We have been tracking the loss of government information here at FGI for a long time — following in the footsteps of the monumental ALA publication “Less Access to Less Information by and about the US Government”! We’re starting to see more reporting not about loss of specific government publications or datasets but about the wholesale destruction of entire executive branch agencies. Just in the last few weeks, there have been multiple stories about the US Forest Service — moving headquarters to Utah, All 10 regional offices being shut down, more than 51 research centers across 31 states being closed, and replacing the scientists with 15 political appointees called “state directors” embedded alongside the industry lobbyists — the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and the Voting Rights Section of the Justice Department. Adding to this is the shuttering of USAID early in the 2nd Trump administration, severe budget cuts across the statistical agencies, and the slashing/”doge-ificiation” of 300,000+ federal workers across the executive branch. This will be important to keep tracking this growing and rapidly-changing issue in order to start the rebuilding process after we — hopefully — get out from under this administration.
- “The Forest Service — a Force Across Rural America — ‘Reorganizes’ Under Trump.” Bill McKibben, New Yorker, April 7, 2026.
- “Can the EPA survive Lee Zeldin?” Elizabeth Kolbert, New Yorker, April 27, 2026.
- “‘The Damage Is Massive’: How the Justice Department Dismantled Its Voting Rights Section.” David Gilbert, Wired Magazine, April 29, 2026.
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