How do Cuts Happen?
Directly taking funding away from government agencies isn’t the only way that government services can be cut. It can also become harder to apply for benefits. Or, there might not be enough people to answer the phones. Agency heads can choose not to enforce the rules the same way for everyone. Or, they might change the rules in unexpected ways.
Barriers to Access
Creating bureaucratic hurdles, for example forcing people to complete mountains of paperwork or show up in person for things that could be done online or over the phone, will prevent people from accessing programs like Medicaid, SNAP and Social Security.
Non-Enforcement
If agencies like the Environmental Protection Agency, Department of Justice, Department of Labor or the Securities and Exchange Commission don’t enforce the existing rules, those rules might as well not exist at all.
Staff Cuts
As recently seen by the thousands of unanswered calls to the Federal Emergency Management Agency during the floods that claimed several lives in Texas in July of 2025, if there aren’t enough people on staff to do a job, the job does not get done.
Privatization
When a private company takes over a government service, the service doesn’t disappear but access to it becomes limited – private companies need to make money – and the priorities of the organization running it are different than those of government.
What else can lead to cuts in government services and funding or reduced enforcement of laws?
“Emergencies”
When a national emergency, such as the “Energy Emergency” declared by President Trump on his first day in office, is declared, some laws, such as environmental laws, could be ignored until the emergency is resolved.
Priority Changes
Declared changes in priorities have been used to force, for example, research grant winners to rewrite their grants to fit within the framework of those priorities. Those who fail will forgo their funding.
Weaponization
When a state needs funding for certain projects or activities, they may be vulnerable to pressure to enforce new rules or capitulate to administration demands.