Hundreds of US government websites are shutting down; know why
What's the story
More than 350 American government websites, including that of humanitarian agency USAID, were reported offline on Monday. The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) shared a list of affected sites across departments, including defense, commerce, energy, transportation, labor. High-profile names such as the Central Intelligence Agency and the Supreme Court were also affected, an AFP review showed. The timeline and reasons behind the shutdowns remain unclear.
Policy impact
Shutdowns coincide with government downsizing initiative
The website shutdowns come amid a controversial push by President Donald Trump's administration to shrink the US government drastically. Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk is spearheading the federal cost-cutting efforts under the newly established Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). On Monday, Musk announced USAID will be shuttered, calling it a "criminal organization." USAID employees were told via email not to report to their offices on Monday.
Content changes
LGBTQ references removed from US government websites
Several US government websites have also scrubbed references to LGBTQ topics after a Trump directive last week. The directive ordered the termination of taxpayer-funded programs promoting "gender ideology." Consequently, key information and datasets on HIV and LGBTQ youth have been removed from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) website. The CDC's landing pages for these topics now read, "The page you're looking for was not found."
Expert concerns
Health experts express concern over removal of resources
The Infectious Diseases Society of America has raised alarm over this removal of resources. They said that it "creates a dangerous gap in scientific information and data to monitor and respond to disease outbreaks." They stressed that public access to this information is critical for tackling public health threats like HIV and other diseases.
Website modifications
Widespread changes across government websites
In line with Trump's executive orders acknowledging just two genders and abolishing diversity initiatives, several changes have been made across government websites. The Office of Personnel Management ordered agencies to cancel grants on "gender ideology" and eliminate pronouns from emails. Agencies were also told to substitute "gender" with "sex" on forms. Notable changes include modifications on National Park Service pages on historic sites such as the Stonewall Uprising for gay rights.
Additional alterations
Further changes and removals on government websites
The State Department also altered consular forms by eliminating the X gender marker. The US Census Bureau's homepage crashed, hindering access to reports on gender identity and sexual orientation. Reports by the Intelligence Community Inspector General were deleted from the Office of the Director of National Intelligence's website. A Bureau of Prisons page was renamed from "Inmate Gender" to "Inmate Sex," excluding information on transgender inmates.