The New Reality

One of the key talking points of the 2024 election results (often repeated by Republicans and President Trump) and justification for the political rollercoaster ride the nation has experienced since Trump and the GOP took control of all three branches of government last month, goes like this … President Trump has an election mandate. A more truthful statement in this case would be …winner takes all.

The 2024 election results favoring Donald Trump were anything but a national mandate for Trump or his party claim. The 2024 election results favoring Trump produce a winner with less than 50% of the vote, and less than a 1.6% percent majority of the popular vote — hardly a national mandate, but enough votes to squeak across the finish line and onto the presidency.

As president, Trump can and does anything he likes with no political repercussions, so far at least. The daily chaos of his administration is simply following Steve Bannon’s election playbook; if you win… “flood the zone”.

Trump and his agents of chaos have indeed flooded the zone with executive orders without much consequential forthought. Voters on both side of the political fence generally agree that government (and the private sector) can both benefit from less waste, greater efficiency, and operate with lower costs where possible.

The claims of vast fraud exists throughout key Federal agencies – an allegation without substance is one totally false, and otherwise unfounded. But, it is still a repeated taking point of Trump and his minions without supporting facts to back up such wild claims, yet some believe it to be true true because they have told it is so.

Somewhere lost in translation is any consideration towards greater accountability in governance. The very thing America’s founding fathers had in mind freeing the Country from the rule of King George III, and transforming the American colonies into a Democracy governed by its people, free of tyranny, and English taxes.

Project 2025 – the Trump Administration’s Disruptive Playbook

In the 21st century, America has been and remains the global leader in ending the tyranny represented by dictatorships since the end of Second World War and in advancing the international rule-of-law through freedom and democratic reforms. America’s leadership was not limited to addressing the global challenges following the end WWII.

For nearly 80 years, the USA has taken the lead role in advancing global stability and democracy. America’s 2024 national election was less a turning point, and more (as some have describe it) a fork in the road. In Trump’s case, that fork in road is an opportunity to remake America into his image, following the Project 2025 playbook written by the far-right think tank; the Heritage Foundation.

Most Americans have not read the foundation’s playbook written for Trump and his party. But Project 2025, since Trump and his administration were sworn into office has been the GOP’s script for remaking America in “their image”. More than an outline, “Project 2025” is today’s GOP roadmap.

The Project 2025 Presidential Transition Project was a well-funded (eight-figure) effort published by the Heritage Foundation with more than 100 organizations participating in a future vision of an America with the most anti-democratic presidential administration in modern times. It is mandate and call to take swift, far-right actions that would cut wages for working people, dismantle environmental, climate, and social safety net programs, and to redefine the way our society operates.

Popular national policies and trends supporting the current national and global transition into a clean energy economy are to be sweep away, beginning with Trump’s very first national policy statement upon being sworn to the nation, drill-baby-drill (for oil and gas) with the promise to roll-back America’s back to it unfettered hey days of the 19th and 20th centuries.

Trump was merely following the Project 2025 playbook on energy, which is to roll back the clock on climate science and clean energy technologies, increase oil and gas profit subsidies and turning America into the next Saudi Arabia. Not factored in this energy policy of abandon are the public costs of such an about face on climate science and pollution abatement technologies. It is an energy policy of which will be measured in many impactful ways beyond the direct social and climate costs of a cheaper gallon of gas, and greater profits for an industry with little regard to the impacts of their outdated energy business practices.

Trump in the following the Project 2025 script, recently appointed fossil fuel CEO Chris Wright appointed as Energy Secretary, who vows to “unleash” US fossil fuel development at a scale not seen since the 1920’s. As energy secretary, Wright is expected to promote President Trump’s efforts to achieve U.S. “energy dominance” through dirty energy dominance lead by the United States, and at a global scale.

The Project 2025 playbook further calls for President Trump to not only roll-back progress, it calls for the eventual demise of key Federal agencies responsible for protecting and reporting on escalating climate threats to the nation and the planet, while protecting Americans health from the social impacts of pollution and industrial-linked diseases. The Project 2025 playbook specifically targets key Federal agencies responsible for the economic and social welfare of the nation. One example closer to home is NOAA (National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration).

NOAA plays a critical role in helping Hawaii, and the nation understand the effects of human behavior on the world’s oceans and atmosphere. NOAA issues “daily weather forecasts,” “severe storm warnings,” and more. It also monitors and reports on climate changes, manages fisheries, restores coastal environments, and supports marine commerce. According to NOAA, the agency’s “products and services support economic vitality and affect more than one-third of America’s gross domestic product.

Project 2025’s policy agenda would also trade the federal government’s vast institutional knowledge and forward momentum on climate solutions for dangerous climate denialism and obstructionism. These policy proposals threaten America’s role as a leader in the global clean energy transition, supported by Inflation Reduction Act investments that have ignited job creation and economic growth in communities across the world

For details on Project 2025, BeyondKona recommends reading and referring to : https://democracyforward.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/2024-05_Peoples-Guide-Pro-2025.pdf

One final thought …

As Trump and his team — most notably Elon Musk — run roughshod over legal and ethical boundaries, it’s been hard not to notice how unprepared the Federal government system is prepared for the internal threat now unfolding in Washington D.C.

One would in fact be justified in assuming that Trump’s failures to comply with the law might trigger no repercussions whatsoever, just as they didn’t during his first term in office and largely didn’t during his interregnum.

Presently, significant questions remain unanswered. Who will police the new president and his loyalist political party in complete control of all branches of government in 2025? Barring an outbreak of self-respect at the Capitol, the answers are unsatisfying.

There are the courts, though that path tends to be slow and deliberative, and depends on respect for the courts’ authority, something Trump has demonstrated repeatedly he does not have respect for any legal system which challenges his actions.

America has also repeatedly demonstrated over history a surprising ability to self-correct itself in times of national challenge — now is certainly one of those times…

Hawaii’s economic dependency and recent relationship with the U.S. federal government

Hawaii historically received significant federal aid, loans, and financial assistance. The state has received billions in new federal funding for various programs and initiatives udinr the Biden administration, but has changed with the election.

Here are some, not all, specific examples of recent and anticipated Federal funding rollbacks impacting Hawaii’s economy, now in jeopardy with a new administration with very different national priorities:

2023 Federal dollars flowing to Hawaii in the form of economic support

Homelessness Assistance: $4 billion was allocated nationwide, with Hawaii receiving a portion of this funding.
Small Business Loans: The U.S. Small Business Administration provided more than $151.2 million in federal disaster loans for Hawaii businesses impacted by the Maui wildfires.
Homeowner and Renter Assistance: More than $244.7 million was provided to homeowners and renters to help them rebuild and recover from the Maui wildfires.
Maui Wildfire Recovery: FEMA and federal partners were on track to provide approximately $3 billion towards Maui wildfire recovery.
State and Local Government Support: In fiscal year 2021, Hawaii received about $6.2 billion in federal transfers to state and local governments, which likely continued or increased in 2023.
Unemployment Benefits: $808,419,350 was allocated for repayment of a U.S. Department of Treasury loan to pay for unemployment benefits.
Disaster Declaration Funding: Following the August 2023 wildfires, President Biden approved a disaster declaration, making federal funding available for temporary housing, home repairs, and other recovery efforts.

While the exact total for 2023 is not provided in the search results, these figures indicate that Hawaii received several billion dollars in federal aid, loans, and financial assistance throughout the year.

2024 Federal dollars flowing to Hawaii in the form of economic support

The new federal funding will support several specific projects in Hawaii:

Broadband Connectivity: A $72 million grant from the Biden-Harris Administration will expand broadband connectivity on Hawaiian home lands, bringing high-speed internet to thousands of DHHL lessees throughout the state.
Coastal Resilience Projects: Over $8 million in grant funding will support projects on Oahu, Maui, and Molokai, including:
- Tipu Tipu Restoration and Sustainability ($3.1 million) to implement nature-based practices for sediment erosion prevention.
- Department of Land and Natural Resources ($1.67 million) to protect and restore native vegetation.
- Healthy Climate Communities ($1 million) to restore 5 acres of land with 2,000 native trees in the Puu O Ehu watershed.
- Hawaii Department of Transportation ($1 million) to engage Oahu communities on resilience needs for coastal highways and communities.
Affordable Housing Infrastructure: A $6.6 million federal grant will be used to design infrastructure for high-density residential areas on neighbor islands, including around public housing on Maui and the Big Island.
Community Health Centers: A projected $1.3 million increase in funding for Hawaii’s 14 federally-qualified community health centers2.
Native Hawaiian Education and Community Development: $5 million for Native Hawaiian-serving institutions and $1 million for non-profit organizations supporting Native Hawaiian communities.
Energy Transitions Initiative: $15 million (shared with Puerto Rico) to help remote and island communities design clean energy and resilience solutions.
Ocean Carbon Removal Research: A portion of $10 million nationwide funding for research into biological processes like using kelp or algae to manage carbon emissions.

The above 2023-24 federally funded projects through the previous Biden Administration were designed to address and improve Hawaii’s infrastructure, housing, healthcare, education, and environmental resilience across the state.

The future of Federal funding as exemplified by the previous Biden administration remain in doubt under the Trump administration, and certainly did not fit within the Project 2025 profile for qualified Federal priorities.