"Urban officials had just begun grappling with the deadliest kind of weather — extreme heat — when President Donald Trump stopped them in their tracks by canceling a range of grants and adaptation programs last year as part of his broader attacks on climate policy.
Now, as sweltering U.S. metropolises prepare for summer heat that historically kills more people than hurricanes, floods and wildfires, heat officials say they’re learning how to work within a system that rejects their agendas.
It often occurs in Republican-led states where climate-related funding can’t be relied on to fill gaps left by vanishing federal money.
'The context in which we operate, there’s always gonna be headwinds,' said one local official who works in a red state. 'And we just have to expect there’s not gonna be a regulatory environment that supports sustainability initiatives.'"
Chelsea Harvey reports for E&E News June 2, 2026.
