Donald Trump promised to shake up Washington if elected president. One week into his term, he can take credit for keeping that promise: the nation’s capital is clearly shaken up.
Following a swearing-in ceremony moved indoors due to frigid cold and the obligatory inaugural balls, President Trump released a swarm of executive orders and actions that in many cases go beyond what even his supporters expected.
He declared not one but two national emergencies, about energy production and the border. He killed federal diversity programs and ordered federal workers to report on colleagues who don’t comply. He freed everyone imprisoned over the January 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol and directed his attorney general to investigate the Jan. 6 investigators. He erased a significant portion of his predecessor’s actions, set in motion plans to turn many civil service government positions into political jobs, and ordered U.S. troops to the southern border. He rolled back some NEPA rules that had been around since the Disco era and anti-discrimination requirements for government contractors that were issued a year after the Beatles first came to America.
Oh, and he ordered the Gulf of Mexico to be renamed the “Gulf of America,” and the continent’s tallest mountain to go back to being called Mount McKinley.
The long-term impact of all these moves is hard to predict. For one thing, not all of his actions will survive potential court challenges; already a federal judge placed a temporary hold on his order limiting birthright citizenship on the grounds it violates the Constitution. Other orders are time-limited, like holds on federal hiring and rulemaking, while others are destined to be amended or superseded over time.
But for the moment, the scope and degree of executive actions have placed the capital into a state of extreme uncertainty. Citing offers of federal employment being rescinded, communications over public health being suspended, and meetings being canceled at the last minute, the Wall Street Journal reported that, “While glitches aren’t uncommon during the early days of presidential transitions, some longtime federal employees said the chaos seemed more extreme this week due in part to wide-spanning differences between the agendas of the previous administration and the new one.”
The frenetic shift from Biden to Trump could have real-world implications, both good and bad, for the CRM industry, particularly for firms that contract with the federal government or operate within federally mandated processes like Section 106. Even as the new administration seeks to withdraw federal commitments to some infrastructure projects, like wind and solar, it is looking to increase federal backing for others. And of course, Congress will have a say in how and where federal money is spent.
Here are some of the big developments from the last week that ACRA is watching closely.
Trump’s First Moves on Energy
On Inauguration Day, the Trump White House issued numerous executive orders related to energy production, signaling a strong policy shift away from renewable energy towards oil, gas, coal and mineral extraction. Although the orders cannot, in of themselves, change laws or regulations, they can (and do) call on relevant federal agencies to use all the powers at their disposal to accelerate permitting of energy projects, including increasing the use of emergency authorities. And while the orders pave the way for more oil and gas leases, it is far from certain that the industry will bite.
ACRA is carefully reviewing the orders to analyze how they impact the permitting process. (For a full run-down of relevant executive orders, read ACRASphere’s analysis.)
Federal Workforce Changes
A longtime adversary of what he terms as the “deep state,” several executive actions target the federal workforce. His initial moves call for a 90-day hiring freeze, ending diversity programs, restricting telework and requiring a return to the office, and, most importantly, bringing back his 2020 Schedule F proposal.
Under the plan, the President can reclassify certain career positions within the federal government, particularly those in policymaking, leadership, or confidential roles, into a new Schedule F. This would give the administration greater control over staffing decisions in these areas.
Federal workers under Schedule F would lose protections typically available under the Civil Service Reform Act, such as job security and procedural rights for promotion and dismissal. This makes it easier for the president to remove these employees, as they would no longer be subject to the same merit-based procedures that protect most federal workers.
Agency Leadership
President Trump’s nominees for key Cabinet positions are moving forward, albeit not as quickly as the new administration would like. As of Sunday, only four Cabinet positions had been filled. Some controversial nominees are facing pushback from Democrats, although that won’t necessarily stop them from winning confirmation from the GOP-controlled Senate.
Others are finding more bipartisan support. Case in point is Trump’s nominee for Interior Secretary, former North Dakota governor Doug Burgum, who was approved by the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee last week on am 18-2 bipartisan vote. He is likely to be confirmed this week, but permanent heads of Interior bureaus, plus the ACHP, remain unfilled.
Temporary Suspensions of Interior Department Decisionmaking
The acting Secretary of the Interior Department issued a Secretarial Order on January 20 suspending the authority of the agency’s bureaus and programs from making decisions on a host of functions without approval from temporary leadership. Among the actions covered are publishing proposed or final rules, issuing or changing Resource Management Plans, approving mining operation plans, issuing renewable energy authorization and others.
Other than those that are approved by acting Department leadership, such actions are suspended for 60 days, although the suspension may be lifted once permanent leadership is confirmed by the Senate.
It is important to note that such moves are not uncommon; the incoming Biden administration issued a similar order in 2021.
Government Spending
Even as President Trump hits the accelerator on executive actions, his GOP allies on Capitol Hill are gearing up for a major push on far-reaching legislation that could make dramatic changes to federal spending and taxes.
Congressional Republicans are hoping to use a parliamentary process called “reconciliation” to enact much of their legislative wish-list on taxes, energy and the border without having to rely on Democratic support. The catch is that they can only use the reconciliation process once per fiscal year. So GOP leaders are starting to craft one “big, beautiful bill,” as Trump described it. But will it really take two bills to get it done, one in the spring and one next fall in the new fiscal year? Senate Republicans think so, putting them at odds with their House counterparts, who want to get it all done as soon as possible.
For the CRM industry, the bill’s fate matters for a few reasons. First, Republicans plan to use reconciliation to extend and maybe increase Trump’s 2017 tax cuts, which expire at the end of the year. Companies that organize as pass-through entities could see their taxes go up without congressional action.
Second, the energy portion of the bill could either increase funding for oil and gas projects, reduce or eliminate funding for renewable projects, or do a little of both. (One thing unlikely to be a part of the bill is permitting reform, since anything in a reconciliation bill must have a direct impact on the budget.)
Passing their “big, beautiful” bill will be hard enough, with Republicans holding the slimmest majority in the House. But even before Congress gets to take the bill up, it must finish work on spending levels for the current fiscal year that started last October. The government currently operates on a short-term “continuing resolution” that expires March 14. Signs point to lower funding levels for many programs, including those related to preservation, but it’s anyone’s guess where those figures will end up.
Advocating for CRM
Whatever these and other developments bring, ACRA continues to work with its allies on Capitol Hill and in the preservation community to advocate for policies that support cultural resources management and historic preservation.
A major part of that effort will be 2025 National Historic Preservation Advocacy Week, when preservation advocates and professionals from across the country will head to Capitol Hill to meet with their elected representatives. The Week also provides opportunities to hear from a variety of preservation and policy professionals on issues affecting historic preservation and enjoy exclusive local tours and networking opportunities.
With so much uncertainty on the policy landscape, it’s more important than ever that the preservation community speaks with one voice. By joining forces with Preservation Action in 2025, ACRA members will be able to get even more out of the experience.
Learn more and register today here.