As a severe heatwave grips large parts of the United States, the Trump administration has reportedly removed around 6,000 federal web pages related to energy conservation, prompting concerns among digital archivists racing to preserve the information.

According to The Verge, the department of Energy carried out the large-scale deletion, with the move coming amid political backlash over advice on energy use during extreme temperatures.

Deletions followed debate over air conditioning advice

The report said the removals came after New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani urged residents to set their air conditioners to 78 degrees to reduce pressure on the electricity grid.

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The suggestion drew criticism from several Republican leaders, including Senators Ted Cruz and Nikki Haley, as well as Representative Nancy Mace, who criticised the recommendation. According to the report, the controversy was followed by the removal of thousands of pages from Department of Energy websites.

The deleted material reportedly extended far beyond thermostat guidance. The Verge said pages covering water conservation, insulation, and the department’s Solar Decathlon programme were also taken offline.

Archived copies preserve the missing pages

Once removed, the web pages became inaccessible through their original links, leaving archived versions as the only available copies.

According to the report, much of the content was preserved by the Internet Archive’s Wayback Machine, which regularly stores snapshots of websites. Without those archived records, many of the deleted pages could have disappeared entirely from the public internet.

Not the first large-scale removal

The report noted that this is not the first instance of federal web content being removed since early 2025. It said agencies including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Census Bureau have also taken down or revised thousands of pages related to health data, gender and diversity.

The report added that organisations such as the Environmental Data & Governance Initiative and Harvard’s Library Innovation Lab have created backup archives to preserve federal information that could otherwise be lost.

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Citing a Pew Research Center study, The Verge said 38 per cent of web pages that existed in 2013 had disappeared a decade later, highlighting how quickly online information can vanish. The White House has not commented on the reported deletions.

FAQs:

Which webpages were reportedly removed?

According to The Verge, pages on energy conservation, water conservation, insulation and the Solar Decathlon programme were among those removed.

Where can the deleted webpages still be accessed?

The report says many of the pages have been preserved by the Internet Archive’s Wayback Machine.