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.
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.
Lawmakers from both parties are pressing the U.S. Department of Energy to preserve billions in clean energy investments after draft lists of possible project cuts began circulating on Capitol Hill.
The Energy Department is reviewing whether to cut funding for several clean energy projects, including hydrogen hubs and carbon capture initiatives launched under the Biden administration.
Draft internal lists suggest prioritizing red-state projects while slashing those in blue states, raising accusations of political favoritism and legal concerns over canceling congressionally approved spending.
Lawmakers from both parties, as well as energy companies and local officials, are lobbying the department to preserve projects tied to jobs, emissions reduction, and energy security.
Key quote:
“Scaling back now and politicizing the rollout of this program will stifle progress, cost thousands of jobs, limit economic growth, and weaken our energy security.”
— Rep. Chrissy Houlahan, Democrat of Pennsylvania
Why this matters:
Billions of dollars earmarked by the Biden administration for emerging technologies like carbon capture, hydrogen infrastructure, and a more resilient power grid are now under scrutiny, with signs that funding may be cut or redirected. What makes this moment especially fraught is the uneven political geography of the energy transition: Many of the now-vulnerable projects are in Democratic-leaning states, raising concerns about the politicization of climate policy. Beyond the politics, there are real-world consequences for communities that had begun to rely on clean tech investments for jobs and economic diversification.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency has halted $10 billion in disaster aid for nonprofits while reviewing whether the funds comply with President Trump’s executive order targeting undocumented migrants.
FEMA is examining 56 programs to ensure compliance with a February executive order prohibiting funding for NGOs that support undocumented migrants.
Two key programs, totaling $9.8 billion, have been frozen: one for rebuilding nonprofit facilities and another for short-term housing aid.
Critics warn the freeze could delay recovery efforts in disaster-stricken areas, where nonprofits play a vital role in community rebuilding.
Key quote:
“That will adversely impact recovery, whether it’s North Carolina, Los Angeles or West Virginia. In these communities, a lot of the NGOs are a key part of the community and the community recovery process.”
— Michael Coen, former FEMA chief of staff
Why this matters:
In communities still reeling from hurricanes in the Gulf Coast or wildfires in California, where nonprofits often step in to fill the gaps left by under-resourced local governments, these disruptions could translate into longer periods without safe housing, clean water, or access to health care. Public health experts caution that the ripple effects could deepen existing inequalities and prolong human suffering in the aftermath of climate-driven disasters.
Lee Zeldin, once a climate-conscious Republican from New York, is now steering the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to roll back regulations, slash staff, and align with Trump and Elon Musk’s deregulatory vision.
Zeldin has frozen billions in climate funding, attempted mass layoffs of EPA staff, and moved to repeal pollution rules, while putting fossil fuel and industry lobbyists into key roles.
He now requires that all EPA expenditures over $50,000 be reviewed by an outside group aligned with Elon Musk, called the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).
Zeldin has scrapped environmental justice programs and halted clean energy grants, framing them as wasteful, despite lawsuits and lack of evidence of fraud.
Key quote:
“He’s doing the job in a way that is a lot more visible than many of his predecessors of both parties. I would imagine that he’s motivated to do things that his boss is going to like and see and reward.”
— Kevin S. Minoli, lawyer who worked in the EPA Office of General Counsel from the Clinton through the Trump administrations
Why this matters:
The EPA, created in the 1970s to shield Americans from air, water, and chemical hazards, is now being retooled to prioritize industry deregulation, particularly in service of fossil fuel interests. Zeldin’s push to trim the EPA’s regulatory reach — reducing staff, pulling back on enforcement, and elevating corporate voices — reflects a broader strategy that environmental scientists say could weaken the nation’s ability to protect public health and respond to worsening climate impacts.
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency administrator Lee Zeldin’s remarks dismissing climate action as “religion” have sparked backlash from Jewish and Christian leaders, who argue for stronger environmental protections rooted in faith-based values.
On March 12, Zeldin announced 31 deregulatory actions, including weakening air and water pollution standards and limiting the definition of protected waters, citing economic benefits.
Faith leaders criticized Zeldin’s comments equating climate action to “religion,” calling them dismissive of both science and moral responsibility to protect the planet.
Critics argue the deregulatory agenda undermines public health protections and disproportionately harms vulnerable communities while favoring fossil fuel interests.
Key quote:
“[Zeldin] made it feel that somehow those fighting for a better planet were part of a cult.”
— Rev. Michael Malcom, The People’s Justice Council and Alabama Interfaith Power and Light
Black students in the U.S. face growing educational setbacks as climate-driven disasters like wildfires and hurricanes destroy schools, displace families, and exacerbate systemic inequalities.
Climate disasters, including wildfires and hurricanes, are causing prolonged school closures, with Black and Latino students disproportionately affected due to systemic neglect and underfunded schools.
Research shows that each missed school day lowers academic performance and reduces the likelihood of pursuing higher education, while trauma from these events disrupts children’s mental health and development.
Recovery efforts often fail to address the needs of marginalized communities, leaving schools underfunded and families without adequate support for rebuilding or mental health care.
Key quote:
"Natural disasters have an outsized impact on Black and vulnerable communities. In places like New Orleans, disasters have been leveraged to break up concentrated Black political and educational power, deepening inequities.”
— Adrinda Kelly, executive director of BE NOLA
Why this matters:
Climate change is becoming a force multiplier of existing injustice. Storms, floods, wildfires, and extreme heat don’t just destroy homes and schools — they disrupt the fragile educational ecosystems many children rely on. For Black students, especially in the South and urban areas, these disruptions stack onto a long history of educational inequity, from redlining to resource gaps. The psychological toll of repeated evacuations, housing instability, and witnessing environmental destruction adds a layer of trauma that can interfere with concentration, memory, and long-term academic outcomes.
Officials in New Mexico are advancing new workplace safety rules that would require employers to protect workers from heat-related illnesses as temperatures continue to rise.
The New Mexico Environment Department has proposed heat safety rules that would require employers to provide rest breaks, shade, drinking water, emergency care access, and training for indoor and outdoor workers when temperatures climb.
The rule would apply when the heat index exceeds 80°F, with stricter measures required above 95°F; it excludes teleworkers, emergency personnel, and workplaces kept consistently below the threshold.
Without federal heat safety standards — paused under the Trump administration — New Mexico joins six other states taking independent action amid rising ER visits for heat stress.
Key quote:
“When we look at the data, especially the New Mexico specific data, the overwhelming number of people that experienced heat-related illness are people of working age, which we know really points to the risk people face and their jobs.”
— Nathaniel Matthews-Trigg, founding board member of Healthy Climate New Mexico
Why this matters:
The health consequences go far beyond temporary discomfort: Heat stress can lead to health conditions like kidney failure, cognitive impairments, cardiovascular strain, and, in some cases, death. Emergency rooms are seeing the toll firsthand, with increasing visits linked to heat-related illnesses, especially among low-wage workers who lack the power or protection to push back. With no binding federal heat standards in place, the burden is shifting to states, where the policy response is fragmented at best.
Prisons, jails and detention centers are placed in locations where environmental hazards such as toxic landfills, floods and extreme heat are the norm.
