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The current Biden-Harris administration and Project 2025, a potential blueprint for a second Trump term, offer starkly different visions for the future of American science. Conversely, Project 2025—a conservative policy roadmap from a think tank featuring input from multiple former government officials — proposes a sweeping overhaul of federal scientific agencies, prioritizing deregulation and achieving energy independence through reliance on traditional fossil fuels. To be clear, Trump has said, “I know nothing about Project 2025. I have no idea who is behind it.” Yet it is also evident that the divergent approaches to science policy between the Harris and Trump camps could reshape the landscape of American research, innovation, and environmental stewardship for decades to come.
Harris. While vice president, Harris joined Biden in proposing substantial investments and reforms aimed at addressing major issues such as climate change, public health, and advancing equity. In a Fact Sheet, the administration emphasized plans to bolster funding for research and development, especially in areas related to climate change and clean energy. The Biden administration’s FY 2025 budget proposal includes $202 billion for federal research and development (R&D), which is a slight increase from previous year. Harris’s campaign website outlines additional proposals, including investments in semiconductors, AI, and other high-tech industries. She also backs expanding access to capital for innovative small businesses and entrepreneurs.
Project 2025. Conversely, Project 2025, from which Trump has distanced himself, proposes a more dramatic restructuring of the scientific landscape. It would, for instance, downsize National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), describing it as “one of the main drivers of the climate change alarm industry” and “harmful to future U.S. prosperity.” Project 2025 would also have implications for many government scientists. As Scientific American noted, a Trump administration would likely reclassify tens of thousands of civil service jobs, including scientific positions, as political appointments answerable to the president. Vox noted that about two-thirds of the authors of Project 2025 had served in the Trump administration. His previous term revealed skepticism towards certain scientific consensuses, especially on climate change, and a focus on economic considerations over environmental regulations.
Breaking down the proposals
The infographic below highlights some of the differences in Harris’s proposals and Project 2025’s approach to science policy. It covers their differences across a range of areas, with Harris emphasizing clean energy, STEM education, and innovation in cutting-edge industries. Conversely, Project 2025 focuses more on energy independence, nuclear weapons development, and restructuring of scientific agencies.
When it comes to manufacturing and job creation, both sides have made claims about their impact. According to FactCheck.org, “the trend under both Presidents Trump and Biden followed a similar pattern: two years of growth after an economic downturn, followed by job losses in the third year.” Yet they note that “Biden has seen an average monthly increase of 18,200 manufacturing jobs per month, compared to 11,600 per month pre-pandemic under Trump.”
The full impact of policies may take time to materialize. FactCheck.org quotes Alan Tonelson, a manufacturing policy analyst on this point: “We will have to wait quite a while longer before we see the full effect of things such as Trump’s tariffs, the investments under Biden and the pandemic.”
The approaches to boosting manufacturing differ between the two camps.
Under the Biden-Harris administration, there has been a significant increase in manufacturing investment. Bureau of Economic Analysis data shows that private investment in manufacturing increased under Biden, up about 90% since the fourth quarter of 2022. Yet the long-term impact of these investments on job creation and productivity remains unclear.
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