Nearly two months into Donald Trump’s second presidency, all sectors of the federal government have seen significant upheaval at the hands of the Department of Government Efficiency DOGE. Led by Elon Musk, the unofficial government agency declared its commitment to decreasing the federal deficit, but this comes at the cost of invaluable initiatives in science, medicine, education and more. While this is certainly not an exhaustive list of funding cuts, it is important to consider what these budget cuts are and the impact they will have on the nation’s future.
Science and health
The president’s budget proposal promises an 18% budget decrease for the NIH, which includes cuts to organizations like the National Cancer Institute, a 17% reduction to the CDC’s budget, and a $776 million cut for the research grants funded by the National Science Foundation, according to the National Library of Medicine.
For UW, this amounts to a loss of $65 million in funding just this year.
This will impact the university’s “ability to train the next generation of scientists and health care professionals, from undergraduate and doctoral students, to nurses, pharmacists, veterinarians and doctors,” according to a statement from university administration.
For instance, UW recently received the largest grant in the university’s history to lead a national study on Alzheimer’s Disease, according to the UW School of Medicine and Public Health. Similar initiatives to discover crucial medical treatments and cures are endangered nationwide.
While there has been a temporary block on the order, the government has solidified its stance against academic institutions dedicated to public good and our nation’s position at the forefront of scientific discovery.
In addition to Republicans’ budget plan to slash $880 million from Medicaid, which Trump endorsed just endorsed last month, the president plans on making additional cuts that would cut the program’s funds by 50%, according to the National Library of Medicine. Medicaid — which provides health insurance to qualifying individuals with disabilities, the elderly, pregnant individuals and low-income individuals and families — served 80 million Americans in October 2024 according to Medicaid.gov.
Slashing programs that bring equity in healthcare access is an act against humanity, and will cost infinitely more than the federal deficits Trump is keen on. This baseless and unprecedented assault on the nation’s healthcare system will bring the most harm to marginalized Americans. Regardless of whether these planned cuts come to fruition, the president’s disgusting opposition to our nation’s medical and scientific wellbeing is clear.
Education
Trump is adamant on dismantling the Department of Education, and DOGE is enacting this plan. As of mid-February, the agency terminated almost $1 billion in U.S. Department of Education (DOE) federal contracts, according to The Guardian.
The DOE is critical to educational research, diversity and equity efforts in education and the oversight of accommodations for children with disabilities. Without the DOE, students and schools won’t receive necessary resources or support to ensure academic success. Moreover, the upheaval of equal opportunity in education will have significant socioeconomic consequences.
DOGE has already frozen funding for Head Start, a program that provides early childhood education to low-income children, according to NHSA. The program was crucial in leveling the playing field for marginalized students and working towards a meritocratic society.
Numerous projects to collect data on student performance, which are used to guide teachers’ efforts to improve students’ achievement in reading and math, are also being slashed, according to Hechinger Report. Without data on student trends, how are schools to make informed decisions in the best interest of students’ academic success?
Moreover, most of these cancelled projects were already near completion and had been paid out, making DOGE’s claim of saving $881 million simply a lie.
Charting My Path for Future Success, an initiative dedicated to improving post-secondary education and outcomes for students with disabilities is also on the chopping block. The administration is once again closing doors for marginalized individuals’ ability to attain the socioeconomic benefits associated with education.
On the other side of the coin, teacher-training programs are facing hundreds of millions of dollars in cuts, according to Education Weekly. This includes a special education training program at UW with Milwaukee Public Schools, which would have trained 36 teachers, according to reporting by The Badger Herald. With a teacher shortage already rampant across the nation, the educational future of our nation is under crisis.
Further, DOGE has yet to provide accurate numbers or a transparent list of the affected research contracts, despite a request from Democratic lawmakers to answer clarifying questions about almost a billion dollars worth of cancelled contracts, according to EdWeek.
Equitable education is a cornerstone to a well-informed society. With these unfair cuts, students will not receive the resources necessary to a basic education — one every American has a right to.
Environment
DOGE is responsible for firing 2,300 federal probationary employees from the Department of the Interior, which protects and manages America’s national resources, 1000 employees from the National Park Service and more staffing cuts at federal agencies dedicated to environmental conservation, according to the Center for Biological Diversity.
DOGE also included the headquarters of the DOE as one of 400 buildings selected for destruction before quietly removing the list last Wednesday, according to E&E News. The agency is incredibly careless in creating massive lists of cuts, but the effect of these decisions will not be so inconsequential.
Cuts to the NPS are cause for concern about the upkeep of campsites and trails at national parks, according to NBC. Visitors will see longer lines to entry, shorter hours of visitation, fewer search-and-rescue personnel and the gradual fading of the national parks as the employees responsible for tasks — such as removal of litter from trails — are fired, according to ABC News.
In fact, the Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument in Colorado already announced closure two days per week due to understaffing, according to Aspen Times. Though it is unclear whether the closure is in relation to DOGE’s cuts to the NPS, it is evident that an already understaffed NPS will only suffer at the hands of further cuts. While Trump has been pressured to restore some seasonal employment at NPS, this is unlikely to make up for the loss of permanent staff.
DOGE and Trump are blinded by their sole focus to reduce federal deficit, but they must open their eyes to the detrimental environmental footprint they are leaving for future generations. If our leaders cannot see value in national parks — the most prominent symbols of America’s natural beauty and environmental heritage — we can only expect further action against sustainability efforts. If you aren’t convinced, just look at Trump’s new executive order that detours environmental laws to expand timber production across 250 acres of land.
Diversity, equity and inclusion
As promised, DOGE is waging Trump’s war against diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives across all sectors. Most prominently, on February 14, DOGE announced it would strip schools and universities of federal funding if DEI programming was not shut down in 14 days.
As he feigns commitment to the American people, Trump is denying the idea that education is a fundamental right. Instead, he is carving out a select group of individuals that deserve to pursue higher education based on his outdated aristocratic ideals.
Trump and DOGE also declared that all DEI efforts in any branch of the federal government were to be disposed of, according to CBS12. According to ABC News, these include initiatives resolving gender pay inequity, accessibility measures for individuals with disabilities and promoting safe, discrimination-free workspaces.
While Trump boasts that the removal of these efforts will lead to true equity in opportunity for all Americans, it is clear that he is targeting groups that are already systematically oppressed. DEI efforts are obviously meant to level the playing field for marginalized groups, so they can exercise their human rights just as easily as an individual from a privileged background.
Take into account the importance of DEI efforts at UW. The university’s percentage of students of color continues to drop annually, with the proportion of Black students falling from 3% to just 2.1% this academic year, according to The Cap Times. Belonging is at an all-time low for students of color, and DEI efforts like culture-themed housing communities on campus help these students feel welcome on campus.
How is the removal of efforts to garner diversity — which is all but absent on campus — harmful to students of privileged backgrounds? It is clear that Trump cares only about a select group of Americans, and this attack on DEI is a deliberate attempt to edge minority groups out of mainstream society.
