Today you're probably going to hear a lot about screwworm and how "DOGE caused screwworm to enter the US again!"
Here are the facts:
1966: The US eradicates the screwworm via the Sterile Insect Technique. Multiple central American nations follow suit over the coming decades.
1994: The US and Panama form COPEG, the Panama-United States Commission for the Eradication and Prevention of Screwworm that successfully created a biological barrier for screwworm at the Darién Gap. It held for decades until...
2023: Screwworm cases breach the Darién Gap and surge in Central America
March 2025: DOGE cuts $250m in funding to the UN fund that was, in part, used for screwworm monitoring in Central America.
(Note: These cuts did not affect the USDA's screwworm Sterile Insect Production nor the COPEG.)
Summer 2025: Trump's USDA allocates $850m in funding to novel methods of screwworm eradication and a new sterile fly production facility in Texas as part of a 5 pronged approach with dealing with the emerging threat.
Summer 2026: Screwworm detected in Texas.
In summary: The only thing DOGE's UN funding cut could have possibly done is reduced our visibility into the reach of screwworm inside Central America, but given that the US just months later started a massive screwworm initiative suggests DOGE's cuts had effectively no negative effect.