Nevada
Project 2025: Nevada’s 5 takeaways from controversial plan
A conservative set of policy proposals has become one of Democrats’ main criticisms of a potential second Trump presidency, and although the former president has tried to distance himself from the controversial project, it continues to weigh down his campaign.
Regardless of how much or how little of the project might get implemented under a second Trump term, it has a few elements that pertain specifically to Nevada.
Project 2025, also known as the “2025 Presidential Transition Project,” is a 900-page blueprint of policy proposals written by authors close to former President Donald Trump and launched by the Heritage Foundation that a Republican presidential candidate could implement in 2025.
Among many other ideas, the project proposes replacing career government officials with political appointees, eliminating the Department of Education, restricting contraception and reversing policies that allow transgender people to serve in the military.
Vice President Kamala Harris and her supporters warned Trump would implement aspects of Project 2025 during her rally in Las Vegas, echoing an increasingly common Democratic attack against Republicans.
Trump has said on his social media platform that he knows “nothing about Project 2025” and has “no idea who is behind it.” His campaign has instead focused on the 16-page GOP platform that highlights energy independence, securing the southern border, implementing tax cuts and the “no tax on tips” plan, and securing elections through voter ID and paper ballots.
Here’s what Project 2025 has to say about Nevada.
1. It calls to “restore readiness” of nuclear testing.
In its section about defense, one of the authors of Project 2025, Christopher Miller, wrote the U.S. must restore its nuclear infrastructure so that it is “capable of producing and maintaining nuclear weapons.”
It specifically proposes restoring readiness to test nuclear weapons at the Nevada National Security Site, located about 65 miles northwest from Las Vegas, to ensure the U.S. can respond quickly to “asymmetric technology surprises.”
Nevada has not conducted an explosive nuclear test since 1992, when President George H.W. Bush signed legislation imposing a moratorium on nuclear testing. Since then, the security site’s primary mission has been to support nuclear nonproliferation, or preventing an increase in nuclear weapons.
Project 2025 also says in its energy chapter that the U.S. and the NNSA “needs to make the design, development, and deployment of new nuclear warheads a top priority.” It says the U.S. lacks sufficient plutonium production capabilities.
It also calls for rejecting the ratification of the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty and instead “indicate a willingness to conduct nuclear tests in response to adversary nuclear developments if necessary.”
2. It calls for taking another look at Yucca Mountain.
In 2002, the Department of Energy recommended Yucca Mountain, 90 miles northwest of Las Vegas, as a federal nuclear waste repository. Efforts to move forward on the project have come up over the years, but each time they came to a screeching halt, largely due to the resounding bipartisan opposition from Nevada’s federal officials.
Project 2025, however, calls for it to be looked at again and for its licensing process to be restarted.
“Providing a plan for the proper disposal of civilian nuclear waste is essential to the promotion of nuclear power in the United States,” the Project 2025 chapter written by Bernard L. McNamee, says.
The project calls for the next presidential administration to work with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to review the Department of Energy’s permit application for Yucca Mountain.
“Yucca Mountain remains a viable option for waste management, and DOE should recommit to working with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission as it reviews DOE’s permit application for a repository,” it reads.
McNamee stressed, however, that finishing the review of the project does not mean Yucca Mountain would be completed and operational but “merely presents all information for the State of Nevada, Congress, the nuclear industry, and the Administration to use as the basis for informed decisions.”
3. It proposes a humane disposal of Nevada’s wild horses and burros.
The country’s wild horses and burros — about 60 percent of which live on public land in Nevada — are an icon of the American West but for years have been struggling with overpopulation. To control the population, the Bureau of Land Management has instituted multiple programs, from sterilization to adoptions.
Project 2025 author William Perry Pendley wrote in the Department of the Interior Chapter that those programs are not enough to solve the problem. He called on Congress to enact laws permitting the Bureau of Land Management to “dispose humanely” of some wild horses and burros to curb overpopulation.
BLM allows for the euthanasia of a wild horse or burro if it is sick and has a poor prognosis for recovery, according to the Bureau of Land Management’s guidance for euthanasia.
4. It could adjust Nevada’s national monument territories.
Project 2025 says the new presidential administration should review national monument designations to see if they were improperly designated. It will “permit a fresh look at past monument decrees and new ones by President Biden.”
That could include Avi Kwa Ame.
It would also like to see the size of national monuments to be reduced, and it calls to repeal the Antiquities Act of 1906, which allowed Biden to designate Avi Kwa Ame as a national monument.
5. Nevada’s water storage could be updated.
Project 2025 also includes provisions relating to western water storage. It calls for developing additional water storage capacity in the west by updating dam water control manuals for facilities, reducing bureaucratic inefficiencies by consolidating federal water working groups, adopting improvements related to forecast informed reservoir operations and aerial snow observation systems.
It also calls for clarifying the Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act in order to foster more opportunities for locally led investment in water infrastructure.
During his first presidency, Trump issued a memorandum aiming to streamline water infrastructure processes and improve use of technology to increase water reliability. Project 2025 calls for reinstating that memorandum.
Contact Jessica Hill at jehill@reviewjournal.com. Follow @jess_hillyeah on X.
Nevada’s List of Excluded Persons — the notorious “Black Book” filled with names of people forever banned from the state’s big casinos — is expected to change over the next few months as the Nevada Gaming Commission on Thursday will consider the addition of the 39th person to be listed and a petition from a person already listed to be removed.
The five-member commission will consider the inclusion of San Juan Capistrano, California, resident Mathew Raymond Bowyer, who pleaded guilty to federal charges of running an illegal gambling business, money laundering and filing a false tax return. He took sports bets from an estimated 700 gamblers, including Ippei Mizuhara, the former interpreter and de facto agent for Los Angeles Dodgers baseball superstar Shohei Ohtani.
Thursday’s commission meeting begins at 9 a.m., an hour earlier than when the panel normally gathers. The meeting is in Las Vegas and is livestreamed on the Nevada Gaming Control Board’s YouTube channel.
Bowyer served about five months of a one-year, one-day sentence that began in October. He was released from a federal prison in Lompoc, California, to a halfway house in March and will be on supervised probation for two years.
Won’t fight inclusion
In a February telephone interview with the Las Vegas Review-Journal, Bowyer indicated he does not expect to fight inclusion to the list, citing the expense of hiring an attorney to represent him. As of Tuesday, there was no indication from Gaming Control Board representatives that Bowyer would attend the hearing, although he has been notified of it.
But in his interview with the Review-Journal, Bowyer expressed his disdain for being considered for inclusion in the book, which lists the worst of the worst criminals that regulators say should be banned from Nevada casinos for committing crimes that hurt the gaming industry and could bring a bad reputation to the state.
“I think it’s absolutely ridiculous that they are telling me I can’t set foot in a licensed gaming property in the state of Nevada,” Bowyer said in the interview. “I mean, I understand that they don’t want me to be able to gamble again, but to tell me I can’t take my 4-year-old boy to Circus Circus or go have dinner at Javier’s at Aria to me is the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever heard of.”
Fall guy
Bowyer said he believes he is “the fall guy for everything and everybody in this situation.”
He said the day before the RJ interview that he was visited by two Control Board agents who notified him of his nomination to the list and explained his options for fighting inclusion. But he doubts he’ll fight it because he said he can’t afford the legal representation needed to make his case before the commission.
In the wake of Bowyer’s case, three casino companies have been disciplined by the Gaming Commission and fined.
Bowyer’s name has come up in three previous disciplinary actions taken in 2025 involving fines of $10.5 million assessed to Resorts World Las Vegas and its parent company, Genting Berhad, in March; an $8.5 million fine against MGM Resorts International in April; and a $7.8 million fine against Caesars Entertainment Inc. in November.
Those actions involved the second-, fourth- and fifth-highest fines ever assessed in a gaming disciplinary matter.
Nicole Bowyer
There’s still unfinished business before the Gaming Commission for Bowyer’s wife, Nicole Bowyer.
More than a year ago, on Jan. 30, 2025, the Gaming Commission delayed action on a complaint against Nicole Bowyer, who worked as an independent agent for Resorts World Las Vegas.
Nicole Bowyer faced at least a five-year ban as an agent who encourages a gambler to play at a specific casino and is paid a commission from the casino based on the player’s losses.
Commissioners put off a decision on a stipulation for settlement with her because they wanted to see her hit with stiffer penalties. Commissioners separately said they wanted to see Nicole Bowyer fined or possibly have her agent status revoked for life.
Mathew Bowyer alleges that Resorts World never trained his wife about money-laundering compliance, saying casino operators “never did one ounce of AML (anti-money-laundering) training.”
“That was something that was supposed to be done,” he said. “I found out later because I knew nothing about being a casino host and nor did my wife because they were so hungry for our business. They clearly were OK with that. But the fact that they did zero training. I feel like it’s just completely, you know, unfair would be the best word I could use.”
Since Resorts World was fined, Genting has made several moves to bolster AML compliance, including applying for and receiving licensing for two board members, former Nevada Gov. Brian Sandoval and former Gaming Control Board Chairman A.G. Burnett.
If approved for inclusion on the list, Bowyer would become its 39th member, after commissioners unanimously approved the inclusion of Newport Coast, California, resident Wayne Nix as No. 38 in February.
Nix, a former minor league baseball pitcher, is an illegal bookmaker whose casino play at MGM Grand, The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas and other MGM Resort properties led to former MGM Grand President Scott Sibella pleading guilty to failing to report to federal officers about illegal gamblers playing at the casino when he worked there in 2018.
Prospective removal
While Bowyer’s inclusion would add to the list, commissioners also will consider the unprecedented removal of a living person from it.
Scheduled right before the Bowyer hearing is discussion of a petition for the removal of Francis Citro Jr., 80, whose attorney asked in November for a hearing on the matter.
A popular entertainer at Las Vegas’ Italian American Club, Citro is hoping his removal from the list would enable him to perform his collection of bebop music, Italian folk songs, jokes and stories about Las Vegas’ mob past in a casino lounge setting some day.
Las Vegas attorney Michael Lasher submitted the 10-page request to be removed from the list in November saying Citro has changed his life since he was placed on the list Nov. 21, 1991.
In a hearing in January, Lasher said, “In the decades that have passed, petitioner’s character and reputation have become stellar. He is a reformed man, doing good for his community by charity fundraising as an entertainer.”
In January, commissioners opted to delay a hearing by a month and then Citro asked for a further delay until April in order to prepare his case.
No decision Thursday
At Thursday’s hearing, commissioners aren’t expected to render a decision on removal, but to decide whether to schedule a comprehensive hearing on Citro’s request. If commissioners vote against it, the matter would be considered resolved and Citro would remain on the list. If a hearing is set, Citro could bring witnesses to testify to his character before a decision on removal is considered.
If successful, Citro would be the first living person ever removed from the list.
The Gaming Commission routinely peruses the list to remove people who have died over the years. Currently, there are at least two people on the list who have died in recent years.
Contact Richard N. Velotta at rvelotta@reviewjournal.com or 702-477-3893. Follow @RickVelotta on X.
TOP FINES
Here’s a list of the top 10 fines imposed by the Nevada Gaming Commission for disciplinary action against casinos.
1. Wynn Resorts Ltd., $20 million, 2019.
2. Resorts World Las Vegas, $10.5 million, 2025
3. Steve Wynn, $10 million, 2023.
4. MGM Resorts International, $8.5 million, 2025
5. Caesars Entertainment, $7.8 million, 2025
T6. CG Technology (then known as Cantor G&W Holdings), $5.5 million, 2014.
T6. Wynn Resorts Ltd., $5.5 million, 2025.
8. The Mirage, $5 million ($3 million fine, $2 million compensatory payment), 2003.
9. Stardust, $3 million, 1985.
10. Santa Fe Station, $2.2 million ($1.5 million fine, $700,000 compensatory payment), 2005.
LAS VEGAS (FOX5) — UNLV turned its student union plaza into a push to save lives as Nevada faces a need for organ donors.
University police and Nevada Donor Network hosted “Dogs, Donuts and Donate Life,” using K9 meet-and-greets and free donuts to get students and staff to stop by, learn about donation, and sign up on the spot.
“Partnering with police agencies, our first responders, is important here during Nationals April’s Donate Life Month because we can spread awareness about organ, eye, and tissue donation together as a trusted community source and also answer any myths or misconceptions, questions people might have about the donation process here in our community,” said Samantha Savalli of Nevada Donor Network.
MORE ON FOX5: Nevada Donor Network achieves record-breaking year for organ transplants
People can register at the DMV.
According to Nevada Donor Network, more than 100,000 Americans are waiting for an organ transplant right now including more than 700 people in Nevada. More than 1.6 million Nevadans are already registered as organ donors, but the need is still urgent.
For more information about organ, eye and tissue donation, visit www.nvdonor.org .
Copyright 2026 KVVU. All rights reserved.
LAS VEGAS (KSNV) — Fierce widespread winds return to Southern Nevada on Tuesday!
TODAY
Wind alerts are in place across the Silver State, including HIGH WIND WARNINGS for Esmeralda and Nye County for wind gusts up to 60 mph.
Locally, a WIND ADVISORY will be in effect from 2:00 pm to 11:00 pm today in Clark County for sustained south winds 20-30 mph and wind gusts around 45 mph. Higher wind speeds 50-60 mph will be possible in the mountains. Similar gusty winds will occur across Lincoln County as well.
Rain/snow showers will be possible mainly across northern and central Nevada as this storm passes with the snow level dropping to 5,000-6,000 ft. Around a foot of snow is forecast in parts of the Sierra above 10,000 ft in elevation.
Meanwhile, we’ll see lots of sunshine in Las Vegas with “cooler” high temperatures reaching 86 degrees. That’s down from yesterday’s high of 90 degrees officially at the airport. Winds will start off light, increasing to 15-25 mph sustained winds this afternoon with wind gusts 35-45 mph.
Air quality is ranked ‘good’ to ‘moderate’ for ozone and blowing dust. Pollen levels are ‘low.’
TONIGHT
We’ll see mostly clear skies, gusty winds and colder valley low temperatures dropping to the mid 50s.
Winds will continue out of the southwest, 20-30 mph.
WHAT’S NEXT
Temperatures will drop around 10 degrees by Wednesday with valley highs in the mid 70s. Breezes will linger with west/southwest winds 10-15 mph with gusts around 25 mph.
We have a brief warm-up Thursday and Friday, ahead of another weather maker moving in this weekend. As of right now, weather models indicate breezes picking up Saturday and Sunday (SW winds 10-15 mph with gusts to 25 mph). A slight chance of mountain showers will be possible (20% odds Saturday & 30% odds Sunday on Mt. Charleston).
Temperatures will start warming up again beyond the 7-day with valley highs back in the low 80s NEXT Tuesday through Thursday.
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