Trump Swore He’d Never Touch Project 2025. Howard Lutnick to Swing the Axe on America’s Small Manufacturers
In the high-stakes world of American manufacturing, where small businesses battle for survival amid global supply chain chaos, one federal program has long been a quiet hero: the Hollings Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP). But under Trump's Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, it's facing an existential threat. Lutnick's push to defund and privatize MEP isn't just a policy tweak, it's a page ripped right out of the controversial Project 2025 blueprint. And while President Trump has repeatedly washed his hands of that very playbook, calling it "extremist" and claiming zero involvement, the parallels are impossible to ignore. Let's unpack this drama, step by step, and see what it means for U.S. factories on Main Street.
The Unsung Backbone of American Manufacturing: What Is MEP?Picture this: A family-owned metal shop in rural Ohio struggling to upgrade its machinery for electric vehicle parts, or a Wisconsin precision toolmaker eyeing automation but short on expertise. Enter the Hollings MEP, a federal lifeline established in 1988 and renamed in 2010 after the late Senator Ernest "Fritz" Hollings.
Run by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), MEP isn't some bloated bureaucracy, it's a lean, nationwide network of centers in all 50 states and Puerto Rico. Through public-private partnerships, it delivers hands-on technical assistance, workforce training, and innovation resources tailored for small and medium-sized manufacturers (SMEs). The goal? Boost productivity, help adopt cutting-edge tech, sharpen competitiveness, and spark job growth. It's credited with generating billions in economic ripple effects, like $2.5 billion in Wisconsin over just two years, without the red tape that often chokes private consulting firms.
In short, MEP is the government's secret sauce for keeping "Made in America" alive and kicking. So why is Lutnick gunning for it?Project 2025: The Conservative Wishlist That Lutnick Can't ResistProject 2025, the Heritage Foundation's 920-page "Mandate for Leadership," is a bold conservative roadmap for overhauling the federal government. Tucked into its Department of Commerce chapter (page 686, to be exact) is a blunt directive: Privatize the Hollings MEP. The rationale? Business advisory services "would be more properly carried out by the private sector." It calls for legislation to slash the program's $150 million annual funding to zero and hand off existing centers to market-driven operators.
This isn't abstract theory, it's a direct blueprint for dismantling what Project 2025 sees as unnecessary government meddling in free enterprise. Fast-forward to 2025, and Howard Lutnick, Trump's handpicked Commerce Secretary confirmed in early January, is executing it with surgical precision. His moves scream "Project 2025 cosplay," even as the White House insists otherwise.Lutnick's Chopping Block: A Timeline of MEP MayhemLutnick wasted no time. In April 2025, the Department of Commerce, via NIST, dropped a bombshell: funding freezes and cuts for at least 10 MEP centers in battleground states like Wisconsin, Ohio, Washington, Maine, and Delaware. The excuse? Redundancy with private options, all in service of phasing out the federal program entirely.
The backlash was swift and bipartisan. Over 80 lawmakers from both parties, plus industry heavyweights, rallied to MEP's defense, touting its proven ROI in jobs and GDP. By late April, political heat forced a partial U-turn: Funding restored for those centers through October 2025, a six-month Band-Aid.
But don't pop the champagne. As of December 2025 (we're talking just days ago on December 5), Ohio's flagship MEP center, MAGNET, slammed into a sudden federal and state funding freeze. Operations halted, jobs teetered, and whispers of a full wind-down grew louder. No outright elimination yet, but the writing's on the wall: Lutnick's aligning lockstep with Project 2025's privatization gospel.
Trump's Tune: "I Know Nothing!" – The Great Project 2025 DenialEnter the elephant in the room, or rather, the elephant who swears he's allergic to peanuts. President Trump has gone out of his way to torch Project 2025, distancing his administration from the "far-right" tome since mid-2024. At the July presidential debate, he snapped, "I know nothing about Project 2025. I have no idea who is behind it." In a fiery Truth Social post, he branded it "extremist" and insisted, "I disagree with some of the things they're saying and some of the things they're saying are absolutely ridiculous and abysmal." By September, he doubled down: "I have nothing to do with Project 2025."
Trump's team even floated blacklisting Project 2025 alumni from key roles, a nod to the plan's toxic optics during the campaign. Yet here we are, less than a year into Term Two, with Lutnick—a Trump mega-donor and CEO of Cantor Fitzgerald—channeling its Commerce playbook verbatim. The irony? A CNN analysis of Trump's first-week executive orders in January 2025 found over two-thirds echoing Project 2025 ideas, from immigration to energy. Actions speak louder than denials, right?No Safety Net: The Privatization Push and Its PitfallsSo, if MEP goes poof, what's the Plan B? Spoiler: There isn't a seamless federal handoff. The administration's endgame is pure privatization, zero federal dollars, existing centers flipped to private hands, and SMEs left to fend via "market-driven" advisors. Critics howl that this could splinter services, especially for rural outfits or cash-strapped firms far from Wall Street's orbit. It's less "efficient upgrade" and more "fire sale" of public goods to connected insiders.
Short-term patches, like those funding extensions, buy time. But lawmakers are digging in for FY2026 battles, with June 2025 hearings exposing the deep cuts on the horizon. If privatization sticks, expect a patchwork of for-profit consultants charging premium rates, great for some, disastrous for the little guys MEP was built to serve.Uncle Sam's New Manufacturing Playbook: Big Bets, Small Oversights?Lutnick's MEP purge isn't happening in a vacuum. The Trump admin is betting big on "America First" incentives to juice manufacturing, swapping broad SME safety nets for flashy public-private partnerships (PPPs) laser-focused on supply chains, semiconductors, and critical minerals. It's a pivot from direct aid to deal-making glamour.
Leading the charge: The Small Business Administration's (SBA) Made in America Manufacturing Initiative, launched in March 2025 with over $500 million. This bad boy targets small manufacturers with loans, grants, and matchmaking for jobs, trade compliance, and resilient supply chains, explicitly plugging MEP-sized holes.Then there's the executive firepower:
The catch? These are high-roller moves favoring mega-projects over MEP's grassroots grind. Amid escalating trade wars, smaller manufacturers gripe that tariffs and uncertainty are the real job-killers. If MEP privatizes fully, SBA hubs might step up, but will they match the network's reach?The Bottom Line: Denials Aside, the Playbook LivesHoward Lutnick's MEP takedown is Project 2025 in action, plain as day privatize, deregulate, let markets rule. Trump's 2024 disavowals painted it as fringe madness, yet 2025's policy trail tells a different story. For America's 250,000+ small manufacturers, the stakes are sky-high: Will privatization unleash innovation, or leave factories in the dust?
Keep an eye on FY2026 budget fights, they'll decide if MEP survives or morphs into a private echo. In the meantime, one thing's clear: When it comes to conservative blueprints, actions Trump words every time. What's your take smart streamlining or shortsighted sabotage? Drop a comment below.
This post draws on public records, congressional hearings, and admin announcements as of December 13, 2025. For the full Project 2025 PDF, head here: Project 2025
Sources: If any link isn't working please contact me or if you see an error. Thanks!
Trump on Project 2025 (July 2024 debate transcript): https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2024-election/trump-project-2025-know-nothing-rcna159987 Trump Truth Social denial (July 2024): https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/1127890123456789012 (archived) CNN analysis of Trump executive orders matching Project 2025: https://www.cnn.com/2025/01/28/politics/trump-executive-orders-project-2025/index.html NIST/Commerce MEP funding cuts announcement (April 2025): https://www.nist.gov/news-events/news/2025/04/nist-announces-mep-funding-review Bipartisan congressional letter defending MEP (April 2025): https://energycommerce.house.gov/posts/bipartisan-lawmakers-urge-commerce-to-restore-mep-funding SBA Made in America Manufacturing Initiative launch (March 2025): https://www.sba.gov/article/2025/03/12/sba-launches-made-america-manufacturing-initiative White House CHIPS Act private investment announcements: https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2025/04/15/fact-sheet-president-trump-secures-200-billion-private-investment-semiconductors/ National Strategic Plan for Advanced Manufacturing (OSTP draft, Dec 2025): https://www.whitehouse.gov/ostp/news-updates/2025/12/10/draft-national-strategic-plan-advanced-manufacturing/
image: "Howard Lutnick interviewed in Nothing Left Unsaid Podcast (2024) 02" by Tim Green - Nothing Left Unsaid is licensed under CC BY 3.0. To view a copy of this license, visit
All truths are easy to understand once they are discovered; the point is to discover them.- Galileo Now You Know
Run by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), MEP isn't some bloated bureaucracy, it's a lean, nationwide network of centers in all 50 states and Puerto Rico. Through public-private partnerships, it delivers hands-on technical assistance, workforce training, and innovation resources tailored for small and medium-sized manufacturers (SMEs). The goal? Boost productivity, help adopt cutting-edge tech, sharpen competitiveness, and spark job growth. It's credited with generating billions in economic ripple effects, like $2.5 billion in Wisconsin over just two years, without the red tape that often chokes private consulting firms.
In short, MEP is the government's secret sauce for keeping "Made in America" alive and kicking. So why is Lutnick gunning for it?Project 2025: The Conservative Wishlist That Lutnick Can't ResistProject 2025, the Heritage Foundation's 920-page "Mandate for Leadership," is a bold conservative roadmap for overhauling the federal government. Tucked into its Department of Commerce chapter (page 686, to be exact) is a blunt directive: Privatize the Hollings MEP. The rationale? Business advisory services "would be more properly carried out by the private sector." It calls for legislation to slash the program's $150 million annual funding to zero and hand off existing centers to market-driven operators.
This isn't abstract theory, it's a direct blueprint for dismantling what Project 2025 sees as unnecessary government meddling in free enterprise. Fast-forward to 2025, and Howard Lutnick, Trump's handpicked Commerce Secretary confirmed in early January, is executing it with surgical precision. His moves scream "Project 2025 cosplay," even as the White House insists otherwise.Lutnick's Chopping Block: A Timeline of MEP MayhemLutnick wasted no time. In April 2025, the Department of Commerce, via NIST, dropped a bombshell: funding freezes and cuts for at least 10 MEP centers in battleground states like Wisconsin, Ohio, Washington, Maine, and Delaware. The excuse? Redundancy with private options, all in service of phasing out the federal program entirely.
The backlash was swift and bipartisan. Over 80 lawmakers from both parties, plus industry heavyweights, rallied to MEP's defense, touting its proven ROI in jobs and GDP. By late April, political heat forced a partial U-turn: Funding restored for those centers through October 2025, a six-month Band-Aid.
But don't pop the champagne. As of December 2025 (we're talking just days ago on December 5), Ohio's flagship MEP center, MAGNET, slammed into a sudden federal and state funding freeze. Operations halted, jobs teetered, and whispers of a full wind-down grew louder. No outright elimination yet, but the writing's on the wall: Lutnick's aligning lockstep with Project 2025's privatization gospel.
Trump's Tune: "I Know Nothing!" – The Great Project 2025 DenialEnter the elephant in the room, or rather, the elephant who swears he's allergic to peanuts. President Trump has gone out of his way to torch Project 2025, distancing his administration from the "far-right" tome since mid-2024. At the July presidential debate, he snapped, "I know nothing about Project 2025. I have no idea who is behind it." In a fiery Truth Social post, he branded it "extremist" and insisted, "I disagree with some of the things they're saying and some of the things they're saying are absolutely ridiculous and abysmal." By September, he doubled down: "I have nothing to do with Project 2025."
Trump's team even floated blacklisting Project 2025 alumni from key roles, a nod to the plan's toxic optics during the campaign. Yet here we are, less than a year into Term Two, with Lutnick—a Trump mega-donor and CEO of Cantor Fitzgerald—channeling its Commerce playbook verbatim. The irony? A CNN analysis of Trump's first-week executive orders in January 2025 found over two-thirds echoing Project 2025 ideas, from immigration to energy. Actions speak louder than denials, right?No Safety Net: The Privatization Push and Its PitfallsSo, if MEP goes poof, what's the Plan B? Spoiler: There isn't a seamless federal handoff. The administration's endgame is pure privatization, zero federal dollars, existing centers flipped to private hands, and SMEs left to fend via "market-driven" advisors. Critics howl that this could splinter services, especially for rural outfits or cash-strapped firms far from Wall Street's orbit. It's less "efficient upgrade" and more "fire sale" of public goods to connected insiders.
Short-term patches, like those funding extensions, buy time. But lawmakers are digging in for FY2026 battles, with June 2025 hearings exposing the deep cuts on the horizon. If privatization sticks, expect a patchwork of for-profit consultants charging premium rates, great for some, disastrous for the little guys MEP was built to serve.Uncle Sam's New Manufacturing Playbook: Big Bets, Small Oversights?Lutnick's MEP purge isn't happening in a vacuum. The Trump admin is betting big on "America First" incentives to juice manufacturing, swapping broad SME safety nets for flashy public-private partnerships (PPPs) laser-focused on supply chains, semiconductors, and critical minerals. It's a pivot from direct aid to deal-making glamour.
Leading the charge: The Small Business Administration's (SBA) Made in America Manufacturing Initiative, launched in March 2025 with over $500 million. This bad boy targets small manufacturers with loans, grants, and matchmaking for jobs, trade compliance, and resilient supply chains, explicitly plugging MEP-sized holes.Then there's the executive firepower:
- March/April 2025 EOs turbocharging the CHIPS Act and domestic minerals, unlocking $200 billion+ in private pledges. Think Micron's $200 billion chip empire in Idaho, New York, and Virginia, or Intel fast-tracking U.S. fabs.
- October 2025 wins like Whirlpool and Stellantis expansions, promising $1 billion+ in appliance and auto jobs.
- The White House's August 2025 "Trump Effect" tracker, spotlighting $5 billion from Pratt Industries for 5,000 swing-state jobs.
The catch? These are high-roller moves favoring mega-projects over MEP's grassroots grind. Amid escalating trade wars, smaller manufacturers gripe that tariffs and uncertainty are the real job-killers. If MEP privatizes fully, SBA hubs might step up, but will they match the network's reach?The Bottom Line: Denials Aside, the Playbook LivesHoward Lutnick's MEP takedown is Project 2025 in action, plain as day privatize, deregulate, let markets rule. Trump's 2024 disavowals painted it as fringe madness, yet 2025's policy trail tells a different story. For America's 250,000+ small manufacturers, the stakes are sky-high: Will privatization unleash innovation, or leave factories in the dust?
Keep an eye on FY2026 budget fights, they'll decide if MEP survives or morphs into a private echo. In the meantime, one thing's clear: When it comes to conservative blueprints, actions Trump words every time. What's your take smart streamlining or shortsighted sabotage? Drop a comment below.
This post draws on public records, congressional hearings, and admin announcements as of December 13, 2025. For the full Project 2025 PDF, head here: Project 2025
Sources: If any link isn't working please contact me or if you see an error. Thanks!
image: "Howard Lutnick interviewed in Nothing Left Unsaid Podcast (2024) 02" by Tim Green - Nothing Left Unsaid is licensed under CC BY 3.0. To view a copy of this license, visit
All truths are easy to understand once they are discovered; the point is to discover them.- Galileo Now You Know
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