In an extraordinary move, nearly 2,000 top U.S. scientists are sounding the alarm about what they say is a deliberate campaign to dismantle science under the Trump administration.
In short:
- Hundreds of members of the National Academies of Sciences are warning that funding cuts, censorship, and political interference are gutting the nation’s ability to conduct research, especially in areas like disease treatment and climate change.
- Health and environmental agencies are facing massive layoffs — 20,000 jobs could be slashed at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, while the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration are also seeing deep cuts that could compromise public health and disaster preparedness.
- The administration is accused of suppressing scientific findings it doesn’t like, threatening vaccine safety efforts, and silencing independent experts through canceled contracts and executive power.
Key quote:
“The nation’s scientific enterprise is being annihilated and the silence of too many of our scientific leaders is only making the ongoing catastrophe worse.”
— Dr. Robert Steinbrook, director of the health research group at Public Citizen
Why this matters:
Research on climate, disease, pollution? Buried or canceled if it clashes with the political playbook. This kind of censorship doesn’t just tie the hands of researchers. It leaves families in the dark about food safety, doctors without clear guidance on outbreaks, and communities without warning systems as floods, fires, and heatwaves accelerate. The scientists’ message is plain: ignoring science doesn’t make the risks disappear. It just makes us blind to what’s coming.
Read more: An open letter from EPA staff to the American public
