WASHINGTON Ahead of the November elections, Republicans have been scrambling to distance themselves from Project 2025, the Heritage Foundations 900-page, right-wing policy blueprint for radically restructuring the U.S. government under a second Trump presidency.

For Rep. Scott Perry (R-Pa.), who is running for reelection in a very tight race, the exact moment he backed away from it appears to have been between July and August, when he suddenly shifted from celebrating Project 2025 to pretending he didnt know much about it at all.

The issue could come up and could prove to be awkward during Perrys Tuesday night debate with his Democratic challenger, former TV news anchor Janelle Stelson. Its their first and only debate before the November election. The Cook Political Reports rating for this seat in Pennsylvanias 10th congressional district is lean Republican. Perry and Stelson are virtually tied in the polls , per the polling aggregator FiveThirtyEight.

Perry was asked about Project 2025 in a July 13 interview with conservative radio show host Chris Stigall. Democrats and constitutional law experts have been denouncing the plan, which would expand presidential power and aims to impose an ultra-conservative social agenda on the country, as extremist and a significant move to an authoritarian government.

But in his interview, Perry said he agreed with Stigall in that theres nothing secret or subversive about Project 2025, which was put together by former Trump administration officials, and calls for purging thousands of career civil servants from federal government agencies and replacing them with vetted conservatives in a second Trump administration.

Its a coalition of different organizations that are generally like-minded, but not completely, that are trying to be prepared for a future Trump presidency, Perry said of the people behind it.

Making Trump be the bogeyman hasnt really worked over the last year-and-a-half, so now [Democrats] are making it the Heritage Foundation and this thing, this being prepared, having names vetted, having policies prepared, theyre making that the bogeyman, he said.

The Republican congressman said whats great about Project 2025 is that it would mean Trump could hit the ground running on day one of a second term, knowing that career government employees would be in place ready to accept his agenda and carry it out.

These people on the left are scared to death that there actually could be some accountability, and that theyre not going to be able to just sit in there and promote their leftist agenda and say, Oh, Mr. President, we dont work for you. Were just going to wait you out for four years and were going to continue to march towards communism, Perry told Stigall.

Theyre scared to death that theres actually a plan, and that the right is preparing to remove them from the halls of power and get rid of their agenda and stop their agenda, he added.

But a month later, during a tele-town hall on August 21 , Perry acted like he didnt know much about Project 2025 at all when a constituent asked him about it.

To be truthful with you, Anthony, I havent read through it, Perry told the constituent. I mean, Ive seen the cover of maybe the first page or something.