Here is a list of the second Trump Administration’s Actions Damaging to American Democracy, Health, and Culture.

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Democracy, Rule of Law, and Civil Service

Gutted the DOJ’s Voting Section by removing senior civil servants, reassigning them, and shifting its mission from defending voting rights to focusing on “voter fraud.”

Ordered attorneys to drop all active voting rights cases, breaking with DOJ traditions.

Issued Executive Order 14248, attempting to require citizenship documentation to register to vote and usurping state and Congressional control over elections.

Threatened prosecution of 2020 election officials (“the people who did this to us should go to jail”).

Politicized the Justice Department by firing/sidelining prosecutors on Jan. 6 and Trump-related cases, bringing in loyalist leadership.

Mass pardons/clemency for Jan. 6 offenders, normalizing political violence as “patriotism.”

Revived and expanded “Schedule F” (now “Schedule Policy/Career”) to strip civil-service protections from tens of thousands of policy roles—enabling partisan purges.

Terminated tens of thousands of probationary federal employees en masse via OPM.

Illegally fired Democratic members of the Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board.

Created a task force (led by the Attorney General) to review/overturn Biden Administration civil rights protections branded as “anti-Christian.”

Attempted to seize broader control over D.C. policing and deploy federal forces, testing limits of local self-government.

Attempted unprecedented budget end-runs by impounding appropriated foreign aid funds, undermining Congressional “power of the purse.”

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Public Health and Healthcare System

Cut $11 billion in federal support to state and local health departments by ending COVID-era grants.

Eliminated 20,000 jobs at national health agencies, reducing HHS workforce from 82,000 to 62,000.

Proposed cutting the HHS discretionary budget by one-third (from $121B to $80B).

Plans to slash the NIH budget by over 40% and reduce its 27 research institutes to just eight.

Proposed elimination of: Head Start, rural health care provider programs, HIV treatment efforts, and childhood lead poisoning programs.

Rescinded prescription drug cost-lowering policies; eliminated the $2 cap on generics for Medicare beneficiaries.

Passed tax legislation projected to leave nearly 12 million more people uninsured by 2034.

Rolled back medical debt consumer protection regulations.

Rolled back regulations during rising measles, whooping cough, and bird flu outbreaks.

Announced U.S. withdrawal from the World Health Organization, weakening coordination and U.S. global pandemic influence.

Gutted and muzzled the CDC: freezing publications, firing leaders, chilling communication, and compromising science-based guidance.

Purged federal health programs of LGBTQ+ and DEI content; rescinded ACA §1557 nondiscrimination guidance.

Rolled back EMTALA abortion guidance, endangering pregnancy/life-saving care.

Issued an executive order on day one freezing all U.S. foreign aid for a comprehensive review, then moved to abolish USAID as an independent agency, announcing its functions and most remaining staff would be absorbed into the State Department.

Terminated or suspended more than 80% of USAID's programs (over 5,200 out of 6,200 were canceled or frozen), including the majority of global health, humanitarian, and development efforts, with only a limited waiver system for life-saving emergency aid.

Canceled the vast majority of foreign assistance awards; laid off most USAID staff and contractors both in the U.S. and overseas.

Dissolution of USAID resulted in widespread disruption of global public health, food security, and disaster relief, with global health experts projecting millions of excess preventable deaths as a direct consequence of the abrupt end to aid programs.

The move was widely criticized by NGOs, former USAID administrators, and humanitarian groups as undermining U.S. global leadership and causing confusion, inefficiency, and a severe loss of technical expertise in foreign assistance.

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Civil and Human Rights

Ended all federal DEI programs via executive order.

Targeted DEI in federal government and grantees, chilling academic/legal equity efforts.

Directed exclusion of gender-affirming care for minors from TRICARE and federal employee health benefit plans.

Escalated anti-LGBTQ+ policy (across education, health, and grants), threatening inclusive program funding and erasing federal recognition.

Partially vacated Haiti’s Temporary Protected Status, leaving hundreds of thousands at deportation risk.

Deleted the National Law Enforcement Accountability Database preventing rehiring of officers with misconduct history.

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Immigration & Refugees

Suspended the U.S. refugee program (USRAP), sought indefinite pause (blocked in court), abandoning humanitarian commitments and allies.

Imposed sweeping asylum restrictions (partly blocked), reviving elements of “Remain in Mexico.”

Rescinded “sensitive locations” protections, enabling arrests near schools, hospitals, and places of worship, spreading fear in immigrant communities.

Science, Medicine, and Knowledge Infrastructure
Budget Cuts, Layoffs, and Censorship

The FY2026 budget proposal slashed science funding: NIH down ~40%, NSF by 55%, NASA Science Directorate 52%, CDC 44%, NOAA 26%, elimination of NOAA’s Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research.

DOE Office of Science cut by an additional 14%, undermining climate research.

NIH capped indirect costs at 15%, undermining university and hospital research.

NIH, NSF, HHS (CDC, FDA), NOAA, USGS, VA, and Agriculture suffered layoffs, grant cancellations, freeze orders.

NSF laid off 25–50% of staff, terminated >1,600 grants, suspended peer-review, harming early-career scientists and DEI projects.

Federal advisory committees (FACs) were dismantled, destroying advisory infrastructure.

Hiring at NOAA and NWS involved ideological loyalty tests to Trump’s executive orders.

The administration targeted and eliminated “offending” scientific and health projects (e.g., those with “trans-,” “systemic”).

FDA removed diversity content; later restored with disclaimers against “gender ideology.”

Federal sites and public datasets purged, especially gender, LGBTQ+, climate, racial-diversity data.

Nearly 2,000 scientists and engineers condemned science suppression; nine former CDC directors condemned unprecedented interference.

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Environment & Climate

EPA rolled back emission regulations on coal, oil, and gas, calling it “the biggest deregulatory action in U.S. history.”

Withdrew from the Paris Climate Agreement (again), reevaluated government climate findings, restricted wind/solar project tax credits.

Issued executive order for DOJ to halt state enforcement of environmental policies.

Disbanded the American Climate Corps national service program.

Slowed decarbonization by reversing EV and fuel-economy standards.

Climate change language systematically erased from federal websites; NOAA staff given lists of “banned” climate/science terms.

Scientists and staff experts forced out via mass terminations or intimidation.

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Education, Culture, and Information

Ordered dismantling of the U.S. Department of Education, targeting closure and defunding of programs supporting equity and student parents.

Eliminated support for DEI and transgender-inclusive education, threatened withholding of sex-ed funds to politicize/erase vulnerability.

Terminated federal funding for public broadcasting (CPB), undermining rural/local media and cultural programming.

Ordered the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) shut down, ending key grants (temporarily blocked by court).

Ordered Smithsonian and museums to eliminate “divisive” exhibits (slavery, LGBTQ+, systemic racism), demanding “constructive” narratives of U.S. history.

Criticized inclusive artworks, heightening censorship and chilling effect in museums.

Designated English as the official language via executive order, making the U.S. less welcoming to non-English speakers.

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International Norms & Alliances

Launched a campaign to pull U.S. support from multilateral institutions, shrinking U.S. influence and human-rights leverage. These include:

- United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization
- World Health Organization
- United Nations Human Rights Council
- United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees
- International Organization for Migration
- United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights
- United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees
- United Nations Children’s Fund
- United Nations Population Fund
- World Food Program
- Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development
- Paris Climate Agreement

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Summary: Funding cuts, staff purges, ideological controls, data erasure, censorship, and loyalty tests marked a top-down effort to control knowledge and undermine public welfare across government, science, health, environment, culture, and civil rights.

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Here is a detailed list of ways RFK Jr.'s actions as HHS Secretary have compromised and will continue to compromise the health of Americans:

Vaccine Policy and Disease Prevention

Undermining Vaccine Infrastructure:

- Fired all 17 members of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP), the panel that makes vaccine recommendations to the CDC

- Replaced vaccine experts with appointees lacking current expertise in vaccines, according to UC Law professor Dorit Reiss

- Fired CDC Director Susan Monarez less than a month after she was confirmed, with four other top CDC officials resigning in protest

- Terminated 22 mRNA vaccine development investments under BARDA, claiming these vaccines "fail to protect effectively"

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Weakening Response to Disease Outbreaks:

- Ordered CDC staff not to release risk assessments about measles spread that stressed the importance of vaccination

- During a deadly measles outbreak with multiple deaths, emphasized that vaccination "is a personal one" rather than strongly encouraging vaccination

- Promoted vitamin A as treatment, leading to children being hospitalized with vitamin A toxicity in West Texas

- Made misleading claims about measles vaccine effectiveness, saying it "wanes about 4.5% per year" - which experts say is "just wrong"

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Long-term Vaccination Impact:

- Childhood vaccination rates are already declining, with 39 states below the 95% target rate needed to prevent measles outbreaks

- His influence parallels troubling trends in Florida under Surgeon General Ladapo, where childhood vaccination rates have "fallen precipitously" since 2021

- Kennedy's visit to Samoa was cited by the Ministry of Health as exacerbating vaccine hesitancy before a 2019 measles outbreak that killed 83 people, mostly children

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Food Safety and Nutrition Policies

Raw Milk Promotion:

- Advocates for increased access to raw milk despite documented health risks and current bird flu contamination concerns

- Previously promoted raw milk consumption, claiming it "advances human health" despite FDA and CDC warnings about dangerous bacteria like E. coli and listeria

- Safety experts warn that "the more people who consume it, the higher the probability someone's going to become ill"

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Water Fluoridation Removal:

- Plans to remove fluoride from drinking water as a "Day 1 goal," reversing a practice credited as one of the 10 great public health achievements of the 20th century

- This threatens to undermine dental health protection, particularly for children, as untreated tooth decay "can cause death"

- The current optimal dose of 0.7 milligrams per liter is "well below levels that have been linked to harm"

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Health System Infrastructure Damage

Workforce and Capacity Destruction:

- Cut 20,000 jobs at HHS health agencies during ongoing disease outbreaks including the deadliest measles outbreak since the 1990s

- Mass resignations of CDC expert leaders create "a clear and present danger to Americans" and leave the nation "extremely vulnerable to public health threats," according to infectious disease experts

- HHS announced elimination of 2,400 more jobs at CDC amid the growing measles crisis

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Scientific Research Disruption:

- Halted CDC vaccine promotional campaigns and ordered development of messaging emphasizing "informed consent" rather than vaccine benefits

- Plans to "review the childhood vaccination schedule" and remove vaccine advisory committee members

- Ended HHS support for alcohol advertising research at Emory University

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Public Health Messaging and Misinformation

Dangerous Health Claims:

- Has claimed "there's no vaccine that is safe and effective" and tied vaccines to autism, despite overwhelming scientific evidence to the contrary

- Claims fluoride is associated with "arthritis, bone cancer, IQ loss, neurodevelopmental disorders and thyroid disease" without supporting evidence

- Promoted unproven treatments like cod liver oil during measles outbreak, claiming doctors are "getting very, very good results"

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Authority and Influence Abuse:
- Uses his position's "enormous power" to continue "sowing doubt and confusion about vaccines from the most powerful office," potentially impacting Americans' evidence-based health decisions

- Public health experts worry his biggest risk is "his mouth" - using his platform to spread vaccine skepticism

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Immediate Health Consequences

Current Disease Outbreaks:

- During his tenure, a measles outbreak in Texas has resulted in multiple deaths, with most cases among unvaccinated individuals

- Experts predict "this massive outbreak that is not being controlled" will "continue and possibly worsen"

- Infectious disease experts fear measles and other vaccine-preventable diseases could "make a comeback" under his leadership

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Systemic Public Health Erosion:

- Experts warn that "within the next couple of years, we could see major drops in childhood vaccination rates" due to his influence

- While some food safety initiatives have merit, experts worry his "wrong prescription" approach undermines evidence-based public health

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This comprehensive analysis shows that RFK Jr.'s tenure as HHS Secretary represents a systematic dismantling of science-based public health infrastructure, with immediate consequences including preventable disease outbreaks and deaths, and long-term risks to population health through reduced vaccination rates and weakened disease surveillance systems.

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The decimation of the National Parks under the second Trump Administration has been happening through deep budget cuts, massive staff reductions, and efforts to transfer or shutter hundreds of park units.

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National Parks: Budget, Staff, and Program Cuts

- The Trump administration’s FY26 budget proposes more than a $1 billion cut to the National Park Service, including a $900 million (31%) reduction to park operations—the largest in NPS history.

- These cuts would eliminate funding and staffing for roughly 350 national park sites, more than 75% of the Park System, effectively decimating operations at most parks.

- Since the second Trump term began, the permanent NPS staff has been reduced by at least 24%. Over 1,800 park employees have taken buyouts or have been forced out as hiring freezes and forced resignations take effect.

- Due to staff shortages, over 90 parks have reported cuts to emergency services, visitor support, educational programs, and even basic maintenance like restrooms and trash removal.

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Operational and Policy Shifts

- The administration has mandated all parks to remain open despite staff eliminations, leading to unsafe, unsanitary, and poorly maintained conditions across the system.

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- The proposed cuts also include shuttering visitor centers, slashing support for historic preservation and park construction, and rescinding funding for projects designed to address maintenance backlogs.

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- The administration has aggressively promoted energy extraction, mining, and development within and near park boundaries, rolled back wildlife and environmental protections, weakened the Endangered Species Act, and prioritized extractive uses over conservation, threatening critical habitats and protected landscapes.

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This constitutes the most extreme and systematic dismantling of the National Park System in its more than 100-year history, putting America’s shared natural and cultural heritage at risk.