Just under two weeks after taking office, the Trump administration has made significant edits to government agency websites, removing key content related to climate change and health disparities among LGBT+ youth. These actions have alarmed public health officials and environmental advocates alike, raising concerns over the consequences of such omissions.
On the website of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), multiple pages related to the health of LGBT+ youth have been taken down. Similarly, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA)—which oversees the U.S. Forest Service—has also erased content pertaining to climate change. According to the USDA website, users now see messages stating, "You are not authorized to access this page," with the CDC echoing this sentiment: "The page you're looking for was not found." These messages indicate clear and deliberate actions to erase previously available information.
According to internal guidance shared with The Independent, USDA employees were instructed to review their websites for climate-related content and remove any pages focused on climate change. Upon completion, they were to document this content for future reference. A spreadsheet obtained by ABC News confirms these actions, detailing what content was flagged for removal.
Before the removals, the USDA's pages had included valuable information on climate change science and its impacts, along with resources like the Fifth National Climate Assessment. This document is considered the U.S. government’s primary report on the risks and responses to climate change. Fortunately, some climate-related information still remains available on the Environmental Protection Agency's website.
The CDC pages, now missing, previously addressed the increased health risks faced by LGBT+ youth. One now-vanished CDC resource highlighted the obstacles these youths face, stating, "Many LGBTQ+ youth thrive during adolescence. But stigma, discrimination, and other factors put them at increased risk for negative health and life outcomes." It went on to explain the many forms stigma can take, such as discrimination, harassment, and violence, which can lead to serious health consequences.
Neither the CDC nor the USDA responded to requests for comments from The Independent. Ariel Beccia, a researcher at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health who specializes in health issues among LGBT+ populations, voiced the growing concern within the scientific community, stating, "Everyone I know in public health and science ... is freaking out right now."
These website alterations are occurring alongside other contentious policies from the Trump administration, including efforts to ban transgender individuals from serving openly in the military and the rollback of clean energy initiatives. President Trump, who has previously referred to climate change as a "scam" and "hoax," has spearheaded efforts to withdraw the United States from the Paris climate agreement. This international pact aims to combat climate change by limiting global warming and its associated risks, including severe droughts and increased storm intensity.
Brooke Rollins, Trump's nominee for USDA secretary, has publicly denied the classification of carbon dioxide as a pollutant, aligning with the administration's broader anti-regulatory stance. Critics argue these changes signal a dangerous trend, where scientific information is suppressed to align with political ideologies.
The erasure of this information raises alarming questions about the future of environmental policy and public health data dissemination. Experts warn these efforts could significantly undermine public knowledge about climate science and the health needs of marginalized populations, which could have dire ramifications for both current and future generations.
Overall, the Trump administration's actions to sanitize government websites reflect broader ideological shifts and reveal tensions between scientific integrity and political agendas. The full impact of these changes will likely be felt long after this administration has ended, as transparency and factual information become ever more important pillars of public health and environmental discourse moving forward.