{"id":1051683,"date":"2025-02-26T17:36:46","date_gmt":"2025-02-26T22:36:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/democrats.org\/?p=1051683"},"modified":"2025-02-26T17:36:46","modified_gmt":"2025-02-26T22:36:46","slug":"trump-stacks-his-project-2025-justice-department-with-another-anti-choice-extremist","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/democrats.org\/news\/trump-stacks-his-project-2025-justice-department-with-another-anti-choice-extremist\/","title":{"rendered":"Trump Stacks His Project 2025 Justice Department With Another Anti-Choice Extremist"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

In response to Trump\u2019s nominee for Solicitor General, D. John Sauer, testifying before the Senate Judiciary Committee today, <\/em>DNC Rapid Response Spokesperson Aida Ross released the following statement:<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAfter spending the entire campaign lying to the American people and trying to distance himself from his wildly unpopular<\/a> Project 2025 agenda, Donald Trump continues to stack his administration with anti-choice extremists pushing their dangerous vision for America. D. John Sauer\u2019s extremism will risk Americans\u2019 basic rights \u2013 and put women\u2019s lives on the line as he threatens access to reproductive health care \u2014 including contraception.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Trump\u2019s choice for solicitor general, D. John Sauer, is a Project 2025-linked extremist who\u2019s fought against reproductive freedoms and basic rights like marriage equality. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

CNN<\/a>: \u201cThe nominee for US solicitor general has opposed abortion rights, birth-control access and same-sex marriage.<\/strong> He backed efforts to overturn Trump\u2019s election defeat in 2020 …<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cDuring Sauer\u2019s time as Missouri solicitor general, a state health director reportedly gathered information on menstrual cycles and pregnancies. The information emerged in a 2019 hearing over the state\u2019s effort to deny Planned Parenthood a license to perform abortions.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis year, according to Missouri Ethics Commission figures, Sauer contributed $777,000 to the Missouri Right to Life political action committee and two other groups <\/strong>opposed to a ballot measure, known as Amendment 3, to ensure abortion rights in the state. …<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cFrom 2017 to 2023, Sauer served as the Missouri state solicitor, first taking the position at the urging of then attorney general (and now US senator) Josh Hawley. He joined with other Republican-run states in briefs<\/strong> to the high court against federal Covid vaccine mandates for certain health care workers and against abortion rights, including in the Dobbs v. Jackson Women\u2019s Health Organization case that led to the reversal of Roe v. Wade in 2022.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Heritage Foundation<\/a>: \u201cProject 2025 Reaches 100 Coalition Partners, Continues to Grow in Preparation for Next President \u2026 The 100 groups that make up the advisory board include: \u2026 Ethics and Public Policy Center\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ethics and Public Policy Center<\/a>: \u201cOn July 20, our attorney John Sauer<\/strong>\u2014a brilliant legal mind and a force of nature in the courtroom\u2014testified before a Congressional hearing of the House Select Subcommittee on the Weaponization of Government.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sauer\u2019s record is in line with Trump and Project 2025\u2019s calls to defund Planned Parenthood and use reproductive health data to monitor pregnancies. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rolling Stone<\/a>: \u201cTrump and Vance Have Backed States That Want to Surveil Pregnant Women\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cTrump and his vice presidential pick are now both saying abortion should be left up to the states, even though they both previously signaled support for national bans. They have also, alarmingly, both suggested they would be OK with states moving to surveil women\u2019s pregnancies.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIn May, a host at WGAL, an NBC affiliate in Pennsylvania, noted to Trump that there were ads running that suggested he would support certain states with bans monitoring women\u2019s pregnancies. \u2018Well, that would be up to the states, again,\u2019 Trump responded. \u2026<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cVance, an Ohio senator, has gone further.<\/strong> Last summer, he signed onto a congressional letter calling on the Biden administration to withdraw a draft rule designed to prevent police in states with abortion bans from using personal health information to track and potentially charge people who travel to other states for abortion care.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Project 2025 Mandate for Leadership, p. 497<\/a>: \u201cOCR should withdraw its Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) guidance on abortion.<\/strong> OCR should withdraw its June 2022 guidance that purports to address patient privacy concerns following the Dobbs decision but is actually a politicized statement in favor of abortion and against Dobbs. HIPAA covers patients in the womb, but this guidance treats them as nonpersons contrary to law. The guidance is unnecessary and contributes to ideologically motivated fearmongering about abortion after Dobbs.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Project 2025 Mandate for Leadership, page 471<\/a>: \u201cProhibit Planned Parenthood from receiving Medicaid funds \u2026 Policymakers should end taxpayer funding of Planned Parenthood.\u201d <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

REMINDER: Sauer isn\u2019t the first Project 2025 extremist Trump has installed to lead the Justice Department \u2014 Pam Bondi is an ardent Project 2025 supporter, helping lead an organization that worked \u201cto implement Project 2025\u201d before being tapped for Attorney General.  <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

America First Policy Institute<\/a>: \u201cPam Bondi<\/strong> is from Tampa, Florida, and serves as the Chair for the Center for Litigation, and Co-Chair of the Center for Law and Justice at AFPI<\/strong>.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Politico<\/a>: \u201cFor the America First Policy Institute, which is helping to implement Project 2025<\/strong>, its grandest ambitions lie in soliciting governors and state attorneys general to the cause, among others.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

New York Times<\/a>: \u201cFounded by three wealthy Texans in late 2020, the group, known as A.F.P.I., has quickly inserted itself into nearly every corner of Mr. Trump\u2019s political machine<\/strong>, and is closer than any other outside player in his planning for a second term.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Trump\u2019s new administration is full of Project 2025 extremists that would ban abortion nationwide, threaten access to IVF and contraception, and rip away reproductive freedoms.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rolling Stone<\/a>: \u201cTrump Wants to Ban Abortion Nationwide: Report\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Trump<\/a>: \u201cThere of course remains a vital role for the federal government in protecting unborn life. And it\u2019s very important.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Trump<\/a>: \u201cThere has to be some form of punishment [for women who have an abortion].\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Interviewer<\/a>: \u201cThere are ads running that say that you would support certain states with bans monitoring a woman\u2019s pregnancy.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Trump: \u201cWell that would be up to the states, again. They will make a decision as to how they do it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Washington Post<\/a>: \u201c<\/strong>Vance urged DOJ to enforce Comstock Act, crack down on abortion pills\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

New Republic<\/a>: \u201cOn January 20, 2025, conservatives plan to resurrect a 150-year-old defunct law to ban abortion across the nation.<\/strong> This is not a secret plan\u2014far from it. It\u2019s part of the 180-Day Playbook produced by Project 2025, detailing priorities for an incoming conservative president on day one.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Politico<\/a>: \u201cAnti-abortion advocates worked for five decades to topple Roe v. Wade. They\u2019re now laying the groundwork for a yearslong fight to curb in vitro fertilization.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSince the Alabama Supreme Court ruled last month that frozen embryos are children, the Heritage Foundation and other conservative groups have been strategizing how to convince not just GOP officials but evangelicals broadly that they should have serious moral concerns about fertility treatments like IVF and that access to them should be curtailed.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Politico<\/a>: \u201c[Project 2025] also proposes increasing surveillance of abortion and maternal mortality reporting in the states, compelling the Food and Drug Administration to revoke approval of \u2018chemical abortion drugs\u2019 and protecting \u2018religious and moral\u2019 objections for employers who decline contraception coverage for employees.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

CBS News<\/a>: \u201cIn recommendations for the Department of Health and Human Services, [Project 2025] calls for the Food and Drug Administration to reverse its 24-year-old approval of the widely used abortion pill mifepristone.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Washington Post<\/a>: \u201cThe [Project 2025] document, compiled with multiple people and groups who worked in and with the Trump administration, calls for erasing terms including \u2018abortion,\u2019 \u2018reproductive health,\u2019 \u2018gender\u2019 and \u2018gender equality\u2019 from \u2018every federal rule, agency regulation, contract, grant, regulation, and piece of legislation that exists.\u2019\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In response to Trump\u2019s nominee for Solicitor General, D. John Sauer, testifying before the Senate Judiciary Committee today, DNC Rapid Response Spokesperson Aida Ross released the following statement: \u201cAfter spending the entire campaign lying to the American people and trying to distance himself from his wildly unpopular Project 2025 agenda, Donald Trump continues to stack […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":292,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1051683","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-press-release"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nTrump Stacks His Project 2025 Justice Department With Another Anti-Choice Extremist - Democrats<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/democrats.org\/news\/trump-stacks-his-project-2025-justice-department-with-another-anti-choice-extremist\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Democrats\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-02-26T22:36:46+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/democrats.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/Black-Logo-White-Fill-For-Email.png?w=1024\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Adrianna Tomasello\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Adrianna Tomasello\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"6 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/democrats.org\/news\/trump-stacks-his-project-2025-justice-department-with-another-anti-choice-extremist\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/democrats.org\/news\/trump-stacks-his-project-2025-justice-department-with-another-anti-choice-extremist\/\",\"name\":\"Trump Stacks His Project 2025 Justice Department With Another Anti-Choice Extremist - Democrats\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/democrats.org\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/democrats.org\/news\/trump-stacks-his-project-2025-justice-department-with-another-anti-choice-extremist\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/democrats.org\/news\/trump-stacks-his-project-2025-justice-department-with-another-anti-choice-extremist\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/democrats.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/Black-Logo-White-Fill-For-Email.png?w=1024\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-02-26T22:36:46+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/democrats.org\/#\/schema\/person\/00292e8c1694c8322513663ebb5f246f\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/democrats.org\/news\/trump-stacks-his-project-2025-justice-department-with-another-anti-choice-extremist\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/democrats.org\/news\/trump-stacks-his-project-2025-justice-department-with-another-anti-choice-extremist\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/democrats.org\/news\/trump-stacks-his-project-2025-justice-department-with-another-anti-choice-extremist\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/democrats.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/Black-Logo-White-Fill-For-Email.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/democrats.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/Black-Logo-White-Fill-For-Email.png\",\"width\":1101,\"height\":483},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/democrats.org\/news\/trump-stacks-his-project-2025-justice-department-with-another-anti-choice-extremist\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/democrats.org\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Trump Stacks His Project 2025 Justice Department With Another Anti-Choice Extremist\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/democrats.org\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/democrats.org\/\",\"name\":\"Democrats\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/democrats.org\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/democrats.org\/#\/schema\/person\/00292e8c1694c8322513663ebb5f246f\",\"name\":\"Adrianna Tomasello\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/democrats.org\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/f1caa4627f6a3abd6a1daf936cdbaf4406f86f7fcb6a945d915b685b27e7f9a3?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/f1caa4627f6a3abd6a1daf936cdbaf4406f86f7fcb6a945d915b685b27e7f9a3?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Adrianna Tomasello\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/democrats.org\/news\/author\/tomaselloa\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Trump Stacks His Project 2025 Justice Department With Another Anti-Choice Extremist - Democrats","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/democrats.org\/news\/trump-stacks-his-project-2025-justice-department-with-another-anti-choice-extremist\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_site_name":"Democrats","article_published_time":"2025-02-26T22:36:46+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"https:\/\/democrats.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/Black-Logo-White-Fill-For-Email.png?w=1024","type":"","width":"","height":""}],"author":"Adrianna Tomasello","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Adrianna Tomasello","Est. reading time":"6 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/democrats.org\/news\/trump-stacks-his-project-2025-justice-department-with-another-anti-choice-extremist\/","url":"https:\/\/democrats.org\/news\/trump-stacks-his-project-2025-justice-department-with-another-anti-choice-extremist\/","name":"Trump Stacks His Project 2025 Justice Department With Another Anti-Choice Extremist - Democrats","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/democrats.org\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/democrats.org\/news\/trump-stacks-his-project-2025-justice-department-with-another-anti-choice-extremist\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/democrats.org\/news\/trump-stacks-his-project-2025-justice-department-with-another-anti-choice-extremist\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/democrats.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/Black-Logo-White-Fill-For-Email.png?w=1024","datePublished":"2025-02-26T22:36:46+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/democrats.org\/#\/schema\/person\/00292e8c1694c8322513663ebb5f246f"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/democrats.org\/news\/trump-stacks-his-project-2025-justice-department-with-another-anti-choice-extremist\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/democrats.org\/news\/trump-stacks-his-project-2025-justice-department-with-another-anti-choice-extremist\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/democrats.org\/news\/trump-stacks-his-project-2025-justice-department-with-another-anti-choice-extremist\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/democrats.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/Black-Logo-White-Fill-For-Email.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/democrats.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/Black-Logo-White-Fill-For-Email.png","width":1101,"height":483},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/democrats.org\/news\/trump-stacks-his-project-2025-justice-department-with-another-anti-choice-extremist\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/democrats.org\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Trump Stacks His Project 2025 Justice Department With Another Anti-Choice Extremist"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/democrats.org\/#website","url":"https:\/\/democrats.org\/","name":"Democrats","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/democrats.org\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/democrats.org\/#\/schema\/person\/00292e8c1694c8322513663ebb5f246f","name":"Adrianna Tomasello","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/democrats.org\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/f1caa4627f6a3abd6a1daf936cdbaf4406f86f7fcb6a945d915b685b27e7f9a3?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/f1caa4627f6a3abd6a1daf936cdbaf4406f86f7fcb6a945d915b685b27e7f9a3?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Adrianna Tomasello"},"url":"https:\/\/democrats.org\/news\/author\/tomaselloa\/"}]}},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/democrats.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1051683","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/democrats.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/democrats.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/democrats.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/292"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/democrats.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1051683"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/democrats.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1051683\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1051684,"href":"https:\/\/democrats.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1051683\/revisions\/1051684"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/democrats.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1051683"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/democrats.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1051683"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/democrats.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1051683"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}