From his perch in the Trump administration's Department of Health and Human Services, Roger Severino made a controversial name for himself, working to shield health workers who declined to perform medical procedures including abortion on religious grounds. After President Donald Trump left office, Severino helped the conservative Heritage Foundation develop a plan to expand that conservative stamp to the broader department, recasting HHS with a focus on traditional marriage and family. The vision is outlined in the Project 2025 "Mandate for Leadership," a blueprint by the foundation and allied groups intended to guide the next presidential administration.
It has emerged as a political flash point, as Democrats portray the 900-page document as promoting an authoritarian power grab by extreme conservatives. Severino, the lead architect of the project's section on HHS, has won praise from conservatives and criticism from LGBTQ+ and other liberal advocacy groups who say he poses a threat to reproductive rights and gender-affirming care. His proposals smack of some of the most heated culture war conflicts shaping the election, from gay rights to gender identity to contraception.
They would likely find support under a conservative administration. Under Severino's vision for HHS, federal approval of one commonly used abortion drug, mifepristone, could be revisited and potentially withdrawn. Health agencies would promote "fertility awareness" as an "unsurpassed" method of contracepti.