The United States faces a wildfire crisis, which directly endangers large swaths of the country situated in fire-prone areas and indirectly impacts the rest of the nation through air pollution, travel disruptions, and supply chain interruptions. Wildfire season length, wildfire frequency, and total area burned have all increased and are expected to further increase, due to climate change. As a result, insufficient and ineffective wildfire prevention and management policies could place the entire country at an even greater risk of fire. This paper evaluates the federal government’s historical wildfire prevention and management policies, as well as those under the second Trump administration. By interviewing a manager at the United States Department of Agriculture’s (USDA’s) Forest Service, the agency responsible for the majority of federal wildfire management operations, as well as reviewing policy papers, research reports, and news articles, I argue that the government’s historical wildfire management practices have been inadequate due to inconsistent policies, significant wildland firefighter attrition, poor exurban and rural planning, and limited funding. Moreover, I contend that the historical insufficiencies of the Forest Service’s wildfire policies are currently being exacerbated by the hiring freeze, mass layoffs, deferred resignation program, and (proposed) elimination of regional offices under the Trump administration. This analysis urgently recommends politicians and policymakers to halt the Trump administration’s efforts and instead increase investment in the Forest Service to prevent the mismanagement of wildfires, limit the frequency and severity of future wildfires, prevent brain drain in federal agencies, and preserve what remains of the Federal government’s reputation as a reputable employer and provider of public goods.