The Trump administration has mired the United States in multiple crises, from manufactured election insecurity to an outbreak of cyclosporiasis causing explosive diarrhea, as widespread cuts to government agencies and rollbacks of environmental protections take their toll.
Election Security Under Fire
Despite President Donald Trump's professed concerns with election security, his administration has weakened the offices intended to safeguard US elections. Trump delivered an address casting doubt on election integrity and dismissed the three remaining commissioners on an independent federal commission that assists states with election administration. His staffing cuts cost the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency a third of its workforce, according to Senator Mark Warner. The administration also proposed slashing the agency's budget by $707 million.
The FBI has lost as many as 2,800 agents since January 2025, and the acting director of national intelligence fired dozens of staff members. On his first day back in office, Trump pardoned about 1,500 people convicted or facing charges for the January 6 insurrection.
Public Health Crises Worsen
Funding cuts have led to worsening outbreaks. Public health officials in five states, including Michigan, faced one of the nation's largest cyclospora outbreaks this summer, causing explosive and watery diarrhea for weeks. The administration cut $11.4 billion in funding from state and local health departments a year prior and reduced the remit of a program coordinating information on foodborne illnesses. The source of the outbreak was linked to iceberg lettuce served at Taco Bell, but officials warned it could continue through August.
The US is on course for another record year of measles cases in 2026, surpassing last year, which was the worst in three decades. Some officials worry the US may lose its measles elimination status. Additionally, an outbreak of new world screwworm has caused concern in ranching and conservation, with former officials saying Trump's federal spending reviews slowed containment efforts. A $100 million research initiative to slow the insect's advance was delayed.
"We've already seen what happens when Donald Trump's political appointees are put in charge of health and science funding – disaster ensues," said Shaughnessy Naughton, president of 314 Action. "Screwworm monitoring, food safety surveillance and vaccine programs have been arbitrarily cut and less than a year later, we're facing multiple infectious disease outbreaks."
Environmental Upheaval
The Trump administration has rolled back clean air and water standards, promoted fossil fuels, and exempted polluting companies from emissions controls. It repealed the 2009 endangerment finding, the legal foundation for all federal climate regulations, and pulled the US from the United Nations' main climate treaty. Research shows Trump's pro-fossil fuel agenda has pushed up greenhouse gas emissions, increasing the severity of wildfires, hurricanes, and other disasters. The administration has also shuttered climate and weather research offices and scaled back environmental monitoring, leaving Americans facing greater risks.
