In the USA, federal meetings are being cancelled en masse. After coming into office, Trump instituted the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), led by Elon Musk. The goal of the department is to streamline government spending.
As a result, numerous meetings and conferences funded by American taxpayer money have been cancelled. This has had a significant effect on the USA events industry (and related sectors).
“10 March was the worst day for cancellations since the pandemic and the second worst day in business I’ve had in 18 years,” Brett Sterenson, president of Hotel Lobbyists, told Skift. Sterenson has seen 46 events cancelled already this year, amounting to $1.9m in lost hotel revenue. Last year, his firm handled 467 meetings worth $10m. “I expect these numbers to double by midyear,” he added.
Approximately 275,000 federal employees have been laid off or are facing layoffs due to restructuring. An executive order signed earlier this year redefined which meetings qualify as “mission-critical.” The new rules have triggered blanket bans on most travel, resulting in mass cancellations and uncertainty for suppliers.
Zeb Irshad Reyaz of Dryfta, which also works on federally funded events, told Skift that one conference’s attendance had dropped from 2,500 to just 1,000 due to public sector layoffs. Smaller conferences reliant on federal funding are being quietly scrapped – especially those involving travel from affected regions or departments.
What’s been cancelled so far
Among the high-profile cancellations:
2025 Life Cycle Industry Days conference, hosted by the Air Force at Dayton Convention Center, Ohio, cancelled in March 2025
Procure-to-Pay (P2P) Training Symposium: The Department of Defense cancelled this symposium due to restrictions on “non-essential” travel in April 2025
CMS Conference for Building a Healthier America: This free hybrid conference, set for March 13, was reportedly postponed due to travel restrictions and funding uncertainties, cancelled
GPHA Annual Meeting and Conference – The Georgia Public Health Association (GPHA) cancelled its 2025 conference in February due to a pause in federal funding and travel restrictions mandated by the Georgia Department of Public Health
State Department Advisory Meeting on Child Labor – The US Department of State cancelled a meeting with labour advocates focused on combating human rights abuses in global supply chains in March 2025
NIH Rare Disease Day – hosted by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), cancelled in January 2025 (prior to Trump’s entry into office)
Many involved in the US federal events industry are bracing for long-term fallout. Contractors say sourcing efforts for 2026 have already been paused, and smaller vendors tied to government work are feeling the strain.
