We all know the news cycle moves fast these days, even in our niche field of archaeology. Take a seat and explore the effects of the current Trump administration on the field of archaeology in the United States, just in October, 2025. Let’s just say, it’s a busy one. From the government shutdown beginning on the first, the demolition of the East Wing of the Whitehouse, and finally the imminent hearing on the Section 106 consultation process by the Senate Committee on Energy & Natural Resources. The administration has had significant effects across the federal government, with trickle-down effects into state, local, and tribal governments, archaeology, historic preservation writ large, not to mention energy development across the board (but that’s a different episode). Since Mr. Trump loves AI so much, we just could not resist. Enjoy the cover image for this episode. Please note: technical issues meant the episode audio is not as high quality as we like, so pardon the variable volume.















Show Notes







The Site Steward Foundation, a non-profit organization whose goal is to provide eyes on the ground for preservation and stewardship of archaeological resources across our public lands in New Mexico, Utah, Arizona, and Colorado.







For some history on the East Wing of the Whitehouse, the Associated Press and PBS put out some great articles highlighting some of the specific history to this now demolished structure.







TAKE ACTION: the imminent senate committee hearing on Section 106 consultation is slated for live streaming October 29, 2025. Follow what’s going on, contact the committee senators to tell them that historic and storied places are important to you.







And for those of our Federal partners in historic preservation and archaeology, some resources.