Two months removed from President Trump’s inauguration, it’s hard to find any aspect of the federal government that has not been affected by his administration’s actions.
The broad sweep of the White House’s efforts to remake the government – aided in no small part by Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) – have touched virtually every Executive Branch agency and program. And while the courts have blocked a number of administration actions, even temporarily, the Republican-led Congress has to date mostly acquiesced to the rapid changes, altering the balance of power in Washington.
Even the courts’ ability to check the executive may be in question, as the White House bristles against judicial mandates and threatens to ignore rulings from the bench. (President Trump and some of his allies even have called for judges who rule against them to be impeached, although there is no chance of the Senate removing judges from their positions.)
Should the administration openly defy court rulings – particularly any from the Supreme Court – the public may have something to say about it. Polls show that overwhelming majorities of Americans, from all sides of the political spectrum, believe that presidents should abide by court rulings. All elected officials are sensitive to public opinion; with all of the House and a third of the Senate up for re-election in 20 months, President Trump and his congressional backers may find, like all of his predecessors did, that ignoring public opinion comes at a price.
In the meantime, ACRA continues to monitor and assess policy developments that could have big impacts on the CRM industry, including those beyond the traditional arena of historic preservation and cultural heritage. Here are some of the big issues that we are tracking:
Federal Workforce Reductions
Even as the administration moves forward with plans to dramatically reduce the size of the federal workforce, the courts are applying the brakes to some of it.
Two weeks ago, federal judges in California and Maryland ordered the administration to reinstate thousands of probationary federal workers who lost their jobs as part of mass firings carried out at 19 agencies.
Those rulings do not stop efforts by agencies to implement reductions-in-force among employees. Although it’s too soon to tell how many employees will be affected in the coming weeks and months, ACRA and its partners in the preservation sector are closely monitoring potential cuts to cultural resource personnel across agencies and alerting Congress about the impacts these cuts will have to Section 106 implementation and other critical activities.
Cutting the Education Department
In a move that could impact the ability of the industry to recruit new talent, President Trump last week issued an executive order directing the Education Secretary to “take all necessary steps to facilitate the closure of the Department of Education.”
The White House acknowledges that only Congress can formally eliminate the Department, and there is not enough support in the Senate to do that. Trump said that the Department would continue to provide critical functions that are required by law, such as the administration of federal student aid, including loans and grants, as well as funding for special education and districts with high levels of student poverty – functions that comprise a significant majority of what the Department does.
But with the Department working to eliminate 50 percent of its workforce, the long-term impacts on student aid and other programs are not known.
Preparing More Tariffs
It’s no secret that President Trump is a fan of tariffs. In his first two months in office, he has raised tariffs on roughly $800 billion in imports from China, Mexico and Canada, which have spurred retaliatory actions by other countries on the U.S.
Now the White House is reportedly preparing to impose tariffs on most imports on April 2, on what Trump has dubbed “Liberation Day.” These new tariffs may include duties on goods from most nations that trade with the United States, meaning that trillions of dollars in imports could face new tariffs.
What the impact of these tariffs will be on the broader economy remains to be seen, although many economists have warned that a trade war could lead to higher prices and lower employment.
Lawmakers Ask ACRA To Alert Them to Stalled and Canceled Contracts
ACRA members shared examples of federal contracts that have been delayed or cancelled with members of Congress last week, joining their preservation allies on Capitol Hill as part of the 2025 Preservation Advocacy Week (more on that below).
Even as they pressed lawmakers to advance legislation promoting historic preservation and cultural heritage, ACRA members reported on their experiences with federal agencies. As a result, multiple lawmakers have asked ACRA and its members to inform them about instances where federal contracts have been cancelled or delayed.
If your firm has had a project cancelled, stalled, or modified, please let us know as much information as possible via this form. This information will be used internally by ACRA staff to understand the full scope of cancellations across multiple federal agencies.