Oklahoma has been previewing and promoting Trump’s agenda long before his second presidential term began in January, but it appears the chickens are finally coming home to roost as the state absorbs the impact of potential cuts to federal funding and jobs.
Despite being the only state in the nation where all 77 counties selected Trump for president in 2016, 2020 and 2024, Oklahoma faces a reckoning as hundreds of jobs and billions in federal funding risk being cut.
Let’s be real, those of us living here who didn’t vote for any of these disastrous policies or right-wing politicians are saying “I told you so” as Oklahoma begins to reap what it’s sowed.
A timeline of Oklahoma’s FAFO phase
At the end of January, the courts temporarily blocked Trump’s freeze on federal aid. If it ultimately goes through, Oklahoma could lose as much as $14 billion in federal grants, according to an analysis from Oklahoma Policy Institute. The cuts would severely impact the state’s educational, health and agricultural sectors.
As February began to reach its halfway point, the National Institutes of Health–in response to Trump’s executive orders and demands to cut government spending–announced it would clawback research funding nationwide.
As a result, Gaylord News reported hundreds of employees at the University of Oklahoma, Oklahoma State University and the University of Tulsa are at risk of losing their jobs.
Last week, unelected billionaire Elon Musk’s unofficial Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) announced cuts that impacted federal offices. In what Musk claims is an effort to save taxpayer dollars, DOGE terminated the leases for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in Broken Bow, Oklahoma, and the Bureau of Indian Affairs office in Carnegie, Oklahoma.
It’s unclear how the terminated leases will impact local communities. The U.s. fish and Wildlife Service office oversaw federal laws around wildlife and protecting endangered species for one of the largest fishing tourism communities in Oklahoma.
Meanwhile, the Carnegie office managed the trust assets for nearly a dozen Tribal communities.
Oklahoma Republicans start to break from Trump’s agenda
Most recently, after Musk sent out an email asking federal employees to respond in a day with what they accomplished or face termination, This Is Topeka reported up to 600 employees at Tinker Air Force Base near Oklahoma City were at risk of termination as early as Monday, Feb. 24. It’s unclear whether or when these firings will take place, leaving residents scrambling to support these families.
As expected, Democrats in the state Legislature are sounding the alarm, while Oklahoma Republicans in Congress remain silent.
“People are frightened, and we need to know exactly what is happening,” Oklahoma Minority Leader Cyndi Munson (D-Oklahoma City) told reporters.
In a surprising rejection of Trump’s slashing of the federal government, at least two Republican mayors in Oklahoma have begun to express outrage over the potential cuts to jobs and funding.
“To be clear, I support the movement President Trump has built, but I do not support what his team is doing to federal employees, especially in the Department of Defense,” Choctax Mayor and Trump supporter Chad Allcox wrote on Facebook. “Those who work to protect this country deserve better than this treatment.
While the pain of Trump’s agenda is beginning to impact Oklahomans, for years we’ve supported the very type of politics that got us in the mess we’re in now.
We must rage against the dying of the light
Years before Trump suggested closing the federal Department of Education, controversial Oklahoma State Superintendent Ryan Walters has done all he could to disrupt, delay and dismantle the normal functioning of the state’s education system. Notably, we hold the infamous ranking of 49th in education among all 50 states.
Before Trump began sending undocumented migrants to Guantanamo Bay, Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond has pushed for a law that would allow law enforcement to racially profile anyone suspected of being an immigrant.
Time and time again, Gov. Stitt has sought the relocation of major tech companies to Oklahoma, and thanks to our anti-human policies, he continues to make a fool out of himself and the four million Oklahomans who reside in this state.
Ultimately, as the same voters who ushered in a second Trump presidency begin to show cracks in their support at town halls across the nation, we have only ourselves to blame for allowing Oklahoma to become ground zero for Trump’s dystopian vision of the future.
What we do next will determine whether we go quietly into the night or rage against the dying of democracy’s light. Oklahomans across the state have begun to use their voice as hundreds frequently protest at the Capitol.
We need to be willing to use every tool at our disposal to take back our country from cowards cosplaying as fascists. No one’s coming to save us from ourselves. We have to do the work.
Related Stories:
- DOGE terminates leases for two Oklahoma federal buildings
- Hundreds of OU, OSU, TU employees at risk over research funds cuts
- Oklahoma Policy Institute measures impact of federal aid freeze
I appreciate how well-researched and detailed this post is. The way you’ve broken everything down and provided context for each point has made it much easier to understand. I’m sure I’ll be referring to this article for a long time.
This was a solid write-up of the distressing state of our State. Nice work.