After a sweeping review ordered by Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, the Department of the Interior has reportedly terminated 43 agreements with outside organizations, wiping out more than $4 million in planned spending that officials say was headed toward diversity initiatives, environmental justice programs and services benefiting illegal immigrants. Washington’s favorite alphabet-soup causes just lost a major government piggy bank.
According to department officials, the review uncovered thousands of active agreements spread across a sprawling network of nonprofits, advocacy organizations, educational institutions and private groups. The audit reportedly examined nearly 3,000 agreements involving roughly 2,000 outside entities.
And what did reviewers find? Officials say a number of those partnerships either failed to provide a clear benefit to taxpayers or simply no longer matched the administration’s priorities.
The department summed up its position bluntly: “Under Secretary Burgum, the Department of the Interior is ending partnerships with groups that no longer represent the priorities of the American people.”
That message is consistent with the Trump administration’s broader effort to dismantle federal DEI programs, rein in taxpayer-funded activism and redirect federal resources toward what it describes as core government functions.
Among the organizations losing agreements is the Hispanic Access Foundation, which previously partnered with the National Park Service on educational and cultural projects. The group has also been associated with scholarship opportunities aimed at immigrant Latino students, including some who are in the country illegally.
Another organization reportedly caught in the funding shake-up is the American Alliance of Museums. According to Interior officials, the group worked with the National Park Service on diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives throughout the park system. Its “Facing Change” effort has promoted DEI-related programming within museums nationwide.
Then there’s Latino Outdoors, a California-based organization that has advocated for greater outdoor access among Latino communities. Critics have pointed to the group’s distribution of information intended to help illegal immigrants understand interactions with federal immigration authorities, making it a natural target for an administration prioritizing immigration enforcement.
The review also swept up several environmental organizations that frequently find themselves at odds with Republican energy policy.
Among them is Conservation International, which Interior officials criticized for supporting policies aimed at a complete phaseout of fossil fuels. For an administration championing American energy production, that was never likely to survive scrutiny.
The Cultural Landscape Foundation also reportedly lost an agreement involving educational and cultural programming with the National Park Service.
Additional organizations facing termination notices include the Green Schools Alliance, Doris Duke Foundation, National Wildlife Federation, California Native Plant Society, Clean Ocean Action and the National Geographic Society.
The question practically asks itself: Why was the federal government funding many of these groups in the first place? Supporters of the move argue that taxpayers shouldn’t be subsidizing organizations promoting political agendas that conflict with the policies voters elected the administration to pursue. Critics, meanwhile, contend that many of the terminated partnerships supported conservation, education and community outreach efforts that transcend partisan politics.
Interior officials are making clear which side of that debate they’re on. “Under President Trump and Secretary Burgum, the Department of the Interior is taking decisive action to ensure its partnerships and resources support the priorities of this administration and the interests of the American people,” said Matthew Middleton, the department’s principal deputy communications director and director of research.
He added: “As part of that commitment, the Department is ending relationships with organizations whose advocacy for phasing out baseload energy, defunding law enforcement services, and promoting racially preferential programs directly conflicts with this administration’s priorities.”
Middleton said the department will continue backing partnerships focused on expanding access to public lands, encouraging responsible stewardship and delivering what officials describe as measurable benefits for Americans.
Burgum’s team has made one thing clear — if a partnership doesn’t fit the administration’s agenda, it’s on the chopping block.
