MEMO: After a Summer of Extreme Weather, Trump’s Cuts & Government Shutdown Leave Arizonans Even More Vulnerable

TO: Interested Parties

FROM: Climate Power

DATE: November 3, 2025

RE: After a Summer of Extreme Weather, Trump’s Cuts & Government Shutdown Leave Arizonans Even More Vulnerable

This summer, Arizona was hammered by one extreme weather event after another, from wildfires and floods, which are becoming more frequent, severe, and expensive—raising home insurance rates, forcing massive taxpayer-funded disaster aid spending, and disrupting communities across the country.

Yet instead of protecting Arizonans, the Trump administration has cut clean energy investments, slashed FEMA and other disaster response efforts, and helped fuel a government shutdown. Trump and Republicans are raising utility bills for Arizonans while leaving them dangerously unprepared for extreme weather events.

Extreme weather battered Arizona this summer 

• In 2025,  Maricopa County alone had more than 530 suspected heat-related deaths. This year’s death toll comes on top of another 3,100 confirmed heat-related fatalities over the previous decade.
• The Dragon Bravo Fire burned more than 145,000 acres north of the Grand Canyon this summer, destroying historic sites and forcing mass evacuations in northern Arizona.
• As the summer heat comes to an end, Globe experienced catastrophic flooding caused severe damage after record monsoon rains—washing out roads, inundating homes, and triggering dangerous mudslides across Gila County. A week or so later, the Phoenix Metro area saw an extreme microburst, affecting the City of Tempe. The mayor of Tempe said, “I have lived here for over 22 years and I’ve never seen a storm like the one we saw”. 
• Recent polling shows that Americans are worried about the personal financial impacts of extreme weather on their pocketbooks. 59% are concerned that extreme weather disasters will increase their property insurance premiums, and 55% are concerned that the impacts could mean higher energy costs.

Energy costs are on the rise as clean energy investments are disappearing

• President Trump campaigned on lowering costs, but an analysis by Energy Innovation says Trump’s signature “One Big Beautiful Act” will lead to residential electricity bills in Arizona increasing by $220 on average by 2035.
• In April, Trump laid off the entire staff of a critical federal program that helps low-income Americans pay their heating and cooling bills—putting the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) program and its funding in jeopardy. In fiscal year 2023, Arizona received more than $61 million in LIHEAP funding, which served 27,788 households. Funding families rely on to run their A/C during the extreme summer heat.
• Nationally, more than 80,000 jobs have already been lost or stalled in the clean energy sector since Trump’s election. 

Arizonans are at risk thanks to Trump slashing disaster relief

• Trump’s cuts have left local weather forecasting offices dangerously understaffed, threatening the accuracy of the forecasting data used in lifesaving extreme weather alerts that communities rely on. Trump has also gutted critical disaster preparedness aid, leaving states without funding and resources they depend on to prepare for extreme weather events.  
• Trump cut disaster-response training for local and state emergency managers and eliminated door-to-door canvassing in disaster areas by federal relief workers. The US Forest Service has lost 15% of its workforce, jeopardizing its firefighting efforts in the middle of what’s expected to be a worse than average year for fires, making local communities less prepared for disasters.  

• Trump has politicized and withheld disaster relief, and plans to make it harder for communities to qualify for federal aid. He’s even threatened to eliminate federal disaster relief entirely, despite state and local officials saying they would be unable to make up the funds if federal aid were eliminated.
• Arizona AG Kris Mayes sued the Trump administration for its decision to cancel the Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities (BRIC) program. Arizona was set to receive $9.8 million in BRIC disaster mitigation funding for 25 projects.
  • Buckeye was set to receive a $4.6 million BRIC grant for an infrastructure project to divert floodwater away from the historic downtown by connecting the drainage system to existing irrigation canals and constructing a retention basin to collect the floodwater.  
  • Camp Verde was selected for an $860,000 BRIC grant for a flood mitigation project to secure a major roadway against flooding. Emergency vehicles rely on this roadway to provide services to the area’s 5,000 residents. 

Extreme weather puts Arizona at risk and drives up costs beyond what families can afford—leading to property damage, increased energy costs, higher home insurance rates, and less affordable housing. Trump’s cuts are leaving Arizona without the necessary funding and support to prepare for worsening extreme weather events.