Trump’s first month: How the administration’s actions affect Minnesota

In the month since President Donald Trump returned to the White House, the federal government has undergone a period of unprecedented change. Aided by Elon Musk, the world’s richest man and head of the U.S. DOGE Service — the unofficial “Department of Government Efficiency” — the Trump administration has fired thousands of probationary federal workers, canceled contracts and gutted entire agencies including the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID).

Trump has also issued numerous executive orders related to some of his top priorities.

Here is a look at the impact on Minnesotans of many of the Trump administration’s initiatives.

In Trump’s first week as president, he issued executive orders terminating all diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) and accessibility programs within the federal government. He also directed agencies to identify private sector entities to be investigated because of their DEI programs. Target pulled back on some of its DEI programs and reframed others. Several other companies that had previously publicly supported DEI issues have gone mute . Since Trump’s first week in office, hundreds of government employees have been cut for being DEI-affiliated.

— Carson Hartzog and Catherine Roberts

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The Trump administration has sent strong warnings to higher-education institutions that changes are coming soon.

Trump‘s administration has opened an investigation of four institutions, including the University of Minnesota, for antisemitism; issued an executive order seeking to fight antisemitism on college campuses; and vowed action against Hamas. U officials have said they’re “firmly against antisemitism.” Meanwhile, Trump announced sweeping cuts to medical research grants given to universities. The cuts (which have been put on hold for now by a federal judge) would limit “indirect” support by the National Institutes of Health to academic institutions as well as direct funding of research. Lawmakers estimated losses to the U could run well over $100 million.

Earlier this month, the University of St. Thomas shared that they had lost a $6.8 million grant to prepare future elementary and special education teachers due to a perception that it was related to DEI efforts. The university disputes that, saying the program is open to anyone, and is appealing the decision. On Feb. 14, Trump wrote a letter to universities and K-12 schools, warning them they had two weeks to cut all DEI-related initiatives or risk losing funding.

— Erin Adler

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The Minnesota Department of Commerce told a panel of state lawmakers Monday that its agency has about $1 billion in federal funding for energy programs under contract, much of which is currently frozen.

The energy industry has also won far more than $1 billion in federal grants, mainly through the Inflation Reduction Act or the bipartisan infrastructure law. Those also seem to be currently frozen, said Pete Wyckoff, deputy commissioner of energy resources. That includes $812 million for Great River Energy to procure a vast amount of renewable energy, saving the utility’s customers money, but Great River said no money was pulled because it wasn’t available yet to be spent. The money on pause also includes $52 million for a Minneapolis-based company building magnets crucial to everyday life that don’t rely on materials largely sourced in China, Wyckoff said.

— Walker Orenstein

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Federal workers in Minnesota on probation began receiving termination notices last week within the U.S. Forest Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture and the National Park Service, among other federal departments. Many workers said they had long worked for the federal government but under seasonal or temporary designations. Promotions and moves into permanent jobs automatically changed the workers' status so they were technically put on probation. Trump’s executive order from his first week in office froze federal hiring and required that agency heads compile a list of all probationary workers. Probationary workers do not have as many workplace protections and can be let go at will. There are about 20,000 federal civilian employees in Minnesota. When contractor jobs, postal workers and military members are included, the count approaches 35,000, according to the Minnesota Federal Executive Board.

— Dee DePass

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Trump suspended refugee admissions and froze funding to refugee resettlement agencies that helps pay for the first three months of expenses for new arrivals to America. Hundreds of refugees’ flights to Minnesota were canceled, and resettlement agencies have solicited private donations and support from faith organizations to fill in the gaps. Lutheran Social Service of Minnesota recently said it is eliminating 27 positions as a result of those policies. Minnesota was also a leading state in a program launched under President Joe Biden called the Welcome Corps, which adopted a model called Uniting for Ukraine to allow private citizens to form sponsor groups to help resettle refugees. But that, too, was suspended by Trump.

Meanwhile, ICE detention in Minnesota is expanding amid Trump’s crackdown on undocumented immigrants. The state’s immigration court at Fort Snelling has seen more cases of detainees appearing by video from jails in Kandiyohi and Freeborn counties and has set aside Tuesday mornings to hear cases out of the Sherburne County jail. Still, advocates and attorneys say they have not seen any large-scale immigration raids. While the Trump administration threatens to prosecute local officials who don’t cooperate with ICE, Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison issued an opinion saying that local authorities cannot legally hold undocumented people in jail up to 48 hours after they are scheduled for release so that ICE can pick them up and put them in immigration custody.

— Maya Rao

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Flights canceled for hundreds of Minnesota-bound refugees

Lutheran Social Service of Minnesota announces staff cuts

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Gender and pronouns

On his first day in office, Trump issued executive orders stating the government would recognize only two unchangeable sexes, male and female. About 1% of adults identify as transgender and 2% as intersex, and there is broad consensus among medical experts that gender falls along a spectrum. The orders intend to roll back the rights of transgender, intersex and nonbinary people in a variety of realms, including banning federal funding for gender-affirming care for minors, barring transgender service members from the military, requiring trans women in federal prisons to be housed with men, and blocking schools that receive federal funds from requiring staff to use students’ preferred names and pronouns.

As a result of the orders, the State Department no longer allows people who identify as neither male nor female to select “X” on federal travel documents, including passports, visas and global entry cards. And trans people are now unable to change their gender between “M” and “F.” A group of trans plaintiffs, represented by the ACLU, has sued in U.S. District Court. Trump’s order conflicts with Minnesota state law, which defines gender identity as a person’s “inherent sense of being a man, woman, both, or neither.” Minnesota allows residents to apply for driver’s licenses with an “X” or to switch between “M” and “F.”

— Rachel Hutton

High school sports

Trump’s executive order banning transgender women and girls from female sports, signed on Feb. 5 and titled “Keeping Men Out of Women’s Sports,” has been met with questions and concerns from the organization that administers high school sports. The Minnesota State High School League (MSHSL) has said the order appears to be in direct conflict with the Equal Rights Amendment to the Minnesota State Constitution. The amendment guarantees protection to Minnesota residents from discrimination based on race, color, national origin, ancestry, disability, gender identity and gender expression, and sexual orientation.

In 2015, the MSHSL Board of Directors approved a policy that allowed transgender students to participate in sports that match their gender identity. The league initially announced plans to reach out to the Minnesota Attorney General’s office for guidance on how to proceed.

Threats to withhold federal funding from the league for noncompliance are not a concern to the MSHSL, which is a voluntary nonprofit body that receives no government funding. The MSHSL’s primary sources of revenue come from state tournament ticket sales, broadcast rights and corporate sponsorships. The league also requires members to pay dues of $160 per sport to offset costs. In wake of the MSHSL’s response — which was reported erroneously by some local media as resisting compliance with the federal mandate — the Department of Education’s Civil Rights Office announced plans to commence investigations into the MSHSL and one of its fellow high school activities organizations, the California Interscholastic Federation, citing Title IX infractions. Title IX is the landmark 1972 federal legislation that prohibits sex-based discrimination in schools and other educational organizations.

The MSHSL has clarified its position, stating it has not rejected the implementation of the executive order, only that its legal counsel is reviewing communications with the Education Department and intends to fully cooperate with the investigation.

The MSHSL has 601 member schools, including public, private, charter, home and online schools.

— Jim Paulsen

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University of Minnesota

The University of Minnesota estimates it could lose more than $100 million per year under an order by the Trump administration to cap indirect support at 15% of research grants issued by the National Institutes of Health. Indirect support traditionally ranges from 25% to 60% of grants and pays for back-of-the-house needs such as freezers that store blood and cell samples. The cuts were delayed when Minnesota and 21 other states sued in federal court and a judge issued an injunction. A hearing in the case is set for Friday.

Medical device safety

Led by Musk and tasked with cutting the federal budget, the so-called DOGE homed in on U.S. Food and Drug Administration employees overseeing Minnesota’s massive and highly regulated medical device industry.

Groups working with regulators and medtech companies have said to slow down.

The Associated Press reported that recently hired employees who review medical device safety were fired.

Minneapolis-based FDA law firm DuVal and Associates said it believes the Office of Product Evaluation and Quality “has been indiscriminately and disproportionately affected by this reduction in force.”

The law firm said the office is fundamental to the agency’s mission and shouldn’t be the target of indiscriminate reductions. The eliminations “will hinder the timely and safe introduction of new innovations to patients and their physicians.”

— Jeremy Olson and Victor Stefanescu

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Minnesota receives about $1.8 billion a month from the federal government in loans and grants. The funds comprise more than a third of the state’s overall two-year budget.

Trump’s attempt to freeze federal spending in late January alarmed state agencies and Gov. Tim Walz, sending them scrambling to assess the possible impact. A federal judge temporarily blocked the funding freeze, and the Trump administration issued a memo shortly afterward saying it would drop it for now. Walz and state legislators are still bracing for possible federal cuts as Trump’s administration explores pausing funding streams and shrinking the government workforce and programs. Some are panicking about how cuts could affect Minnesota, which already faces a projected future budget deficit of $5.1 billion in the 2028-29 biennium. Minnesota legislators must pass a new two-year budget this year.

— Ryan Faircloth

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Since Trump took office, only one of his many threatened tariffs has gone into effect — an additional 10% tax on all goods from China. Companies that import Chinese goods pay the tariff, and those increased costs are often passed on to consumers. China also implemented its own retaliatory tariffs on U.S. exports, which could hurt demand for American-made goods, like farm machinery, and commodities, such as oil and natural gas.

A 25% tariff on all steel and aluminum imports is slated to go into effect March 12. Most recently Trump proposed tariffs on autos, pharmaceuticals and semiconductors “in the neighborhood” of 25% that could begin in April.

The Chinese tariffs are expected to increase prices for retailers and consumers on electronics and apparel, while a wide range of businesses, including automakers and breweries, could see costs go up under the steel and aluminum tariffs. The move could benefit Minnesota’s Iron Range, which supplies taconite for steelmaking.

The goal of tariffs is to increase domestic production and rely less on imports, but the modern economy operates on a global supply chain for parts and finished products. It could take years for manufacturing to move to the U.S. in response to tariffs. A 25% tariff on both Mexico and Canada has been postponed to March and is not completely off the table. Both countries have threatened countermeasures that would target U.S. exports.

— Brooks Johnson

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