Dear MoveOn member,
The images from Texas are heartbreaking. Entire neighborhoods underwater. Families displaced. Lives lost.
As Texans struggle to recover from catastrophic flooding, we must acknowledge an uncomfortable truth: Our ability to predict and prepare for these disasters depends on federal agencies like the National Weather Service (NWS) and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), two organizations that Trump and Elon Musk gutted with their DOGE cuts.1
But Texas Governor Greg Abbott, Donald Trump, and Trump's administration don't want to come to terms with this truth.
"'[W]ho's to blame?'" Abbott said when asked about the deaths of at least 111 people from the tragic flood in Texas. "That's the word choice of losers."2 Meanwhile, Trump said, "That was really the Biden setup. That was not our setup."3
Of course Abbott doesn't want to take blame—he'd have to admit his state failed to pay for a flood warning system for Kerr County, where the catastrophe took place.4
And Trump would have to face the fact that critical jobs are cut from NWS and NOAA under his budget.5 And just one day before the floods, Trump had asked for $2.2 billion in more cuts to NOAA.6
Republicans want to treat the Texas disaster like they do every other tragedy that is directly connected to their heartless policy—they are offering thoughts and prayers and painting any effort at holding them accountable as wrong.7 We refuse to let that happen.
The Trump administration is ramping up its DOGE slashing of government work—from NWS jobs to National Institutes of Health research to Department of Education program funding. MoveOn is getting the facts of how these cuts are harming people's lives in front of people to build the movement to stop Trump, and we need your help.
Your donation right now helps us highlight how Trump's cuts are undoing vital services we all depend on. Please chip in $9 to MoveOn. (If you've saved your payment information with ActBlue Express, your donation will go through immediately.)
We had a small reprieve from DOGE and the mass firings while they were challenged in court.
But last week, the Supreme Court ruled that the Trump administration could restart the laying off of tens of thousands of employees immediately, and NOAA is first on the chopping block.8
Make no mistake, the gutting of NOAA, NWS, and FEMA aren't random. They are part of a systematic effort to undermine climate science and environmental protection—which is laid out specifically in Project 2025.9
It's critical that people understand that the billions of dollars and thousands of jobs that are being cut from these agencies aren't numbers on a spreadsheet.
These are cuts to the office of the Warning Coordination Meteorologist in San Antonio, which is sitting empty during historic flood conditions.10
These cuts will lead to less-accurate forecasts, poorly maintained weather radars and satellites, as well as fewer weather balloons launched daily, giving people less time to prepare for severe weather.11
These cuts are the decimation of research that has in the past saved states like Florida billions of dollars in hurricane damage.12
The floods in Texas remind us what's at stake. This isn't about politics—it's about people's lives and the basic functions of government that keep us safe. Will you donate $9 to help get that message out and mobilize the public? (If you've saved your payment information with ActBlue Express, your donation will go through immediately.)
The communities most affected by these cuts are often those with the fewest resources to begin with—working families, communities of color, and areas already vulnerable to climate impacts.
This is environmental justice in its most basic form: Everyone deserves access to the information and resources they need to stay safe in an increasingly unstable climate.
The trouble is, a large swath of the population still doesn't know about these budget cuts and how they'll impact their lives. This is where MoveOn comes in.
Your contribution will help us mobilize a movement, building the grassroots power needed to protect our communities from both climate disasters and the political decisions that make them worse.
Every dollar you give will power our effort to do just that. While we finalize our plans and our budget for this campaign, we are exploring every option we have to communicate with voters in critical districts, but we need funding if we're going to pursue them. Potential tactics include:
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Hard-hitting billboards exposing representatives who betrayed their districts
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On-the-ground organizing to ensure voters know the truth
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Targeted and data-backed television ads that cut through the noise
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And so much more
At MoveOn, we're organizing millions of Americans to block Trump's dangerous agenda, including his attacks on the scientific agencies we depend on for public safety. Please donate $9 to support this work. (If you've saved your payment information with ActBlue Express, your donation will go through immediately.)
Thanks for all you do.
–Alex, Amy, Melissa, Nita, and the rest of the team
Sources:
1. "Have DOGE's NOAA Cuts Impacted Weather Forecasts? What We Know," Newsweek, March 17, 2025
https://www.newsweek.com/doge-noaa-layoffs-weather-donald-trump-tornadoes-storm-2045986
2. "Texas Gov. says 'losers' blame others for flood response," CNN, July 9, 2025
https://www.cnn.com/2025/07/09/weather/video/texas-governor-abbott-presser-football-analogy-vrtc
3. "Trump Looks to Avoid Casting Blame in Texas Flood as Democrats Question Cuts," The New York Times, July 7, 2025
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/07/07/us/politics/trump-texas-floods.html
4. "Officials Feared Flood Risk to Youth Camps but Rejected Warning System," The New York Times, July 6, 2025
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/07/06/us/texas-flood-warnings-sirens.html
5. "Are Donald Trump's NOAA Cuts to Blame for Texas Flood Tragedy? What To Know," Newsweek, July 7, 2025
https://www.newsweek.com/donald-trump-noaa-cuts-texas-flooding-2095437
6. "White House details proposed NOAA research, science cuts," Politico, July 3, 2025
https://subscriber.politicopro.com/article/eenews/2025/07/03/white-house-details-proposed-noaa-research-science-cuts-00435082
7. "Republicans toe Trump line even in aftermath of deadly Texas floods," The Guardian, July 8, 2025
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/jul/08/texas-floods-republicans-response-trump
8. "Supreme Court Clears Way for Mass Firings at Federal Agencies," The New York Times, July 9, 2025
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/07/08/us/politics/supreme-court-federal-workers-layoffs.html
9. "A Guide to the Major Climate and Environmental Excerpts in the Project 2025 Report," UC Berkeley Law, accessed July 9, 2025
https://www.law.berkeley.edu/research/clee/research/other-research-initiatives/environmental-guide-to-project-2025-report/
10. "DOGE Cuts Contributed to Texas Flood Impact—Former NOAA Administrator," Newsweek, July 8, 2025
https://www.newsweek.com/doge-cuts-texas-floods-noaa-vacancy-2096151
11. "What we lose when weather balloons don't fly," The Washington Post, May 26, 2025
https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate-environment/interactive/2025/weather-balloon-launches-staff-cuts/
12. "Full Episode: Proposed NOAA budget cuts concern local forecasters, and Trump administration says 'no amnesty' for farmworkers," Spectrum News 13, July 8, 2025
https://mynews13.com/fl/orlando/political-connections/2025/07/08/noaa-budget-cuts---no-amnesty--for-migrant-farmworkers
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