Guam agencies urged to assess the impact of Trump's housecleaning

By Mar-Vic Cagurangan

A legislative panel has asked Guam agencies to assess the potential impact of President Donald Trump’s federal retrenchment and radical spending cuts on their future operations.

“With legislative hearings on the governor’s spending plan for fiscal year 2026 anticipated in the next few months we must have a clear understanding of how the president’s executive orders are affecting the agencies within our oversight and their collective ability to enforce existing local and federal mandates,” said Sen. Shawn Gumataotao, chairman of the Committee on Public Safety, Emergency Management and Guam National Guard.

Shawn Gumataotao

Since his first day in office, Trump has issued 73 executive orders overhauling the federal government, chopping some programs, voiding certain mandates issued by the Biden administration and cutting foreign aid, among others.

Taking a cue from Trump’s domestic agenda, the House on Tuesday narrowly passed a Republican budget resolution that called for $4.5 trillion in tax cuts and a $2 trillion reduction in federal spending over 10 years.

“Any reduction or elimination of federal funding for any of our public safety or emergency management agencies, or the Department of Military Affairs, resulting from an executive order or corresponding action by a federal grantor entity will require policymakers to realign government finances to maintain critical public services,” Gumataotao said. 

“The committee is interested in reviewing all relevant information on how the executive actions will affect current and future operations of our public safety and emergency management agencies and our Guam National Guard,” he added.

Gumataotao asked public safety and emergency management agencies and the National Guard to submit their impact reports by March 12. 

At the University of Guam, one of the initiatives hit by Trump's axe was the diversity, equity and inclusion program, funded with $11.4 million in grants managed by the Research Corp. of UOG.

Ending what he called “radical and wasteful government DEI programs” was among the first set of directives Trump issued on his first day in office.

UOG said it is responding accordingly to federal policy changes, which have resulted in the suspension of 11 grants and the closure of one program.

Anita Enriquez

At least 12 employees have been reassigned to other grants. While no employees are currently furloughed, 40 student internships have been paused.

“The university is actively reallocating resources, expediting the drawdown of available grant funds, engaging in ongoing discussions with federal agencies to seek long-term solutions, and ensuring specific project deliverables are met,” UOG said in a press release.

“UOG ranks among the top 31 percent of research institutions nationwide in science research expenditures—an achievement that underscores our commitment to discovery and innovation,” said Anita Borja Enriquez, UOG president.

She said UOG is coordinating with federal agencies “to navigate these changes, protect our research programs, support affected employees and sustain valuable opportunities for our students.”

The university is exploring solutions “that preserve UOG’s role as a hub for research excellence and economic advancement in Guam and the broader Micronesian region," Enriquez added.

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