NEWSWEEK 04/29/25
By Dr. Michael Shank and US Congresswoman Yvette Clarke

As we enter tornado and Atlantic hurricane season in the United States, with the Midwest already experiencing devastating damage from multiple storms this month, the Trump administration is actively undermining our nation’s ability to predict, plan, prepare for, and respond to these extreme weather events.

Recent and anticipated cuts to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the National Weather Service (NWS), and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) make it more likely that Americans will be put in harm’s way before, during, and after these increasingly intense and destructive storms, tornadoes, and hurricanes.

This is a public safety issue. These cuts are putting millions of Americans at risk and will cost lives. Every first responder in America knows how critical it is to have the ability to forecast a storm, chart its trajectory, classify its intensity, provide life-saving communication and preparation to potentially affected communities, and have boots on the ground to respond to impacts in real time.

These cuts aren’t just a war on science—they are a war on public safety. These agencies’ work is essential and life-saving. Here are only a few examples of how these federal agencies and offices protect American lives and property:

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s mission is to protect lives and property. Better forecasting reduces American deaths, and over the last century, weather-related deaths have decreased substantially because the accuracy of federal forecasting has improved. Now that the Trump administration has fired more than 1,000 NOAA staff and is expecting to fire another thousand employees, that accuracy will be undermined. That means more preventable deaths and destruction.

The National Weather Service, where every forecasting minute counts, allows Americans time to take shelter and provides first responders with more time to prepare for rescues. The Trump administration’s cuts, however, will have a significant effect on its minute-by-minute forecasting. For example, the NWS wasn’t able to survey the damage of the latest tornadoes in the Midwest or even confirm that these storms were tornadoes, making it all the more difficult to protect American lives and property.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency helps communities across the U.S. not only recover from extreme weather events but also prepare for them. The Trump administration recently ended a key program that helped communities across the U.S. build more resilient infrastructure. Now we’ll be even less resilient and more vulnerable to increasingly destructive weather.

It’s as if the administration is keen to put Americans directly in harm’s way. It’s actively removing essential federal safeguards that stand between a ferocious hurricane or tornado and the millions of vulnerable Americans who lie in their path. This is not an “America First” agenda. Not when Americans’ public safety is placed last.

In the wake of the Trump administration’s disemboweling of NOAA, NWS, and FEMA, new types of first responders, such as philanthropy and foundations, community-based organizations, and faith-based institutions, will likely step up to stop the post-disaster bleeding. We’re already witnessing this in the Carolinas post-hurricane. The private sector will also attempt to fill the void previously filled by free weather forecasting services from the federal government. But this ad hoc approach won’t provide all Americans with the safety they need or deserve.

All of this will come at a great cost to American lives and property. It’ll be a wild west of weather prediction, preparation, and response. Americans will be forced to fend for themselves, no longer able to rely on the federal government to prepare for and respond to worsening weather and its increasingly devastating effects. Last year, there were 27 weather-related disasters that caused over $1 billion in damage, and the year before that there were 28 disasters with over $1 billion in damage. Things are getting worse. As these numbers and costs of weather and climate disasters increase year after year in the U.S., now is the time to double down on the federal government’s abilities to protect American lives and property, not hobble it.

The Trump administration’s cuts pose a clear and present danger to Americans everywhere. Congress and the courts must do everything possible to stop the federal administration’s slash-and-burn tactics. That is why we reintroduced the Department of Homeland Security Climate Change Research Act—legislation designed to prepare the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to confront and mitigate the impacts of the climate crisis. DHS must be properly equipped to address these devastating extreme weather events. The well-being and safety of America’s most vulnerable and front-line communities will depend on how DHS prepares and responds to these disasters, particularly in the face of the Trump administration’s work to dismantle key agencies and hinder FEMA’s effectiveness at every turn.

Unfortunately, the cuts keep coming as Trump continues to weaken our capacity to respond to climate change. Recently, under Trump’s direction, DHS announced that it will cancel funding for grants within its Science and Technology Directorate. These cuts will jeopardize the directorate’s ability to assess current research on how to approach, mitigate, and identify potential negative effects of climate change as it pertains to preparedness, response to, and recovery from disasters—undermining Congress’ ability to provide oversight on research and data concerning climate change.

What we do know is that slashing funding and government agencies with no plan as we enter into this year’s Atlantic hurricane season—which is expected to be worse than average—and with tornadoes predicted to expand outside tornado alley into areas not accustomed to severe weather, threatens our ability to forecast, track, and prepare for these massive storms. Storm season is coming, and without federal support and fully functioning agencies such as NOAA, NWS, and FEMA, American lives and property are in peril.

Rep. Yvette D. Clarke (D-New York) serves on the House Energy and Commerce Committee. Michael Shank is adjunct faculty at New York University’s Center for Global Affairs and a visiting scholar at George Mason University’s Carter School for Peace and Conflict Resolution.