With the U.S. fully in the midst of hurricane season, actions by the Trump administration have put millions of Americans at greater risk from the devastation of these ferocious storms. From their actions that increase the pace of climate change to their dismantling of early warning systems to handicapping rescue, recovery, and prevention processes, the president and his administration have left the country woefully unprepared for upcoming violent weather conditions.

Whether through DOGE cuts, suspicious cybersecurity concerns, or outright ignorance of science, Trump’s actions will cause increased risks to U.S. citizens for the unforeseen future. Early warning technology deficiencies and, deep forecasting, and FEMA cuts will leave the U.S. woefully unprepared to predict, respond, and recover from hurricanes and other devasting natural disasters.

Hurricane Forecasting Has Taken a Big Hit

NOAA and the National Weather Service have already lost hundreds of meteorologists and scientists in recent months as DOGE cuts have resulted in the mass firing of workers on probation and forced early retirements. Because of all the departures, the Weather Service has had to scramble to reassign staff. The agency also just received a long-awaited hiring freeze exemption to help fill the enormous gaps in weather forecasting.

Last week, the administration eliminated the Climate.gov website and social media accounts where it would post news, research, and explainers about how human-caused climate change triggered by fossil fuel emissions and how the greenhouse effect is transforming and altering the planet and its weather patterns, such as worsening the frequency and strength of hurricanes. The administration said it would release any future research projects that would have appeared on that website to NOAA.gov/climate.

Defense Department to Stop Providing Weather Data

The U.S. Department of Defense announced it will no longer provide satellite weather data, leaving hurricane forecasters without critical information about storms as peak hurricane season nears in the Atlantic. For over 40 years, the Defense Department has deployed satellites that collect information about atmosphere and ocean conditions. No reason for the cessation of data sharing was given, but there are rumors that it is related to cybersecurity concerns.

A Naval group called the Fleet Numerical Meteorology and Oceanography Center reviews and disseminates data from the satellites and shares it with scientists and weather forecasters who use it for a variety of purposes, including real-time hurricane forecasting and gauging ice melting conditions in the Arctic Circle.

This week, the Department of Defense, in the announcement, stated that the satellites and instruments are still functional, and the Department of Defense will continue to use them even as access is cut off to meteorologists and scientists.

FEMA in Shambles

The Federal Emergency Management Association (FEMA) is in disarray after staff cuts, departures, and other budget cuts. The agency tasked with helping states and communities hit by disasters like hurricanes is desperately hoping for the passage of the Reconciliation Bill that’s before Congress to refill their empty coffers. That remains one of the big reasons President Trump has been pushing Congress to pass the legislation and get it to his desk by July 4.

And after a series of experienced managers left the agency in response to Trump’s draconian cuts, FEMA now has an acting director with no relevant emergency management experience. As evidence of this, acting director David Richardson proclaimed in a staff meeting earlier this month that he did not know the United States has a hurricane season.

State of U.S. Disaster Response

The state of disaster prevention, relief, and recovery in the U.S. was best summed up by former FEMA administrator Deanne Criswell, who served under President Biden when she said at a gathering hosted by House Democrats last week that the impacts of the cuts and departures at FEMA will be exacerbated by cuts to its partner agencies. She said.

“The loss of leadership and staff in the regions [and] the loss of institutional knowledge” including how to shift from one disaster to the next without neglecting any responsibilities. FEMA may struggle “to stabilize an immediate response for a new event that’s happening” and then “pivot back” to support ongoing efforts at an existing site. If the state director asks for a resource, then FEMA needs to be able to quickly respond andmobilize that resource to come support whatever that is.”