A report published Monday by the Union of Concerned Scientists details how U.S. President Donald Trump “has led a systemic and coordinated attack on science” during the first six months of his second administration as “part of a larger strategy to strip public protections, consolidate power, and remove scientific evidence from policymaking.”
The UCS analysis states that the second Trump administration has carried out 402 attacks on science, defined as “an action, statement, or decision that originates from an elected official or political appointee in a federal agency that results in the censoring, manipulation, forging, or misinforming of scientific data, results, or conclusions conducted within the government or with federal funds.”
The 402 attacks are nearly double the 207 UCS said that Trump oversaw during his first full term, and over four times the number committed during eight years of George W. Bush’s presidency. UCS said the Obama administration carried out 19 attacks on science, while former President Joe Biden oversaw just two attacks.
“This is an illegal power grab—a wholesale attack on the democratic systems upon which this nation was built.”
UCS accused the Trump administration of gutting scientific expertise, halting science and innovation, ignoring public input, eliminating independent expertise, and censoring and suppressing scientific information.
“The first six months of President Trump’s second term have been characterized by destruction of democratic processes, divisive and vindictive actions, and chaos in federal government agencies,” UCS said in a summary of the report. “The Trump administration’s actions are not normal. This is an illegal power grab—a wholesale attack on the democratic systems upon which this nation was built.”
“People are already paying the price of these attacks on science: children unnecessarily exposed to lead, families denied clean air, and lives needlessly lost in preventable disease outbreaks,” UCS noted. “Dismantling science harms every member of the U.S. public—but especially Black, Brown, Indigenous, rural, and low- and-moderate-income communities.”
The report offers recommendations “to protect science and the public good,” including:
- Passing the Scientific Integrity Act—introduced in February by Rep. Paul Tonko (D-N.Y.)—which would require federal agencies to uphold evidence-based policymaking free from political interference;
- Opposing the Regulations from the Executive in Need of Scrutiny (REINS) Act, a bid by Rep. Kat Cammack (R-Fla.) and Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) to give Congress veto power over regulations based on expert consensus;
- Passing the EXPERTS Act (formerly the Stop Corporate Capture Act), legislation proposed by Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.) to limit industry influence on science-based rulemaking;
- Strengthening whistleblower protections for federal scientists;
- Restoring diverse, independent, and empowered federal advisory committees; and
- Reinstating and strengthening public participation in rulemaking and other government decision-making processes while restoring public access to censored scientific data.
Darya Minovi, the report’s lead author, said that “the pace and severity of the administration’s attacks on science is extremely alarming.”
“These attacks are about power,” she continued. “By silencing science that does not align with its agenda to line the pockets of polluters and billionaires, the Trump administration is stripping the public of its right to information, participation, and protection.”
“Science is a cornerstone of democracy,” Minovi added. “When science is sidelined, people get hurt. Lawmakers and agency leaders must act with urgency to defend the institutions and people who safeguard our health, environment. and future.”
