Trump era chaos: A timeline of government climate moves since Jan. 20

It’s not just you: It’s almost impossible to keep up with the tumult and chaos issuing from Washington, D.C. Under the second Trump administration, funding freezes, regulatory rollbacks and sweeping executive orders are unfolding at record speed. 

This ongoing tracker runs down the latest moves that affect the business of sustainability, since Trump inked a battery of executive orders the day he was inaugurated, including six that immediately changed the federal stance on energy, climate and sustainability. We will be updating and republishing this guide in the weeks and months ahead. Buckle up. 

March 11, 2025

EPA spending is up to DOGE’s discretion

Going forward, the EPA will have to await a pat on the head from DOGE before distributing funding that exceeds $50,000. The edict furthers EPA head Lee Zeldin’s goal of slashing more than 65 percent of his agency’s spending. The announcement followed news of the reinstatement of dozens of laid-off EPA workers once Musk’s crew realized their programs were vital to American prosperity.

Trump doubles aluminum and steel tariffs, then backs away

After Ontario imposed 25 percent tariffs on electricity it sends to northern U.S. states, Trump said he would double to 50 percent the tariffs on Canadian aluminum and steel (which are critical to the energy transition) set to go into effect March 12. (Later the same day, after Ontario backed down on power price hikes, Trump reversed himself, although the 25-percent duties remain.) He also reiterated his demand that Canada become the 51st state.

March 10, 2025

America’s “green bank” sues EPA and Citibank for freezing funding

Climate United, one of the three coalitions selected by Biden’s EPA to lend $20 billion to local decarbonization projects — aka America’s “green bank” — sued Trump’s EPA head Lee Zeldin and Citibank for freezing the funds. According to Climate United, neither the EPA nor Citi produced evidence to justify suspending the accounts.

China imposes retaliatory tariffs

Beijing announced 15 percent duties on chicken, wheat and corn, and 10 percent on soybeans, pork, beef and fruit, in response to Trump’s extra 10 percent blanket tariff on Chinese goods.

March 7, 2025

U.S. backs out of Just Energy Transition Partnership 

The $45 billion deal with EU and other nations helped Vietnam, South Africa and Indonesia forgo fossil fuels. The U.S. exit is another crack in the global climate policy environment.

March 06, 2025

Tariffs delayed again

Trump’s on-again tariffs went off again — for a month, at least — for goods from Mexico and Canada. For the moment, North American supply chains for auto parts, dairy, steel, aluminum, machinery may proceed apace.

Judge unlocks funding for solar panels, grid upgrades and heat pumps

A second federal judge blocked as unconstitutional Trump’s Jan. 27 funding freeze, of potentially trillions of dollars, including for clean energy projects under the Inflation Reduction Act in 22 states. The U.S. has appealed. 

Fired civil servants file suit

Thousands of fired federal employees filed class action appeals to reinstate their roles. As job cuts rose by 245 percent in February, Trump put his cabinet leaders, rather than Musk, in charge of reductions in force. Musk’s DOGE team has cut more than 101,000 positions across the EPA, Department of Energy, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and other agencies.

EPA seeks to loosen safety rules

The agency asked a federal court to undo 2024 rules that required hazardous chemical plants to shore up safety in case of fires, floods and other weather extremes.

March 4, 2025

North American tariffs announced

Trump announced 25 percent tariffs on goods from Mexico and Canada (10 percent on Canadian oil), rocking companies’ supply chains and threatening clean-energy projects.

March 1, 2025

Trump dramatically expands US timber production

An executive order called upon the U.S. Forest Service, now headed by lumber industry veteran Tom Schulz, and the Bureau of Land Management to speed permitting processes, limit exemptions under endangered species law and review forest management practices, aiming to “improve the speed of forestry projects.”

Feb. 28, 2025

Trump berates Zelensky, at least in part to secure mineral rights

The dramatic confrontation in the Oval Office scuttled a deal to continue U.S. support for Ukraine’s war effort. The administration is trying to strike favorable deals on Ukraine’s mineral resources, which are critical to clean tech such as solar panels and batteries..

Feb. 26, 2025

EPA reconsiders climate pollution stance

EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin moved to end the agency’s endangerment finding, which has enabled regulation of climate pollutants under the Clean Air Act since 2009. 

Feb. 25, 2025

Trump targets fundamental environmental law

The White House Council on Environmental Quality issued a rule that would remove implementing regulations for the National Environmental Policy Act, considered the “Magna Carta” of environmental law. Public comments will close March 27.

Feb. 22, 2025

Government erases thousands of public datasets

Business-critical information was lost after some 3,400 out of 308,000 datasets were wiped from Data.gov. Included in the erasure was demographic data used by energy companies to predict demand, historical weather data that helps insurers assess risk and climate patterns considered by developers in building infrastructure.

Feb. 21, 2025

Feds shut off EV chargers

The U.S. General Services Administration disconnected electric vehicle chargers in federal buildings. Its charging guide for federal workers also went dark, as part of Trump’s efforts to slow EV adoption, following the revocation of $7,500 consumer EV tax credits a month earlier.

Feb. 20, 2025

U.S. cancels support for next IPCC report

The fate of the U.N.’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s 2029 report looks uncertain after the Trump administration blocked State Department officials from visiting China to work on it. 

Feb. 18, 2025

Businesses unite in support of clean hydrogen incentive

Airbus, Dow and General Motors were among 100 signers of a letter to Congress asking to keep the 45V tax credit, which helps fund development of hydrogen technologies.

Trump issues executive order to grab policy power

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission was among agencies targeted by “Ensuring Accountability for All Agencies,” which effectively grants White House greater control over policymaking, undermining Congress’ original intent to shield independent agencies from political influence.

Feb. 11, 2025

SEC abandons federal climate disclosures

The Securities and Exchange Commission’s climate disclosure rule, passed in March 2024, would have forced corporations to report their greenhouse gas emissions. Amid legal challenges by Big Oil, acting Chair Mark Uyeda ordered staff not to defend the rule.

Feb. 7, 2025

Duties proceed for Chinese imports

Trump changed his mind about ending a duty-free loophole on sub-$800 imports, stressing out fast fashion brands. Three days earlier, 10 percent tariffs on Chinese imports proceeded on top of 25 percent from the president’s first administration. The trade war leaves circular economy advocates mulling the consequences for domestic supply chains. 

Feb. 6, 2025

Federal agencies scrub mentions of climate change 

Websites of the EPA, USDA and FEMA were among those affected. Anxious researchers have backed up databases, and the Wayback Machine preserves trails of crumbs. 

Feb. 4, 2025

DOGE overruns NOAA office

Members of Musk’s DOGE team barged into the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Maryland headquarters and took control of its databases.

Jan. 27, 2025

Climate-Smart farming uprooted

Farmers adopting practices to stash carbon in the soil and lower methane emissions were left holding the bag as Washington froze the USDA’s $3.1 billion Partnerships for Climate-Smart Commodities. Also iced: grants and loans for the Rural Energy for America Program (REAP), which helped farmers install solar panels and energy efficiency measures.

Jan. 21, 2025

Trump issues order to roll back equality and diversity measures

An executive order barred companies with federal contracts from using DEI and affirmative action programs, reversing 60 years of Equal Employment Opportunity efforts. Many corporations fold DEI efforts — or mute talk of them. Holdouts include Apple, Costco and Patagonia.

Jan. 20, 2025

Trump Sharpies a battery of executive orders

On Day 1, Trump inked 26 executive orders. Below are six that immediately change the environment for sustainability professionals.

Unleashing American Energy, which fast-tracked fossil fuel projects.

Putting America First in International Environmental Agreements, once again ditched U.S. participation in the Paris Agreement, which many corporations continue to support.

Declaring a National Energy Emergency, which prioritized development of new fossil fuel sources.

Ending Radical and Wasteful Government DEI Programs and Preferencing, which, among other things, put “environmental justice,” “climate crisis” and “chief diversity officer” on the list of phrases anyone who wants to do business with the federal government should avoid.

Initial Rescissions of Harmful Executive Orders and Actions, which revoked Biden’s executive orders, include erasing Justice40 efforts to help low-income communities. Also up in smoke: The White House Office of Domestic Climate Policy and the National Climate Task Force.

Establishing and Implementing the President’s Department of Government Efficiency, which rebrands and retasks U.S. Digital Service. 

Bonus memo: “Putting People over Fish: Stopping Radical Environmentalism to Provide Water to Southern California”. The secretaries of Commerce and the Interior must move water from the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta to southern California, even if it reduces supplies for Central Valley farmers, threatens salmon and smelt, and overrides state policy.

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