Tracking Federal Website Changes under Trump: A Guide

The Trump administration has been actively removing or altering information about environmental and climate issues on federal websites. To stay informed about these modifications, an online tracker is available, helping the public find out what has been changed or removed.

Developed initially during Trump’s first term, the Federal Environmental Web Tracker has been redeployed. This tool is essentially a comprehensive spreadsheet linking to government pages that have been either completely removed or significantly altered after Trump's return to office.

As early as February, shortly after Trump's inauguration, FEMA started eliminating the term 'climate' from their website. Presently, the tracker by the Environmental Data & Governance Initiative (EDGI) lists over 200 affected federal webpages, with weekly updates keeping it current.

Subtle and Significant Changes: What’s Happening?

Many of the alterations are minor. For instance, an EPA page originally titled 'Power Sector Emissions Data' has been renamed simply 'Power Sector Data.' Such tweaks might allow the information to remain accessible by avoiding detection by those purging content deemed inappropriate by the administration.

However, entire sections or pages have disappeared. Contents detailing the impact of environmental and climate changes on marginalized communities in the US, often omitted due to concerns about historical discrimination or poverty, are among the missing. EPA's resources on climate concerns, health issues, and children's welfare no longer have links to equity information.

Reconstructing Digital Archives

Thanks to efforts from EDGI and others, using the resurrected tracker and the Internet Archive’s Wayback Machine allows users to view older versions of such websites. It is vital to document these transformations for advocates and policymakers aiming to reinstate public access to these data.

There’s growing action among advocates to return these resources online. Recently, organic farmers have launched legal action against the administration over the removal of essential online agriculture resources, claiming the USDA’s actions defy federal law. This litigation follows a prior successful lawsuit by medical professionals, which resulted in the restoration of important health disparity information.