The Trump administration has removed thousands of energy conservation web pages from the Department of Energy’s website as a historic heatwave blankets the eastern United States, a move that follows political backlash over standard energy-saving recommendations.
The deletions, first spotted by journalist Jim Lokay and reported by Mediaite, include longstanding guidance pages on air conditioning, home cooling systems, and heating and cooling best practices. Among the removed content was the department’s recommendation that homeowners set thermostats to 26 degrees Celsius (approximately 78 degrees Fahrenheit) during warm weather — advice that has been standard US government guidance for years.
The timing is directly tied to a political firestorm that erupted when New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani posted similar advice on X during the current heat dome. “Set your AC to 78 degrees, turn off lights and electronics you’re not using, and unplug what you can,” Mamdani wrote, adding that the city was doing its part by maintaining the 78-degree rule in municipal buildings.
Republican figures, including Ohio gubernatorial candidate Vivek Ramaswamy, former congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene, and Barstool Sports founder Dave Portnoy, characterized the energy-saving advice as “socialism” or “communism.” The criticism spread rapidly, with Greene telling New Yorkers from Georgia: “American energy should be so strong and plentiful that you never have to set it above 70.”
The 26-degree (78-degree) recommendation is not new — both New York’s previous mayors Eric Adams and Bill de Blasio shared the same guidance during their tenures, and federal energy programs dating back to the 1970s have advised similar thermostat settings. The Department of Energy did not respond to requests for comment.
The deleted pages cover practical guidance on reducing household energy consumption, including proper thermostat use, insulation techniques, and appliance efficiency — information that becomes most relevant during extreme weather events. The heatwave currently affecting the East Coast has pushed temperatures above 38 degrees Celsius (100 degrees Fahrenheit) in New York City for the first time since 2012, placing strain on the power grid.
The removal of publicly funded energy conservation information during a period of peak demand raises questions about the politicization of basic utility guidance. The deleted pages were produced with taxpayer funding and represent years of accumulated technical knowledge on home energy management. Some of the removed URLs now return “Page not found” errors, and the full extent of the deletion — which sources estimate at roughly 6,000 pages — may not be immediately visible due to cascading link breaks across the department’s site.
Sources: White House deletes thousands of web pages about energy conservation as heatwave slams US (The Verge, July 4, 2026); Trump Admin Deletes Cooling Advice After Right Goes Scorched On Mamdani For Same Info (Mediaite, July 2, 2026); Mamdani tells New Yorkers to keep AC at 78 degrees during heat wave (Washington Examiner, July 1, 2026)