The scale and scope of federal data and statistics that have been completely removed or otherwise compromised by President Donald Trump’s administration is too overwhelming to chronicle fully. When the president’s executive orders banning diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives came down in January and February, the federal agencies now under his authority scrambled to comply. Per tallies at the time, around 8,000 webpages and approximately 3,000 datasets were taken down or modified. Some went back up, but not without changes that subject matter experts are still working to quantify nearly nine months later.
“We know that in some cases what was changed was about identity. But in other cases, there just hadn’t been systematic analysis or transparency about what was done to them,” said Margaret Levenstein, director at the University of Michigan’s Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research. “And so we don’t know what else might have been changed.”
Some of the most sweeping alterations were made to data on transgender and gender identity-related topics, and diversity and race, thanks to the so-called “Defending Women” and “Ending Radical and Wasteful Government DEI Programs” executive orders, respectively. Those changes, which have been thoroughly reported, are some of the clearest examples of explicit policy decisions that have compromised the accuracy and adequacy of information that makes a difference in people’s lives.
Data has also been compromised as a result of Trump’s firing spree. Some of the disruption results from deep layoffs at federal statistical and research agencies like the National Occupational Research Agenda, United States Agency for International Development, and the National Center for Education Statistics, as well as the dismissal of experienced officials like ousted Bureau of Labor Statistics commissioner Erika McEntarfer.
Many agencies have long flagged that budgetary constraints were limiting their ability to accrue accurate, timely data on which both the private and public sector rely. But the actions of the Trump administration have made this existing problem far worse.
