Science is at the core of a healthy democracy. But for years, presidential administrations have, in differing ways, sidelined scientific evidence and attacked scientific integrity.
Below is a running list of attacks on science. They include disappearing data, silenced scientists, suppressed studies, and other assaults on science-based policy. The list provides a representative sample of threats to the federal scientific enterprise—and a warning of what we face in the future. More information can be found in our peer-reviewed study and in our data repository.
Attacks on science
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.
White House Hides Economic Analysis Showing COVID-19 Downturns
The White House will forego the publication of an economic analysis on budget projections in the summer of 2020.
NOAA Fisheries is Restricting the Use of the Words “COVID-19” and “Pandemic”
An official memo, issued by NOAA, stated that the agency’s “preferred approach” is making “no reference to anything COVID related” in public-facing documents.
Trump Administration Buries COVID-19 Information For Religious Communities
White House officials instructed the CDC to delete certain sections of a COVID-19 guidance measure for communities of faith.
Trump Administration Ignores CDC Scientists on COVID-19 Temperature Screenings
Scientists at the CDC were ignored by the White House when they stated that the best available science shows that temperature checks are not a reliable tool for screening COVID-19.
Climate Change Resilience Study Halted
The Trump administration indefinitely froze a six-year study looking at future flooding risks in the New York-New Jersey area.
White House Buries CDC Report on COVID-19
The White House blocked the release of a CDC report that provided recommendations on how to reopen up communities safely during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Related resources
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Scientist Community Partnerships
Scientist-community partnerships can help level the playing field for communities that are being shut out of important policy discussions, and UCS is taking an active role in fostering these collaborations.
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Journalist Jesse J. Holland talks with Jess about changes in journalism and communicating science in the age of social media.
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The Science and Climate Litigation Webinar Series
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2024 CSD Election Science Task Force
We've assembled an Election Science Task Force, who are actively working to make our electoral system as representative and reflective of our society as it can be.