Exclusive analysis of hacked documents has exposed the extent of far-right ideological influences among applicants seeking roles in a second Trump administration through the powerful conservative initiative known as Project 2025.
The Database Breach and Its Contents
The leaked materials originate from the Heritage Foundation, the influential right-wing thinktank behind Project 2025. This initiative was designed to create a radical conservative agenda and assemble a talent pool of politically aligned candidates for staffing a potential new Republican administration.
In June 2025, the transparency non-profit Distributed Denial of Secrets (DDOSecrets) released the contents of a database containing 13,726 applications submitted to the Project 2025 Presidential Administration Academy. This academy was widely promoted in conservative media in early 2024 as a pathway to administration roles.
Applicants were required to detail their political philosophy, identify primary influences on their views, and name books and public figures that shaped their thinking. The Guardian sourced and analysed this data, contacting all individuals named in this report for comment.
Admiration for Nazi-Era Theorists
Dozens of applicants expressed admiration for Carl Schmitt, a German political theorist known as the "crown jurist of the Third Reich" for his collaboration with the Nazi regime.
Ville Suuronen, a research fellow at the University of Turku in Finland, explained Schmitt's legacy: "After Schmitt joined the Nazi party in late April of 1933, he revolutionized his legal theory according to the ideological principles of National Socialism and did everything he could to legitimize the Nazi party and the policies of Adolf Hitler."
Notably, some applicants who cited Schmitt have since secured positions within the Trump administration. Paul Ingrassia, recently appointed as deputy general counsel of the General Services Administration, listed Schmitt's works among the books that influenced him. His sister, Olivia Ingrassia, now working in the Office of Management and Budget, also cited Schmitt as an influence in her application.
Another applicant, Max Matheu, now an attorney adviser at the State Department, nominated Schmitt's "The Concept of the Political" as an influential book, writing that "The friend/enemy distinction is the cardinal concept that undergirds all politics."
Extremist Influences and Secret Societies
The leaked applications reveal influences extending beyond historical figures to contemporary extremist thinkers. Several applicants expressed admiration for Jared Taylor, a prominent white nationalist and founder of the American Renaissance website.
Others cited lesser-known far-right figures, including Neema Parvini, a British writer who reportedly lost an academic position over his far-right activism and has claimed on social media that black and white people are "different species."
The analysis identified at least seven applicants who are members of the Old Glory Club, a far-right, men-only secret society that has established at least 26 clubs nationwide. While none appear to have secured administration positions, their applications contained explicitly nativist views.
Ryan Turnipseed, a founding member of the Old Glory Club, wrote in his application supporting "Freedom of association and the right to discriminate." He argued that anti-discrimination laws had been "disastrous" for American society.
Authoritarian Admiration and Institutional Response
Dozens of applicants expressed admiration for Nayib Bukele, the authoritarian president of El Salvador known for his brutal prison system. Applicant Jackson Kitchin, now a federal law clerk, wrote that "Bukele has shown the world that morality is objective" and looked forward to a time when the US president would have more centralized power.
Hannah Gais, a senior analyst at the Southern Poverty Law Center, commented: "Given Project 2025's reactionary goals, it's no surprise that these applicants would cite any myriad of influences peddling such authoritarian and anti-democratic rhetoric."
When contacted for comment, a Heritage Foundation spokesman dismissed The Guardian as a "leftist gossip rag" whose "dishonesty is matched only by its uselessness." Sources at Heritage stated they would not know the political views of applicants applying through a public link nor be able to screen them.
The revelations come amid a developing "civil war" on the right about the influence of the antisemitic far right, which has included internal dissension at the Heritage Foundation itself.
