How are the impacts of Project 2025 hitting San Diego?

S1: Welcome in San Diego. I'm Jade Heidemann. Today we are talking about a new KPBS report that explores the impact of project 2025 on education , climate and research across our area. This is KPBS Midday Edition. Connecting our communities through conversation. President Trump recently completed his first 100 days in office for his second term , and in that time , his administration upended many pillars of government and society , the impacts of which are now being felt here in San Diego. Some argue the root of Trump's actions is planted in a policy blueprint called project 2025. KPBS investigative reporter Amita Sharma has a new reporting series looking into how project 2025 is changing policy and society on the ground in San Diego. Amita , welcome back to midday.

S2: Oh , it's good to be with you , Jade.

S1: So glad to have you here. So you previously did reporting on project 2025 before Trump came into office.

S2: It's basically 900 pages long. It has 30 chapters , and it lays out a plan to dramatically reshape the federal government under a Republican president. So it starts out with the premise that the federal government is a behemoth , and it has been weaponized against the people , against conservative values. It says freedom and liberty have been under siege as never before. So that's the Republican that's the conservative interpretation of the federal government. The progressive interpretation of project 2025 is it is an effort , basically a recipe to incapacitate the federal government , to consolidate executive power and basically enable an authoritarian presidency , which will have really horrific consequences for our society. It really means getting rid of rules governing the environment , weakening civil rights , weakening worker protections , and damaging public health.

S1: Well , and from your previous reporting , it sounds like there were a number of concerns about the impacts of project 2025. And today we have more than just potential impacts , don't we ? Yeah.

S2: That's right. Back in the fall , during the initial series on project 2025 , I reported on the potential consequences of the plan on key areas of our lives here in San Diego schools criminal justice , education , reproductive rights. Now , it's really not so theoretical. The conservative policy agenda is actually being implemented now.

S1: But , you know , of course , during his campaign , President Trump disavowed project 2025.

S2: In some cases , the white House has not gone as far as project 2025. And let me give you an example. So , for instance , project 2025 calls for the dismantling of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. So far , the white House has gotten rid of a thousand employees , and it is proposing eliminating a key research arm. So in that case , it hasn't gone that far , is getting rid of of Noah. And in other cases it's actually gone farther. So project 2025 makes a huge case for the need for both federal and state prosecutors to be in absolute alignment with the president's agenda in future cases. But the administration has actually undone work by prosecutors under previous administrations , such as pardoning 1500 January 6th rioters. Mhm.

S1: Mhm. Well , and as you mentioned , you report on a few different areas where project 2025 type policies are having an effect right here in San Diego. One of those is in education. So how are local schools being affected.

S2: So right now it's very preliminary. In March , as you know , President Trump signed an executive order to dismantle the Department of Education. For now , the demise of the department could mean a delay of funding for at least San Diego Unified School District for services that helps students who are in foster care , students who have disabilities , and students from low income families and military families.

S1: There are also cuts happening at local universities as the Trump administration scales back support for scientific research. What are you hearing from local researchers about the impact of those cuts ? Right.

S2: So the Trump administration has cut billions of dollars in research money , which has wiped out funding for pandemic HIV and Aids study at UC San Diego. At least 50 researchers at the university have had their funding disrupted. One scientist has said to me that what is happening is actually changing the very foundation of biomedical research , not just here , but in the country. And he says his graduate students are asking him whether they should find another career. And and some of these students are actually MD PhD students who are who are about to wrap up many , many years of study.

S1: You also reported on how policy changes are impacting research into climate and weather. Obviously , a here in San Diego , a lot of that research involves our coast.

S2: So yeah , so so far the administration has fired 1000 employees from Noah. But the biggest deal is that the white House has floated the idea of shutting down the Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research. I spoke with a climate scientist by the name of Ralph Keeling at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography , and he says this would be. absolutely devastating. Both scripts and Noah have a partnership. And through that partnership , they are tracking currents in the ocean offshore that helps researchers understand how pollution is dispersed. They use it for search and rescue operations. They use it to track ocean heat waves. That affects fisheries. And and he says tourism actually depends on this. And he says that , look , without this study , the United States will not know how bad climate change will get and how to react to it , whether to retreat or to fortify. And he says that , again , without this kind of research , the US is turning off the headlights and flying blind.

S1: And also working in darkness , though.

S2: I don't think the administration believes in climate change , and I don't think they want to hear about its progression.

S1: I mean , so you call what we're seeing from the Trump administration a massive societal pivot. And I want to ask , are you noticing growing pushback at all ? I mean , especially given how unilaterally they are being put in place.

S2: Well , unions have filed lawsuits against the Trump administration over some of the federal employee firings , and there have been some victories there. You've had universities challenging these cuts. There have been some victories there. In fact , some of the orders to pause grants or cut grants outright have actually been rescinded from UCSD. So , you know , the final chapter on this story really hasn't been written yet. It's hard to know where exactly things are because there are so many lawsuits , so many challenges to what's going on. I think we'll know a little bit more how this all plays out , probably sometime in the summer.

S1: All right. I've been speaking with KPBS , Amita Sharma , investigative reporter with the Public Matters Project. Of course , we'll continue to follow your reporting on this. Amita. Thank you.

S2: Thank you. Jade.

S1: That's our show for today. I'm your host , Jade Hindman. Thanks for tuning in to Midday Edition. Be sure to have a great day on purpose , everyone.