One Month of Chaos: Trump’s Funding Cuts are Hurting Americans and Raising Costs

Washington, D.C. — Communities are still reeling from the impacts of Donald Trump’s federal funding cuts. Trump’s actions have sowed chaos and confusion that is threatening jobs, raising costs, and threatening our energy grid for Americans across the country. 

New York Times: Trump’s Funding Freezes Bruise a Core Constituency: Farmers

More than a dozen farmers and ranchers told The New York Times that the tumult had made it more difficult to plan for the year, affecting decisions on seed and equipment purchases. Many expressed worry that the administration could again pause future payments with little warning or take aim at other programs like disaster relief payments and crop insurance, resulting in untold consequences for the food supply.

The climate change law also provided about $1.7 billion to shore up an Agriculture Department program for rural energy grants. As with conservation programs, grantees receive reimbursement for projects. The halt, ordered under the directive titled “Unleashing American Energy,” has left potentially thousands of grantees in limbo or footing the bill.

The Guardian: Solar has taken off in red states. Trump’s funding freeze is causing panic

“The $130m in total Solar for All funding awarded for Indiana would transform Indiana’s solar market by allowing more than 10,000 families in low-income communities around the state to directly benefit from the electric bill savings and resilience afforded by local solar,” says Zach Schalk, the Indiana program director at Solar United Neighbors Action, a non-profit that has helped invest $7.1m in solar initiatives in the state.

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In Columbus, Trump’s move has been demoralizing for Mullett and others who have made a huge effort to secure funding that would see solar electricity infrastructure installed at 320 community households, 204 multi-family households and seven single-family project households.

Iowa Public Radio: Trump’s freeze on federal funds leaves some farmers waiting in the cold

Last year, [Kevin Burres] signed up for a project supported by the U.S. Department of Agriculture that pays farmers a premium for planting up to 500 acres of cover crops. Burres said he covered the upfront costs, expecting to be reimbursed in mid-January.

But he’s still waiting for that payment.

“So that left us out here with a bill for $16,000-$17,000 that we cannot recoup,” Burres said.

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The Iowa Soybean Association, one of the leads for a Climate-Smart Commodities Project, said “nearly $11 million is owed to hundreds of farmers for work completed in 2024 and over $86 million of future payments are in jeopardy.”

AP: Farmers and rural businesses left without funds for their clean energy projects after federal freeze

A freeze on federal loans and grants is creating turmoil for some rural U.S. business owners who fear they won’t get reimbursed for new, cleaner irrigation equipment or solar panels they purchased with the promise of a rebate.

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“Farmers and small business owners throughout Appalachia and rural America are struggling to stay afloat,” said Chelsea Barnes, director of government affairs and strategy at Appalachian Voices, a nonprofit focused on sustainability. For people who have been awarded REAP funding and made purchases but haven’t been reimbursed, “that will cause significant financial harm.”

Atlanta Journal-Constitution: Trump’s actions power down some local energy projects in Georgia

Amid the whirlwind of executive actions and lawsuits over federal funding in the weeks since President Donald Trump’s inauguration, some Georgia counties, cities and nonprofits have been unable to access millions of federal dollars they were counting on for energy projects.

Reuters: Focus: Trump hostility to US offshore wind reverberates through supply chain

Companies that committed to investments in U.S. offshore wind infrastructure and supply chains are scrapping their plans as the projects they were meant to serve face huge setbacks, including President Donald Trump’s plan to end federal support.

NBC News: Small businesses struggle to find their footing one month into Trump 2.0

David Funk said he was stunned when the U.S. Department of Agriculture rejected his $65,000 invoice for work his company had completed since October.

The founder of Zero Emissions Northwest, a Spokane, Washington-based consultancy, Funk connects farmers with federal grants to subsidize equipment purchases and energy bills. A week after his invoice denial, agency representatives confirmed it was because of Trump’s “Unleashing American Energy” order, which halted many projects funded through the Inflation Reduction Act.

“What it’s resulting in is jobs lost, projects canceled and more jobs lost,” said Funk, who furloughed all three of his employees about two weeks ago. Many of his clients are now stuck with equipment they can’t finance on their own. “It is shocking to some of them who have voted for Trump to realize that this might directly impact them,” he added.

E&E News: ‘We have real lives at stake’: Trump impedes Arizona tribe’s energy lifeline

Now, President Donald Trump’s broad funding freeze covering some of the Biden administration’s clean energy spending has thrown tribal projects into limbo. As of Thursday morning, funding for the Hopi Tribe that had been approved remained suspended. Two awards — $4 million for a solar-powered microgrid to run wells and pump water and $4 million for a battery project — had not been finalized before Trump’s inauguration, meaning it’s possible they could be rescinded.

Reuters: Trump funding freeze halts wildfire prevention work

The Oregon-based non-profit Lomakatsi Restoration Project said its contracts with the federal agencies, including the U.S. Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management to reduce hazardous fuels in Oregon, California and Idaho, have been frozen.

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In an interview, Bey said his organization was forced to lay off 15 people and issue stop work orders on many active projects, impacting other jobs in the region. About 65% of the organization’s budget comes from funding allocated under the Inflation Reduction Act, the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act – laws enacted under former U.S. President Joe Biden.

“It doesn’t matter what your political perspective is, we all agree we have to reduce fire hazards,” Bey said. “But right now, with the funding freeze, we can’t operate programs because of the uncertainty of when we are going to get paid.”