Cuts

2017

2017-01-01 Trump proposed a 16% cut to NOAA and deeper cuts to the Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research. Congress rejected both.

https://www.aip.org/fyi/2017/trump-budget-cuts-noaa-16-slashes-research-funding-even-deeper

https://thebridge.agu.org/2017/05/31/noaa-cut-16-president-trumps-budget-request/

https://www.nrdc.org/bio/alison-chase/trump-budget-slashes-coastal-and-ocean-funding

https://www.nature.com/articles/nature.2017.21652

2025 January

2025-01-20 Project 2025 (pp. 674–675) labels several NOAA-related agencies as climate alarmists and calls for dismantling or restructuring them (The National Ocean Service, The Oceanic and Atmospheric Research, The National Environmental Satellite, Data and information Service, The national Marine Fisheries Service, and the Office of Marine and Aviation Operations and NOAA Corps).

https://static.heritage.org/project2025/2025_MandateForLeadership_FULL.pdf

2025-01-20 Trump rescinded Executive Order 13990 Protecting Public Health and the Environment and Restoring Science To Tackle the Climate Crisis.

https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/01/initial-rescissions-of-harmful-executive-orders-and-actions/

2025-01-20 Trump rescinded Executive Order 14008 Tackling the Climate Crisis at Home and Abroad.

https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/01/initial-rescissions-of-harmful-executive-orders-and-actions/

2025-01-20 Trump rescinded Executive Order 14027 Establishment of the Climate Change Support Office.

https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/01/initial-rescissions-of-harmful-executive-orders-and-actions/

2025-01-20 Trump rescinded Executive Order 14030 Climate-Related Financial Risk.

https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/01/initial-rescissions-of-harmful-executive-orders-and-actions/

2025-01-20 Trump rescinded The Presidential Memorandum Withdrawal of Certain Areas off the United States Arctic Coast of the Outer Continental Shelf from Oil or Gas Leasing and reopened previously protected Arctic offshore areas to oil and gas leasing.

https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/01/initial-rescissions-of-harmful-executive-orders-and-actions/

2025-01-20 Trump rescinded Executive Order 14096 Revitalizing Our Nation’s Commitment to Environmental Justice for All.

https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/01/initial-rescissions-of-harmful-executive-orders-and-actions/

2025-01-20 Trump rescinded Executive Order 14037 Strengthening American Leadership in Clean Cars and Trucks.

https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/01/initial-rescissions-of-harmful-executive-orders-and-actions/

2025-01-20 Trump rescinded Executive Order 14082 Implementation of the Energy and Infrastructure Provisions of the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022.

https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/01/initial-rescissions-of-harmful-executive-orders-and-actions/

2025 February

2025-02-01 DOGE terminated hundreds of NOAA probationary employees, affecting weather forecasting, weather balloon launches, leadership positions, and around-the-clock operations.

https://www.nbcwashington.com/news/national-international/hundreds-weather-forecasters-fired-doge-cuts/3855161/

https://www.fox13news.com/news/hundreds-federal-noaa-employees-including-weather-forecasters-fired-doge-cuts

https://apnews.com/article/national-weather-service-layoffs-trump-doge-a65360a1eb2500b7d47c9c966e383f4a

2025-02-01 The Trump administration froze congressionally approved funding for wildfire prevention programs.

https://www.propublica.org/article/trump-funding-freeze-wildfire-season

https://www.reuters.com/world/us/trump-funding-freeze-halts-wildfire-prevention-work-2025-02-14/

https://www.padilla.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/padilla-raises-alarm-on-trump-administration-illegally-blocking-hundreds-of-billions-in-federal-support/

2025-02-14 Approximately 3,400 Forest Service employees were fired. Remaining workers were encouraged to resign or take early retirement through the “Fork in the Road” program.

https://www.reuters.com/world/us/us-forest-service-fires-3400-workers-park-service-cuts-1000-2025-02-14/

https://www.americanprogress.org/article/americas-park-and-forest-rangers-are-being-fired-and-oil-and-gas-bosses-are-now-in-charge/

https://www.congress.gov/crs-product/LSB11277#:~:text=On%20January%2028%2C%202025%2C%20federal,on%20standing%20and%20jurisdictional%20grounds.

https://www.eenews.net/articles/feds-flabbergasted-by-trumps-mass-resignation-scheme/#:~:text=%E2%80%9CNo%20one%20I%20know%20is,in%20the%20email%20to%20staff.

https://www.nbcwashington.com/news/local/faq-what-to-know-about-trumps-plan-to-slash-the-federal-workforce/3828449/#:~:text=What’s%20the%20deferred%20resignation%20offer,to%20their%20offices%20full%2Dtime.

2025-02-21 FEMA began layoffs, grant freezes, and reductions in disaster funding. Central Texas later struggled to secure flood-response assistance.

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/07/11/climate/fema-missed-calls-texas-floods.html

https://kennedy.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=2290#:~:text=Compounding%20these%20deliberate%20staffing%20cuts,in%20times%20of%20dire%20need.

https://blog.ucs.org/shana-udvardy/the-terrible-texas-flood-tragedy-made-worse-by-trump-administrations-dysfunctional-fema-response/#:~:text=DHS%20Secretary%20Kristi%20Noem%20did,the%20cancellation%20of%20the%20contractors.

https://www.opb.org/article/2025/08/07/fema-failed-to-staff-disaster-hotline-after-texas-floods/#:~:text=At%20least%20one%20Texas%20official,respond%20to%20questions%20from%20NPR.

https://stateline.org/2025/07/15/federal-disaster-aid-is-uncertain-for-states-even-as-texas-floods-underscore-need/#:~:text=Aside%20from%20the%20cuts%20to%20state%20funding%2C,staff%2C%20according%20to%20The%20New%20York%20Times.

https://www.kff.org/racial-equity-and-health-policy/impacts-of-recent-federal-and-state-actions-on-natural-disaster-preparedness-and-response-on-health/#:~:text=In%20April%202025%2C%20FEMA%20suspended,coordinate%20disaster%20response%20and%20recovery.

2025 March

2025-03-12 The EPA announced major cuts affecting cleanup projects, recycling programs, and anti-dumping efforts while reconsidering regulations on power plants, oil, gas, greenhouse-gas reporting, and toxic emissions.

https://www.epa.gov/newsreleases/epa-launches-biggest-deregulatory-action-us-history

https://www.epi.org/blog/how-trumps-erasure-of-environmental-data-is-endangering-communities-of-color/

2025-03-21 The Trump administration dismantled the Office of Environmental Justice and External Civil Rights.

https://insideclimatenews.org/news/22042025/epa-announces-plans-to-terminate-nearly-300-employees/

https://www.environmentalprotectionnetwork.org/environmental-protection-network-condemns-dismantling-of-epas-office-of-environmental-justice-and-external-civil-rights-termination-of-staff-and-loss-of-critical-grant-funding/

https://www.whitehouse.gov/articles/2025/04/on-earth-day-we-finally-have-a-president-who-follows-science/

https://insideclimatenews.org/news/14042025/congress-democrats-speak-against-trump-government-science-cuts/

2025 April

2025-04-01 The Trump administration proposed a $1.7B (27%) cut to NOAA’s 2026 budget, eliminating nearly all climate research labs and research related to coastal and ocean science.

2025-04-09 Princeton lost federal funding for climate research because the Trump administration accused them of promoting “exaggerated and implausible climate threats.”

https://www.dailyprincetonian.com/article/2025/04/princeton-news-adpol-research-funding-climate-change-trump

2025-04-01 Funding was cut for the BRIC disaster-preparedness program, which helped communities prepare for climate-related disasters.

https://www.floods.org/news-views/fema-news/fema-ends-bric-program-leaving-states-in-the-lurch/

https://www.naco.org/news/federal-judge-temporarily-halts-bric-grant-program-termination

https://oag.maryland.gov/News/Pages/Attorney-General-Brown-Secures-Court-Victory-Preventing-Trump-Administration-from-Unlawfully-Cutting-Billions-in-Disaster-P.aspx

2025-04-28 Following Project 2025 recommendations (page 59), all authors working on the National Climate Assessment were fired.

https://www.wbur.org/npr/nx-s1-5380816/climate-assessment-authors-released

2025 July

2025-07-01 The administration erased climate-change reports and the website GlobalChange.gov.

https://nca2023.globalchange.gov/ NO LONGER WORKING

https://www.globalchange.gov/ NO LONGER WORKING

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2025/jul/01/climate-change-reports-removed-trump

2025-07-18 The EPA cut 23% of its personnel.

https://www.epa.gov/newsreleases/epa-announces-reduction-force-reorganization-efforts-save-taxpayers-nearly-three

2025 August

2025-08-04 Trump pushed to end two NASA satellite missions monitoring atmospheric CO₂ and plant health. NASA considered relocating the instruments to the ISS with private funding.

https://www.iflscience.com/this-is-illegal-nasa-reportedly-ordered-to-destroy-important-oco-satellite-80280

2025 September

2025-09-30 The administration announced plans to cut one-third of remaining EPA staff by year’s end, in addition to earlier reductions.

https://www.govexec.com/workforce/2025/09/trump-administration-track-cut-1-3-epa-staffers-end-2025/408455/

2025 December

2025-12-19 The administration proposed dismantling the National Center for Atmospheric Research, an agency that Russ Vought accused of being “a source of climate alarmism”.

https://x.com/russvought/status/2001099488774033692?s=20

https://www.science.org/content/article/trump-administration-moves-break-leading-u-s-climate-and-weather-center

https://www.npr.org/2025/12/19/nx-s1-5648270/trump-weather-climate-national-center-atmospheric-research-ncar