Ali Velshi takes a deep dive inside Project 2025, the 900-plus-page conservative playbook for a new Trump administration. Chapter 17 covers the remaking of the U.S. Department of Justice.
Velshi points out that while president, Trump acted as if the DOJ were a political arm of the executive branch — and was deeply frustrated that he couldn’t control the department’s investigations and actions. By design, the DOJ is not under the president’s control. Project 2025 aims to change that.
Project 2025 argues that the DOJ should no longer hand down consent decrees (enforceable plans for improvement where local law enforcement jurisdictions have violated federal protections). The document says the DOJ should initiate legal action against local officials (including district attorneys) who use discretion in prosecutorial decisions. What’s more, it refocuses the federal government’s efforts away from protecting voting rights and instead on using the DOJ to attack voting.
Changing how the DOJ functions, Velshi explains, would shield the administrative agenda Trump has planned from legal challenges, and putting it under the president’s control enables the office to use it as it pleases. That is an enormous red flag, America. The Nation’s Elie Mystal explains.
LISTEN: VELSHI ON PROJECT 2025 & THE DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
WATCH: VELSHI AND ELIE MYSTAL TALK ABOUT THE THREAT OF PRESIDENTIAL CONTROL OVER THE DOJ
