Budget Cuts, Freezing Funds, Reducing Staff
1981
1981-08-05 President Ronald Regan fired 11,345 air traffic controllers because they were on strike demanding better pay and conditions.
https://millercenter.org/reagan-vs-air-traffic-controllers
https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/august-5/reagan-fires-11359-air-traffic-controllers
2017 January
2017-01-20 During his first term, Trump repeatedly proposed budget cuts to the CDC, OSHA and the NIOSH (National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health).
https://www.clasp.org/blog/cuts-to-niosh-and-osha-are-an-imminent-threat-to-all-workers/
2017 June
2017-06-05 Trump proposed firing 30,000 FAA workers from the federal payroll and privatizing the entire air traffic control system.
https://www.npr.org/2017/06/05/531574945/trump-announces-plan-to-privatize-air-traffic-control
2019 March
2019-03-12 Trump cut $1B in budget grants to USDOT transit during his first term.
2025 January
2025-01-20 Trump froze billions of dollars in federal funding for various infrastructure projects in Rhode Island.
2025 February
2025-02-15 The Trump administration laid off several FAA employees as part of their workforce reductions.
https://thefulcrum.us/governance-legislation/federal-aviation-administration-airport-delays
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/feb/17/trump-administration-faa-worker-firings
2025 April
2025-04-01 The Trump administration announced cuts to the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health to reduce the workforce from 1400 staff to less than 150. They also dismantled the NIOSH Education and Research Center at Harvard.
2025-04-29 The Trump administration terminated a $63.9M Amtrak grant for the Dallas-Houston corridor.
https://www.transportation.gov/briefing-room/first-100-days
2025 May
2025-05-01 The Trump administration cut the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration workforce by 25%, cut $10M in funding, and rescinded $78M in supplemental funds for infrastructure.
https://www.cnbc.com/2025/07/17/us-auto-safety-agency-shedding-more-than-25percent-of-employees.html
2025-05-01 In May through September, the Trump administration released its FY 2026 “skinny” budget proposal to cut $308M from the Essential Air Service program, cancel $54M in grants to universities tied to DEI and “green initiatives”, cancel $32M in transportation construction for Massachusetts, and the USDOT terminated $679M in offshore wind projects.
2025-05-22 The Trump administration paused federal EV-charging funds, which the Government Accountability Office concluded violated the Impoundment Control Act.
https://www.gao.gov/products/b-337137
2025 July
2025-07-01 The Trump administration terminated $4BN in unspent federal grants for the California high speed rail.
2025 August
2025-08-24 After a dispute with Maryland Governor Wes Moore, Trump suggested reconsidering federal funding for the Francis Scott Key Bridge and later accused Moore of manipulating crime statistics.
https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/5467900-trump-criticizes-maryland-governor/
2025-08-27 Robert Primus was fired from the Surface Transportation Board during a Union Pacific merger with no cause except that he “didn’t align” with the “America First” agenda.
2025 September
2025-09-26 The Trump administration withdrew grants for bike lanes, pedestrian-safety improvements and recreation trails.
2025-09-30 The Trump administration froze thousands of transportation grants solely for containing climate or equity provisions.
https://www.politico.com/news/2025/09/30/dot-biden-era-awards-canceled-00586761?
2025 October
2025-10-01 The Trump administration paused $18BN in federal grants for the Gateway Hudson River tunnel and Second Avenue Subway.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/transportation/2025/10/01/shutdown-new-york-subway-rail-schumer
2025-10-03 The Trump administration froze $2.1BN for the Chicago transit.
2025-10-09 The FAA canceled $6.7 million in infrastructure grants for Indianapolis International Airport, citing it did not align with Trump’s priorities.
2025-10-09 Trump suggested some federal employees affected by the shutdown might not get their back pay, “I would say it depends on who we’re talking about. We’re gonna take care of our people, there are some people that really don’t deserve to be taken care of, and we’ll take care of them in a different way”.
2025 November
2025-11-07 Trump cut 10% of air traffic on 40 major airports.
https://thehill.com/policy/transportation/5592882-40-airports-faa-government-shutdown/
2026 March
2026-03-17 Trump requested an addition $200B for his elective war in Iran, claiming it, “would be over soon”. Meanwhile hundreds of TSA workers quit their jobs due to no pay while Trump ensured DHS received their paychecks. For contrast, the war in Iraq cost $815B over the course of 13 years. Fast-forward, the US entered a deal with Iran in June to give them $300B for reconstruction.
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/tsa-absences-double-shutdown-300-quit-airport-security-lines/
https://www.businessinsider.com/tsa-agents-quit-partial-government-shutdown-airport-delays-2026-3
https://www.fedweek.com/fedweek/only-partial-payday-coming-up-for-most-dhs-employees
https://apnews.com/article/iran-war-us-pentagon-972ec1bd956a2c3633e6ab7fff389791
https://www.cnbc.com/2026/03/19/hegseth-iran-war-budget.html
https://www.cnn.com/2026/03/19/politics/iran-war-cost-republicans-congress
https://www.politico.com/news/2026/03/19/congress-braces-for-200b-iran-war-request-00835914
2026-03-26 After slamming down Democrat attempts to pass a bill asking to fund TSA, Trump said he would issue an emergency order to ensure TSA employees were paid during the government shutdown
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ETT5qkzk9Lo&list=WL&index=10
https://abcnews.com/Politics/trump-hell-sign-order-directing-dhs-pay-tsa/story?id=131441186
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/trump-order-tsa-pay-as-dhs-shutdown-drags-on/
https://www.cnbc.com/2026/03/26/trump-tsa-shutdown-dhs.html
2026-03-27 The proposed funding bill by Democrats to fund TSA workers passed the House, but the GOP Senate warned the bill would be “dead on arrival” once it met the Senate.
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cgj052l1j2no
https://www.cbsnews.com/live-updates/dhs-shutdown-2026-senate-funding-day-42/
2026 April
2026-04-03 Trump’s new budget seeks TSA privatization.
https://www.cnn.com/2026/04/04/us/tsa-private-airport-security-screening
https://www.wfla.com/news/privatizing-tsa-on-the-table-as-shutdown-impacts-airport-security/
2026 May
2026-05-05 Delta Airlines announced it would drop food and beverage services from flights under 350 miles.
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/delta-cuts-food-drink-service-short-flights-350-miles/