conflicts among departments and agencies that are related to space. .

381. GDA-1317 These include the long-term sustainability of space activities in light of increasing orbital debris; creation of space situational awareness services for civil and commercial uses; management of mega-constellations; licensing of new commercial remote sensing capabilities; keeping up with licensing demands due to high launch rates; transitioning International Space Station operations to multiple, privately owned space platforms; and (most important) accelerating the acquisition and fielding of national security space capabilities in response to an increasingly aggressive China. .

382. GDA-1318 The Vice President should have a clear understanding with the National Security Advisor and the White House Counsel that they and their respective staffs will work within the White House to determine the scope and leadership of policy reviews that can overlap multiple areas of responsibility. .

383. GDA-1320 As a result of the President's direction and the Vice President's leadership, the NSpC under the Trump Administration was able to coordinate a wide range of space policy reviews, legislative proposals, and regulatory reforms smoothly. .

384. GDA-1330 Teamwork between the NSpC and OMB staff can communicate clear presidential priorities to departments and agencies, facilitating smooth development of the President's budget request. .

385. GDA-1331 The NSpC and OMB have many opportunities to collaborate in promoting presidential priorities while finding offsets in lower-priority programs and funding lines. .

386. GDA-1332 OFFICE OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY POLICY (OSTP) The White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) was created by the National Science and Technology Policy, Organization, and Priorities Act of 1976.33 Before its creation, Presidents received their advice and counsel on such matters through advisers and boards that had no statutory authority. .

387. GDA-1333 The Director of OSTP is one of the few Senate-confirmed positions within the Executive Office of the President. .

388. GDA-1334 Consistent with other laws, the President may delegate to the Director of OSTP directive authority over other elements of the executive branch. .

389. GDA-1335 Other EOP policy officials and organizations such as the NSC and NEC are formally only advisory with relevant agency directives issued by the President. .

390. GDA-1336 The OSTP's functions, as contained in the law, are to advise the President of scientific and technological considerations, evaluate the effectiveness of the federal effort, and generally lead and coordinate the federal government's R&D programs. .

391. GDA-1337 If science is being manipulated at the agencies to support separate political and institutional agendas, the President should increase the prominence of the OSTP's Director either formally or informally. .

392. GDA-1344 Under President Trump, IOTF priorities were artificial intelligence (AI), quantum information science (QIS), advanced communications/5G, advanced manufacturing, and biotechnology. .

393. GDA-1345 Under President Biden, this list has been expanded to include advanced materials, robotics, battery technology, cybersecurity, green products and clean technology, plant genetics and agricultural technologies, nanotechnology, and semiconductor and microelectronics technologies. .

394. GDA-1349 The President should also issue an executive order to reshape the U.S. .

395. GDA-1350 Global Change Research Program (USGCRP) and related climate change research programs. .

396. GDA-1351 The USGCRP produces strategic plans and research (for example, the National Climate Assessment) that reduce the scope of legally proper options in presidential decision-making and in agency rulemakings and adjudications. .

397. GDA-1355 The next President should critically analyze and, if required, refuse to accept any USGCRP assessment prepared under the Biden Administration. .

398. GDA-1356 The President should also restore related EOP research components to their purely informational and advisory roles. .

399. GDA-1358 These components should include but not necessarily be limited to the OSTP; the NSTC's Committee on Environment; the USGCRP's Interagency Groups (for example, the Carbon Cycle Interagency Working Group); and the Federal Coordinating Council for Science, Engineering, and Technology. .

400. GDA-1362 As with other federal departments and agencies, the Biden Administration's leveraging of the federal government's resources to further the woke agenda should be reversed and scrubbed from all policy manuals, guidance documents, and agendas, and scientific excellence and innovation should be restored as the OSTP's top priority. .

401. GDA-1365 The President should instruct the CEQ to rewrite its regulations implementing NEPA along the lines of the historic 2020 effort and restoring its key provisions such as banning the use of cumulative impact analysis. .

402. GDA-1367 The Federal Permitting Improvement Steering Council (FPISC), of which the CEQ is a part, has been empowered by Congress through significant new funding and amendments to FAST-41.38 The President should build on this foundation to further empower the FPISC by making its Executive Director an EOP appointee with delegated presidential directive authority over executive branch permitting agencies. .

403. GDA-1369 The new President should seek to issue a new executive order to create a unified process for major infrastructure projects that includes giving project proponents more control of any regulatory clocks. .

404. GDA-1370 The President should issue an executive order establishing a Senior Advisor to coordinate the policy development and implementation of relevant energy and environment policy by officials across the EOP (for example, the policy staff of the NSC, NEC, DPC, CEQ, and OSTP) and abolishing the existing Office of Domestic Climate Policy. .

405. GDA-1374 The President should eliminate the Interagency Working Group on the Social Cost of Carbon (SCC), which is cochaired by the OSTP, OMB, and CEA, and by executive order should end the use of SCC analysis. .

406. GDA-1375 Finally, the President should work with Congress to establish a sweeping modernization of the entire permitting system across all departments and agencies that is aimed at reducing litigation risk and giving agencies the authority to establish programmatic, general, and provisional permits. .

407. GDA-1376 OFFICE OF NATIONAL DRUG CONTROL POLICY (ONDCP) Congress created the Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) through the Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 198840 to serve as a coordinative auxiliary for the President on all matters related to drug policy. .

408. GDA-1377 The next President's top drug policy priority must be to address the current fentanyl crisis and reduce the number of overdoses and fatalities. .

409. GDA-1388 While it makes sense to transfer these programs eventually to the Department of Justice and Department of Health and Human Services, respectively, it is vital that the ONDCP Director ensure in the immediate term that these grant programs are funding the President's drug control priorities and not woke nonprofits with leftist policy agendas. .

410. GDA-1389 Thus, the President must insure that the ONDCP is managed by political appointees who are committed to the Administration's agenda and not acquiesce to management by political or career military personnel who oversaw the prior Administration's ONDCP. .

411. GDA-1390 GENDER POLICY COUNCIL (GPC) The President should immediately revoke Executive Order 1402041 and every policy, including subregulatory guidance documents, produced on behalf of or related to the establishment or promotion of the Gender Policy Council and its subsidiary issues. .

412. GDA-1391 Abolishing the Gender Policy Council would eliminate central promotion of abortion ("health services"); comprehensive sexuality education ("education"); and the new woke gender ideology, which has as a principal tenet "gender affirming care" and "sex-change" surgeries on minors. .

413. GDA-1394 Specifically, the President should appoint a position/point of contact with the rank of Special Assistant to the President or higher to coordinate and lead the President's domestic priorities on issues related to life and family in cooperation with the Domestic Policy Council. .

414. GDA-1396 OFFICE OF THE VICE PRESIDENT (OVP) The Vice President is elected to the second highest office in the nation and plays a constitutionally vital role as President-in-waiting. .

415. GDA-1397 The Vice President is also the President of the Senate and is charged with breaking tie votes in that body. .

416. GDA-1398 In recent years, the Vice President has been granted office space in the West Wing and the Eisenhower Executive Office Building. .

417. GDA-1399 The OVP is another one of the levers that the President should use to execute his agenda. .

418. GDA-1400 This is particularly true because there is significant and unique leverage that the Vice President's leadership of the OVP can evoke to shape policy discussions and outcomes. .

419. GDA-1401 Every other appointed White House official serves at the pleasure of the President, whereas the Vice President is elected, and the process for filling vacancies in that Article II constitutional office, which includes confirmation of a replacement Vice President by a majority of both Houses of Congress, is governed by the Twenty-Fifth Amendment.42 The Vice President has his or her own economic advisers, domestic policy and national security staff, and daily intelligence briefings. .

420. GDA-1402 The Vice President should fill his or her office with strong and sound policy minds to effectively assist the President in fulfilling his agenda. .

421. GDA-1403 The Vice President is also a statutory member of the National Security Council.43 In theory, in light of the fact that the Vice President is a member of the Smithsonian Institution's Board of Regents,44 there is nothing to prevent Congress from assigning the Vice President additional statutory duties. .

422. GDA-1405 Only a Vice President who is deeply steeped in the interworking of the interagency and policy councils can offer useful advice and prove helpful in accomplishing the President's agenda. .

423. GDA-1406 It is also obvious, in view of the fact that many former Vice Presidents have gone on to be elected President in their own right,45 that the Vice Presidency can act as a training ground for presidential office. .

424. GDA-1407 In the past, the Vice President has been tasked with leading certain initiatives or issues. .

425. GDA-1409 Vice Presidents Richard Cheney and Dan Quayle were also active on the deregulatory front and in imposing regulatory moratoria. .

426. GDA-1412 Past Vice Presidents have also spent significant time abroad serving as a type of brand ambassador for the White House and, more broadly, for the United States, announcing Administration priorities and coordinating with heads of state and other top officials of foreign governments. .

427. GDA-1413 The Vice President, as President of the Senate, often serves as a presidential emissary to the Senate and thus can be especially helpful in securing passage of the President's legislative agenda. .

428. GDA-1414 To the extent that he or she desires, a Vice President can have a direct role in shaping Administration policy. .

429. GDA-1415 A Vice President who regularly attends meetings and disperses staff across the interagency and policy councils is a Vice President whose voice will be heard. .

430. GDA-1426 4. President William J. .

431. GDA-1439 8. President Donald J. .

432. GDA-1445 9. President Donald J. .

433. GDA-1451 10. President Donald J. .

434. GDA-1457 12. President Donald J. .

435. GDA-1462 13. President Donald J. .

436. GDA-1468 14. President Donald J. .

437. GDA-1475 15. President Donald J. .

438. GDA-1480 16. President Donald J. .

439. GDA-1485 17. President William J. .

440. GDA-1490 18. President Ronald Reagan, Executive Order 12630, "Governmental Actions and Interference with Constitutionally Protected Property Rights," March 15, 1988, in Federal Register, Vol. .

441. GDA-1532 31. See Federation of American Scientists, Intelligence Resource Program, "Presidential Directives and Executive Orders," https://irp.fas.org/offdocs/direct.htm (accessed February 1, 2023), and Library of Congress, Researchers, Newspaper and Current Periodical Reading Room, "Presidential Directives and Where to Find Them," March 30, 2022, https://www.loc.gov/rr/news/directives.html (accessed February 1, 2023). .

442. GDA-1533 32. President Donald J. .

443. GDA-1557 39. President Donald J. .

444. GDA-1566 41. President Joseph R. .

445. GDA-1578 45. Vice Presidents Gerald Ford and Lyndon Johnson assumed (Ford) or initially assumed (Johnson) the office of the presidency by a process of succession. .

446. GDA-1581 Constitution makes clear, the President's appointment, direction, and removal authorities are the central elements of his executive power.1 In implementing that power, the people and the President deserve the most talented and responsible workforce possible. .

447. GDA-1582 Who the President assigns to design and implement his political policy agenda will determine whether he can carry out the responsibility given to him by the American people. .

448. GDA-1583 The President must recognize that whoever holds a government position sets its policy. .

449. GDA-1588 Code charges the OPM with executing, administering, and enforcing the rules, regulations, and laws governing the civil service.2 It grants the OPM direct responsibility for activities like retirement, pay, health, training, federal unionization, suitability, and classification functions not specifically granted to other agencies by statute. .

450. GDA-1589 The agency's Director is charged with aiding the President, as the President may request, in preparing such civil service rules as the President prescribes and otherwise advising the President on actions that may be taken to promote an efficient civil service and a systematic application of the merit system principles, including recommending policies relating to the selection, promotion, transfer, performance, pay, conditions of service, tenure, and separation of employees. .

451. GDA-1596 While not a personnel agency per se, the General Services Administration (GSA) is charged with general supervision of contracting.9 Today, there are many more contractors in government than there are civil service employees. .

452. GDA-1599 At the very pinnacle of the modern progressive program to make government competent stands the ideal of professionalized, career civil service. .

453. GDA-1603 Yet, as public frustration with the civil service has grown, generating calls to "drain the swamp," it has become clear that their project has had serious unintended consequences. .

454. GDA-1604 The civil service was devised to replace the amateurism and presumed corruption of the old spoils system, wherein government jobs rewarded loyal partisans who might or might not have professional backgrounds. .

455. GDA-1609 In the 1970s, Georgia Democratic Governor Jimmy Carter, then a political unknown, ran for President supporting New Deal programs and their Great Society expansion but opposing the way they were being administered. .

456. GDA-1612 President Carter fulfilled his campaign promise by hiring Syracuse University Dean Alan Campbell, who served first as Chairman of the U.S. .

457. GDA-1613 Civil Service Commission and then as Director of the OPM and helped him devise and pass the Civil Service Reform Act of 1978 (CSRA)11 to reset the basic structure of today's bureaucracy. .

458. GDA-1616 But time ran out on President Carter before the act could be fully executed, so it was left to President Ronald Reagan and his new OPM and agency leadership to implement. .

459. GDA-1624 civil service has been unable to distinguish consistently between strong and unqualified applicants for employment. .

460. GDA-1626 Department of Justice and top lawyers at the OPM contrived with plaintiffs to end civil service IQ examinations because of concern about their possible impact on minorities. .

461. GDA-1627 The OPM had used the Professional and Administrative Career Examination (PACE) general intelligence exam to select college graduates for top agency employment, but Carter Administration officials --- probably without the President's informed concurrence --- abolished the PACE through a legal consent court decree capitulating to demands by civil rights petitioners who contended that it was discriminatory. .

462. GDA-1633 In 2015, President Barack Obama's OPM began to introduce an improved merit examination called USAHire, which it had been testing quietly since 2012 in a few agencies for a dozen job descriptions. .

463. GDA-1636 President Donald Trump's OPM planned to implement such changes but was delayed because of legal concerns over possible disparate impact. .

464. GDA-1649 In 2018, President Trump issued Executive Order 1383916 requiring agencies to reduce the time for employees to improve performance before corrective action could be taken; to initiate disciplinary actions against poorly performing employees more expeditiously; to reiterate that agencies are obligated to make employees improve; to reduce the time for employees to respond to allegations of poor performance; to mandate that agencies remind supervisors of expiring employee probationary periods; to prohibit agencies from entering into settlement agreements that modify an employee's personnel record; and to reevaluate procedures for agencies to discipline supervisors who retaliate against whistleblowers. .

465. GDA-1655 Indistinguishable from their coworkers on paper, hard-working federal employees often go unrewarded for their efforts and are often the system's greatest critics. .

466. GDA-1656 Federal workers who are performing inadequately get neither the benefit of an honest appraisal nor clear guidance on how to improve. .

467. GDA-1666 Meanwhile, the OPM issued regulations to expand the role of performance related to pay throughout the entire workforce, but congressional allies of the employee unions, led by Representative Steny Hoyer (D) of government employee- rich Maryland, stoutly resisted this extension of pay-for-performance and, with strong union support, used the congressional appropriations process to block OPM administrative pay reforms. .

468. GDA-1669 A reform-friendly President and Congress might just provide the opportunity to create a more comprehensive performance plan; in the meantime, however, political executives should use existing pay and especially fiscal awards strategically to reward good performance to the degree allowed by law. .

469. GDA-1674 Formal appeal in the private sector is mostly a rather simple two-step process, but government unions and associations have been able to convince politicians to support a multiple and extensive appeals and enforcement process. .

470. GDA-1677 Claims that an employee's removal or disciplinary actions violate the terms of a collective bargaining agreement between an agency and a union are handled by the FLRA, employees who claim their removal was the result of discrimination can appeal to the EEOC, and employees who believe their firing was retribution for being a whistleblower can go to the OSC. .

471. GDA-1691 With the proper limitation of labor union actions, the FLRA should have limited reason for appeals. .

472. GDA-1694 Making Civil Service Benefits Economically and Administratively Rational. .

473. GDA-1698 Official data also claim that national government employees are paid less than private-sector employees are paid for similar work, but several more neutral sources demonstrate that public- sector workers make more on average than their private-sector counterparts. .

474. GDA-1701 According to current law, federal workers are to be paid wages comparable to equivalent private-sector workers rather than compared to all private-sector employees. .

475. GDA-1702 While the official studies claim that federal employees are underpaid relative to the private sector by 20 percent or more, a 2016 Heritage Foundation study found that federal employees received wages that were 22 percent higher than wages for similar private-sector workers; if the value of employee benefits was included, the total compensation premium for federal employees over their private-sector equivalents increased to between 30 percent and 40 percent.18 The American Enterprise Institute found a 14 percent pay premium and a 61 percent total compensation premium.19 Base salary is only one component of a federal employee's total compensation. .

476. GDA-1718 A federal employee with a preretirement income of $25,000 under the older of the two federal retirement plans will receive at least $200,000 more over a 20-year period than will private-sector workers with the same preretirement salary under historic inflation levels. .

477. GDA-1720 Under OPM pressure, Reagan and Congress ultimately ended the old Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS) entirely for new employees, which (counting disbursements for the unfunded liability) accounted for 51.3 percent of the federal government's total payroll. .

478. GDA-1731 The GSA also manages the Presidential Transition Act (PTA) process, which also directly involves the OPM. .

479. GDA-1733 Fortunately, this did not take place in that form, but it would make sense for GSA and OPM leadership and staff to hold regular meetings to work through matters of common interest such as moderating PTA personnel restrictions and the relationships between contract and civil service employees. .

480. GDA-1735 Reducing the number of federal employees seems an obvious way to reduce the overall expense of the civil service, and many prior Administrations have attempted to do just this. .

481. GDA-1736 Presidents Bill Clinton and Barack Obama began their terms, as did Ronald Reagan and Donald Trump, by mandating a freeze on the hiring of new federal employees, but these efforts did not lead to permanent and substantive reductions in the number of nondefense federal employees. .

482. GDA-1737 First, it is a challenge even to know which workers to cut. .

483. GDA-1743 OMB instructions following President Trump's employment freeze told agencies to consider buyout programs, encouraging early retirements in order to shift costs from current budgets in agencies to the retirement system and minimize the number of personnel fired. .

484. GDA-1744 The Environmental Protection Agency immediately implemented such a program, and OMB urged the passage of legislation to increase payout maximums from $25,000 to $40,000 to further increase spending under the "cuts." President Clinton's OMB had introduced a similar buyout that cost the Treasury $2.8 billion, mostly for those who were going to retire anyway. .

485. GDA-1748 Despite several attempts in the House of Representatives during the Trump years to enact legislation that would modestly increase the weight given to performance over time-of-service, the fierce opposition by federal managers associations and unions representing long-serving but not necessarily well-performing constituents explains why the bills failed to advance. .

486. GDA-1749 A determined President should insist that performance be first and be wary of costly types of reductions-in-force. .

487. GDA-1753 It also identified 59 other opportunities for executive agencies or Congress to reduce the cost of government operations or enhance revenue collection across 25 areas of government.20 A logical place to begin would be to identify and eliminate functions and programs that are duplicated across Cabinet departments or spread across multiple agencies. .

488. GDA-1759 That is a challenge primarily for Presidents, Congress, and the entire government, but the OPM still needs to lead the way governmentwide in managing personnel properly even in any future smaller government. .

489. GDA-1761 The people elect a President who is charged by Article 2, Section 3 of the Constitution23 with seeing that the laws are "faithfully executed" with his political appointees democratically linked to that legitimizing responsibility. .

490. GDA-1764 The creation of the Senior Executive Service was the top career change introduced by the 1978 Carter-Campbell Civil Service Reform Act. .

491. GDA-1767 The desire to infiltrate political appointees improperly into the high career civil service has been widespread in every Administration, whether Democrat or Republican. .

492. GDA-1768 Democratic Administrations, however, are typically more successful because they require the cooperation of careerists, who generally lean heavily to the Left. .

493. GDA-1770 President Reagan's OPM began by limiting such SES burrowing-in, arguing that the proper course was to create and fill political positions. .

494. GDA-1776 Frustrated with these activities by top career executives, the Trump Administration issued Executive Order 1395724 to make career professionals in positions that are not normally subject to change as a result of a presidential transition but who discharge significant duties and exercise significant discretion in formulating and implementing executive branch policy and programs an exception to the competitive hiring rules and examinations for career positions under a new Schedule F. .

495. GDA-1777 It ordered the Director of OPM and agency heads to set procedures to prepare lists of such confidential, policy-determining, policymaking, or policy-advocating positions and prepare procedures to create exceptions from civil service rules when careerists hold such positions, from which they can relocate back to the regular civil service after such service. .

496. GDA-1778 The order was subsequently reversed by President Biden25 at the demand of the civil service associations and unions. .

497. GDA-1780 Managing Personnel in a Union Environment. .

498. GDA-1781 Historically, unions were thought to be incompatible with government management. .

499. GDA-1782 There is a natural limit to the bargaining power of private-sector unions, but the financial bottom line of public-sector unions is not similarly constrained. .

500. GDA-1783 If private-sector unions push too hard a bargain, they can so harm a company or so reduce efficiency that their employer is forced to go out of business and eliminate union jobs altogether. .

501. GDA-1784 There is no such limit in government, which cannot go out of business, so demands can be excessive without negatively affecting employee and union bottom lines. .

502. GDA-1785 Even Democratic President Franklin Roosevelt considered union representation in the federal government to be incompatible with democracy. .

503. GDA-1787 It was not until President John Kennedy that union representation in the federal government was recognized --- and then merely by executive order. .

504. GDA-1791 But the management rights are still in statute, have been enforced by some Administrations, and should be enforced again by any future OPM and agency managements, which should not be intimidated by union power. .

505. GDA-1792 Rather than being daunted, President Trump issued three executive orders: l Executive Order 13836, encouraging agencies to renegotiate all union collective bargaining agreements to ensure consistency with the law and respect for management rights;26 l Executive Order 13837, encouraging agencies to prevent union representatives from using official time preparing or pursuing grievances or from engaging in other union activity on government time;27 and l Executive Order 13839, encouraging agencies both to limit labor grievances on removals from service or on challenging performance appraisals and to prioritize performance over seniority when deciding who should be retained following reductions-in-force.28 All were revoked by the Biden Administration29 and should be reinstated by the next Administration, to include the immediate appointment of the FLRA General Counsel and reactivation of the Impasses Panel. .

506. GDA-1793 Congress should also consider whether public-sector unions are appropriate in the first place. .

507. GDA-1794 The bipartisan consensus up until the middle of the 20th century held that these unions were not compatible with constitutional government.30 After more than half a century of experience with public-sector union frustrations of good government management, it is hard to avoid reaching the same conclusion. .

508. GDA-1796 The President must rely legally on his top department and agency officials to run the government and on top White House staff employees to coordinate operations through regular Cabinet and other meetings and communications. .

509. GDA-1797 Without this political leadership, the career civil service becomes empowered to lead the executive branch without democratic legitimacy. .

510. GDA-1798 While many obstacles stand in his way, a President is constitutionally and statutorily required to fill the top political positions in the executive branch both to assist him and to provide overall legitimacy. .

511. GDA-1799 Most Presidents have had some difficulty obtaining congressional approval of their appointees, but this has worsened recently. .

512. GDA-1800 After the 2016 election, President Trump faced special hostility from the opposition party and the media in getting his appointees confirmed or even considered by the Senate. .

513. GDA-1801 His early Office of Presidential Personnel (PPO) did not generally remove political appointees from the previous Administration but instead relied mostly on prior political appointees and career civil servants to run the government. .

514. GDA-1802 Such a reliance on holdovers and bureaucrats led to a lack of agency control and the absolute refusal of the Acting Attorney General from the Obama Administration to obey a direct order from the President. .

515. GDA-1804 Whatever the reasoning, this had the effect of permanently hampering the rollout of the new President's agenda. .

516. GDA-1805 Thus, in those critical early years, much of the government relied on senior careerists and holdover Obama appointees to carry out the sensitive responsibilities that would otherwise belong to the new President's appointees. .

517. GDA-1806 Fortunately, the later PPO, OPM, and Senate leadership began to cooperate to build a strong team to implement the President's personnel appointment agenda. .

518. GDA-1809 If "personnel is policy" is to be our general guide, it would make sense to give the President direct supervision of the bureaucracy with the OPM Director available in his Cabinet. .

519. GDA-1810 A REFORMED BUREAUCRACY Today, the federal government's bureaucracy cannot even meet its own civil service ideals. .

520. GDA-1818 That progressive system has broken down in our time, and the only real solution is for the national government to do less: to decentralize and privatize as much as possible and then ensure that the remaining bureaucracy is managed effectively along the lines of the enduring principles set out in detail here. .

521. GDA-1819 AUTHORS' NOTE: The authors are grateful for the collaborative work of the individuals listed as contributors to this chapter for the 2025 Presidential Transition Project. .

522. GDA-1847 2640, Civil Service Reform Act of 1978, Public Law No. .

523. GDA-1859 President Donald J. .

524. GDA-1864 17. President Joseph R. .

525. GDA-1882 24. President Donald J. .

526. GDA-1888 26. President Donald J. .

527. GDA-1893 27. President Donald J. .

528. GDA-1894 Trump, Executive Order 13837, "Ensuring Transparency, Accountability, and Efficiency in Taxpayer-Funded Union Time Use," May 25, 2018, in Federal Register, Vol. .

529. GDA-1901 Howard, Not Accountable: Rethinking the Constitutionality of Public Employee Unions (Garden City, NY: Rodin Books, 2023). .

530. GDA-1904 Section Two THE COMMON DEFENSE W hile the lives of Americans are affected in noteworthy ways, for better or worse, by each part of the executive branch, the inherent importance of national defense and foreign affairs makes the Departments of Defense and State first among equals. .

531. GDA-1905 Originating in the George Washington Administration, the War Department (as it was then known) was headed by Henry Knox, America's chief artillery officer in the Revolutionary War; Thomas Jefferson, the primary author of the Declaration of Independence, was the first Secretary of State. .

532. GDA-1911 That is why Russ Vought argues in Chapter 2 that the National Security Council "should rigorously review all general and flag officer promotions to prioritize the core roles and responsibilities of the military over social engineering and non-defense related matters, including climate change, critical race theory, manufactured extremism, and other polarizing policies that weaken our armed forces and discourage our nation's finest men and women from enlisting." Ensuring that many of America's best and brightest continue to choose military service is essential. .

533. GDA-1912 "By far the most significant danger" to America from abroad, Miller writes, "is China." That communist regime "is undertaking a historic military buildup," which "could result in a nuclear force that matches or exceeds America's own nuclear arsenal." Resisting Chinese expansionist aims "requires a denial defense" whereby we make "the subordination of Taiwan or other U.S. .

534. GDA-1921 Former State Department director of policy planning Kiron Skinner writes in Chapter 6, "[L]arge swaths of the State Department's workforce are left-wing and predisposed to disagree with a conservative President's policy agenda and vision." She adds that the department possesses a "belief that it is an independent institution that knows what is best for the United States, sets its own foreign policy, and does not need direction from an elected President" --- a view that does not align with the Constitution. .

535. GDA-1923 Skinner writes, "The next Administration must take swift and decisive steps to reforge the department into a lean and functional diplomatic machine that serves the President and, thereby, the American people." Because the Senate has been extraordinarily lax in fulfilling its constitutional obligation to confirm presidential appointees, she recommends putting appointees into acting roles until such time as the Senate confirms them. .

536. GDA-1929 When it comes to China, Skinner writes that "a policy of 'compete where we must, but cooperate where we can'"¦has demonstrably failed." The People's Republic of China's (PRC) "aggressive behavior," she writes, "can only be curbed through external pressure." Efforts to protect or excuse China must stop. .

537. GDA-1930 She observes, "[M]any were quick to dismiss even the possibility that COVID escaped from a Chinese research laboratory." Meanwhile, Skinner writes, "[g]lobal leaders including President Joe Biden"¦have tried to normalize or even laud Chinese behavior." She adds, "In some cases, these voices, like global corporate giants BlackRock and Disney" --- or the National Basketball Association (NBA) --- "directly benefit from doing business with Beijing." Former vice president of the U.S. .

538. GDA-1931 Agency for Global Media Mora Namdar writes in Chapter 8 that we need to have people working for USAGM who actually believe in America, rather than allowing the agencies to function as anti-American, taxpayer- funded entities that parrot our adversaries' propaganda and talking points. .

539. GDA-1938 Agency for International Development Max Primorac asserts that the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) must be reformed, writing, "The Biden Administration has deformed the agency by treating it as a global platform to pursue overseas a divisive political and cultural agenda that promotes abortion, climate extremism, gender radicalism, and interventions against perceived systematic racism." If the recommendations in the following chapters are adopted, what Skinner says about the State Department could be true for other parts of the federal government's national security and foreign policy apparatus: The next conservative President has the opportunity to restructure the making and execution of U.S. .

540. GDA-1940 The recommendations outlined in this section provide guidance on how the next President should use the federal government's vast resources to do just that. .

541. GDA-1941 4 DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE Christopher Miller The Constitution requires the federal government to "provide for the common defence."1 It assigns to Congress the authority to "raise and support Armies" and to "provide and maintain a Navy"2 and specifies that the President is "commander in Chief" of America's armed forces.3 Ever since our Founding, Americans have understood that the surest way to avoid war is to be prepared for it in peace --- but when deterrence fails, we must fight and win. .

542. GDA-1946 Our disastrous withdrawal from Afghanistan, our impossibly muddled China strategy, the growing involvement of senior military officers in the political arena, and deep confusion about the purpose of our military are clear signals of a disturbing decay and markers of a dangerous decline in our nation's capabilities and will. .

543. GDA-1966 DOD POLICY By far the most significant danger to Americans' security, freedoms, and prosperity is China. .

544. GDA-1967 China is by any measure the most powerful state in the world other than the United States itself. .

545. GDA-1973 China is undertaking a historic military buildup that includes increasing capability for power projection not only in its own region, but also far beyond as well as a dramatic expansion of its nuclear forces that could result in a nuclear force that matches or exceeds America's own nuclear arsenal. .

546. GDA-1974 The most severe immediate threat that Beijing's military poses, however, is to Taiwan and other U.S. .

547. GDA-1976 If China could subordinate Taiwan or allies like the Philippines, South Korea, and Japan, it could break apart any balancing coalition that is designed to prevent Beijing's hegemony over Asia. .

548. GDA-1977 Accordingly, the United States must ensure that China does not succeed. .

549. GDA-1978 This requires a denial defense: the ability to make the subordination of Taiwan or other U.S. .

550. GDA-1980 Critically, the United States must be able to do this at a level of cost and risk that Americans are willing to bear given the relative importance of Taiwan to China and to the U.S. .

551. GDA-1981 The United States and its allies also face real threats from Russia, as evidenced by Vladimir Putin's brutal war in Ukraine, as well as from Iran, North Korea, and transnational terrorism at a time when decades of ill-advised military operations in the Greater Middle East, the atrophy of our defense industrial base, the impact of sequestration, and effective disarmament by many U.S. .

552. GDA-1988 defense strategy must identify China unequivocally as the top priority for U.S. .

553. GDA-1992 allies must also step up, with some joining the United States in taking on China in Asia while others take more of a lead in dealing with threats from Russia in Europe, Iran, the Middle East, and North Korea. .

554. GDA-1994 Needed Reforms l Prioritize a denial defense against China. .

555. GDA-1996 defense planning should focus on China and, in particular, the effective denial defense of Taiwan. .

556. GDA-1998 defense activities will deny China the first island chain. .

557. GDA-2000 defense efforts, from force planning to employment and posture, focus on ensuring the ability of American forces to prevail in the pacing scenario and deny China a fait accompli against Taiwan. .

558. GDA-2002 conventional force planning construct to defeat a Chinese invasion of Taiwan before allocating resources to other missions, such as simultaneously fighting another conflict. .

559. GDA-2007 allies must play their part not only in dealing with China, but also in dealing with threats from Russia, Iran, and North Korea. .

560. GDA-2010 2. Support greater spending and collaboration by Taiwan and allies in the Asia-Pacific like Japan and Australia to create a collective defense model. .

561. GDA-2011 3. Transform NATO so that U.S. .

562. GDA-2012 allies are capable of fielding the great majority of the conventional forces required to deter Russia while relying on the United States primarily for our nuclear deterrent, and select other capabilities while reducing the U.S. .

563. GDA-2018 Russia maintains and is actively brandishing a very large nuclear arsenal, but China is also undertaking a historic nuclear breakout. .

564. GDA-2020 nuclear force so that it has the size, sophistication, and tailoring to deter Russia and China simultaneously. .

565. GDA-2024 1. Sustain the military forces needed to deter, prevent, and combat terrorism, but at a sustainable cost in concert with other elements of national power and partner efforts. .

566. GDA-2034 2. The President should examine the recommendations of the congressionally mandated Commission on Planning, Programming, Budgeting, and Execution Reform4 and develop a strategy for implementing those that the Administration considers to be in the best interests of the American people. .

567. GDA-2044 support to Ukraine. .

568. GDA-2071 DOD RESEARCH, DEVELOPMENT, TEST, AND EVALUATION (RDT&E) The FY 2017 National Defense Authorization Act established the position of Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering and assigned broad responsibility for "all defense research and engineering, technology development, technology transition, prototyping, experimentation, and developmental testing activities and programs, including the allocation of resources for defense research and engineering, and unifying defense research and engineering efforts across the Department," to the new Under Secretary, who also was tasked with "serving as the principal advisor to the Secretary on all research, engineering, and technology development activities and programs in the Department."6 This led to the single largest DOD structural change since the Goldwater-Nichols act of 19867 and was organized effectively during President Donald Trump's Administration. .

569. GDA-2085 3. Establish a pipeline of near-term, mid-term, and long-term technology that is aimed at great-power competition (China) and can be matured, prototyped, and evaluated to support major acquisitions (the ability to produce at scale) to break the cycle of schedule delays and cost overruns from underdeveloped and poorly understood technologies. .

570. GDA-2088 China has been relentless in stealing U.S. .

571. GDA-2110 End the tiered review process to eliminate at least 20 days from the FMS process. .

572. GDA-2111 2. Use the tiered review process only when unanimous congressional support is guaranteed in order to eliminate the "weaponization" by select Members of Congress that has prevented billions of dollars of arms sales from moving into formal congressional notification. .

573. GDA-2131 1. Appoint a Special Assistant to the President who will maintain liaison with Congress, DOD, and all other interested parties on the issue of recruiting and retention. .

574. GDA-2140 l Eliminate politicization, reestablish trust and accountability, and restore faith to the force. .

575. GDA-2147 4. Eliminate Marxist indoctrination and divisive critical race theory programs and abolish newly established diversity, equity, and inclusion offices and staff. .

576. GDA-2149 6. Audit the course offerings at military academies to remove Marxist indoctrination, eliminate tenure for academic professionals, and apply the same rules to instructors that are applied to other DOD contracting personnel. .

577. GDA-2162 The next President should limit the continued advancement of many of the existing cadre, many of whom have been advanced by prior Administrations for reasons other than their warfighting prowess. .

578. GDA-2165 Of the IC's 17 elements, eight are within DOD,17 two are independent,18 and seven belong to various other departments and agencies.19 Overall, "[t]he DoD provides 86 percent of the personnel who conduct intelligence activities, both military and civilian."20 The Defense Intelligence Enterprise must deliver accurate, unbiased, and timely insights consistently and with clarity, objectivity, and independence. .

579. GDA-2170 1. Establish unbiased intelligence reporting from DIE/IC senior leaders. .

580. GDA-2172 2. Align collection and analysis with vital national interests (countering China and Russia). .

581. GDA-2192 In recent years, public trust in Defense Intelligence has been eroded by, for example, flawed assumptions leading up to our Afghanistan withdrawal, flawed Russia-Ukraine assessments, divergences in relations with key Gulf allies, and voids being filled by Russia and China around the world. .

582. GDA-2196 The next Administration should eliminate the conflict of interest in the current customer-based model (in which the customer is always right) by enforcing time-tested procedures that guarantee independent analysis, even if it means challenging policymakers' assumptions. .

583. GDA-2200 l Eliminate peripheral intelligence obligations that do not advance military readiness. .

584. GDA-2210 All of these challenges are set against the backdrop of a complex and dynamic global geopolitical environment that is exemplified and exacerbated by the triumph of our adversaries in Afghanistan after a 20-year struggle there as well as recent Russian outrages in the Ukraine and China's bellicosity both on its borders and in surrounding disputed regions. .

585. GDA-2212 The status quo is further marked by a pervasive politically driven top-down focus on progressive social policies that emphasize matters like so-called diversity, equity, and inclusion and climate change, often to the detriment of the Army's core warfighting mission. .

586. GDA-2235 The Army no longer reflects national demographics to the degree that it did before 1974 when the draft was eliminated. .

587. GDA-2250 Today, the People's Republic of China People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) can challenge the USN's ability to accomplish its mission in the Pacific and Indian Oceans. .

588. GDA-2285 Air Force today lacks a force structure with the lethality, survivability, and capacity to fight a major conflict with a great power like China, deter nuclear threats, and meet its other operational requirements under the National Defense Strategy.29 For 30 years, the Air Force has received less annual funding (if pass-through funding, defined as money in the Air Force budget that does not go to the Air Force, is removed from the equation) than the Army and Navy have received. .

589. GDA-2305 2. Eliminate pass-through funding, which has grown to more than $40 billion per year and has caused the Air Force to be chronically underfunded for decades. .

590. GDA-2313 5. Accelerate the development and production of the Sentinel intercontinental ballistic missile to reduce the risk inherent in an aging Minuteman III force in light of China's nuclear modernization breakout. .

591. GDA-2314 6. Increase the number of EC-37B electronic warfare aircraft from 10 to 20 in order to achieve a minimum capacity to engage growing threats from China across the electromagnetic spectrum. .

592. GDA-2335 a. Eliminate all USMC law enforcement battalions. .

593. GDA-2341 b. Eliminate the majority of tube artillery (M777) batteries. .

594. GDA-2372 The Biden Administration has eliminated almost all offensive deterrence capabilities and instead will rely solely on defensive capabilities of disaggregation, maneuver, and reconstitution --- the most costly, the slowest, and ultimately the most fragile architecture selection. .

595. GDA-2399 The preliminary evidence from the war in Ukraine suggests that existing cyber doctrine and certain capability and target assumptions may be incorrect or misplaced. .

596. GDA-2406 3. Expand defensive cyber-effects operations authorized by President Trump's classified National Security Presidential Memorandum 13, "United States Cyber Operations Policy."36 4. .

597. GDA-2408 elections to eliminate the perception that DOD is engaging in partisan politics. .

598. GDA-2425 If we maintain irregular warfare's traditional focus on nonstate actors, we limit ourselves to addressing only the symptoms (nonstate actors), not the problems themselves (China, Russia, North Korea, and Iran). .

599. GDA-2429 Broadly redefining irregular warfare to address current state and nonstate actors is critical to countering irregular threats that range from the Chinese use of economic warfare to Russian disinformation and Islamist terrorism. .

600. GDA-2436 l Counter China's Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) globally. .

601. GDA-2437 DOD, in conjunction with the Interagency, allies, and partner nations, must work proactively to counter China's BRI around the globe. .

602. GDA-2439 2. Use regional and global information operations to highlight Chinese violations of Exclusive Economic Zones, violations of human rights, and coercion along Chinese fault lines in Xinjiang Province, Hong Kong, and Taiwan in addition to China's weaponization of sovereign debt. .

603. GDA-2456 l China is pursuing a strategic breakout of its nuclear forces, significantly shifting the nuclear balance and forcing the U.S. .

604. GDA-2457 to learn how to deter two nuclear peer competitors (China and Russia) simultaneously for the first time in its history. .

605. GDA-2458 l Russia is expanding its nuclear arsenal and using the threat of nuclear employment as a coercive tactic in its war on Ukraine. .

606. GDA-2475 nonstrategic capabilities and improve deterrence against limited nuclear attack.39 The Biden Administration canceled this program in its 2022 Nuclear Posture Review (NPR).40 The next President should support and accelerate funding for development of the SLCM-N with the goal of deployment by the end of the decade. .

607. GDA-2476 l Account for China's nuclear expansion. .

608. GDA-2477 To ensure its ability to deter both Russia and the growing Chinese nuclear threat, the U.S. .

609. GDA-2479 President Biden's 2022 NPR described the problem but proposed no recommendations to restore or maintain nuclear deterrence. .

610. GDA-2504 l China and Russia, in addition to their vast and growing ballistic missile inventories, are deploying new hypersonic glide vehicles and investing in new ground-launched, air-launched, and sea-launched cruise missiles that uniquely challenge the United States in different domains. .

611. GDA-2512 missile defense is destabilizing because it threatens Russian and Chinese second- strike capabilities. .

612. GDA-2513 1. Reject claims made by the Left that missile defense is destabilizing while acknowledging that Russia and China are developing their own advanced missile defense systems. .

613. GDA-2514 2. Commit to keeping homeland missile defense off the table in any arms control negotiations with Russia and China.42 l Strengthen homeland ballistic missile defense. .

614. GDA-2519 As the Ukraine conflict amply demonstrates, U.S. .

615. GDA-2528 has chosen to rely solely on deterrence to address the Russian and Chinese ballistic missile threat to the homeland and to use homeland missile defense only against rogue nations. .

616. GDA-2529 1. Abandon the existing policy of not defending the homeland against Russian and Chinese ballistic missiles and focus on how to improve defense as the Russian and Chinese missile threats increase at an unprecedented rate.45 2. .

617. GDA-2538 Its preparation was a collective enterprise of individuals involved in the 2025 Presidential Transition Project. .

618. GDA-2604 25. "[T]he Army's internal assessment must be balanced against its own statements that unit training is focused on company-level operations [reflective of counterintelligence requirements] rather than battalion or brigade operations [much less division or corps to meet large-scale ground combat operations against a peer competitor such as Russia or China]. .

619. GDA-2640 Use of Cyberweapons," The Wall Street Journal, September 20, 2018, https://www.wsj.com/articles/white-house- confirms-it-has-relaxed-rules-on-u-s-use-of-cyber-weapons-1537476729 (accessed March 7, 2023); and Federation of American Scientists, Intelligence Resource Program, "National Security Presidential Memoranda [NSPMs]: Donald J. .

620. GDA-2671 5 DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY Ken Cuccinelli PRIMARY RECOMMENDATION Our primary recommendation is that the President pursue legislation to dismantle the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). .

621. GDA-2684 l The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) be privatized. .

622. GDA-2696 DHS has also suffered from the Left's wokeness and weaponization against Americans whom the Left perceives as its political opponents. .

623. GDA-2703 These opportunities include privatizing TSA screening and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) National Flood Insurance Program, reforming FEMA emergency spending to shift the majority of preparedness and response costs to states and localities instead of the federal government, eliminating most of DHS's grant programs, and removing all unions in the department for national security purposes. .

624. GDA-2707 The Secretary of Homeland Security is a presidentially appointed and Senate-confirmed political appointee, but for budgetary reasons, he or she has historically been unable to fund a dedicated team of political appointees. .

625. GDA-2708 A key first step for the Secretary to improve front-office functions is to have his or her own dedicated team of political appointees selected and vetted by the Office of Presidential Personnel, which is not reliant on detailees from other parts of the department, to help ensure the completion of the next President's agenda. .

626. GDA-2719 Pending a possible presidential decision to shrink or eliminate DHS itself, the next Administration will still have the obligation to protect the homeland as required by law. .

627. GDA-2736 Non-Use of Discretionary Guest Worker Visa Authorities. .

628. GDA-2737 To stop facilitating the availability of cheap foreign labor in order to support American workers (particularly poor and middle-class American workers) and follow congressional intent, the Secretary should explicitly cease using at least two discretionary authorities as part of his or her broader effort to support American workers. .

629. GDA-2739 l The Secretary should not issue any regulations in support of the "H-2 eligible" country list, the effect of which would prevent favoring certain foreign nationals seeking an H-2 guest worker visa based simply on their nationality. .

630. GDA-2753 A conservative Administration should eliminate any prohibitive guidance, direction, or mandate from DHS or the Administration that curtails or limits CBP from publishing detailed border security and enforcement data not impacting intelligence, interdiction, and investigative operations, methods, or sources. .

631. GDA-2773 In addition, CBP should eliminate use of Notices to Report (NTR) altogether. .

632. GDA-2783 The next President should request a realistic budget that fully pays for these costs. .

633. GDA-2794 l Eliminate T and U visas. .

634. GDA-2803 This requires working with the Department of State to eliminate or significantly reduce the number of visas issued to foreign students from enemy nations. .

635. GDA-2822 Safeguarding Americans will require not just securing the border, but continuous vetting and investigations of many aliens who exploited President Biden's open border for potentially nefarious purposes, including some Afghan evacuees sent directly to the U.S. .

636. GDA-2856 l Management Directives and policies should realign to ensure that the workforce, while adaptable and able to handle the bulk of the USCIS mission, is not allowed to be pulled off mission work to focus on unlawful programs (DACA, mass parole for Afghans, Ukrainians, Venezuelans, etc.), which divert resources away from nuclear family and employment programs. .

637. GDA-2863 To that end, the diversity visa lottery should be repealed, chain migration should be ended while focusing on the nuclear family, and the existing employment visa program should be replaced with a system to award visas only to the "best and brightest." Internal efforts to limit employment authorization should be matched by congressional action to narrow statutory eligibility to work in the United States and mitigate unfair employment competition for U.S. .

638. GDA-2865 The oft-abused H-1B program should be transformed into an elite program through which employers are vying to bring in only the top foreign workers at the highest wages so as not to depress American opportunities. .

639. GDA-2866 Additionally, Congress should: l Improve the integrity of the temporary work visa programs; l Repeal Temporary Protected Status (TPS) designations; l Permanently authorize and make mandatory E-Verify; and l End parole abuse by legislating specific parole standards. .

640. GDA-2887 Leaks must be investigated and punished as they would be in a national security agency, and the union should be decertified. .

641. GDA-2905 Congress should repeal Section 235 of the William Wilberforce Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2008 (TVPRA),9 which provides numerous immigration benefits to unaccompanied alien children and only encourages more parents to send their children across the border illegally and unaccompanied. .

642. GDA-2907 2. If an alternative to repealing Section 235 of the TVPRA is necessary, the section should be amended so that all unaccompanied children, regardless of nationality, may be returned to their home countries in a safe and efficient manner. .

643. GDA-2916 3. Congress should eliminate the particular social group protected ground as vague and overbroad or, in the alternative, provide a clear definition with parameters that at a minimum codify the holding in Matter of A-B- that gang violence and domestic violence are not grounds for asylum.10 l Parole reform. .

644. GDA-2937 Congress should restrict the authority for prosecutorial discretion to eliminate it as a "catch-all" excuse for limiting immigration enforcement. .

645. GDA-2939 Congress should eliminate ambiguous discretionary language in Title 8 that aliens "may" be detained and clarify that aliens "shall" be detained. .

646. GDA-2945 Unless and until T and U visas are repealed, each program needs to be reformed to ensure that only legitimate victims of trafficking and crimes who are actively providing significant material assistance to law enforcement are eligible for spots in the queue. .

647. GDA-2946 l Repeal TPS designations. .

648. GDA-2949 workers are not being disadvantaged by the program. .

649. GDA-2961 6. Eliminate the use of ATD for border crossers except in rare cases and only with the explicit authority of the Secretary. .

650. GDA-2964 Restrict prosecutorial discretion to eliminate it as a "catch-all" excuse for limiting immigration enforcement. .

651. GDA-2971 presents urgent circumstances requiring an immediate federal response, the Secretary may make, subject to the approval of the President, rules and regulations prohibiting in whole or in part the introduction of persons from such countries or places as he or she shall designate in order to avert or curtail such mass migration and for such period of time as is deemed necessary, including through the expulsion of such aliens. .

652. GDA-2973 2. Provide that notwithstanding any other provision of law, when the Secretary makes such a determination and then promulgates, subject to the approval of the President, such rules and regulations, the Secretary shall have the authority to waive all legal requirements of Title 8 that the Secretary, in his or her sole discretion, determines are necessary to avert or curtail the mass migration. .

653. GDA-2977 3. Review and repeal any internal agency memo that is inconsistent with the priorities described in this chapter. .

654. GDA-3002 For FY 2023, President Biden requested more than $3.5 billion for federal assistance grants.13 Funds provided under these programs do not provide measurable gains for preparedness or resiliency. .

655. GDA-3011 Additionally, FEMA's "springing Cabinet position" should be eliminated, as this creates significant unnecessary challenges to the functioning of the whole of DHS at points in time when coordinated responses are most needed. .

656. GDA-3019 CISA began this work because of alleged Russian misinformation in the 2016 election, which in fact turned out to be a Clinton campaign "dirty trick." The Intelligence Community, including the NSA or DOD, should counter foreign actors. .

657. GDA-3020 At the time of this writing, release of the Twitter Files has demonstrated that CISA has devolved into an unconstitutional censoring and election engineering apparatus of the political Left. .

658. GDA-3036 The current shipbuilding plan is insufficient based on USCG analysis, and the necessary numbers of planned Offshore Patrol Cutters and National Security Cutters are not supported by congressional budgets. .

659. GDA-3048 The Administration should stop the messaging on wokeness and diversity and focus instead on attracting the best talent for USCG. .

660. GDA-3055 The result has been a long series of high-profile embarrassments and security failures, perhaps most notably its allowing of then-Vice President-elect Kamala Harris to be inside the Democratic National Committee office on January 6, 2021, while a pipe bomb was outside. .

661. GDA-3070 USSS should keep visitor logs for all facilities where the President works or resides. .

662. GDA-3071 The Biden Administration has evaded such transparency with President Biden spending a historic amount of time for a President at his Delaware residence. .

663. GDA-3088 Until it is privatized, TSA should be treated as a national security provider, and its workforce should be deunionized immediately. .

664. GDA-3089 TSA could privatize the screening function by expanding the current Screening Partnership Program (SPP) to all airports. .

665. GDA-3112 They should also be prepared to help implement any end to unionization of DHS components in response to an executive order pursuant to 5 U.S.C. .

666. GDA-3133 PLCY should perform a complete inventory, analysis, and reevaluation of the department's domestic terrorism lines of effort to ensure that they are consistent with the President's priorities, congressional authorization, and Americans' constitutional rights. .

667. GDA-3139 PLCY should set a departmentwide policy that establishes how granting choices are to be made and is consistent with the President's priorities. .

668. GDA-3147 OFFICE OF INTELLIGENCE AND ANALYSIS (I&A) The Office of Intelligence and Analysis should be eliminated both because it has not added value and because it has been weaponized for domestic political purposes. .

669. GDA-3159 The remainder of I&A should be eliminated. .

670. GDA-3176 OFFICE OF LEGISLATIVE AFFAIRS (OLA); OFFICE OF PUBLIC AFFAIRS (OPA); AND OFFICE OF PARTNERSHIP AND ENGAGEMENT (OPE) DHS's external communications function should be consolidated and reformed so that the President's agenda can be implemented more effectively. .

671. GDA-3188 The next President should reach an agreement with congressional leadership to limit committee jurisdiction to one authorizing committee and one appropriations committee in each chamber. .

672. GDA-3193 The clients of both components are the President and the Secretary, not the media, external organizations, or Congress. .

673. GDA-3194 OPA and OLA should change from being compliance correspondents for outside entities airing grievances to serving as messengers and advocates for the President and the Secretary. .

674. GDA-3228 The Office of the Immigration Detention Ombudsman should be eliminated. .

675. GDA-3242 The Office of the Citizenship and Immigration Services Ombudsman should be eliminated. .

676. GDA-3250 AGENCY RELATIONSHIPS It is critical to the achievement of the President's policy objectives that all agencies and departments touching immigration policy work in sync with one another. .

677. GDA-3253 l Department of Health and Human Services: Agree to move the Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) to DHS or, alternatively, implement an aggressive and regular effort by the Secretary of HHS to ensure that ORR is fully pursuing presidential objectives in support of DHS. .

678. GDA-3256 l Department of Justice: Agree to move the Executive Office for Immigration Review and the Office of Immigration Litigation to DHS and/or, alternatively, to treat the administrative law judges (immigration judges and Board of Immigration Appeals) as national security personnel, decertify their union, and move to increase hiring significantly to enable the processing of more immigration cases. .

679. GDA-3263 l Department of Labor: Eliminate the two (of four) lowest wage levels for foreign workers. .

680. GDA-3289 CIS-4, https://www.uscis.gov/ sites/default/files/document/reports/U.S._Citizenship_and_Immigration_Services%E2%80%99_Budget_ Overview_Document_for%20Fiscal_Year_2023.pdf#:~:text=The%20FY%202023%20Budget%20includes%20%24913.6M%2C%204%2C001%20positions%3B,of%20%24444.1M%20above%20the%20FY%202022%20President%E2%80%99s%20Budget (accessed March 14, 2023), and Table, "United States Citizenship and Immigration Services Comparison of Budget Authority and Request," in ibid., p. .

681. GDA-3330 Department of State's mission is to bilaterally, multilaterally, and regionally implement the President's foreign policy priorities; to serve U.S. .

682. GDA-3335 Although the Department has also evolved throughout the years, at least in the modern era, there is one significant problem that the next President must address to be successful. .

683. GDA-3336 There are scores of fine diplomats who serve the President's agenda, often helping to shape and interpret that agenda. .

684. GDA-3337 At the same time, however, in all Administrations, there is a tug-of-war between Presidents and bureaucracies --- and that resistance is much starker under conservative Presidents, due largely to the fact that large swaths of the State Department's workforce are left-wing and predisposed to disagree with a conservative President's policy agenda and vision. .

685. GDA-3338 It should not and cannot be this way: The American people need and deserve a diplomatic machine fully focused on the national interest as defined through the election of a President who sets the domestic and international agenda for the nation. .

686. GDA-3339 The next Administration must take swift and decisive steps to reforge the department into a lean and functional diplomatic machine that serves the President and, thereby, the American people. .

687. GDA-3342 The first Secretary of State, Thomas Jefferson, oversaw a small staff, diplomatic posts in London and Paris, and 10 consular posts.1 Today, the Department of State has almost 80,000 total employees (including 13,517 foreign service employees and 11,683 civil service employees) in 275 embassies, consulates, and other posts around the world.2 In theory, the State Department is the principal agency responsible for carrying out the President's foreign policy and representing the United States in other nations and international organizations. .

688. GDA-3343 To the extent consistent with presidential policy and federal law, the department also supports U.S. .

689. GDA-3352 As one expert has observed, the department "has significantly more at its disposal than was the case at the end of the Cold War, in the mid-1990s, and at the height of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars."4 A major source, if not the major source, of the State Department's ineffectiveness lies in its institutional belief that it is an independent institution that knows what is best for the United States, sets its own foreign policy, and does not need direction from an elected President. .

690. GDA-3353 The next President can make the State Department more effective by providing a clear foreign policy vision, selecting political officials and career diplomats that will enthusiastically turn that vision into a policy agenda, and firmly supporting the State Department as it makes the necessary institutional adjustments. .

691. GDA-3354 POLITICAL LEADERSHIP AND BUREAUCRATIC LEADERSHIP AND SUPPORT Focusing the State Department on the needs and goals of the next President will require the President's handpicked political leadership --- as well as foreign service and civil service personnel who share the President's vision and policy agendas --- to run the department. .

692. GDA-3358 Senate confirmation process, the next President can exert leverage on the Senate if he or she is willing to place State Department appointees directly into those roles, pending confirmation. .

693. GDA-3363 To the extent possible, all non-confirmed senior appointees should be selected by the President-elect's transition team or the new President's Office of Presidential Personnel (depending on the timing of selection) and be in place the first day of the Administration. .

694. GDA-3365 These recommendations do not imply that foreign service and civil service officials should be excluded from key roles: It is hard to imagine a scenario in which they are not immediately relevant to the transition of power. .

695. GDA-3373 Career foreign service and civil service personnel can and must be leveraged for their expertise and commitment to the President's mission. .

696. GDA-3375 The secretary must find a way to make clear to career officials that despite prior history and modes of operation, they need not be adversaries of a conservative President, Secretary of State, or the team of political appointees. .

697. GDA-3382 The priority should be to put in place new ambassadors who support the President's agenda among political appointees, foreign service officers, and civil service personnel, with no predetermined percentage among these categories. .

698. GDA-3383 Political ambassadors with strong personal relationships with the President should be prioritized for key strategic posts such as Australia, Japan, the United Kingdom, the United Nations, and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). .

699. GDA-3385 Before inauguration, the President-elect's department transition team should assess every aspect of State Department negotiations and funding commitments. .

700. GDA-3398 The next President should recalibrate how the State Department handles treaties and agreements, primarily by restoring constitutionality to these processes. .

701. GDA-3399 He or she should direct the Secretary of State to freeze any ongoing treaty or international agreement negotiations and assess whether those efforts align with the new President's foreign policy direction. .

702. GDA-3401 The Secretary of State, in cooperation with the Office of the Attorney General and the White House Counsel's Office, should also conduct a review to identify "agreements" that are really treaty commitments within the ordinary public meaning of the Constitution,6 and suspend compliance pending presidential transmittal of those agreements to the Senate for advice and consent. .

703. GDA-3406 Interagency engagement in this new environment must be similarly adjusted to mirror presidential direction. .

704. GDA-3409 Ideally, the Secretary of State should work as part of an agile foreign policy team along with the National Security Advisor, the Secretary of Defense, and other agency heads to flesh out and advance the President's foreign policy. .

705. GDA-3410 Bureaucratic stovepipes of the past should be less important than commitment to, and achievement of, the President's foreign policy agenda. .

706. GDA-3411 The State Department's role in these interagency discussions must reflect the President's clear direction and disallow resources and tools to be used in any way that detracts from the presidentially directed mission. .

707. GDA-3414 The department must therefore take particular care in its interaction with Congress, since poor interactions with Congress, regardless of intentions, could trigger congressional pushback or have other negative impacts on the President's agenda. .

708. GDA-3417 This may lead to, for example, the President authorizing the State Department to engage with Members of Congress and relevant committees on certain issues (including statutorily designated congressional consultations), but to remain "radio silent" on volatile or designated issues on which the White House wants to be the primary or only voice. .

709. GDA-3418 All such authorized department engagements with Congress must be driven and handled by political appointees in conjunction with career officials who have the relevant expertise and are willing to work in concert with the President's political appointees on particularly sensitive matters. .

710. GDA-3420 The State Department recently opened the Office of China Coordination, or "China House." This office is intended to bring together experts inside and outside the State Department to coordinate U.S. .

711. GDA-3421 government relations with China "and advance our vision for an open, inclusive international system."7 Whether China House will streamline U.S. .

712. GDA-3422 government communication, consensus, and action on China policy --- given the presence of other agencies with strong competing or adverse interests --- remains to be seen. .

713. GDA-3425 The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has been "at war" with the U.S. .

714. GDA-3471 PIVOTING ABROAD Personnel and management adjustments are crucial preludes to refocus the State Department's mission, which is implementing the President's foreign policy agenda and, in so doing, ensuring that the interests of American citizens are given priority. .

715. GDA-3472 That said, the next President must significantly reorient the U.S. .

716. GDA-3482 The five countries on which the next Administration should focus its attention and energy are China, Iran, Venezuela, Russia, and North Korea. .

717. GDA-3483 The People's Republic of China The designs of the People's Republic of China (PRC) and the Chinese Communist Party, which runs the PRC, are serious and dangerous.9 This tyrannical country with a population of more than 1 billion people has the vision, resources, and patience to achieve its objectives. .

718. GDA-3490 growth; stronger partnerships; synchronized economic and security policies; and American energy independence --- but above all, it will require a very honest perspective about the nature and designs of the PRC as more of a threat than a competitor.10 The next President should use the State Department and its array of resources to reassess and lead this effort, just as it did during the Cold War. .

719. GDA-3492 government needs an Article X for China,11 and it should be a presidential mandate. .

720. GDA-3493 Along with the National Security Council, the State Department should draft an Article X, which should be a deeply philosophical look at the China challenge. .

721. GDA-3494 Many foreign policy professionals and national leaders, both in government and the private sector, are reluctant to take decisive action regarding China. .

722. GDA-3500 In addition, some knowingly or not parrot the Communist line: Global leaders including President Joe Biden, have tried to normalize or even laud Chinese behavior. .

723. GDA-3502 On the other hand, others acknowledge the dangers posed by the PRC, but believe in a moderating approach to accommodate its rise, a policy of "compete where we must, but cooperate where we can," including on issues like climate change. .

724. GDA-3504 As with all global struggles with Communist and other tyrannical regimes, the issue should never be with the Chinese people but with the Communist dictatorship that oppresses them and threatens the well-being of nations across the globe.12 That said, the nature of Chinese power today is the product of history, ideology, and the institutions that have governed China during the course of five millennia, inherited by the present Chinese leaders from the preceding generations of the CCP.13 In short, the PRC challenge is rooted in China's strategic culture and not just the Marxism-Leninism of the CCP, meaning that internal culture and civil society will never deliver a more normative nation. .

725. GDA-3506 The Islamic Republic of Iran The ongoing protests in the Islamic Republic of Iran (Iran), which are widely viewed as a new revolution, have shown that the Islamic regime, which has been in power since 1979 when Ayatollah Khomeini became the leader, is at its weakest state in its history and is at odds not only with its own people but also its regional neighbors. .

726. GDA-3513 Former President Obama has admitted his lack of support for the Green Movement during his Administration was an error and blamed it on poor advisors --- yet those same advisors are involved with the Biden Administration's insistence on reducing pressure on the theocracy and resurrecting a nuclear deal. .

727. GDA-3519 ally, the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela (Venezuela) has all but collapsed under the Communist regimes of the late Hugo Chavez and Nicolas Maduro. .

728. GDA-3520 In the 24 years since Hugo Chavez was first elected Venezuelan president in 1999, the country has violently cracked down on pro-democracy citizens and organizations, shattered its once oil-rich economy, empowered domestic criminal cartels, and helped fuel a hemispheric refugee crisis. .

729. GDA-3522 Its Communist leadership has also drawn closer to some of the United States' greatest international foes, including the PRC and Iran, which have long sought a foothold in the Americas. .

730. GDA-3524 To contain Venezuela's Communism and aid international partners, the next Administration must take important steps to put Venezuela's Communist abusers on notice while making strides to help the Venezuelan people. .

731. GDA-3526 Russia One issue today that starkly divides conservatives is the Russia-Ukraine conflict. .

732. GDA-3527 The common ground seems to be recognition that presidential leadership in 2025 must chart the course. .

733. GDA-3528 l One school of conservative thought holds that as Moscow's illegal war of aggression against Ukraine drags on, Russia presents major challenges to U.S. .

734. GDA-3531 involvement including military aid, economic aid, and the presence of NATO and U.S. .

735. GDA-3533 The end goal of the conflict must be the defeat of Russian President Vladimir Putin and a return to pre-invasion border lines. .

736. GDA-3535 Ukrainian support is in the national security interest of America at all. .

737. GDA-3536 Ukraine is not a member of the NATO alliance and is one of the most corrupt nations in the region. .

738. GDA-3537 European nations directly affected by the conflict should aid in the defense of Ukraine, but the U.S. .

739. GDA-3539 This viewpoint desires a swift end to the conflict through a negotiated settlement between Ukraine and Russia. .

740. GDA-3544 interests; be fiscally responsible; and protect American freedom, liberty, and sovereignty, all while recognizing Communist China as the greatest threat to U.S. .

741. GDA-3546 Thus, with respect to Ukraine, continued U.S. .

742. GDA-3547 involvement must be fully paid for; limited to military aid (while European allies address Ukraine's economic needs); and have a clearly defined national security strategy that does not risk American lives. .

743. GDA-3548 Regardless of viewpoints, all sides agree that Putin's invasion of Ukraine is unjust and that the Ukrainian people have a right to defend their homeland. .

744. GDA-3549 Furthermore, the conflict has severely weakened Putin's military strength and provided a boost to NATO unity and its importance to European nations. .

745. GDA-3550 The next conservative President has a generational opportunity to bring resolution to the foreign policy tensions within the movement and chart a new path forward that recognizes Communist China as the defining threat to U.S. .

746. GDA-3562 Nonetheless, the region now has an overwhelming number of socialist or progressive regimes, which are at odds with the freedom and growth-oriented policies of the U.S. .

747. GDA-3580 "Re-hemisphering" manufacturing and industry closer to home will not only eliminate some of the more recent supply-chain issues that damaged the U.S. .

748. GDA-3585 Yet Central and South America are moving rapidly into the sphere of anti-American, external state actors, including the PRC, Iran, and Russia. .

749. GDA-3601 A further key priority is keeping TΓΌrkiye in the Western fold and a NATO ally. .

750. GDA-3602 This includes a vigorous outreach to TΓΌrkiye to dissuade it from "hedging" toward Russia or China, which is likely to require a rethinking of U.S. .

751. GDA-3603 support for YPG/PKK [People's Protection Units/Kurdistan Worker's Party] Kurdish forces, which Ankara believes are an existential threat to its security. .

752. GDA-3606 must continue to support its allies and compete with its economic adversaries, including China. .

753. GDA-3612 In North Africa, security cooperation with European allies, especially France, will be vital to limit growing Islamist threats and the incursion of Russian influence through positionings of the Wagner Group. .

754. GDA-3622 African nations comprise major country-bloc elements that shield the PRC and Russia from international isolation for their human rights abuses --- and African nations staunchly support PRC foreign policy goals on issues such as Hong Kong occupation, South China Seas dispute arbitration, and Taiwan. .

755. GDA-3652 First, the Europe, Eurasia, and Russia region is made up of relatively wealthy and technologically advanced societies that should be expected to bear a fair share of both security needs and global security architecture: The United States cannot be expected to provide a defense umbrella for countries unwilling to contribute appropriately. .

756. GDA-3653 At stake after 2024 will be examining the status of the Wales Pledge of 2 percent of gross domestic product toward defense by NATO members. .

757. GDA-3656 national interest to amplify it, especially because this means weaning Europe of its dependence on China. .

758. GDA-3668 diplomacy must be more attentive to inner-EU developments, while also developing new allies inside the EU --- especially the Central European countries on the eastern flank of the EU, which are most vulnerable to Russian aggression. .

759. GDA-3696 For example, the region is estimated to contain 90 million barrels of oil and one-quarter of the world's undiscovered natural gas reserves.16 The Arctic is lightly populated: Only 4 million people in the world live above the Arctic Circle, with more than half of those living in Russia. .

760. GDA-3700 China has been open about its interest in the region, primarily as a highway for trade but also for its rich natural resources. .

761. GDA-3701 While the PRC's increasing intervention in Arctic affairs is a bit strained because it does not have an Arctic coastline, Russia does --- and Russia has made no secret of its view that the Arctic is vital for economic and military reasons. .

762. GDA-3702 Russia has invested heavily in new and refurbished Arctic bases and cold-weather equipment and capabilities. .

763. GDA-3705 The next Administration should embrace the view that NATO must acknowledge that it is, in part, an Arctic alliance. .

764. GDA-3706 With the likely accession of Finland and Sweden to NATO, every Arctic nation except for Russia will be a NATO member state. .

765. GDA-3707 NATO has been slow to appreciate that the Arctic is a theater that it must defend, especially considering Russia's brazen aggression against Ukraine. .

766. GDA-3708 NATO must develop and implement an Arctic strategy that recognizes the importance of the region and ensures that Russian use of Arctic waters and resources does not exceed a reasonable footprint. .

767. GDA-3711 Economic freedom spurs prosperity, innovation, respect for the rule of law, jobs, and sustainability. .

768. GDA-3715 While this should be the next Administration's policy with respect to all countries that might seek to block free-flowing commercial traffic, the next Administration will clearly have to exert substantial attention toward Russia. .

769. GDA-3722 The People's Republic of China has declared itself a "near-Arctic state," which is an imaginary term non-existent in international discourse. .

770. GDA-3723 The United States should work with like-minded Arctic nations, including Russia, to raise legitimate concerns about the PRC's so-called Polar Silk-Road ambitions. .

771. GDA-3795 The next Administration should develop a complete hypothetical reorganization of the department --- one which would tighten accountability to political leadership, reduce overhead, eliminate redundancy, waste fewer taxpayer resources, and recommend additional personnel-related changes for improvement of function. .

772. GDA-3803 The next Administration should take steps to ensure that future foreign assistance clearly and unambiguously supports the President's foreign policy agenda. .

773. GDA-3807 Bush Administration before it was eliminated by the Obama Administration --- would empower the dual-hatted official to better align and coordinate with the manifold foreign assistance programs across the federal government. .

774. GDA-3821 Since the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989 and the subsequent collapse of Soviet and Eastern Bloc Communism, factors including the false appeal of a so-called peace dividend triggered a slide in the U.S. .

775. GDA-3823 Ironically, this slide accompanied the rise of the Internet and mobile phone technologies, which arguably facilitated the most significant revolution in human communication since the invention of the printing press. .

776. GDA-3833 It is "an open, interoperable, secure, reliable, market-drive, domain that reflects democratic values and protects privacy."25 Russia and China, meanwhile, are authoritarian regimes that use the Internet to limit public opposition and control information. .

777. GDA-3836 Simultaneously, Russia, China, and lesser adversaries exploit the more open networks of countries like the U.S. .

778. GDA-3849 These mission-essential institutional initiatives should be joined with others to establish a presidentially directed and durable U.S. .

779. GDA-3851 CONCLUSION The next conservative President has the opportunity and the duty to restructure the creation and execution of U.S. .

780. GDA-3858 AUTHOR'S NOTE: Thanks to the entire State Department chapter team, the leaders and staff of the 2025 Presidential Transition Project, and my colleagues at The Heritage Foundation's Davis Center. .

781. GDA-3881 News release, "Secretary Blinken Launches the Office of China Coordination," U.S. .

782. GDA-3882 Department of State, December 16, 2022, https://www.state.gov/secretary-blinken-launches-the-office-of-china-coordination/ (accessed March 9, 2023). .

783. GDA-3885 9. See Michael Pillsbury, The Hundred Year Marathon: China's Secret Strategy to Replace the United States as a Global Superpower (NY: St. .

784. GDA-3887 10. For additional context regarding how countering China fits in a more robust U.S. .

785. GDA-3890 11. The Article X for China would follow George Kennan's Article X for U.S.-Soviet competition. .

786. GDA-3892 Kennan, "The Sources of Soviet Conduct," Foreign Affairs, July 1947, https://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/ russian-federation/1947-07-01/sources-soviet-conduct (accessed March 22, 2023). .

787. GDA-3894 Response to China Over the Next Decades," Heritage Foundation Special Report No. .

788. GDA-3895 221, February 20, 2010, https://www.heritage.org/asia/ report/assessing-beijings-power-blueprint-the-us-response-china-over-the-next-decades. .

789. GDA-3897 Orts, "The Rule of Law in China," Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law, Vol. .

790. GDA-3934 Carmack MISSION STATEMENT To arm a future incoming conservative President with the knowledge and tools necessary to fortify the United States Intelligence Community; to defend against all foreign enemies and ensure the security and prosperity of our sovereign nation, devoid of all political motivations; and to maintain constitutional civil liberties. .

791. GDA-3935 OVERVIEW The United States Intelligence Community (IC) is a vast, intricate bureaucracy spread throughout 18 independent and Cabinet subagencies.1 According to the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI), the IC's mission is "to collect, analyze, and deliver foreign intelligence and counterintelligence information to America's leaders so they can make sound decisions to protect our country."2 An incoming conservative President needs to use these intelligence authorities aggressively to anticipate and thwart our adversaries, including Russia, Iran, North Korea, and especially China, while maintaining counterterrorism tools that have demonstrated their effectiveness. .

792. GDA-3937 It also means removing redundancies, mission creep, and IC infighting that could prevent these collection tools from providing objective, apolitical, and empirically backed intelligence to the IC's premier customer: the President of the United States. .

793. GDA-3948 An incoming President must understand that today's intelligence competition could well require analyzing technologies the U.S. .

794. GDA-3950 A future President's ability to drive the resources needed to defeat another nation-state giant should therefore be the focus of near-term IC reforms. .

795. GDA-3953 The office and its functions stem from authorities established under executive orders promulgated by President George W. .

796. GDA-3954 Bush in 2004, followed by statutory authorizations in the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004 (IRTPA).5 Proponents of an ODNI hoped to establish reforms similar to the Goldwater- Nichols Department of Defense (DOD) reforms of the 1980s, which identified recurring problems within DOD's command-and-control architecture and led to unified Combatant Commands with the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff as the senior ranking member of the armed forces and principal military adviser to the President. .

797. GDA-3956 As the President's principal intelligence adviser, the DNI would lead and provide oversight of the President's intelligence authorities while wielding a cudgel --- budget and appointment authorities --- to break institutional silos that had caused past intelligence integration failures. .

798. GDA-3957 Originally envisioned by the 9/11 Commission as a strengthened, authoritative position, the final congressionally negotiated product signed by President Bush has led to ambiguous and vague authorities that are dependent on who is selected as DNI and Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) Director and their level of support from the White House and National Security Council (NSC). .

799. GDA-3962 These statutory developments were what led President Bush's first choice to serve as DNI, Robert Gates, to turn down the position. .

800. GDA-3963 In discussions with the White House over the post, Gates noted that the "legislation weakened the leadership of the community" and that "instead of a stronger person, you ended up with a weaker person because the DNI had no troops and no additional powers really on the budget, hiring, and firing."7 Gates noted that success would require the President to "make explicit publicly that the DNI is head of the Intelligence Community, not some budgeter or coordinator," and that "[t]he position's only prayer of success is for the president to say plainly"¦how he sees the job. .

801. GDA-3965 My ability to begin reversing that capitulation was accomplished solely because President Trump made it repeatedly clear to the entire national security apparatus that he expected all intelligence matters to go through the DNI.9 To help further the legislative intent behind IRTPA, DNI Ratcliffe advised during the transition of incoming Biden DNI Avril Haines that the DNI should be the only Cabinet-level intelligence official.10 While his recommendation was adopted and has corrected the previously allowed imbalance by making the DNI the only Cabinet official and head of the IC at the table, the ODNI's effectiveness and direction leave much to be desired. .

802. GDA-3966 A conservative President must decide how to empower an individual to oversee and manage the Intelligence Community effectively. .

803. GDA-3967 To be successful, the DNI and ODNI must be able to lead the IC and implement the President's intelligence priorities. .

804. GDA-3970 Considerations like mismanagement of human resources, joint-duty assignments, and accelerated growth in senior personnel can cause a President to dictate to his incoming DNI a desire to slash redundant positions and expenditures while simultaneously giving the DNI the authority to drive necessary changes throughout the IC to deal with the nation's most compelling threats, including those emanating from China. .

805. GDA-3976 Finally, future IC leadership must address the widely promoted "woke" culture that has spread throughout the federal government with identity politics and "social justice" advocacy replacing such traditional American values as patriotism, colorblindness, and even workplace competence. .

806. GDA-3979 An equally important objective in passing the most significant intelligence reform since the National Security Act of 194712 was creation of the position of DNI, charged with assuming two of the three principal roles that formerly belonged to the Director of Central Intelligence (DCI): serving as principal intelligence adviser to the President and leading the IC as an enterprise. .

807. GDA-3981 Implementation of the DNI's roles as leader of the IC and principal intelligence adviser to the President has been challenging. .

808. GDA-3984 Instead, an incoming conservative President's immediate focus should be on modifying Executive Order 12333, the President's direction for implementing IRTPA.13 Executive Order 12333 was last amended on July 30, 2008, by President George W. .

809. GDA-3986 There is scant mention of cyber threats and the evolving national security challenges posed by China, Russia, and other U.S. .

810. GDA-3996 The order should consider stipulating what to do with DOD cyber agencies, most notably the NSA, in terms of strategic (for example, the President and the DNI) vs. .

811. GDA-3998 l Enhance the DNI's role in overseeing execution of the National Intelligence Program budget under the President's authority. .

812. GDA-4001 The DNI should have the President's direction to address emerging but catastrophic threats such as those posed by bioweapons. .

813. GDA-4019 An incoming conservative President will appoint whomever he chooses as DNI, but there should be agreement between the incoming DNI and President with advice and counsel from the Presidential Personnel Office on selecting positions overseen by the DNI throughout subordinate agencies, as well as concurrence by relevant Cabinet officials and the CIA. .

814. GDA-4020 This exists by executive order, but many Presidents, PPOs, and Cabinet agency heads do not follow executive order guidance and necessary norms. .

815. GDA-4021 The importance of trust, character, and the ability to work together to achieve a joint set of intelligence goals established by the President cannot be overstated: It is a mission that can be accomplished only with the conductor and his orchestra playing in sync. .

816. GDA-4023 Information sharing and feedback can help subagencies like the Commerce Department's Bureau of Industry and Security to improve their understanding of the threat from China and thereby counter it more effectively. .

817. GDA-4027 The success of any DNI rests with support from the President. .

818. GDA-4029 CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY (CIA) The CIA is a foreign intelligence collection service tasked with collecting human intelligence (HUMINT), providing all-source intelligence analysis and reporting, and conducting covert action when required to do so by the President. .

819. GDA-4031 After World War II, President Harry Truman disbanded the OSS, and the CIA was established in law by the National Security Act of 1947. .

820. GDA-4032 As with every agency in government, the President's election sets a new agenda for the country. .

821. GDA-4033 Public servants must be mindful that they are required to help the President implement that agenda while remaining apolitical, upholding the Constitution and laws of the United States, and earning the public trust. .

822. GDA-4034 The President requires a CIA that provides unbiased and apolitical foreign intelligence information and, when necessary, can act capably and effectively on any covert action findings. .

823. GDA-4036 The CIA's success depends on firm direction from the President and solid internal CIA Director-appointed leadership. .

824. GDA-4037 Decisive senior leaders must commit to carrying out the President's agenda and be willing to take calculated risks. .

825. GDA-4038 Therefore: l The next President-Elect and incoming Presidential Personnel Office should identify a Director nominee who can foster a mission-driven culture by making necessary personnel and structural changes. .

826. GDA-4039 l The President-Elect should choose a Deputy Director who, without needing Senate confirmation, can immediately begin to implement the President's agenda. .

827. GDA-4043 l The Director and Deputy Director should meet with all directorates and mission centers, prioritizing those that are aligned most closely with the President's priorities and calibrating collection and operations based on the President's intelligence requirements. .

828. GDA-4045 It must be clear that the CIA's liaison relationships overseas must follow and not contradict those set at the policy level by the President through the State Department. .

829. GDA-4047 If senior leadership finds any program or operation to be inconsistent with the President's agenda, the Director should immediately halt that program or operation. .

830. GDA-4050 Because mid-level managers lack accountability, there are areas in which personnel are not responsive to any authority, including the President. .

831. GDA-4051 The President should instruct the Director to hire or promote new individuals to lead the various directorates and mission centers. .

832. GDA-4053 In addition, the President should task the Director with significantly broadening recruitment, expediting onboarding practices, and shifting resources away from headquarters, including terminal generalist GS-15s when OPM buyouts, forced rotations, or up-and-out personnel policies are set for particular positions. .

833. GDA-4064 COVERT ACTION Covert action can be a valuable tool in helping further the President's foreign policy agenda if implemented in concert with other forms of government power. .

834. GDA-4066 Code, "the term 'covert action' means an activity or activities of the United States Government to influence political, economic, or military conditions abroad, where it is intended that the role of the United States Government will not be apparent or acknowledged publicly"¦."16 The President initiates a covert action with a written finding that explains why "such an action is necessary to support identifiable foreign policy objectives of the United States and is important to the national security of the United States."17 The statute assumes the President will use the CIA as the principal action element to achieve the objectives of covert action findings; however, the President need not feel constrained to utilize only the CIA: "[E]ach finding shall specify each department, agency, or entity of the United States Government authorized to fund or otherwise participate in any significant way in such action."18 For example, the Department of Defense maintains certain clandestine capabilities under Title 10 authorities that may resemble but far exceed in scale similar capabilities outside of DOD. .

835. GDA-4068 In practical terms, this means that many DOD capabilities, including those in the space and cyber domains, can be employed only after the initiation of armed conflict.19 Given the range of global threats the United States faces today, the President should consider whether DOD's complete set of capabilities should be used to support potential covert actions. .

836. GDA-4069 The problem, unfortunately, is that certain elements in the State Department, IC, and DOD trade on risk aversion or political bureaucracy to delay execution of the President's foreign policy goals. .

837. GDA-4070 A future conservative President should therefore identify individuals on the transition team who are familiar with the implementation of covert action with a view to placing them in key NSC, CIA, ODNI, and DOD positions. .

838. GDA-4072 Immediately after the inauguration, the President should task the NSC's Senior Director for Intelligence Programs with conducting a 60-day review of any current covert action findings, including their effectiveness; evaluating new covert actions that might be needed to implement the President's foreign policy goals; and reporting back to the President. .

839. GDA-4075 After the 60-day review, the President should demand creative thinking and a clear strategy as to how covert action fits within the President's broader foreign policy strategy, to include possibly modifying or rescinding any current findings, drafting new findings, and streamlining or eliminating needless bureaucracy, particularly at State, to facilitate more expeditious decisions on tactical covert action. .

840. GDA-4094 In particular, the IC must restore confidence in its political neutrality to rectify the damage done by the actions of former IC leaders and personnel regarding the claims of Trump-Russia collusion following the 2016 election and the suppression of the Hunter Biden laptop investigation and media revelations of its existence during the 2020 election. .

841. GDA-4097 First, President Barack Obama's CIA Director, John Brennan, gravely damaged the CIA by minimizing the Directorate of Operations and exploiting intelligence analysis as a political weapon after he left office. .

842. GDA-4098 Brennan's role in the letter signed by 51 former intelligence officials before the 2020 election is unclear, but in dismissing the Hunter Biden laptop as "Russian disinformation," the CIA was discredited, and the shocking extent of politicization among some former IC officials was revealed. .

843. GDA-4104 l The President should direct the DNI and the Attorney General, by direction of the respective Inspectors General and IC Analytic Ombudsman, to conduct a further audit of all IC equities of past politicization and abuses of intelligence information. .

844. GDA-4105 For example, a recent IC ombudsman analysis during the 2020 election cycle noted, "If our political leaders in the White House and Congress believe we are withholding intelligence because of organizational turf wars or political considerations, the legitimacy of the Intelligence Community's work is lost."23 l The President should immediately revoke the security clearances of any former Directors, Deputy Directors, or other senior intelligence officials who discuss their work in the press or on social media without prior clearance from the current Director. .

845. GDA-4113 l Intelligence leaders need to model norms of neutrality and respect for the decision-making authority of the President, appointed officials, and Congress. .

846. GDA-4119 l Congress should not use IC leaders as pawns in policy struggles with the President or the other party during their appearances before committees of the House and Senate. .

847. GDA-4122 l Political leaders should avoid "manipulation-by-appointment," a practice by which intelligence leaders are selected for their policy views or political loyalties instead of their skilled expertise.24 Presidents should also avoid public rebukes and pressure from the intelligence profession, which can include intimidation and bullying, to shape IC analysis. .

848. GDA-4124 l Intelligence leaders and professionals should never "cook the books" for Presidents or change or shape their analysis to preserve access or status.25 FOREIGN INTELLIGENCE SURVEILLANCE ACT (FISA) A future President should understand the importance of FISA26 while also seeking reforms and accountability for any abuses of its authorities. .

849. GDA-4129 These are two major national security priorities for an incoming President, and it is imperative that the need to use properly maintained and accountable authorities to counter these challenges be recognized. .

850. GDA-4130 Section 702 is a vital program that often provides the lion's share of intelligence used in the President's Daily Brief (PDB).27 An independent review by the Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board (PCLOB) found that it was not abused. .

851. GDA-4134 An incoming conservative President should consider reforms designed to prevent future partisan abuses of national security authority. .

852. GDA-4139 CHINA-FOCUSED CHANGES, REFORMS, AND RESOURCES The term "whole of government" is all too frequently overused, but in responding to the generational threat posed by the Chinese Communist Party, that is exactly the approach that our national security apparatus should adopt. .

853. GDA-4140 CIA Director William Burns has formally established a China Mission Center focused on these efforts, but it can be successful only if it is given the necessary personnel, cross-community collaboration, and resources. .

854. GDA-4142 A critical strategic question for an incoming Administration and IC leaders will be: How, when, and with whom do we share our classified intelligence? Understanding when to pass things to liaisons and for what purpose will be vital to outmaneuvering China in the intelligence sphere. .

855. GDA-4143 Questions for a President will include: l What is our overarching conception of the adversarial relationship and competition? l How does intelligence-sharing fit into that conception? Some Members of Congress have said that intelligence relationships such as the Five Eyes28 should be expanded to include other allies in the Asia-Pacific in, for example, a "Nine Eyes" framework. .

856. GDA-4145 That being said, however, a future conservative President should consider what resources and information-sharing relationships could be included in an ad hoc or quasi-formal intelligence expansion (for example, with the Quad) among nations trying to counter the threat from China. .

857. GDA-4146 Significant technology, language skills, and financial intelligence resources are needed to counter China's capabilities.29 The IC was caught flat-footed by the recent discovery of China's successful test of a nuclear-capable hypersonic missile. .

858. GDA-4148 China's gains and intense focus on emerging technologies have taken it in some areas from being a near-peer competitor to probably being ahead of the United States. .

859. GDA-4149 China's centralized government allocates endless resources (sometimes inefficiently) to its strategic "Made in China 2025" and military apparatuses, which combine government, military, and private-sector activities on quantum information sciences and technologies, artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning, biotechnologies, and advanced robotics. .

860. GDA-4151 In addition, to combat China's economic espionage, authorities and loopholes in the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA)30 will have to be examined and addressed in conjunction with the Attorney General. .

861. GDA-4153 Broader committee jurisdictions should receive additional intelligence from IC agencies as necessary to inform China's unique and more comprehensive threat across layers of the U.S. .

862. GDA-4155 Former DNI John Ratcliffe increased the intelligence budget as it related to China by 20 percent. .

863. GDA-4157 My perspective was, 'Whatever we're spending on countering China, it isn't enough.'"31 From an intelligence standpoint, the need to understand Chinese motivations, capabilities, and intent will be of paramount importance to a future conservative President. .

864. GDA-4161 spy" threats continue to exist, but the rise of China and (to an extent) Russia's machinations move beyond the governmental sphere to technological, economic, supply chain, cyber, academic, state, and local espionage threats at a level our country has never seen. .

865. GDA-4163 Barring statutory changes that could occur before 2025, a future conservative President should further empower and resource the IC by executive order or through suggested changes in the Counterintelligence Enhancement Act (CEA) of 2002.32 NCSC was given some authority for outreach efforts on behalf of the IC for counterintelligence education, insider threats, and broader U.S. .

866. GDA-4166 While there is no need to create a separate agency, a future President and DNI should amplify NCSC's authorities and roles with respect to counterintelligence strategy, policy, outreach, and governance, including supporting necessary Joint Duty Assignments (JDA) for FBI and CIA personnel. .

867. GDA-4169 Corporate America, technology companies, research institutions, and academia must be willing, educated partners in this generational fight to protect our national security interests, economic interests, national sovereignty, and intellectual property as well as the broader rules-based order --- all while avoiding the tendency to cave to the left-wing activists and investors who ignore the China threat and increasingly dominate the corporate world. .

868. GDA-4173 The NCSC was created in the aftermath of 9/11 as the Terrorist Threat Integration Center (TTIC), which later became the National Counterterrorism Center (NCTC) pursuant to President George W. .

869. GDA-4194 By not allowing dissents or considering alternatives, the CIA exercised "undue influence on intelligence."37 Subsequent exposure of China-linked online influence and the FBI's warnings about continued efforts through the 2022 midterms highlight the folly of undue certainty without consideration of alternatives. .

870. GDA-4197 To help the United States and its leaders to outcompete China across multifaceted societal, economic, military, and technological threats, the IC's capability to conduct strategic intelligence analysis that is relevant to policymakers in both parties must be rebuilt and strengthened. .

871. GDA-4200 Strategic planning --- informed by intelligence --- must take place for the United States to stay ahead of whatever new threats China may pose. .

872. GDA-4201 An incoming conservative President will have the opportunity to signal the demand for such strategic products and prioritize their production through communications to intelligence leaders and formal mechanisms such as shifting priorities within the National Intelligence Priority Framework and structuring the President's Daily Brief. .

873. GDA-4203 Accounting for the long history of intelligence failures and surprises, an incoming conservative President must appreciate the ambiguity, complexity, limits, and assumptions inherent in intelligence assessments. .

874. GDA-4205 Seeing something and understanding what you are seeing are two different things, so a President should consistently and patiently press the IC about its potential biases, assumptions, methodology, and sourcing. .

875. GDA-4226 At the same time, the effectiveness of downgraded and carefully declassified information to support foreign policy efforts has been borne out in, for example, alerting the broader world of Russia's buildup and likely plans for its invasion of Ukraine. .

876. GDA-4251 adversaries such as China, Russia, Iran, and North Korea are conducted in the realms of technology and finance.40 This challenge requires new tools, authorities, and technological expertise across the U.S. .

877. GDA-4253 An incoming conservative President should task his DNI and Secretary of Commerce with increasing coordination, the resources needed for BIS and SCIF capacity, and proper and necessary intelligence sharing to counter the activities of multifaceted adversaries such as China. .

878. GDA-4260 In addition, ubiquitous technical surveillance (UTS) techniques being refined by technologies emanating from the regimes in China and Russia will continue to be highly challenging for intelligence officers. .

879. GDA-4272 An incoming conservative President should reset Europe's expectations. .

880. GDA-4273 Brussels has always arbitraged the difference between being a military ally against, for example, Russia and conducting a full-blown trade conflict with the United States. .

881. GDA-4276 intelligence collection hurt the Europeans themselves, especially as the United States shares unprecedented amounts of intelligence on Russia's invasion of Ukraine with Europeans.48 Europe is telling the United States to meet intelligence oversight standards that no European country meets. .

882. GDA-4277 At the same time, exports of data to China are unexamined and (so far) free from legal challenges. .

883. GDA-4283 An incoming President should ask for an immediate study of the implementation of Executive Order 14086 and suspend any provisions that unduly burden intelligence collection. .

884. GDA-4284 At the same time, in negotiations with the Europeans, the United States should make clear that the continued sharing of intelligence with EU member states depends on successful resolution of this issue within the first two years of a President's term. .

885. GDA-4286 President's Daily Brief (PDB). .

886. GDA-4287 An incoming conservative President should make clear what the President's Daily Brief is and is not. .

887. GDA-4288 The PDB should be for the President specifically, with a much narrower distribution and addressing areas of strategic concern. .

888. GDA-4289 During the transition, the future National Security Advisor, along with the DNI, should conduct a review of current PDB recipients and determine which should remain recipients when the President's term begins. .

889. GDA-4290 Instead of being used as the statement of record for the agencies, the PDB often misses the areas of interest for Presidents and their senior advisers. .

890. GDA-4291 The President should want the PDB to focus on providing the information needed for the often imperfect and complex decisions that a President needs to make, which should always be based on the best intelligence that can be gathered. .

891. GDA-4292 Where consensus and agreement are possible, an IC-coordinated product is excellent, but insights provided by properly channeled dissent can lead a President to ask relevant questions of his DNI and IC. .

892. GDA-4294 Historically, briefers have come from the CIA, but a future President and DNI should consider a primary briefer or a rotation of briefers from other IC elements. .

893. GDA-4297 The National Intelligence Council is the IC's premier analytic organization and includes more than a dozen National Intelligence Officers (NIOs), each of whom leads the IC's analysis within a regional (China, Russia, Iran, etc.) or functional (cyber, counterproliferation, economics, etc.) mission area. .

894. GDA-4298 This includes authoring National Intelligence Estimates on major strategic issues with the entire IC, overseeing and deconflicting the annual analytic plans of each agency, and weighing in on day-to-day major analytical issues, sometimes individually (for example, by writing the NIC's strategic memos or providing detailed expert briefings to the President before major decisions). .

895. GDA-4303 Opening these senior analytic roles to the best analysts regardless of agency would also encourage the continued maturation of analytic cadres and tradecraft at those agencies and give them an equal voice in interagency analytical disputes, which in turn would give the President access to the best thinking and a variety of sources and perspectives from across the entire IC rather than from the CIA alone. .

896. GDA-4310 By law, and to secure unbiased execution across all of the IC's 18 elements, the same individual may not serve as ICCIO and ODNI CIO. .

897. GDA-4314 The President-Elect should require immediate reviews of the progress in implementing post-quantum encryption at a minimum for IC and Defense systems but preferably throughout the government. .

898. GDA-4315 The President's National Security Memorandum specifying "the goal of mitigating as much of the quantum risk as is feasible by 2035"49 needs to be revised in light of the magnitude of the threat. .

899. GDA-4318 In recent years, the IC has had a mandate from multiple Administrations to advance technology needs for intelligence --- needs that have seen massive changes as a result of such threats as China's advancements in technology and data infrastructure. .

900. GDA-4322 President's Intelligence Advisory Board and PIAB Intelligence Oversight Board. .

901. GDA-4323 The President's Intelligence Advisory Board (PIAB) is charged with providing the President with an independent source of advice on the IC's effectiveness while offering insights into the IC's future plans. .

902. GDA-4324 The Board is meant to have access to all information needed to perform its functions and to have direct access to the President. .

903. GDA-4330 With China developing increasingly capable space and counterspace technologies and Russia taking more aggressive action in space, space has emerged as the latest warfighting domain. .

904. GDA-4340 To improve their ability to meet the threat posed by China and Russia, the IC and DOD should: 1. .

905. GDA-4359 An incoming conservative President can right the ship and return the IC governance model to first principles by using a limited but empowered leadership and coordination design to serve the nation's intelligence and national security needs while reclaiming the public trust with fiscal responsibility, political neutrality, personnel accountability, technological prowess, and necessary human capital needed to counter the immense nation-state and asymmetrical threats facing our country. .

906. GDA-4360 AUTHOR'S NOTE: The preparation of this chapter was a collective enterprise of individuals involved in the 2025 Presidential Transition Project. .

907. GDA-4369 4. Christopher Porter, "Seven Questions the Next President Will Need the Intelligence Community to Answer to Win the Technology Competition with China," LinkedIn, March 14, 2023, https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/ seven-questions-next-president-need-intelligence-community-porter/?trackingId=Dl9RF5CnSwWnAO7r9ggHiQ%3D%3D (accessed March 18, 2023). .

908. GDA-4388 13. President Ronald Reagan, Executive Order 12333, "United States Intelligence Activities," December 4, 1981, in Federal Register, Vol. .

909. GDA-4392 14. President George W. .

910. GDA-4397 See also President George W. .

911. GDA-4438 29. Porter, "Seven Questions the Next President Will Need the Intelligence Community to Answer to Win the Technology Competition with China." 30. .

912. GDA-4442 31. Kristina Wong, "Exclusive: Former DNI John Ratcliffe Pleased CIA Following His Lead on China Threat," Breitbart, October 13, 2021, https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2021/10/13/exclusive-john-ratcliffe-pleased- cia-following-lead-china-threat/ (accessed March 11, 2023). .

913. GDA-4446 33. President George W. .

914. GDA-4460 38. President Barack Obama, Executive Order 13526, "Classified National Security Information," December 29, 2009, in Federal Register, Vol. .

915. GDA-4464 39. President Barack Obama, Executive Order 13556, "Controlled Classified Information," November 4, 2010, in Federal Register, Vol. .

916. GDA-4468 40. Agathe Demarais, "How the U.S.-Chinese Technology War Is Changing the World," Foreign Policy, November 19, 2022, https://foreignpolicy.com/2022/11/19/demarais-backfire-sanctions-us-china-technology-war- semiconductors-export-controls-biden/ (accessed February 28, 2023). .

917. GDA-4478 47. President Joseph R. .

918. GDA-4484 Strobel, "Release of Ukraine Intelligence Represents New Front in U.S. .

919. GDA-4485 Information War with Russia," The Wall Street Journal, updated April 4, 2022, https://www.wsj.com/articles/release-of-secrets-represents- new-front-in-u-s-information-war-with-russia-11649070001 (accessed February 24, 2023). .

920. GDA-4486 49. President Joseph R. .

921. GDA-4488 See also President Joseph R. .

922. GDA-4492 27909-27911, https:// www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-2022-05-09/pdf/2022-10076.pdf (accessed March 12, 2023); and "Fact Sheet: President Biden Announces Two Presidential Directives Advancing Quantum Technologies," The White House, May 4, 2022, https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2022/05/04/fact- sheet-president-biden-announces-two-presidential-directives-advancing-quantum-technologies/ (accessed March 12, 2023). .

923. GDA-4504 audience --- particularly with regard to flagrantly political content, as has been the practice with recent and current VOA content directors and managers.5 The network once had a generally well-received brand value, but it has deteriorated under decades of poor leadership and a loss of its once-prized unbiased reporting. .

924. GDA-4507 These programs present news and information about Cuba's oppressive government from the outside world that would otherwise be heavily restricted.6 The OCB remains a critical avenue of truth to the Cuban people but has been threatened with crippling budget and operational constraints, including empathetic attitudes toward Communist Cuban leadership coupled with organizational hostility toward the OCB by certain elements of USAGM leadership. .

925. GDA-4511 The MBN has correspondents throughout the Middle East and North Africa.8 l Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty is a private, nonprofit, multimedia broadcasting corporation that serves as a surrogate media source in 27 languages and 23 countries, including Afghanistan, Iran, Pakistan, Russia, and Ukraine. .

926. GDA-4515 The recent addition of RFE/RL's Hungarian-language service, Szabad EurΓ³pa, falls outside the intended scope of RFE/RL's charter by targeting a democratically elected, pro-American European and NATO ally. .

927. GDA-4518 RFA utilizes on-the-ground reporters and networks of in-country sources, citizen journalists, and eyewitnesses who provide leads, tips, images, and video.10 Several reports from the Office of the Inspector General (OIG) were released showing waste and self-dealing, including security vulnerabilities and RFA leadership awarding insiders millions of dollars of grant funding.11 For example, as the OIG stated in one report, the then-president of RFA "established the Freedom2Connect Foundation (Foundation)" and thereafter "awarded two contracts, totaling $1.2 million" to the foundation she herself founded.12 Furthermore: [The] OIG found that RFA did not comply with Federal procurement requirements for grantees. .

928. GDA-4535 Often, the "firewall" is touted when journalists are either promoting anti-American propaganda that parrots adversarial regime talking points or promoting politically biased viewpoints in opposition to the VOA charter.20 Such weak oversight, alien to any other large media network or news organization --- particularly one derivative of U.S. .

929. GDA-4537 21 The Firewall Regulation was entered into the Federal Register on the eve of the Senate confirmation of President Donald Trump's USAGM CEO, Michael Pack. .

930. GDA-4545 President --- in contradiction of VOA's own journalistic standards, policies, and procedures. .

931. GDA-4555 Indeed, content during the Trump Administration was rife with typical mainstream media talking points assailing the President and his staff. .

932. GDA-4559 Legal advocacy organization America First Legal Foundation even wrote to President Joe Biden asking him to withdraw her nomination,27 citing several severe national security failures while she was director of VOA.28 Her tenure as director during the Obama Administration (and her holdover into the beginning of the Trump Administration) was marred with operational failures, security failures, and credibility failures. .

933. GDA-4579 Prior to the arrival of President Donald Trump's appointees in June 2020, budgeting, financial responsibility, and spending totaled over $800 million per year, with virtually no oversight or supervision. .

934. GDA-4588 Numerous career whistleblowers came forward to sound the alarm to President Trump's USAGM political team about OTF's abuse and overreach.36 Its opaque, expensive, and unnecessary usurpation of an existing USAGM office is an egregious example of government waste and illustrates the general disdain for U.S. .

935. GDA-4597 at a perilous strategic disadvantage in the event of a major conflict, particularly with Russia or China. .

936. GDA-4601 Long-lasting power outages are also likely, such as those Ukraine experienced in the aftermath of Russia's 2022 invasion. .

937. GDA-4611 As an executive branch agency, the USAGM ostensibly should report to the President and coordinate activities with the National Security Council (NSC) --- especially given the direct and implied national security aspects of the agency's messaging globally. .

938. GDA-4643 These include industry groups, nonprofits, trade associations, foundations, and activist organizations, for example, America First Legal Foundation,43 USAGM Watch,44 BBG-USAGM Watch,45 and Whistleblower Protection Project.46 CONCLUSION The USAGM is a story of a lost opportunity both to help restore the world's confidence in the promise and ideals of America and to set a high mark for journalistic integrity and unbiased reporting. .

939. GDA-4656 CORPORATION FOR PUBLIC BROADCASTING Mike Gonzalez Every Republican President since Richard Nixon has tried to strip the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) of taxpayer funding. .

940. GDA-4657 That is significant not just because it means that for half a century, Republican Presidents have failed to accomplish what they set out to do, but also because Nixon was the first President in office when National Public Radio (NPR) and the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS), which the CPB funds, went on air. .

941. GDA-4658 In other words, all Republican Presidents have recognized that public funding of domestic broadcasts is a mistake. .

942. GDA-4659 As a 35-year-old lawyer in the Nixon White House, one Antonin Scalia warned that conservatives were being "confronted with a long-range problem of significant social consequences --- that is, the development of a government-funded broadcast system similar to the BBC."47 All of which means that the next conservative President must finally get this done and do it despite opposition from congressional members of his own party if necessary. .

943. GDA-4661 The reason is simple: President Lyndon Johnson may have pledged in 1967 that public broadcasting would become "a vital public resource to enrich our homes, educate our families and to provide assistance to our classrooms,"48 but public broadcasting immediately became a liberal forum for public affairs and journalism. .

944. GDA-4663 As Thomas Jefferson put it, "To compel a man to furnish contributions of money for the propagations of opinions which he disbelieves and abhors, is sinful and tyrannical."49 A DEMONSTRATED PATTERN OF BIAS Conservatives will thus reward a President who eliminates this tyrannical situation. .

945. GDA-4671 The 47th President can just tell the Congress --- through the budget he proposes and through personal contact --- that he will not sign an appropriations spending bill that contains a penny for the CPB. .

946. GDA-4672 The President may have to use the bully pulpit, as NPR and PBS have teams of lobbyists who have convinced enough Members of Congress to save their bacon every time their taxpayer subsidies have been at risk since the Nixon era. .

947. GDA-4679 NPR, Pacifica, and the other radio ventures have zero claim on an educational function (the original purpose for which they were created by President Johnson), and the percentage of on-air programming that PBS devotes to educational endeavors such as "Sesame Street" (programs that are themselves biased to the Left) is small. .

948. GDA-4686 The next President should instruct the FCC to exclude the stations affiliated with PBS and NPR from the NCE denomination and the privileges that come with it. .

949. GDA-4781 48. President Lyndon B. .

950. GDA-4782 Johnson, State of the Union Address, January 10, 1967, https://www.infoplease.com/ primary-sources/government/presidential-speeches/state-union-address-lyndon-b-johnson-january-10-1967 (accessed March 21, 2023). .

951. GDA-4805 At the height of the Cold War with the Soviet Union, it sought to halt the spread of Communism by assisting peoples in the developing world in their efforts to advance economically, socially, and politically. .

952. GDA-4806 The agency helped to transition Central and Eastern Europe from socialism to free market-based democracies. .

953. GDA-4821 foreign aid has been transformed into a massive and open- ended global entitlement program captured by --- and enriching --- the progressive Left. .

954. GDA-4836 government and carry out the agenda of the next conservative President more effectively. .

955. GDA-4838 Bush Administration, but the Obama Administration eliminated it in 2009. .

956. GDA-4839 Countering China's Development Challenge. .

957. GDA-4840 Through its trillion-dollar Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), the Peoples Republic of China (PRC) has directed billions of dollars in loans and investments to advance its geostrategic objective of displacing the United States as the premier global power. .

958. GDA-4841 The PRC leverages its transactions --- termed "debt traps" by many critics --- to strengthen its global influence, extract natural resources, isolate Taiwan, win political support at international fora, and access ports and bases for its military. .

959. GDA-4844 In Africa, China has issued $160 billion in loans and dominates the continent's rare earth mining sector, which is critical to global energy development. .

960. GDA-4846 Chinese-funded projects are known for employing substandard labor and environmental practices, fueling corruption, promoting wasteful financial decisions by governments, advancing China's geostrategic interests, and creating an unequal trade relationship in which China secures raw materials from developing countries and sells those countries manufacturing products. .

961. GDA-4848 China's mercantilist penetration of the developing world and the negative consequences for developing countries' healthy economic growth have undercut U.S. .

962. GDA-4851 During the Trump Administration, USAID: l Inaugurated a robust counter-China response called Clear Choice3 that contrasted America's development approach based on liberty, sovereignty, and free markets with China's mercantilist authoritarianism that pursued predatory financing schemes and economic and political subordination to Beijing. .

963. GDA-4853 l Struck bilateral development relationships with Japan, Israel, Kuwait, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, and Taiwan to support projects in sub-Saharan Africa, Asia, Latin America, and the Middle East. .

964. GDA-4854 l Established an office in Greenland to help counter China's claims of being "a near Arctic state" and reoriented its programming across Asia --- including establishing a USAID Mission to Central Asia --- in line with America's Indo- Pacific strategy.5 l Joined with the U.S. .

965. GDA-4856 USAID built an organizational infrastructure to carry out its multiple lines of counter-China operations. .

966. GDA-4858 International Development Finance Corporation Working Group reviewed all proposed assistance programs and proposals through a counter-China lens. .

967. GDA-4859 A senior executive-level Clear Choice Coordinator, reporting to the Administrator, advised the agency's leadership on initiatives to counter China, supported by a fully dedicated six-person Secretariat. .

968. GDA-4860 The Biden Administration discontinued these programs and allowed USAID's counter-China architecture to waste away, subordinating our national security interests to progressive climate politics in which Communist China is viewed as a global partner. .

969. GDA-4861 The next conservative Administration should restore and build on the Trump Administration's counter-China infrastructure at USAID, end the climate policy fanaticism that advantages Beijing, and assess bilateral aid through the lens of U.S. .

970. GDA-4862 national security interests, rewarding those countries that resist China's debt diplomacy. .

971. GDA-4863 It should finance programs designed to counter specific Chinese efforts in strategically important countries and eliminate funding to any partner that engages with Chinese entities directly or indirectly. .

972. GDA-4865 Climate Change. .

973. GDA-4866 Upon taking office, President Biden issued executive orders to "put the climate crisis at the center of U.S. .

974. GDA-4874 The aid industry claims that climate change causes poverty, which is false. .

975. GDA-4894 It should eliminate funding for partners that promote discriminatory DEI practices and consider debarment in egregious cases. .

976. GDA-4906 The next conservative Administration should rename the USAID Office of Gender Equality and Women's Empowerment (GEWE) as the USAID Office of Women, Children, and Families; refocus and realign resources that currently support programs in GEWE to the Office of Women, Children, and Families; redesignate the Senior Gender Coordinator as an unapologetically pro-life politically appointed Senior Coordinator of the Office of Women, Children, and Families; and eliminate the "more than 180 gender advisors and points of contact"¦embedded in Missions and Operating Units throughout the Agency."9 In addition, the next conservative Administration should rescind President Biden's 2022 Gender Policy and refocus it on Women, Children, and Families and revise the agency's regulation on "Integrating Gender Equality and Female Empowerment in USAID's Program Cycle."10 It should remove all references, examples, definitions, photos, and language on USAID websites, in agency publications and policies, and in all agency contracts and grants that include the following terms: "gender," "gender equality," "gender equity," "gender diverse individuals," "gender aware," "gender sensitive," etc. .

977. GDA-4916 Shortly after taking office, however, President Biden issued a memorandum that reversed a myriad of pro-life policies and revoked the Protecting Life in Global Health Assistance (PLGHA) policy, widely known as the Mexico City Policy. .

978. GDA-4917 Biden also restored funding to the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), which supports and implements China's coercive abortion and sterilization regimen. .

979. GDA-4919 Previous pro-life Presidents beginning with Ronald Reagan applied these conditions to family planning assistance, but President Trump for the first time expanded the Mexico City Policy to protect "global health assistance furnished by all departments or agencies" (estimated to be $8.8 billion annually). .

980. GDA-4928 Members of Congress have advocated closing these loopholes by extending PLGHA to all foreign assistance through the Protecting Life in Foreign Assistance Act, sponsored by Senator Mike Lee (R-UT) and Representative Virginia Foxx (R-NC).11 Current law in the Foreign Assistance Act gives the President broad authority to set "such terms and conditions as he may determine" on foreign assistance, which legally empowers the next conservative President to expand this pro-life policy. .

981. GDA-4932 It should simultaneously rescind President Biden's memorandum entitled "Protecting Women's Health at Home and Abroad," issued on January 28, 2021.12 The new pro-life executive order should apply to foreign NGOs, including subgrantees and subcontractors, and remove exemptions for U.S.-based NGOs, public international organizations, and bilateral government-to-government agreements. .

982. GDA-4938 President Trump's Executive Order 13926 on "Advancing International Religious Freedom"13 instructed the Secretary of State, in consultation with the USAID Administrator, to budget at least $50 million a year for programs that advance international religious freedom and "ensure that faith-based and religious entities, including eligible entities in foreign countries, are not discriminated against on the basis of religious identity or religious belief when competing for Federal funding." Under the Trump Administration, the agency set up a senior-level Chief Adviser for International Religious Freedom who reported directly to the Administrator with the task of coordinating a "whole-of-USAID" approach to achieving this priority. .

983. GDA-4950 In rare instances, such as in Jordan and Ukraine, the agency provides direct budget support to finance the operations of host-country governments. .

984. GDA-4968 Shifting from giant U.S.-based implementers has proved difficult to achieve, however, given intense internal bureaucratic resistance; opposition from the aid industrial complex; and foot-dragging from progressives, who view local NGOs --- especially faith-based NGOs prominent in Africa and Latin America --- as obstacles to promoting abortion, gender radicalism, climate extremism, and other woke ideas. .

985. GDA-4969 The President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) has shown that localization at scale is possible within a short time span. .

986. GDA-4979 The USAID Bureau for Global Health (GH), the second largest within USAID, oversees a multibillion-dollar operation to support maternal and child health; voluntary family planning; PEPFAR and the President's Malaria Initiative (PMI) (both started under President George W. .

987. GDA-4991 The Bureau should identify and eliminate outdated and ineffective concepts and focus on funding innovation. .

988. GDA-5004 NGOs with significant overhead costs, as a result of which only 20 percent-30 percent of funding reaches people in need.15 Leveraging the Strength and Experience of Presidential Initiatives. .

989. GDA-5007 It is time for these programs to become part of an integrated, strong, and sustainable network of health care and public health in developing countries. .

990. GDA-5039 Every year sees financial demands grow in response to new conflicts, most recently Ukraine. .

991. GDA-5049 government has expended $14 billion in aid to Syria where the bloody regime of Bashar al-Assad --- a close ally of Iran and Russia --- skims nearly half of foreign aid through inflated official exchange rates, the diversion of food baskets to its military units, and procurement arrangements with compromised local contractors. .

992. GDA-5052 l In Afghanistan, the aid infrastructure built over 20 years of American military presence that three Presidents wanted to end collapsed with the failure of U.S.-trained Afghan forces to repel the Taliban's 2021 advances. .

993. GDA-5084 Private capital investment in these markets is the greatest enabler of job creation and sustainable economic growth throughout the developing world. .

994. GDA-5087 Launched in December 2019, DFC sought to unleash the power of America's private sector to advance our interests by providing emerging markets with blended financing opportunities to help end wretched poverty, create new markets for U.S.-made products, strengthen bilateral partnerships in strategic parts of the world, and offset China's predatory loans and investments. .

995. GDA-5088 The Trump Administration launched a USAID-DFC Working Group to maximize development outcomes and review individual investment projects through a counter-China lens and ensure a cohesive interagency development response. .

996. GDA-5098 This approach has negative foreign policy implications as China relentlessly promotes its own self-serving efforts to gain influence and resources. .

997. GDA-5102 The United States is in a struggle for influence with China, Russia, and other competitors, and American generosity must not go unacknowledged. .

998. GDA-5109 The next conservative Administration should leave in place the current structure of two presidentially appointed, Senate-confirmed Deputy Administrators, one for Policy and one for Management. .

999. GDA-5113 It should reorient the bulk of F staff from focusing on the formulation of the annual President's budget proposal to the execution of already appropriated resources. .

1000. GDA-5122 The White House Office of Presidential Personnel should allow the USAID Administrator to explore with counterparts at the Office of Personnel Management whether the agency could hire personnel under both the Administratively Determined authority and Schedule C of the Excepted Service of the Federal Civil Service. .

1001. GDA-5133 A priority for these positions (combined with hires under Schedule A) should be the review and editing of the agency's public-facing web pages and social media accounts to eliminate material that does not conform to the new Administration's policies. .

1002. GDA-5147 The Bureau is the policy and financial nexus at USAID for most of the Biden Administration's radical priorities in foreign assistance, including gender, climate change, and the promotion of identity-based politics. .

1003. GDA-5155 Asia is the most populous continent and ground zero in the battle against Communist China's efforts to exploit the development needs of poor countries for geopolitical gain. .

1004. GDA-5160 So too should development cooperation with Taiwan, which boasts effective pandemic response capacity that should be shared with developing countries. .

1005. GDA-5161 China's island-hopping efforts to capture vulnerable Pacific states is a direct strategic threat to U.S. .

1006. GDA-5162 maritime supremacy and homeland security, and USAID and its allied donors should neutralize these efforts through the deployment of targeted assistance such as helping countries combat the effects of China's illegal fishing. .

1007. GDA-5163 While China outpaces the ability of the democratic alliance to deploy state-backed financing to developing countries, it is unable to compete with our collective private-sector capacity to deploy trillions of dollars of capital. .

1008. GDA-5167 foreign aid since 2010, yet it remains intensely anti-American and corrupt, has backed the Taliban continuously since 2001, jump-started North Korea's nuclear bomb program, brutalizes its religious minorities, and is a willing client of China while taking on unrepayable loans from the U.S. .

1009. GDA-5175 President Trump's Abraham Accords signaled the end of the centrality of the Arab-Israeli conflict, which paralyzed U.S. .

1010. GDA-5180 A new conservative President should reset USAID's programming in the Middle East in line with our national security interests and committed to the goal of ending the need for foreign aid through development that is led by the private sector. .

1011. GDA-5197 Failure to generate wealth has provided opportunities for China to step in and become the continent's leader in trade, loans, and investment. .

1012. GDA-5200 The Biden Administration's radical global climate policies have cut off billions in investment to develop clean fossil fuels, denying Africa's billion-plus people access to cheap energy to further their own development and finance their own social services in health, water, education, and agriculture, while increasing its dependence on China's renewables industry. .

1013. GDA-5206 Critically, it must hold China accountable for its extractive investments that violate international labor, environmental, and anticorruption norms and practices; undercut business opportunities for U.S. .

1014. GDA-5219 Japan has committed $30 billion in aid to Africa over three years to stem China's economic and political grip on the continent. .

1015. GDA-5234 foreign assistance throughout the Western Hemisphere is designed to respond to national security threats that emanate from the region, such as illicit drug and arms trafficking; illegal immigration flows; terrorism; pandemics; and strategic threats from China, Russia, and Iran. .

1016. GDA-5240 These regimes are hostile to American interests and private enterprise, breed corruption, implement radical policies that will further impoverish their people and threaten their democracies, and are more open to striking partnerships with Communist China. .

1017. GDA-5241 Left-wing authoritarian kleptocracies in Cuba, Nicaragua, and Venezuela deny their people basic freedoms, violently and ruthlessly suppress any dissent, repress communities of faith, and generate such misery that hundreds of thousands of their citizens have attempted to cross our southern border over the past two years. .

1018. GDA-5252 l Challenge the socialist ideas that have captured too many of the region's governments and their nations' youth. .

1019. GDA-5264 On Day One, USAID should halt all agencywide training and replace it with training modules to advance the President's agenda. .

1020. GDA-5265 The Administration should appoint a Senior Accountable Official (SAO) to report on the agency's adherence to Administration policy priorities, including on Protecting Life in Foreign Assistance, critical race theory, climate change, gender, and diversity and inclusion. .

1021. GDA-5272 It can build on a strong baseline of conservative reforms undertaken by the Trump Administration to counter Communist China's strategy of world domination. .

1022. GDA-5274 AUTHOR'S NOTE: The preparation of this chapter was a collective enterprise of individuals involved in the 2025 Presidential Transition Project. .

1023. GDA-5291 Strategic Framework for the Indo-Pacific," declassified in part by Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs Robert C. .

1024. GDA-5293 O'Brien, Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs, "A Free and Open Indo-Pacific," January 5, 2021, https:// trumpwhitehouse.archives.gov/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/OBrien-Expanded-Statement.pdf (accessed March 18, 2023). .

1025. GDA-5306 12. President Joseph R. .

1026. GDA-5307 Biden Jr., "Memorandum on Protecting Women's Health at Home and Abroad," Memorandum for the Secretary of State, the Secretary of Defense, the Secretary of Health and Human Services, and the Administrator of the United States Agency for International Development, The White House, January 28, 2021, https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/presidential-actions/2021/01/28/memorandum- on-protecting-womens-health-at-home-and-abroad/ (accessed March 18, 2023). .

1027. GDA-5308 13. President Donald J. .

1028. GDA-5315 16. President Donald J. .

1029. GDA-5325 Section Three THE GENERAL WELFARE When our Founders wrote in the Constitution that the federal government would "promote the general Welfare," they could not have fathomed a massive bureaucracy that would someday spend $3 trillion in a single year --- roughly the sum, combined, spent by the departments covered in this section in 2022. .

1030. GDA-5328 When Congress passed and President Lyndon B. .

1031. GDA-5333 HHS is also home to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the duo most responsible --- along with President Joe Biden --- for the irrational, destructive, un-American mask and vaccine mandates that were imposed upon an ostensibly free people during the COVID-19 pandemic. .

1032. GDA-5340 The NIH monopoly on directing research should be broken." What's more, NIH has long "been at the forefront in pushing junk gender science." The next HHS secretary should immediately put an end to the department's foray into woke transgender activism. .

1033. GDA-5345 As former counselor to the attorney general Gene Hamilton writes in Chapter 17, the department "has a long and noble history" --- Edmund Randolph, the first attorney general, took office the same year as President Washington --- yet its longstanding reputation has been marred by the Biden Administration's abuse of the department's powers for its own ends. .

1034. GDA-5348 To rein in this "completely out of control" bureau and remind it of its place within --- rather than at the top of --- the DOJ hierarchy, Hamilton writes that the FBI's separate Office of General Counsel (with "approximately 300 attorneys"), separate Office of Legislative Affairs, and separate Office of Public Affairs should all be abolished. .

1035. GDA-5349 Requiring the FBI to get its legal advice from the wider department "would serve as a crucial check on an agency that has recently pushed past legal boundary after legal boundary." Indeed, Hamilton writes, "[t]he next conservative Administration should eliminate any offices within the FBI that it has the power to eliminate without any action from Congress." Elsewhere, DOJ should target violent and career criminals, not parents; work to dismantle criminal organizations, partly by rigorously prosecuting interstate drug activity; and restart the Trump Administration's "China Initiative" (to address Chinese espionage and theft of trade secrets), which the Biden Administration "terminated"¦ largely out of a concern for poor 'optics.'" It should also enforce existing federal law that prohibits mailing abortifacients, rather than harassing pro-life demonstrators; respect the constitutional guarantee of the freedom of speech, rather than trying to police speech on the internet; and enforce federal immigration laws, rather than pretending there is no border. .

1036. GDA-5351 The department is a convenient one-stop shop for the woke education cartel, which --- as the COVID era showed --- is not particularly concerned with children's education. .

1037. GDA-5358 Under the next President, the Department of Energy should end the Biden Administration's unprovoked war on fossil fuels, restore America's energy independence, oppose eyesore windmills built at taxpayer expense, and respect the right of Americans to buy and drive cars of their own choosing, rather than trying to force them into electric vehicles and eventually out of the driver's seat altogether in favor of self-driving robots. .

1038. GDA-5360 McNamee says in Chapter 12, "A conservative President must be committed to unleashing all of America's energy resources and making the energy economy serve the American people, not special interests." In Chapter 10, Daren Bakst writes that the Biden Administration's Department of Agriculture claims to be "transforming the food system as we know it." But the government "does not need to transform the food system"; instead, "it should respect American farmers, truckers," and families. .

1039. GDA-5364 In the next Administration, it should refocus on its core duties and keep "noncitizens"¦from living in federally assisted housing," provide enhanced "oversight of foreign ownership of [U.S.] real estate," and "reinvigorate paths to upward economic mobility" and economic "self-sufficiency." In Chapter 18, former acting assistant secretary of policy at the Department of Labor Jonathan Berry writes that the department and related agencies should pursue pro-family, pro-worker policies to help "restore the family-supporting job as the centerpiece of the American economy," in lieu of the current Administration's "left-wing social-engineering agenda" --- "the most assertive" in history --- which empowers race, gender, and climate-change activists at the expense of American workers. .

1040. GDA-5376 However, the language bringing in equity and climate change is new to the Biden Administration and part of the USDA's express effort to transform agricultural production.2 The USDA's new vision statement illuminates the focus of this effort: An equitable and climate smart food and agriculture economy that protects and improves the health, nutrition and quality of life of all Americans, yields healthy land, forests and clean water, helps rural America thrive, and feeds the world.3 This effort is one of a federal central plan to put climate change and environmental issues ahead of the most important requirements of agriculture --- to efficiently produce safe food. .

1041. GDA-5390 OVERVIEW In 1862, President Abraham Lincoln signed into law the legislation that created the USDA.4 The department had a very narrow mission focused on the dissemination of information connected to agriculture and "to procure, propagate and distribute among the people new valuable seeds and plants."5 During the last 160 years, the scope of the USDA's work has expanded well beyond that narrow mission --- and well beyond agriculture itself. .

1042. GDA-5400 The Biden Administration's centrally planned transformational effort minimizes the importance of efficient agricultural production and instead places issues such as climate change and equity front and center. .

1043. GDA-5401 The USDA's Strategic Plan Fiscal Years 2022-2026 identifies six strategic goals, the first three of which focus on issues such as climate change, renewable energy, and systemic racism. .

1044. GDA-5403 According to the USDA: The stated goal of the Food Systems Summit was to transform the way the world produces, consumes and thinks about foods within the context of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and to meet the challenges of poverty, food security, malnutrition, population growth, climate change, and natural resource degradation.13 Not unlike those who oppose reliable and affordable energy production, there is a disdain, especially by some on the Left, for American agriculture and the food system.14 The Biden Administration's vision of a federal government developing a plan that "fixes" agriculture and focuses on issues secondary to food production is very disturbing. .

1045. GDA-5413 From the outset, the next Administration should: Denounce efforts to place ancillary issues like climate change ahead of food productivity and affordability when it comes to agriculture. .

1046. GDA-5416 and other efforts to push sustainable-development schemes connected to food production. .

1047. GDA-5436 Ideally, Congress would repeal the Secretary's discretionary authority under section 5 of the Charter Act. .

1048. GDA-5451 The overall goal should be to eliminate subsidy dependence. .

1049. GDA-5460 The next Administration should champion legislation that would: l Repeal the federal sugar program. .

1050. GDA-5463 The program has a regressive effect, since lower-income households spend more of their money to meet food needs compared to higher income households.45 l Ideally, repeal the ARC and PLC programs. .

1051. GDA-5467 The Congressional Budget Office (CBO), in one of its options to reduce the federal deficit, has once again identified repealing all Title I farm programs, including ARC, PLC, and the federal sugar program.46 l Stop paying farmers twice for price and revenue losses during the same year. .

1052. GDA-5510 In fact, Senate and House Republicans requested that the Government Accountability Office investigate the legal authorities and process that the USDA undertook to arrive at such an unprecedented increase.75 l Eliminate the heat-and-eat loophole. .

1053. GDA-5532 Government Accountability Office said results in the USDA not "regularly assess[ing] the programs' fraud risks," the NSLP wasted nearly $500 million in FY 2021.89 The SBP now wastes nearly $200 million annually.90 Despite the ongoing effort to expand school meals under CEP and the evidence of waste and inefficiency, left-of-center Members of Congress and President Biden's Administration have nonetheless proposed further expansions to extend federal school meals to include every K-12 student --- regardless of need.91 The Administration recently proposed expanding federal school meal programs offered during the school year to be offered during the summer as part of the "American Families Plan," and also proposed expanding CEP. .

1054. GDA-5537 l Work with lawmakers to eliminate CEP. .

1055. GDA-5539 Congress should eliminate CEP. .

1056. GDA-5554 This program has recently received attention, as agricultural groups rightfully seek to farm without penalty voluntarily idled land, in light of the consequences to food prices of Russia invading Ukraine.97 There is also a need to reform USDA's conservation easements. .

1057. GDA-5562 The USDA should work with Congress to eliminate this overbroad program. .

1058. GDA-5573 Eliminate or Reform Marketing Orders and Checkoff Programs. .

1059. GDA-5583 The USDA should reject any new requests for marketing orders and checkoff programs to the extent authorized by law and eliminate existing programs when possible. .

1060. GDA-5586 l Work with Congress to eliminate marketing orders and checkoff programs. .

1061. GDA-5587 These programs should be eliminated, and if industry actors want to collaborate, they should do so through private means, not using the government to compel cooperation. .

1062. GDA-5597 The next Administration should: l Push legislation to repeal export promotion programs. .

1063. GDA-5598 The USDA should work with Congress to repeal market development programs like the Market Access Program and similar programs. .

1064. GDA-5609 l Repeal the federal labeling mandate. .

1065. GDA-5610 The USDA should work with Congress to repeal the federal labeling law, while maintaining federal preemption, and stress that voluntary labeling is allowed. .

1066. GDA-5622 In 2018, President Donald Trump issued Executive Order 13855 to, among other things, promote active management of forests and reduce wildfire risks.122 The executive order stated, "Active management of vegetation is needed to treat these dangerous conditions on Federal lands but is often delayed due to challenges associated with regulatory analysis and current consultation requirements."123 It further explained the need to reduce regulatory obstacles to fuel reduction in forests created by the National Environmental Policy Act and the Endangered Species Act.124 The next Administration should: l Champion executive action, consistent with law, and proactive legislation to reduce wildfires. .

1067. GDA-5624 Eliminate or Reform the Dietary Guidelines. .

1068. GDA-5626 In the 2015 Dietary Guidelines process, the influential Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee veered off mission and attempted to persuade the USDA and HHS to adopt nutritional advice that focused not just on human health, but the health of the planet.127 Issues such as climate change and sustainability infiltrated the process. .

1069. GDA-5633 School meals are required to be consistent with the guidelines.128 The next Administration should: l Work with lawmakers to repeal the Dietary Guidelines. .

1070. GDA-5634 The USDA should help lead an effort to repeal the Dietary Guidelines. .

1071. GDA-5642 The Food and Nutrition Service that administers the food and nutrition programs would be eliminated. .

1072. GDA-5695 Department of Agriculture, "UN Food Systems Summit," https://www.usda.gov/oce/sustainability/un- summit (accessed December 14, 2022). .

1073. GDA-5743 33. Although livestock and specialty crop producers do receive some subsidies, former American Farm Bureau Federation President Bob Stallman captured the subsidy issue well. .

1074. GDA-5870 94. Tom Driscoll, "From the Field: Farmers Are the Original Conservationists," National Farmers Union, August 30, 2017, https://nfu.org/2017/08/30/from-the-field-farmers-are-the-original-conservationists/ (accessed December 16, 2022). .

1075. GDA-5881 The Conservation Reserve Program should be eliminated. .

1076. GDA-5991 Burke MISSION Federal education policy should be limited and, ultimately, the federal Department of Education should be eliminated. .

1077. GDA-6001 The future of education freedom and reform in the states is bright and will shine brighter when regulations and red tape from Washington are eliminated. .

1078. GDA-6011 Rather than continuing to buttress a higher education establishment captured by woke "diversicrats" and a de facto monopoly enforced by the federal accreditation cartel, federal postsecondary education policy should prepare students for jobs in the dynamic economy, nurture institutional diversity, and expose schools to greater market forces.1 OVERVIEW For most of our history, the federal government played a minor role in education. .

1079. GDA-6014 In July of that year, President Lyndon B. .

1080. GDA-6027 Eventually, the National Education Association made a deal and backed the right presidential candidate --- Jimmy Carter --- who successfully lobbied for and delivered the Cabinet-level agency. .

1081. GDA-6035 The next Administration will need a plan to redistribute the various congressionally approved federal education programs across the government, eliminate those that are ineffective or duplicative, and then eliminate the unproductive red tape and rules by entrusting states and districts with flexible, formula-driven block grants. .

1082. GDA-6055 Congress should set policy --- not Presidents through pen-and-phone executive orders, and not agencies through regulations and guidance. .

1083. GDA-6058 But, unlike the public sector bureaucracies, public employee unions, and the higher education lobby, families and students do not need a Department of Education to learn, grow, and improve their lives. .

1084. GDA-6083 To improve educational opportunities for all Americans, the next Administration should work with Congress to pass a Department of Education Reorganization Act to reform, eliminate, or move the department's programs and offices to appropriate agencies. .

1085. GDA-6092 l Eliminate Impact Aid not tied to students. .

1086. GDA-6098 l All other programs at OESE should be block-granted or eliminated. .

1087. GDA-6105 Office for Postsecondary Education (OPE) l The next Administration should work with Congress to eliminate or move OPE programs to ETA at the Department of Labor. .

1088. GDA-6112 With a statutory charge that it preserve the federal student loan portfolio for the benefit of the taxpayers and students, this new entity would be (1) professionally governed by an agency head and board of trustees appointed by the President A heritage.orgSOURCES: The Nation's Report Card, "National Average Scores," Grade 4, https://www.nationsreportcard.gov/ mathematics/nation/scores/?grade=4 (accessed March 17, 2023), and The Nation's Report Card, "National Average Scores," Grade 8, https://www.nationsreportcard.gov/mathematics/nation/scores/?grade=4 (accessed March 17, 2023). .

1089. GDA-6124 Current Laws Relating to the Department of Education That Require Repeal In order to fully wind down the Department of Education, Congress must pass and the President must sign into law a Department of Education Reorganization Act (or Liquidating Authority Act) to direct the executive branch on how to devolve the agency as a stand-alone Cabinet-level department. .

1090. GDA-6125 l Congress should pass and the next President should sign a Department of Education Reorganization Act. .

1091. GDA-6126 Current Regulations Promulgated by or Relevant to the Agency That Should Be Rolled Back or Eliminated While the next Administration works to distribute department programs across the federal government, it will need to thoroughly review the many education- related regulations promulgated by the Biden Administration. .

1092. GDA-6210 President Biden has proposed a new income-driven repayment program that would be extremely generous to borrowers, requiring only nominal payments from most students. .

1093. GDA-6241 l The Department of Education should work with Congress to amend the HEA to eliminate the negotiated rulemaking requirement. .

1094. GDA-6260 In fact, the NEA and the nation's other large teacher union, the American Federation of Teachers (AFT), use litigation and other efforts to block school choice and advocate for additional taxpayer spending in education. .

1095. GDA-6263 Furthermore, the union promotes radical racial and gender ideologies in schools that parents oppose according to nationally representative surveys. .

1096. GDA-6425 l Eliminate Grad PLUS loans (for graduate students) and Parent PLUS loans (for parents of undergraduates). .

1097. GDA-6444 Confronting the Chinese Communist Party's Influence on Higher Education According to media reports, more than 100 universities in the U.S. .

1098. GDA-6445 received nearly $100 billion in gifts and grants from China-based sources between 2013 and 2020. .

1099. GDA-6446 Much of this money derives from the Chinese Communist Party and its proxies. .

1100. GDA-6458 NEW EXECUTIVE ORDERS THAT THE PRESIDENT SHOULD ISSUE Guidance Documents l The President should immediately reinstate and reissue Executive Order 13891: Promoting the Rule of Law Through Improved Agency Guidance Documents, 84 Fed. .

1101. GDA-6465 President Biden revoked these executive orders on January 20, 2021, demonstrating that these executive orders effectively restrained the abuses of an expansive administrative state. .

1102. GDA-6467 The President should issue an executive order requiring the Office for Civil Rights' Case Processing Manual to go through APA (Administrative Procedures Act) notice and comment. .

1103. GDA-6469 The President should issue an executive order requiring grant applications (SF-424 series) to contain assurances that the applicant will uphold the First Amendment in funded programs and work. .

1104. GDA-6471 The President should issue an executive order stating that a college degree shall not be required for any federal job unless the requirements of the job specifically demand it. .

1105. GDA-6472 l Eliminate the "list of shame." Educational institutions can claim a religious exemption with the Office for Civil Rights at the Department of Education from the strictures of Title IX. .

1106. GDA-6475 The President should issue an executive order removing the archived list and preventing such a list from being published in the future. .

1107. GDA-6485 l Although the accreditation regulations should be removed entirely by Congress, in the meantime, the next President should issue an executive order expanding the list of allowable accreditors. .

1108. GDA-6486 Transparency Around Program Performance and DEI Influence The next President should issue a series of executive orders requiring: l An accounting of how federal programs/grants spread DEI/CRT/ gender ideology, l A review of outcomes for GEAR UP and the 21st Century grants programs, l The reissuing of the report on school safety from 2018 with updated information, l The release of a report to Congress on how to consolidate the department and trim nonessential employees, l A report on the negative influence of action civics on students' understanding of history and civics and their disposition toward the United States, l An update of the Coleman report to show the impact of family structure on student achievement, l A full accounting of CARES Act education expenditures, and l A report on how many dollars make their way to the classroom in every federal education grant and program. .

1109. GDA-6487 Pursue Antitrust Against Accreditors l The President should issue an executive order pursuing antitrust against college accreditors, especially the American Bar Association (ABA). .

1110. GDA-6498 Some highlights include: l Eliminate competitive grant programs and reduce spending on formula grant programs. .

1111. GDA-6499 Competitive grant programs operated by the Department of Education should be eliminated, and federal spending should be reduced to reflect remaining formula grant programs authorized under Title I of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) and the handful of other programs that do not fall under the competitive/ project grant category. .

1112. GDA-6507 l Eliminate the PLUS loan program. .

1113. GDA-6508 As mentioned above, the PLUS loan program, which provides graduate student loans and loans to the parents of undergraduate students, should be eliminated. .

1114. GDA-6512 l Eliminate GEAR-UP. .

1115. GDA-6514 GEAR UP should be eliminated, and its functions should instead be handled privately or at the state and local levels, where policymakers are better equipped to increase college preparedness within their school districts. .

1116. GDA-6516 As programs are eliminated or transferred to other agencies, those employees whose positions are determined to be essential to the mission would move with their constituent programs. .

1117. GDA-6518 AUTHOR'S NOTE: The preparation of this chapter was a collective enterprise of individuals involved in the 2025 Presidential Transition Project. .

1118. GDA-6569 Under the rubrics of "combating climate change" and "ESG" (environmental, social, and governance), the Biden Administration, Congress, and various states, as well as Wall Street investors, international corporations, and progressive special- interest groups, are changing America's energy landscape. .

1119. GDA-6570 These ideologically driven policies are also directing huge amounts of money to favored interests and making America dependent on adversaries like China for energy. .

1120. GDA-6571 In the name of combating climate change, policies have been used to create an artificial energy scarcity that will require trillions of dollars in new investment, supported with taxpayer subsidies, to address a "problem" that government and special interests themselves created. .

1121. GDA-6576 At the same time, adversaries like China, Russia, North Korea, Iran, and non-state actors are constantly engaged in cyberattacks against our energy infrastructure. .

1122. GDA-6579 Yet the current Administration's first concern is plowing taxpayer dollars into intermittent wind and solar projects and ending the use of reliable fossil fuels. .

1123. GDA-6580 A conservative President must be committed to unleashing all of America's energy resources and making the energy economy serve the American people, not special interests. .

1124. GDA-6583 l Support repeal of massive spending bills like the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA)3 and Inflation Reduction Act (IRA),4 which established new programs and are providing hundreds of billions of dollars in subsidies to renewable energy developers, their investors, and special interests, and support the rescinding of all funds not already spent by these programs. .

1125. GDA-6601 In addition, the National Labs have been too focused on climate change and renewable technologies. .

1126. GDA-6604 The next conservative President therefore needs to recommit the United States to ensuring this dominance. .

1127. GDA-6613 More recently, DOE has focused its work and taxpayers' money on renewable energy and climate change.6 It is one thing for government to engage in fundamental scientific research that the private sector would not perform, particularly because advancements in science promote national security through technological prowess. .

1128. GDA-6630 CESER would work with the existing or reconstituted versions (as described in more detail below) of the Office of Electricity (OE); Office of Nuclear Energy (NE); Office of Fossil Energy (FE), currently the Office of Fossil Energy and Carbon Management (FECM); Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE); and the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) to identify and address threats to energy infrastructure.7 Instead of trying to decarbonize the American economy and allocating taxpayer dollars for commercialization of energy technologies, these offices would focus on energy security by identifying threats to energy supplies and infrastructure, developing strategies to address those threats, and funding fundamental science and technology where appropriate. .

1129. GDA-6633 4. Office of Fossil Energy (Assistant Secretary, with Carbon Management deleted from its title and purpose. .

1130. GDA-6636 l Eliminate special-interest funding programs. .

1131. GDA-6638 The DOE Office of Clean Energy Demonstrations (OCED); Office of State and Community Energy Programs; ARPA-E; Office of Grid Deployment (OGD); and DOE Loan Program should be eliminated or reformed. .

1132. GDA-6640 l Eliminate political and climate-change interference in DOE approvals of liquefied natural gas (LNG) exports. .

1133. GDA-6641 In addition, Congress should reform the Natural Gas Act8 to expand required approvals from merely nations with free trade agreements to all of our allies, such as NATO countries. .

1134. GDA-6643 FEMP should stop using taxpayer dollars to force the purchase of more expensive and less reliable energy resources in the name of combating climate change. .

1135. GDA-6657 New Policies: International Energy Security To help the President and policymakers understand and apply U.S. .

1136. GDA-6666 This strategy would take account of the energy landscape across the globe to inform the President in his foreign policy and defense roles, but it should not be a tool for U.S. .

1137. GDA-6692 nuclear arsenal needs to be updated and reinvigorated if we are to be able to deal effectively with threats from China, Russia, and other adversaries. .

1138. GDA-6706 Though CESER is properly focused on the threat to the grid from inverter-based resources like wind and solar, it needs to focus on the entire energy system, including the interdependence between natural gas and electric generation and cybersecurity. .

1139. GDA-6715 OE could be combined with CESER (as well as what is left of the Grid Deployment Office if it is eliminated). .

1140. GDA-6716 l Eliminate applied programs. .

1141. GDA-6718 These programs should be eliminated. .

1142. GDA-6719 The next Administration should work with Congress to eliminate all DOE applied energy programs including OE (except perhaps those related to basic science for new energy technology). .

1143. GDA-6721 OE (along with CESER if they are combined) should focus on the security of critical infrastructure equipment used in the bulk power system as envisioned in President Trump's May 2020 Executive Order 13920 and a related December 2020 Prohibition Order,26 which was revoked in April 2021 by President Biden.27 In addition, CESER/OE should: 1. .

1144. GDA-6724 3. Work with FERC and the North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC) to ensure that there is sufficient dispatchable on-demand generation available to generate the electricity the grid needs when intermittent generation like wind and solar is not available. .

1145. GDA-6726 The next Administration should work with Congress to eliminate nonessential funding of commercial technology and deployment. .

1146. GDA-6733 Absent wholesale reforms that restructure the federal energy and science bureaucracy to eliminate such functional energy offices, the next Administration should: l Substantially limit NE's size and scope. .

1147. GDA-6745 OFFICE OF FOSSIL ENERGY AND CARBON MANAGEMENT (FECM) Mission/Overview DOE is authorized by law to increase the conversion efficiency of all forms of fossil energy, reduce costs, improve environmental performance, and increase the energy security of the United States.33 In recent years, the Office of Fossil Energy (FE) has been transformed from its statutory role of improving fossil energy production to one that is focused primarily on reducing the carbon dioxide emissions from fossil fuel extraction, transport, and combustion. .

1148. GDA-6746 This change is reflected in the office's new name, the Office of Fossil Energy and Carbon Management (FECM), effective as of July 2021, and FECM's mission: "to minimize the environmental impacts of fossil fuels while working towards net-zero emissions."34 Needed Reforms l Eliminate carbon capture utilization and storage (CCUS) programs. .

1149. GDA-6747 Despite the recent expansion of the 45Q tax credit for carbon capture utilization and storage (CCUS) to $87 per ton, most carbon capture technology remains economically unviable, although private-sector innovations are on the horizon. .

1150. GDA-6750 Development of domestic critical material sources is important for national security, as the vast majority of critical materials are mined or processed (or both) in Russia and China.36 The processing of critical materials from fossil fuel waste products (primarily coal) has shown some potential and, in view of our vast domestic reserves of coal and abundant waste from coal mining and combustion, should be pursued. .

1151. GDA-6751 New Policies l Eliminate FECM. .

1152. GDA-6752 The next Administration should work with Congress to eliminate all of DOE's applied energy programs, including those in FECM (with the possible exception of those that are related to basic science for new energy technology). .

1153. GDA-6754 l Rename FECM (if it cannot be eliminated) under its original designation as the Office of Fossil Energy and with its original mission: increasing energy security and supply through fossil fuels. .

1154. GDA-6761 3. Work with Congress to expand automatic approvals to include allies such as NATO as well as nations that have free trade agreements with the U.S. .

1155. GDA-6766 OFFICE OF ENERGY EFFICIENCY AND RENEWABLE ENERGY (EERE) Mission/Overview The Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy traces its roots to the Energy Policy and Conservation Act of 1975,42 but most of its programs today are rooted in the Energy Policy Act of 2005.43 Under the Biden Administration, EERE's mission is "to accelerate the research, development, demonstration, and deployment of technologies and solutions to equitably transition America to net- zero greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions economy-wide by no later than 2050" and "ensure [that] the clean energy economy benefits all Americans."44 The office is made up of three "pillars": energy efficiency, renewable energy, and sustainable transportation. .

1156. GDA-6767 Needed Reforms l End the focus on climate change and green subsidies. .

1157. GDA-6768 Under the Biden Administration, EERE is a conduit for taxpayer dollars to fund progressive policies, including decarbonization of the economy and renewable resources. .

1158. GDA-6769 EERE has focused on reducing carbon dioxide emissions to the exclusion of other statutorily defined requirements such as energy security and cost. .

1159. GDA-6770 For example, EERE's five programmatic priorities during the Biden Administration are all focused on decarbonization of the electricity sector, the industrial sector, transportation, buildings, and the agricultural sector.45 l Eliminate energy efficiency standards for appliances. .

1160. GDA-6773 New Policies l Eliminate EERE. .

1161. GDA-6774 The next Administration should work with Congress to eliminate all of DOE's applied energy programs, including those in EERE (with the possible exception of those that are related to basic science for new energy technology). .

1162. GDA-6777 If EERE cannot be eliminated, then the Administration should engage with Congress and the House and Senate Appropriations Committees on EERE's budget. .

1163. GDA-6778 EERE's budget was around $1.5 billion a year when the advances were made that led to dramatic cost decreases in wind, solar, and battery technology. .

1164. GDA-6782 If EERE cannot be eliminated, then the Administration should focus on broader and more fundamental energy research, consistent with law. .

1165. GDA-6784 Moreover, under the Biden Administration, EERE is too focused on decarbonization and not at all on the cost of energy. .

1166. GDA-6785 l Eliminate energy efficiency standards for appliances. .

1167. GDA-6786 The next Administration should work with Congress to modify or repeal the law mandating energy efficiency standards. .

1168. GDA-6787 Before (or in lieu of) repealing the law, there are steps the agency can take to refocus on the consumer by giving full force to the provisions already in the law that serve to limit regulatory overreach and protect against excessively stringent standards. .

1169. GDA-6789 It also took steps to ensure that any new standards do not compromise product quality or eliminate any features. .

1170. GDA-6793 Pursuant to the IIJA, GDO administers funds appropriated by Congress to support transmission expansion and low/zero carbon resources. .

1171. GDA-6796 Instead of focusing on grid expansion for the benefit of renewable resources or supporting low/carbon generation, GDO should be incorporated into the reformed Office of Cybersecurity, Energy Security, and Emergency Response, which would work to enhance the grid's reliability and resilience. .

1172. GDA-6799 If subsidies for renewable resources are not repealed, it may be necessary to continue subsidies for nuclear and hydro to ensure grid reliability. .

1173. GDA-6800 New Policies l Eliminate GDO and assign necessary activities to the reformed CESER. .

1174. GDA-6801 It appears that GDO's current purpose is to promote the integration of low/zero carbon resources onto the grid by supporting subsidies for such resources and building new transmission facilities at a cost that poses a barrier to renewable generation expansion. .

1175. GDA-6810 Its mission is "[to] deliver clean energy demonstration projects at scale in partnership with the private sector to accelerate deployment, market adoption, and the equitable transition to a decarbonized energy system."51 Needed Reforms l End market distortions and stop shifting technology and development risks to taxpayers. .

1176. GDA-6812 The IIJA provided more than $20 billion in government subsidies to help the private sector deploy and market clean energy and decarbonizing resources. .

1177. GDA-6814 New Policies l Eliminate OCED. .

1178. GDA-6815 The next Administration should work with Congress to eliminate all DOE energy demonstration programs, including those in OCED. .

1179. GDA-6818 To the extent that the various energy research and development funding authorities cannot be repealed, funded projects should be consistent with the programmatic goals of the next Administration. .

1180. GDA-6822 l Carbon Capture Large-Scale Pilot Projects ($937 million). .

1181. GDA-6823 l Carbon Capture Demonstration Projects Program ($2.5 billion). .

1182. GDA-6830 If OCED is eliminated, those positions can be eliminated. .

1183. GDA-6833 energy infrastructure," serve "as a bridge to bankability for breakthrough projects and technologies," and "de-risk[] them at early stages of investment so they can be developed at commercial scale and achieve market acceptance."55 The Biden Administration directed the program to subsidize the Administration's "net zero" energy transition away from conventional fuels by 2050 and to promote union jobs and domestic supply chains.56 The LPO coordinates with the U.S. .

1184. GDA-6841 l Should seek to sunset DOE's loan authority through Congress and eventually eliminate the Loan Program Office. .

1185. GDA-6843 New Policies To the extent that DOE loan programs cannot be repealed, the new Administration should: l Strengthen due diligence and increase transparency in DOE loan programs. .

1186. GDA-6856 New Policies l Eliminate ARPA-E. .

1187. GDA-6857 The next Administration should work with Congress to eliminate ARPA-E. .

1188. GDA-6864 CLEAN ENERGY CORPS Mission/Overview Under the IIJA, "the Clean Energy Corps is charged with investing more than $62 billion to deliver a more equitable clean energy future for the American people[.]" 67 The Corps says that it will "focus on deploying next generation clean energy technology" to "help America meet its goals of a carbon-free power sector in 2035 and a decarbonized economy in 2050."68 Needed Reforms The Clean Energy Corps is a taxpayer-funded program to create new government jobs for employees "who will work together to research, develop, demonstrate, and deploy solutions to climate change." DOE anticipates recruiting "an additional 1,000 employees using a special hiring authority included in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law."69 Taxpayers should not have to fund a cadre of federal employees to promote a partisan political agenda. .

1189. GDA-6865 New Policies Eliminate the Clean Energy Corps by revoking funding and eliminating all positions and personnel hired under the program. .

1190. GDA-6870 EIA needs to be committed to providing unbiased forecasting and data so that policymakers, industry, and the public can have a clear understanding of our energy resources and energy economy. .

1191. GDA-6874 Moreover, in the case of intermittent resources such as wind and solar, LCOE does not include the cost for backup or firming power from dispatchable resources. .

1192. GDA-6876 The cost of backup power for when wind and solar resources are not available should be included when comparing the technologies and reported as a separate component in the modeling documents. .

1193. GDA-6880 With the increasing number of intermittent, nondispatchable resources like wind and solar, peak load and reserve margins need to be reevaluated. .

1194. GDA-6892 There are some who think that EIA should be privatized. .

1195. GDA-6898 International energy activities should be consolidated under IA (and the Department of State's Bureau of Energy Resources should be eliminated) to ensure a proper understanding of domestic energy policy and how it affects foreign policy, as well as the international energy landscape and how it affects U.S. .

1196. GDA-6913 The Secretary of Energy is a senior member of the President's National Security Council and should function as such. .

1197. GDA-6917 l Stop "climate reparations." The President should refuse to provide climate reparations under an unratified treaty, and IA should encourage other countries to reconsider their desire to provide reparations. .

1198. GDA-6920 It "serves as the principal advisor to the Under Secretary on all domestic Arctic issues, including energy, science, and national security."77 Needed Reforms In October 2022, the Biden Administration released its National Strategy for the Arctic Region.78 Although recognizing national security threats in the Artic, it also focuses heavily on climate change, sustainability, and international cooperation. .

1199. GDA-6925 AE should help to identify those interests, as well as threats posed by countries like Russia and China, and develop appropriate policy options for the President's consideration. .

1200. GDA-6931 AE should also be the lead for DOE Antarctic operations as a counter to growing Russian and Chinese interest in Antarctic resources. .

1201. GDA-6945 Under the Biden DOE, OP appears to be focused on preparing reports on climate change and renewables.80 Needed Reforms l Help to develop policy. .

1202. GDA-6959 Because America's technological edge is a key national security asset, and in view of China's predatory thefts of intellectual property, OTT should: l Ensure that R&D funds are used for projects that protect and advance that edge. .

1203. GDA-6971 SC is led by a Senate-confirmed Director at the Assistant Secretary level and has eight program offices.82 Needed Reforms The next conservative President should commit the United States to scientific dominance to support national and economic security, especially in light of similar efforts by China. .