Conservation experts were slated to gather last Thursday for a discussion about fighting wildlife trafficking in Latin America.
It never happened. Earlier that week, the Trump administration’s so-called Department of Government Efficiency team had arrived at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars — the think tank that was supposed to host the discussion, said a person familiar with the events.
After the DOGE team’s arrival, the Wilson Center’s Republican leader stepped down, most staff were placed on administrative leave, fellows with the center received termination notices and planned events were canceled.
The Trump administration’s swift dismantling of the prominent think tank has sent shock waves through the energy and environmental policy world, where the Wilson Center has long been regarded as a nonpartisan cultivator of talent and ideas. The center is one of many agencies and federally funded institutions that have been targeted by Trump and the Elon Musk-led DOGE effort to dramatically slash the federal government and its workforce.
