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Science policy of the second Donald Trump administration

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The science policy of the second Donald Trump administration saw cuts in funding and attacks on research related to LGBTQ issues, gender, climate change, and ethnic diversity.

Early actions

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In response to executive orders, there were freezes in scientific funding and purges of data related to LGBTQ issues, gender, climate change, and racial diversity.[1][2] There were also mass firings across federal scientific agencies.

The National Science Foundation (NSF) ceased paying out its grants to researchers leaving many without a salary.[3] Grant review panels—in which scientists decide which research proposals will receive funding—were paused to review whether projects supported potentially banned activities such as increasing diversity among scientists, international collaborations, or research into environmentally-friendly technology.[4] After a court order on February 2, the NSF funds were unfrozen, though the review panels were still paused.[5] On February 4, 2025, the NSF announced that it would lay off 25% to 50% of its workforce.[6] Ten percent of NSF staff (168 employees) were fired on February 18.[7][8] The firings were aimed at probationary employees (those who had held their positions for less than a year), but some of the laid off employees included those with over a year of experience who were unknowingly reclassified in January by the Office of Personnel Management and others who were permanent staff.[8]

Many government web pages about gender and diversity, which were taken down before being restored by a court order, began showing a disclaimer about the administration's beliefs on sex and gender.[9]

The Trump administration ordered a suspension of National Institutes of Health (NIH) grant funding on January 27, which froze much of its $47 billion budget.[10] The order was blocked by courts after legal challenges but continued when the government exploited a loophole in which they refused to publish the agency's meeting plans in the Federal Register.[10] The NIH announced on February 7 that it would cap support for indirect costs in grants to institutions at 15% of a grant's value.[11] Indirect costs cover expenses that are not directly related to research but are necessary to support it, such as rent for facilities, utilities like heat and electricity, or janitorial and administrative staff.[12][13] Indirect costs typically range from 30% to 70%, and the cuts represent "tens to hundreds of millions of dollars" in lost funding for research institutes that could lead to layoffs, hiring freezes, and ending research projects.[13] The cuts had previously been outlined in Project 2025 to combat what it characterized as subsidies for "leftist agendas" and diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts.[11][12] In response, 22 state attorneys general filed a lawsuit and the cuts were paused on February 10.[14] The NIH fired 1,000 to 1,200 workers on February 15.[15] The cuts have led to universities pausing or reducing admissions for graduate biomedical research and medical school programs and hiring of postdoctoral researchers, and the NIH cancelling undergraduate internships and postbaccalaureate programs.[16][17] Reports in mid-March stated that the NIH was expected to fire 3,400 to 5,000 people from its 20,000 person workforce.[18]

The Center for Disease Control's (CDC) social vulnerability index and environmental justice index, which measured disparities in health risks, were removed from the organization's website, and on January 31, the data portal was taken completely offline in response to Executive Order 14168, which mandated that federal agencies use "sex" instead of "gender" and that they only recognize male and female sexes.[1] AtlasPlus, an interactive CDC tool for tracking diseases such as HIV, hepatitis, sexually transmitted infections, and tuberculosis, was taken down.[19] Census web pages about sexual identity and orientation were taken offline, and CDC pages about HIV and LGBTQ+ youth also disappeared.[20] According to The Atlantic, the Trump administration targeted and replaced keywords in CDC content, including "pregnant people, transgender, binary, non-binary, gender, assigned at birth, binary [sic], non-binary [sic], cisgender, queer, gender identity, gender minority, anything with pronouns".[19] About 750 CDC employees were fired over the weekend of February 15 with leadership stating that 10% (1,300) would be notified of their termination.[15] The Food and Drug Administration purged online material on clinical trial diversity that encouraged drug developers to test the effects of medical treatments on different populations.[21] After a court order, many web pages were restored. The administration added a disclaimer to the restored websites that notes the administrations opposition to what it terms "gender ideology", claiming it is "inaccurate".[9]

Layoffs at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) began on February 27, 2025 when 880 employees (approximately 5% of the organization) were fired.[22] The administration stated that no critical employees such as National Weather Service (NWS) meteorologists were cut, though a source within the NWS reported to CBS News that meteorologists were included in the layoffs.[23]

In some cases, the government attempted to rehire scientists. Members of the technical staff at the Department of Energy's National Nuclear Security Administration, which oversees the nuclear arsenal, were fired on February 13; attempts to contact them for rehiring failed because their emails had been disconnected.[14][24] The Department of Agriculture fired several scientists working on the ongoing avian flu outbreak over the same weekend and attempted to rehire them.[25] Members of the CDC's Epidemic Intelligence Service were told their positions were eliminated, but the decision was reversed after an outcry.[24]

On March 31, An open letter for the American people was published, warning the danger of attacks on science from the Trump administration, including threats to universities, federal grant cancelations and ideological funding reviews, mass federal government layoffs, resignations and censorship.[26] It was signed by over 1,900 scientists of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine.[26] The letter stated "We see real danger in this moment, [...] We hold diverse political beliefs, but we are united as researchers in wanting to protect independent scientific inquiry. We are sending this SOS to sound a clear warning: the nation’s scientific enterprise is being decimated. [...] If our country’s research enterprise is dismantled, we will lose our scientific edge. [...] The damage to our nation’s scientific enterprise could take decades to reverse."[26][27]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b Calma, Justine (2025-01-31). "Donald Trump's data purge has begun". The Verge. Retrieved 2025-02-01.
  2. ^ Stone, Will (2025-01-31). "Trump administration purges websites across federal health agencies". NPR. Retrieved 2025-02-01.
  3. ^ Boodman, Eric (2025-01-30). "National Science Foundation suspends salary payments, leaving researchers unable to pay their bills". STAT. Retrieved 2025-02-01.
  4. ^ Mervis, Jeffrey. "EXCLUSIVE: NSF starts vetting all grants to comply with Trump's orders". www.science.org. Retrieved 2025-02-19.
  5. ^ Lambert, Jonathan (2025-02-03). "National Science Foundation says it will unfreeze grant money after court order". NPR. Retrieved 2025-02-19.
  6. ^ Hiar, Corbin (2025-02-04). "Science funding agency threatened with mass layoffs". POLITICO. Retrieved 2025-02-05.
  7. ^ Zetter, Kim (2025-02-18). "National Science Foundation Fires 168 Workers as Federal Purge Continues". WIRED. Retrieved 2025-02-19.
  8. ^ a b Lambert, Jonathan (2025-02-18). "National Science Foundation fires roughly 10% of its workforce". NPR. Retrieved 2025-02-19.
  9. ^ a b Maiberg, Emanuel; Cox, Joseph; Maiberg, Emanuel; Roscoe, Jules; Koebler, Jason (February 14, 2025). "Trump Admin Adds Note Rejecting 'Gender Ideology' on Sites Court Ordered Them to Restore". 404 Media. Retrieved February 26, 2025.
  10. ^ a b Kozlov, Max (2025-02-20). "Revealed: NIH research grants still frozen despite lawsuits challenging Trump order". Nature. 638 (8052). Nature Publishing Group: 870–871. Bibcode:2025Natur.638..870K. doi:10.1038/d41586-025-00540-2. PMID 39979573. Retrieved 2025-02-21.
  11. ^ a b Diamond, Dan; Johnson, Carolyn Y.; Sun, Lena H. (2025-02-08). "NIH cuts billions of dollars in biomedical funding, effective immediately". Washington Post. Retrieved 2025-02-09.
  12. ^ a b Wosen, Jonathan; Molteni, Megan; Mast, Jason; McFarling, Usha Lee (2025-02-08). "NIH plans to slash support for indirect research costs, sending shockwaves through science". STAT. Retrieved 2025-02-09.
  13. ^ a b Wosen, Jonathan; Chen, Angus (2025-02-08). "What are indirect research costs? A quick explainer in light of NIH's sweeping policy change". STAT. Retrieved 2025-02-09.
  14. ^ a b Bush, Evan; Bendix, Aria; Chow, Denise (2025-02-18). "Science under siege: Trump cuts threaten to undermine decades of research". NBC News. Retrieved 2025-02-19.
  15. ^ a b Stone, Will (2025-02-17). "Health agencies lose staff members in key areas as Trump firings set in". NPR. Retrieved 2025-02-19.
  16. ^ McFarling, Usha Lee (2025-03-05). "Cancellation of NIH summer internships disrupts 'vital' training program for U.S. scientists". STAT. Retrieved 2025-03-05.
  17. ^ Molteni, Megan; McFarling, Usha Lee; Chen, Angus (2025-02-19). "Graduate student admissions paused and cut back as universities react to Trump orders on research". STAT. Retrieved 2025-03-05.
  18. ^ Wosen, Jonathan; Molteni, Megan; Mast, Jason; Chen, Angus; Facher, Lev; Oza, Anil (2025-03-15). "At NIH, 'everyone is on edge' as they brace for deep cuts and more centralized control". STAT. Retrieved 2025-03-17.
  19. ^ a b Wu, Katherine J. (January 31, 2025). "CDC Data Are Disappearing". The Atlantic. Retrieved February 1, 2025.
  20. ^ Hull, Dana. "CDC Information, Datasets Disappear From US Agency's Websites". Bloomberg. Retrieved 2025-02-01.
  21. ^ Herper, Matthew; Lawrence, Lizzy (2025-01-23). "FDA purges material on clinical trial diversity from its site, showing stakes of Trump DEI ban". STAT. Retrieved 2025-02-01.
  22. ^ Noor, Dharna; Canon, Gabrielle (February 27, 2025). "'Cruel and thoughtless': Trump fires hundreds at US climate agency NOAA". The Guardian. Retrieved February 28, 2025.
  23. ^ Freiman, Jordan; Wholf, Tracy J. (February 27, 2025). "Hundreds of NOAA employees laid off in latest cuts to federal workforce". CBS News. Retrieved February 28, 2025.
  24. ^ a b Jeffrey, Mervis (2025-02-18). "Mass firings decimate U.S. science agencies". www.science.org. Retrieved 2025-02-19.
  25. ^ Halpert, Madeline (February 19, 2025). "Trump administration trying to rehire USDA bird flu officials it fired". BBC. Retrieved 2025-02-19.
  26. ^ a b c Glenza, Jessica (2025-03-31). "More than 1,900 scientists write letter in 'SOS' over Trump's attacks on science". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2025-04-03.
  27. ^ "Public Statement on Supporting Science for the Benefit of All Citizens". Google Docs. Retrieved 2025-04-03.
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