Trump’s climate assault comes at an inauspicious moment, as climate change accelerates. The gutting of climate policy is short-sighted and will eventually backfire, leaving a lasting, detrimental impact on the US and the global economy. Cuts to weather and climate research will slow emergency disaster responses and weaken resilience efforts, putting more lives at risk. More than 200 employees at FEMA have been fired, hindering FEMA’s ability to respond to more intense hurricanes, storms and wildfires.
More parts of the US will become uninsurable. State Farm General Insurance is said to be “considering its options” in California, after Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara rejected its request to hike home insurance rates in California by 22% on average after the devastating LA wildfires. The damage from climate change in the coming years will far exceed the cost savings that DOGE will come up with. Climate change is a negative supply shock, that will weaken productivity growth and add to the pressures on the deficit.
DOGE is also being used to divert attention from the House of Representatives’ budget resolution for FY2025, which could add significantly to the debt burden over the coming years. According to the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, “The budget’s reconciliation instructions pave the way for a bill that could add at least $2.8 trillion to deficits through FY 2034, or $3.4 to $4 trillion of debt including interest costs.” As a result, “Deficits under the House budget would average 6.8 percent of GDP over the decade, compared with 5.8 percent under current law.”
