New reporting from the Associated Press this week exposed that the right-wing group American Accountability Foundation (AAF) has launched what they call “Project Sovereignty 2025” to investigate “scores of federal employees” for their political views and then publish a blacklist of civil servants online. The group received a $100,000 grant from The Heritage Foundation — which is organizing and leading Project 2025 — to fund this project.

Getting rid of civil servants deemed unloyal is another plan to gut checks and balances.The American Accountability Foundation and its backers at the Heritage Foundation are using fear and intimidation by threatening to purge the federal government of independent civil servants and consolidate unchecked authoritarian power in the executive branch. It’s all in service of their ultimate goal: to implement a right-wing agenda that is deeply unpopular with the American people.”

Accountable.US president Caroline Ciccone

As the Associated Press notes, “Project Sovereignty 2025 comes as Heritage’s Project 2025 lays the groundwork, with policies, proposals and personnel ready for a possible new White House.” This new blacklist aligns with Project 2025’s plans for a potential future conservative president to reinstate Schedule F, a plan to reclassify tens of thousands of career civil servants to make it easier for them to be fired by the president. Beyond the policy ramifications of this plan, publicly targeting civil servants online would create significant risks to their jobs, livelihoods, and possibly their personal safety.

The American Accountability Foundation is currently under IRS audit for failing to disclose its political spending. As Accountable.US previously uncovered, ad spending shows AAF spent hundreds of thousands of dollars attacking President Biden’s nominees, but failed to report any lobbying or political spending in 2021 and 2022. The group previously worked with the Conservative Partnership Institute to hold seemingly partisan training sessions for the staff of several MAGA House Republicans. One ethics lawyer called the sessions “very unseemly” and described them as “outside partisan groups hauling staff over to a resort with only Republicans in the room and coaching them on how to get more aggressive.”

Accountable.US is supporting the Stop Project 2025 Task Force, recently launched by Representative Jared Huffman (D-CA) and other progressive leaders in Congress. Accountable.US also launched its Expose Project 2025 campaign to uncover the sprawling dark money network, key funders, and conservative figures behind the extreme Project 2025 effort threatening our democracy. Learn more at ExposeProject2025.org.

 

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