The weeks following Trump’s inauguration has seen significant cuts and mass firings of federal employees in the US. The Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), spearheaded by Elon Musk, is reaching far into the government apparatus, finding ways to cut costs and eliminate threats to the new order.
The Arctic research community in the US is also facing severe cutbacks and reduced funding, prompting serious concerns about the future of Arctic research and research diplomacy in the region.
Three years after Russia invaded Ukraine and the subsequent loss of all scientific cooperation with Russia, the region could now be on the brink of losing yet another major player in the North.
As climate change continues to be the biggest threat to the Arctic, many worry about the implications of the US federal cuts for the region's climate.
Targeting climate research
While information regarding the mass firings and cutbacks executed by DOGE is still uncertain, sources such as the New York Magazine report that 30,000 federal workers have been given notice. The mass firings have mainly targeted probationary workers, 200,000 of the total of 2.4 million federal workers.
The journal Science recently reported that the mass firings were decimating US science agencies, saying the "layoffs decimated the foot soldiers of many health and science agencies, sweeping up early-career scientists as well as old hands in new positions."
The Trump administration has consistently targeted climate research by cutting grants and other support for any science endeavors that focus on climate change.Many of the US president's January executive orders focused on cutting or eradicating climate programs specifically in an effort to roll back environmental and climate change initiatives that were implemented under the Biden administration.
The US has now withdrawn from the Paris Agreement and essentially stopped wind power development. In addition, the Trump administration is trying to undo the Inflation Reduction Act, the largest investment in climate and energy in American history.
Even the term 'climate change' is now subject to severe restrictions. It has been removed from official websites, grants, and other support, and researchers must be careful not to use it if they want to keep their funding.
Elon Musk speaks while President Donald Trump holds the first cabinet meeting of his second term on February 26th, 2025 in the Cabinet Room ofthe White House. (Photo: The White House, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons)
Project 2025 is coming to fruition
The deconstruction of climate research initiatives and institutions is a continuation of the work Trump commenced in his first term by rolling back more than 125 environmental rules and policies, according to Time magazine. It also corresponds to the agenda set in Project 25, the political initiative to reshape the US federal government, published by the conservative Heritage Foundation.
President Trump distanced himself from the Project 2025 initiative during his campaign but has implemented much of the project's agenda since taking office.
The initiative calls for an increase in oil and gas drilling through eradicating environmental protections, as well as repealing the Inflation Reduction Act introduced by the Biden administration.
Consequences for the climate
The attack on climate research incites far-reaching reactions, also in the Arctic. Climate warming takes place at a much higher rate in the Arctic than the rest of the world, making climate intervention a pressing matter.
Mia Bennett, a political geographer at the University of Washington, says that although the US mass firings and cuts in funding risk losing the ability to closely monitor climate change and understand its accelerating nature, we already know a lot about what is happening with the climate and the fact that we need to act.
"We know we need to reduce carbon emissions, and yet not enough action has been taken. That is why it is not only the cuts to climate research but the withdrawal from the Paris Agreement, too, which are also deeply worrying," she says.