Agriculture
The Trump administration froze $22 million in funding from the U.S. Agency for International Development for Louisiana State University's project to make crops more readily available to those at risk of hunger.
March 2025: Calcasieu Parish Schools Stated Trump USDA Cuts Would Reduce Amount Of Produce They Bought From Local Farmers. According to KPLC, "Two programs totaling over $1 billion in federal funding have been cut by the U.S Department of Agriculture. One of them is the Local Food for Schools Cooperative Agreement Program, which provided around $660 million in funding for schools across the U.S to buy food from local farmers. Calcasieu Parish Schools received $100,000 in funding through the Local Food for Schools Program to purchase foods from local farmers. While cuts to the program won’t affects schools' ability to feed students, Calcasieu Schools Nutrition Program Director Jacqueline Richard says it will reduce the amount of locally-sourced products they serve. Over the past two years, they’ve used the funding to purchase food like cucumbers, strawberries, satsumas, ground beef and rice from Louisiana farmers. 'We used all the funds that we had available. We used them well. We built relationships with local farmers, and local vendors, and we’re really proud of the work we did to bring local foods to our students in Calcasieu,' Richard said." [KPLC, 3/14/25]
February 2025: Trump Administration Froze $22 Million In USAID Funding For LSU’s Research Initiative To Help Louisiana Farmers Grow More Resilient Crops. According to Louisiana Illuminator, "A $22 million project involving the LSU AgCenter has been paused while the Trump administration reviews spending at the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). LSU is part of the Feed the Future Climate Resilient Cereals Innovational Lab, which researchers at Kansas State University lead. It seeks to make cereal crops – such as rice, wheat, miller and sorghum – more readily available to those at risk of hunger, according to an AgCenter blog post. 'As a result of the recent Executive Orders, the federal government is currently reviewing expenditures, and this project has been placed on hold,' LSU AgCenter spokeswoman Tobie Blanchard said in a statement to the Illuminator. 'As a contractor on this initiative, we are awaiting further guidance.' Projects seeking to breed climate-resilient crops are among the staples of the LSU AgCenter. While the Feed the Future project has an international focus, the school’s emphasis on climate-resilient crops also benefits Louisiana farmers whose lands are regularly impacted by hurricanes and other extreme weather events." [Louisiana Illuminator, 2/6/25]
February 2025: Louisiana Farmers Reported Losing Millions Of Dollars After Trump Cuts And Layoffs.
September 2025: Trump’s Government Shutdown Threatened To Temporarily Suspend Flood Insurance In Louisiana. According to NOLA, "Perhaps the most immediate effect for Louisiana would be an end, at least temporarily, to flood insurance. The National Flood Insurance Program will expire unless the Senate accepts without changes the House-passed resolution to continue government operations for another seven weeks. About 458,000 of Louisiana’s home and business owners have flood insurance. Current policies will remain in effect until their expiration dates, but no new policies will be written and no existing policies will be renewed until the program is reauthorized." [NOLA, 9/30/25]
April 2025: Trump Administration Fired Every Staffer In Office That Manages Program Helping 103,000 Households In Louisiana Pay Their Heating And Cooling Bill. According to KPLC, "Concerns over the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program, better known as LIHEAP, are growing after federal workers were laid off earlier this week. It’s a program that has long helped millions of low-income households that have struggled to cover their energy costs. The program provides heating and cooling assistance to 103,000 households in Louisiana. In Calcasieu Parish that number is 6,000. With the entire 10-person federal LIHEAP staff now cut, questions about the program’s operations and funding are growing. 'The information being received right now is still very fresh, as far as what our particulars are on the different executive orders that are being issued by our current administration,' Erika Garrison, assistant director of the Calcasieu Parish Police Jury’s Department of Human Services, said." [KPLC, 4/3/25]
February 2025: Trump Administration Cancelled Grant To Help New Orleans Communities Repair Local Environment After Hurricane Katrina. According to The Associated Press, "Arthur Johnson has lived in New Orleans’ Lower 9th Ward for nearly three decades, long enough to appreciate the trees that filter pollution from the big ships traveling the nearby Mississippi River and that offer shade on sweltering summer days. When Hurricane Katrina roared through two decades ago, it wiped out 200,000 trees across the city, including many in Johnson’s neighborhood and several in his own yard. The city has struggled ever since to restore its tree canopy. Those efforts will be set back by the U.S. Forest Service’s decision in mid-February to terminate a $75 million grant to the Arbor Day Foundation, which was working to plant trees in neighborhoods that might not otherwise be able to afford them. The program is the latest victim of a drive by President Donald Trump’s administration against environmental justice initiatives. In New Orleans, part of the money was going to the environmental group Sustaining Our Urban Landscape (SOUL), which has planted more than 1,600 trees in the historically Black community but has now paused plans for another 900. Those are trees that largely low-income residents otherwise couldn’t afford to plant or maintain, said the 71-year-old Johnson, who runs a local nonprofit, the Lower 9th Ward Center for Sustainable Engagement and Development, that has helped SOUL with its work and done some tree plantings of its own in the area. 'You’re not just cutting out the tree, the environment' with such cuts, said Johnson. If those trees aren’t replaced and more aren’t continually added, 'it really takes a toll on the sustainability of the Lower 9th Ward and its community.'" [Associated Press, 3/1/25]
February 2025: Trump Spending Freeze Threatened Viability Of Environmental Protection Programs In New Orleans. According to WWL Louisiana, "City leaders are scrambling to find a solution as President Donald Trump's freeze on federal funding for environmental programs put millions of dollars for local projects at risk, according to NOLA.com. These include initiatives for coastal restoration, energy efficiency, bike infrastructure, and electric vehicle charging stations. Local nonprofits also face major cuts, with some fearing they'll be forced to shut down without the critical funds." [WWL Louisiana, 2/12/25]
October 2025: The Trump Administration Delayed An EPA Regulation Controlling Petrochemical Plants, Subjecting Louisianans To Two More Years Of Harmful Air Pollution. According to Louisiana Illuminator, "Residents of the Louisiana and Texas Gulf Coast are bracing for their latest environmental setback: A two-year exemption loosening emissions standards at some petrochemical plants — a move that could pump nearly 5.3 million additional tons of air pollution each year into their neighborhoods. According to an analysis by the Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL), five petrochemical facilities planning expansions along the coast would be exempt from rules limiting emissions of planet-warming greenhouse gasses and other hazardous emissions. The facilities include two in Texas and three in Louisiana that make products ranging from pesticides to plastic resins.” [Louisiana Illuminator, 10/28/25]
September 2025: The Trump Administration Backed Chevron In A Case Seeking Damages From The Oil Company For Coastal Restoration. According to NOLA, "The Trump administration is siding with Chevron at the U.S. Supreme Court in a closely watched case related to Louisiana's coastal lawsuits and whether they should be heard in state or federal court. In a brief filed with the court last week, U.S. Solicitor General John Sauer agreed with Chevron, which was recently ordered by a Plaquemines Parish jury to pay $745 million to restore state wetlands, that it should be allowed to fight that case and others in federal court, which is seen as a potentially friendlier venue for the oil giant. The company has argued that federal court is the correct venue for cases of this type because they involve oil and gas production that was part of a federally sanctioned effort during World War II to make aviation fuel. Chevron and the companies it bought 'worked for the federal government to refine aviation gasoline — a vital wartime product that powered Allied air forces to victory,' Sauer argued in the brief. Plaquemines Parish, which sued the companies, has argued successfully in lower courts that the oil in question was not directly linked to wartime production and therefore the case should remain in state court." [NOLA, 9/15/25]
October 2025: Trump’s Government Shutdown Threatened November SNAP Benefits For Louisianans, Forcing The State To Prepare To Use $150 Million Monthly To Fund The Program. According to Louisiana Illuminator, "Louisiana political leaders are preparing to use $150 million monthly in state funding to help continue food assistance benefits while the federal government shutdown in Washington, D.C., continues, Gov. Jeff Landry and legislators announced Friday. 'I mean, it’s a choice between using money that we have or people going hungry,' Senate President Cameron Henry, R-Metairie, said in an interview. 'That’s why we have the fund balances that we have.' Landry issued an executive order Friday directing the state to cover the costs of the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, for Nov. 1-4. The Louisiana House of Representatives followed with a 97-0 vote Friday for an 'urgent request' that would allow state money to be used for the program until the federal shutdown ends." [Louisiana Illuminator, 10/24/25]
October 2025: Trump’s Government Shutdown Forced A Louisiana Organization To Cut Back On Services To Sexual Assault Survivors. According to Louisiana Illuminator, "Louisiana’s largest provider of aid for sexual assault survivors cut back on services this month as a result of not receiving funding before the federal government shutdown. Sexual Trauma Awareness and Response, or STAR, had to halt its hospital accompaniment program, where staff members support victims going through an evidence-gathering medical exam after a sexual assault. STAR serves sexual assault survivors in 15 parishes in central and southeast Louisiana. The organization’s hospital accompaniment services will stop for the foreseeable future in St. Tammany Parish and the New Orleans area, where other nonprofits also provide that service. In Baton Rouge and Alexandria, STAR hopes to be able to resume hospital accompaniment in November after not offering it in October. But the organization will have to cut back on other services to do so, said Morgan Lamandre, its CEO. In those regions, STAR is the only entity to send staff into hospitals. To pay for hospital accompaniment in Baton Rouge and Alexandria, Lamandre will have to shut down STAR’s case management program. It gives sexual assault survivors help accessing crime victims’ funding, health care and other assistance in the weeks and months after their assault. Those processes can be bureaucratic and confusing for those not used to navigating them, which is why STAR offers that support to their clients. But Lamandre said the organization has to prioritize its hospital accompaniment program in Baton Rouge and Alexandria because the nonprofit needs to offer the service in order to keep its accreditation and some other funding." [Louisiana Illuminator, 10/27/25]
September 2025: Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill” Blocked Funding For Planned Parenthood Clinics In Louisiana, Forcing Some To Close, Even If They Had Never Offered Abortion Services. According to Louisiana Illuminator, "Republican President Donald Trump signed legislation in July blocking federal Medicaid funds for certain reproductive health care providers — primarily affecting Planned Parenthood. Providers and advocates told States Newsroom there’s a misconception that the organization only offers abortion, contraception and STI tests, but 11 Planned Parenthood clinics being forced to close provided a broad range of services, including pregnancy care, primary care and, in some cases, behavioral health care. [...] Crawford got that cancellation call in mid-September, the day after a federal appeals court allowed the government to put a Medicaid moratorium on reproductive health care entities that also offer legal abortion and received more than $800,000 from the program in fiscal year 2023. It’s a provision in the massive tax break and spending cut law signed this summer but a policy pushed by abortion-rights opponents for years. Even though the U.S. government already bans Medicaid funding for abortion in most cases, the court ruling means that until July 2026, Planned Parenthood and other clinics affected by the law can no longer receive federal Medicaid funds for any services, from contraception to cancer screenings and prenatal care. That includes clinics like the one Crawford went to, which never offered abortion care." [Louisiana Illuminator,
March 2025: Trump Administration Rescinded Roughly $55 Million In Funding For Louisiana Public Health Agencies Including Mental Health And Substance Use Treatment Programs. According to WWNO, "The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services appears to have abruptly slashed over $55 million in grants to the Louisiana Department of Health, according to a review of the Department of Government Efficiency website run by Elon Musk. The figure is five times the amount estimated by Deputy Secretary Dr. Pete Croughan earlier this week. The cuts target mental health and substance use programs, including crisis services, according to Louisiana health officials. The apparent cuts range from more than $18 million slashed from one grant to $333,011 sliced from another. In total, a WWNO/WRKF review of the DOGE website found $55,844,936 in cuts across 11 federal grants to Louisiana’s health department, though the site has previously posted inaccurate and inflated data. All of the cuts listed on the DOGE site were dated March 23." [WWNO, 3/27/25]
June 2025: The Trump Administration Canceled A $40 Million Grant For Flood Prevention In The Town Of Central, Louisiana. According to CBS News, “A lifelong resident of Louisiana, Wade Evans has learned a lot about floods, including this: the water doesn't care about your politics. The mayor of Central -- a community of about 30,000 outside of Baton Rouge -- Evans and his family were forced to evacuate their home by boat in 2016 when flooding from torrential rains destroyed 60% of the structures in town. ‘Flood water doesn't discriminate,’ said Evans, a Republican and supporter of President Trump. ‘Any person that flooded is shocked that it would be considered politics to do flood mitigation.’ So when he received word in April that FEMA was canceling a grant program that would provide nearly $40 million for a new flood control system in Central, he was angry. In a press release, FEMA said the program, which provided funding for infrastructure projects in storm-prone communities, was ‘wasteful’ and had become ‘more concerned with political agendas than helping Americans recover from natural disasters.’ ‘To me, it's a brilliant business decision,’ said Evans, who said the drainage project in Central would have saved money in the long run by protecting houses that routinely sustain flood damage FEMA ultimately ends up covering. ‘And then they pulled the rug out from under us.’ Evans and Central aren't alone. Amid the avalanche of cuts made in the first five months of the Trump administration, none may have red state politicians more up in arms than the cancellation of the infrastructure program, which is formally known as Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities, or BRIC for short.” [CBS News, 6/16/25]
April 2025: Trump Administration Cancelled Over $700 Million In Funding For Louisiana Storm Recovery And Preparedness Programs. According to KATC, "President Donald Trump's administration has ended a FEMA program heavily relied upon by Louisiana that paid to elevate homes, build levees and do other work to lessen damage from storms, calling it 'wasteful and ineffective,' our media partners at The Advocate report. The end of the Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities program, called BRIC, effectively spikes 148 applications worth $721,281,559 in Louisiana, according to the Federal Emergency Management Agency's financial obligations database. Louisiana, California and New York collectively receive about half of the program's total budget, the newspaper reports. The video player is currently playing an ad. You can skip the ad in 5 sec with a mouse or keyboard The Advocate reports that FEMA has stopped accepting applications for 2024 and is canceling projects on the drawing board from 2020 to 2023. Approved grant funds that have not been distributed will be returned to the Disaster Relief Fund or the U.S. Treasury, according to FEMA. Plus, the agency is looking for ways to claw back money already paid out. For Louisiana, that could translate to about $282 million, the newspaper reports." [KATC, 4/9/25]
HEADLINE: “Louisiana Officials Lament Trump Administration’s Cuts To FEMA Grant Programs For Storm Impacts.” [WVUE, 4/9/25]
April 2025: The Trump Administration Added The Only OSHA Field Office In Louisiana To Its List Of Offices To Close, Undermining Worker Protections In The State. According to the American Prospect, “On the morning of March 20, Mathew Roberts was working at a chemical plant on the outskirts of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, when he was involved in an accident with a forklift. Unresponsive and in critical condition, the father of two and Iraq War veteran known for his big laugh and warm smile was taken from the Nutrien nitrogen plant to a local hospital, where he died of his injuries. The U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration is investigating the incident, along with local law enforcement, but Roberts’ family members said they are still waiting for answers. […] Several weeks before Roberts’ accident, Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency announced that it will close 11 OSHA field offices, including the one in Baton Rouge that is investigating Roberts’ death. It is the agency’s only office in Louisiana, and its potential closure is raising concerns among workplace safety experts. The closures remain “under review,” per the U.S. Department of Labor, which oversees OSHA.” [American Prospect, 4/18/25]