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By Gram Slattery
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The director of a conservative policymaking group known as Project 2025, which has drawn criticism from Democrats for its hard-right proposals and has become a campaign liability for Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, has stepped down.
Trump's campaign has repeatedly tried to distance itself from the group, which pushes for a major expansion of presidential power, among other controversial proposals, although many of his close allies are deeply involved in the project.
The conservative Heritage Foundation, which is organizing the project, confirmed that Paul Dans was stepping down, but did not provide a reason for his departure.
On Tuesday, Trump's co-campaign managers, Chris LaCivita and Susie Wiles, said they would welcome the "demise" of Project 2025, although the group had not ended its work.
"Reports of Project 2025's demise would be greatly welcomed and should serve as notice to anyone or any group trying to misrepresent their influence with President Trump and his campaign - it will not end well for you," they said in a statement.
Trump and his aides have frequently complained that Project 2025 is misrepresenting itself as an official policymaking arm of his campaign. For their part, Democrats have made a concerted effort to raise awareness of the project among voters and turn it into a symbol of the hard-right political shift they say would occur if Trump wins in November.
That criticism has led to public blowback and a political headache for Trump. The former president is set to face off against Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris in the Nov. 5 election.
At its heart, Project 2025 is a series of detailed policy proposals put together by hundreds of high-profile conservatives that the project's participants hope Trump adopts if elected.
Trump agrees with many, but not all, of the policies supported by the project, which include curbing the Justice Department's independence and eliminating the Department of Education.
Participants in the project have also assembled lists of thousands of conservatives that could be slotted into politically appointed positions throughout the government in the opening days of a Trump administration.
Kevin Roberts, the president of the Heritage Foundation, said Project 2025's work would continue. The group's policy drafting operations would conclude after the Democratic National Convention in late August, as previously planned, he said in a statement.
(Reporting by Gram Slattery; Editing by Ross Colvin and Stephen Coates)
