Silencing Science Tracker

The National Science Foundation (NSF)’s division of grants and awards is returning previously approved grant proposals for a “secondary review” to ensure funded projects align with President Trump’s priorities.

On April 15, 2025, the Trump administration canceled a meeting of top scientific advisors to the Environmental Protection Agency.

11 advisory committees to the National Science Foundation (NSF) were discontinued.

The Trump administration has proposed a $1.7 billion cut to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)’s 2026 budget and the elimination of nearly all NOAA research labs.

The Trump administration cancelled its contract with the consulting firm that produces the US Global Change Research Program (USGCRP).

Commerce Department Secretary Howard Lutnick announced that the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is ending nearly $4 million in funding to Princeton University for climate research.

On April 1, 2025, all 27 of the lab scientists at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Division of Viral Hepatitis were fired.

Thousands of employees at the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) began receiving termination emails. The Department has announced plans to to fire a total of 10,000 employees.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) ordered staff not to release an expert assessment showing an increased risk of contracting measles in areas with lower vaccination rates and emphasizing the importance of vaccinations.

The Trump administration formally rescinded the National Institutes of Health (NIH) scientific integrity policy, which had been created to protect federal scientists from political interference and retaliation.

Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. has tapped David Geier, a prominent figure in the anti-vaccine movement, to work on a new study examining the long-debunked theory that vaccines cause autism.

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) cancelled billions of dollars in grant funding for research related to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Officials in the Agricultural Research Service (ARS) were sent a list of 110 banned words and phrases, including terms such as “clean water,” “climate change,” and “safe drinking water.”

The National Weather Service (NWS) announced that it will be stopping or reducing weather balloon operations at 11 locations due to staffing shortages.

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) issued guidance preventing the funding of research on the health effects of climate change.

More than 150 employees have resigned or been fired from the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA).

National Institutes of Health (NIH) scientists have been urged to strike all references to mRNA vaccines from grant applications out of concerns that they could be flagged or rejected.

A Minnesota State Senator introduced a bill that would require schools to instruct students in grades 9 to 12 about the “contrast between the scientific facts on how sickness, disease, pain, suffering, and death relate to the existence of complex living organisms, and how sickness, disease, pain, suffering, and death are a consequence imposed by the Creator of complex living organisms."

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) canceled subscriptions to nearly 400 of the roughly 2,000 journals carried by the agency’s National Agricultural Library. This will limit access to the journals by USDA staff scientists and researchers at other institutions that do not have their own subscriptions.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has canceled its monthly press calls featuring scientists discussing global climate conditions.

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) eliminated the office of its chief scientist and shut down two other departments, including one related to diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility (DEIA) and the Office of Technology, Policy, and Strategy.

The Department of Defense (DOD) has ended all funding for social science research, including 91 ongoing studies into current and emerging threats such as climate change, disinformation, and extremism.

Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. made several false claims about measles and the measles vaccine, and promoted an alternative treatment regimen that medical experts have indicated could be toxic.

Staff at the National Cancer Institute have been instructed to flag all manuscripts, presentations, and other materials for further scrutiny if they address topics identified as “controversial, high profile, or sensitive.” The identified topics include vaccines, measles, and bird flu.