Deregulation Nation: Climate Collapse by Design
How Trump’s second term is erasing the institutions built to protect people, species, and the planet.
This Deep Dive is part 2 of our ongoing series: Deregulation Nation.
Environmental protection has become one of the most aggressive fronts in Donald Trump’s second-term war on public safeguards. Led by Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), the administration has hollowed out the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and systematically dismantled the entire environmental regulatory state.
From the Department of the Interior’s public land sell-offs, to the Department of Energy’s abandonment of renewables, to the silencing of NOAA’s storm tracking capabilities, the Trump administration is doing nothing short of declaring war on the planet and the people who depend on it.
This article outlines how key agencies are being dismantled through executive orders, budget cuts, and political appointees. It also explores the devastating consequences of a system that’s no longer built to prevent environmental catastrophe but to enable it.
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EPA: Hollowed from Within
The Environmental Protection Agency, created in 1970 under President Nixon, was formed in response to rising pollution, oil spills, and a nationwide environmental awakening. Over the past five decades, it has improved air and water quality, cleaned up toxic waste, and regulated emissions that fuel climate change.
That legacy is now being dismantled.
On January 20, 2025, Trump signed Executive Order 14148, directing the rescission of dozens of environmental regulations enacted under the Biden administration. This sweeping order marked the beginning of what the administration has dubbed a “return to energy dominance,” but what critics call an environmental massacre.
DOGE followed by slashing the agency’s budget and initiating plans for a 65% workforce reduction, effectively kneecapping the EPA’s ability to enforce even its remaining protections.
With fewer scientists, inspectors, and legal staff, enforcement has ground to a halt, and the polluters know it.
For a full breakdown of the executive orders and legislation gutting climate protections, see our special report:
We also explored how these rollbacks prioritize profit over people here:
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Department of the Interior: Selling Off the Future
The Department of the Interior (DOI) manages over 480 million acres of public land, including national parks, wildlife refuges, and Indigenous territories. Its mission has historically been to balance resource development with conservation and cultural preservation.
That balance no longer exists.
On January 20, 2025, Trump signed Executive Order 14148, which included sweeping changes to the Department of the Interior’s oversight of public lands. The order revoked multiple protections that had slowed or blocked oil, gas, and mineral extraction, paving the way for accelerated leasing and permitting.
Coupled with Trump’s national energy emergency declaration, the move effectively stripped away environmental review processes. DOGE reinforced this shift by downsizing the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), slashing its ability to conduct oversight or enforce land-use regulations.
We explored how military-industrial partnerships and private contractors are profiting from this land grab here:
Department of Energy: Climate Denial by Design
The Department of Energy (DOE) was established in 1977 to address the nation’s energy challenges, promote innovation, and lead science-based energy policy. Over the years, it has funded breakthroughs in renewable energy, efficiency, and climate modeling, playing a key role in the global effort to mitigate climate change.
But under Trump’s second term, the DOE has become an engine for fossil fuel revival and climate science suppression.
On January 20, 2025, Trump signed Executive Order 14148, which revoked multiple clean energy initiatives and redirected the Department of Energy toward a fossil fuel–centric agenda. That same day, he declared a national energy emergency, further empowering the agency to fast-track oil, gas, and coal projects while sidelining environmental oversight.
DOGE slashed funding to the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE), choking off solar, wind, and battery innovation support. Internal memos instructed staff to avoid using “climate change” in public materials.
This agenda extends beyond traditional agencies. On March 27, 2025, Trump abruptly fired Michelle Moore, a clean energy leader serving on the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) board, without public explanation. Moore, a Biden appointee, had been a prominent advocate for renewables. Her removal signals a clear message: there is no room for clean energy leadership under this administration, not even in federally owned corporations.
NOAA: Silencing the Forecast
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is one of the most trusted scientific institutions in the world. Responsible for weather forecasting, ocean monitoring, and climate data collection, NOAA plays a vital role in disaster preparedness, agriculture, transportation, and public safety.
That role is now being intentionally weakened.
On January 20, 2025, Trump signed Executive Order 14148, which rescinded U.S. participation in global climate agreements and revoked internal science coordination protocols—crippling NOAA’s climate work. That order, combined with a Trump administration push to privatize portions of NOAA, has led to profound structural shifts.
DOGE subsequently implemented a 10% staff layoff, affecting meteorologists and researchers. Plans to shut down the Storm Prediction Center were leaked shortly after, sparking bipartisan outrage in hurricane-prone and tornado-vulnerable states.
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, typically an ally of the Trump administration, voiced rare public concern:
“In Florida, hurricane season is just kind of our ground zero for emergency situations.”
Meanwhile, on March 18, 2025, Trump issued a separate executive order transferring primary disaster response duties from FEMA back to the states under the banner of “local empowerment.” With NOAA forecasting capacity diminished and FEMA defunded, the federal government is walking away not just from prevention but also from response.
Fish and Wildlife Service: Extinction Made Easier
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) is responsible for conserving, protecting, and enhancing America's wildlife and natural habitats. It manages the Endangered Species Act (ESA), a landmark law that has prevented the extinction of hundreds of species since its passage in 1973.
However, under Trump’s second term, protection is no longer the priority. Exploitation is.
On January 20, 2025, Trump signed Executive Order 14148, which included significant revisions to the Endangered Species Act (ESA). The order weakened listing requirements, eliminated automatic protections for newly listed species, and directed agencies to downplay climate change as a threat to wildlife.
DOGE followed by cutting funding for habitat conservation programs and reducing staff in field offices, leaving vast ecosystems vulnerable and enforcement thin.
This isn't the first time the U.S. government has silenced science in the service of power.
We examined the legacy of such decisions—most catastrophically with Agent Orange—here:
The Supreme Court: Eyes Closed to Collapse
The final backstop for environmental protection in America should be the courts, especially the Supreme Court. When the executive branch overreaches or Congress fails to act, the judiciary has historically served as the last line of defense for constitutional rights and environmental law.
However, during Trump’s second term, that backstop has effectively vanished.
The Supreme Court, long considered a constitutional check on executive overreach, is no longer playing that role, at least not concerning the environment.
In early 2025, the Court declined to hear several key cases brought by environmental groups and state coalitions. These included:
A challenge to Trump’s rescission of the Clean Power Plan
A lawsuit against weakened Clean Water Act enforcement
A case contesting the privatization of NOAA’s public weather data
These refusals weren’t isolated; they’re part of a growing pattern. Legal experts note the Court is increasingly unwilling to weigh in on climate and environmental litigation, allowing lower court dismissals or executive actions to stand without review.
With a 6–3 conservative majority, the Court’s silence is more than passivity; it’s judicial complicity. Without legislative resistance or judicial intervention, the public is left defenseless against dismantling its environmental protections.
Conclusion: The Climate Crisis Needs More Protection, Not Less
What we’ve outlined here is not regulatory “streamlining.” It is a deliberate, calculated erasure of the environmental state, a coordinated dismantling of every institution designed to protect the air we breathe, the water we drink, the land we live on, and the future we’re supposed to leave behind.
Every major environmental agency has been gutted, sidelined, or reprogrammed. The Supreme Court won’t stop it. Congress won’t intervene. And when a climate disaster hits, FEMA has already been sent home.
This is not incompetence. It is intent.
And the cost isn’t measured in dollars. It’s measured in displacement, disease, extinction, and death.
We are living through a moment when the very forces driving the climate crisis have captured the institutions meant to protect us from it. If this isn’t a five-alarm fire for the environmental movement, for every voter who cares about survival, justice, and the planet itself, what is?
The climate crisis doesn’t need fewer protections.
It needs all of them.
And more.
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Bibliography:
Executive Order 14148: Initial Rescissions of Harmful Executive Orders and Actions. (January 20, 2025). The American Presidency Project.
Declaring a National Energy Emergency. (January 20, 2025). The White House.
Additional Rescissions of Harmful Executive Orders and Actions. (March 20, 2025). Federal Register.
Secretary's Order 3417: Addressing the National Energy Emergency. (February 3, 2025). U.S. Department of the Interior.
Unleashing American Energy. (January 20, 2025). The White House.
Trump EPA invites companies to seek exemptions from air rules by email. (March 27, 2025). Reuters.
US Army Corps to narrow list of emergency energy projects by next week. (March 25, 2025). Reuters.
Trump declares a national energy emergency and moves to boost US production of oil and gas. (January 20, 2025). Business Insider.
After a month of Trump's pro-oil and gas moves, Dems target his energy emergency. (February 2025). Associated Press.
Energy stocks ignite as Trump declares, 'Drill, baby, drill'. (January 2025). MarketWatch.
Trump declares a 'national energy emergency'. (January 20, 2025). The Verge.
Trump has declared a 'national energy emergency.' What does that mean? (January 20, 2025). NPR.
Demystifying President Trump's “National Energy Emergency” and the Scope of Emergency Authority. (February 14, 2025). Columbia Law School's Climate Law Blog.
National Energy Emergency Declaration May Accelerate Traditional Energy Infrastructure Projects. (March 2025). Greenberg Traurig LLP.
President Trump's Use of the National Emergency Act and Possible Congressional Next Steps. (March 2025). Mayer Brown.
NOAA layoffs impact National Weather Service, Hurricane Center forecasts. (February 28, 2025). Naples Daily News.
Trump Fires Clean Energy Leader from TVA Board Without Publicly Providing a Reason. (March 28, 2025). Inside Climate News.
"Supreme Court Ruling Rolls Back Clean Water Protections, Endangering Environment and Public Health." (March 4, 2025). NRDC Press Release.
"Trump Administration Issues Deregulatory Order Undermining Agency Decision-Making." (January 31, 2025). Harvard Law School Environmental & Energy Law Program.
I am so sick of Donald Trump 😒