The Trump administration and 115th Congress actively dismantled science-based health and safety protections, sidelined scientific evidence, and undid progress on scientific integrity.
Below is a running list of attacks on science—disappearing data, silenced scientists, and other assaults on scientific integrity and science-based policy. The list provides a representative sample of threats to the federal scientific enterprise.
Attacks on science
Fifty-Year-Old Science-Based Legislation, NEPA, is Gutted
A final rule upended processes by which science is used to analyze how government projects impact the environment and surrounding communities.
CDC Reports on COVID-19 were Delayed or Edited by HHS Political Appointees
Against the objections of scientists, political appointees at the HHS edited, delayed, and tried to halt numerous CDC reports and studies on COVID-19.
Census Bureau Tightens its Counting Timeline, Endangering the Accuracy of 2020 Census
The Census Bureau, under pressure from administration officials, was forced to shorten its 2020 counting efforts by a full month.
FDA Now Lacks Authority to Halt Use of Inaccurate Coronavirus Tests
In a move strongly opposed by FDA officials, the agency will no longer use science-based checks to regulate a broad swathe of laboratory tests, including coronavirus tests.
CDC Coronavirus Testing Guidelines Were Modified by Political Officials to be Less Scientific
The White House’s Coronavirus Task Force and HHS changed the novel coronavirus testing guidelines on the CDC website to fall out of line with the best available science.
EPA Refuses to Regulate Rocket Fuel Chemical in Drinking Water
The EPA has officially announced that it will not regulate perchlorate, a common ingredient of explosives and rocket fuel, in the nation’s drinking water supplies.
Fetal Tissue Research Blocked by a Biased Advisory Committee
13 out of 14 NIH grants submitted since September 2019 that involve fetal tissue are likely to be rejected based solely on the recommendations of the Human Fetal Tissue Research Ethics Advisory Board at the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).
White House Demands Rewriting of CDC’s COVID-19 Guidelines for Schools
Vice President Mike Pence ordered the CDC to rewrite their school opening guidelines for reasons that appeared to be primarily political.
Trump Administration Takes Away Hospitalization Data From the CDC
The Administration mandated that hospitals bypass the CDC and send data on COVID-19 hospitalizations, to a private third party.
Trump Administration Endangered People Evacuating From Coronavirus-Infected Cruise Ship
State Department officials overrode science-based concerns of CDC officials and allowed 14 infected people to board an airplane with over 300 non-infected people.
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