For a few of us, it might boggle the thoughts that it’s solely been six months since President Trump was sworn again into workplace. His administration’s “flood the zone” techniques divide our consideration and elevate our stress, making it troublesome to maintain tabs on the damages. However to quantify the various harms being finished to individuals and the planet—each in order that we will battle again, and hold an extended view on alternatives to rebuild and re-envision the longer term—it’s necessary for my colleagues and I as scientists to doc what’s taking place.
You will discover an in depth accounting of the previous six months of Trump administration assaults on and abuses of science in our new report, Science and Democracy Below Siege. We’re clear-eyed about what we’re up towards: the dismantling of federal businesses whose work protects the general public, widespread rollbacks of well being and security protections, political cronyism, unlawful energy grabs, and withholding federal funds, amongst many different assaults.
The excellent news is that now we have a blueprint for combating again, which has guided our battles towards the dangerously anti-science and anti-democratic actions of the Trump administration. I’m happy with how we’ve deployed it efficiently to guard individuals, even within the face of a relentless assault on our work and values. With the targets of minimizing the harm finished, persevering with to make progress on our points within the close to time period, and creating the circumstances for progress within the years and a long time forward, UCS is combating good.
Uniting the scientific neighborhood
Amongst our strengths as a company is our skill to amplify the political energy of the scientific neighborhood. Over the previous months, we’ve welcomed tons of of recent members into our Science Community, a gaggle of practically 20,000 scientists and technical consultants able to act on alternatives to push again towards the administration.
Weeks after the inauguration, UCS organized a sign-on letter to Congress demanding that federal science be protected, signed by 56 scientific societies representing greater than 100,000 scientists throughout disciplines. And because the Nationwide Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) confronted unprecedented finances cuts and mass firings that hindered their essential work holding the general public protected from excessive climate occasions, UCS helped set up and ship a letter to Congress signed by over 3,300 scientists from world wide in protection of the company. The letter has been cited within the media and utilized by members of Congress. To problem cuts on the Environmental Safety Company’s Workplace of Analysis and Improvement, we organized a letter to Congress signed by greater than 120 environmental, public well being, science and neighborhood organizations, and companies.
UCS additionally created a video marketing campaign highlighting the significance of a sturdy scientific enterprise in our society, together with a instrument to contact members of Congress. A number of scientific societies, together with 500 Girls Scientists, and UCS Nationwide Advisory Board member Invoice Nye shared the video on their social media.
We’ve additionally been on the forefront of a wave of rallies and mass mobilization occasions, starting with the Stand Up for Science flagship rally in Washington, DC, the place I spoke to the group concerning the significance of federal science. UCS employees have supported and took part within the Arms Off! and No Kings rallies and marches. And as Trump administration officers filed into NOAA places of work for an annual barbeque final month, I used to be outdoors loudly addressing a rally of supporters, mentioning how cuts to NOAA had been hurting individuals.
Driving the narrative
Early on, we knew that we couldn’t let the Trump administration’s false claims about federal science and its funding dominate information cycles. As a substitute, we’ve made it clear to our supporters and the nationwide media that the anti-science actions of the Trump administration are inflicting direct hurt to individuals and communities—and are additional proof of the administration’s incompetent and unlawful conduct
We’re targeted on a core message: that when science is sidelined, individuals get damage. Along with our new report Science and Democracy Below Siege, we launch common updates of assaults on science to make sense of this dangerous and chaotic information setting and to spotlight examples of particular communities which might be affected. We should drive dwelling the purpose that actual persons are in danger. UCS consultants are within the New York Instances, on Instagram, featured on NPR and in native information shops throughout the nation explaining why finances cuts, mass firings, and anti-science insurance policies are unhealthy for our well being and security. With greater than 4,000 mentions of UCS work citing the Trump administration and its harmful actions in nationwide media shops in a four-month interval from January to April 2025, persons are listening.
Pushing our lawmakers
Past the Trump administration, members of Congress are nonetheless liable for managing federal budgets and passing laws that may assist their constituents. UCS works immediately with members of Congress on either side of the aisle on our priorities, and encourages our members and supporters to contact their elected officers to guard science.
For instance, UCS performed a key function in securing a significant bipartisan victory this month. We labored to domesticate bipartisan help for extending and increasing the Radiation Publicity Compensation Act (RECA) for years. RECA supplies help to individuals and communities uncovered to radiation from US nuclear weapons actions. The laws expired final yr, leaving hundreds questioning methods to pay their healthcare payments. UCS employees helped carry organizers from these affected communities to satisfy with their members of Congress to ask them to revive and increase RECA. This summer time, Congress handed the most important RECA growth in historical past—not simply reinstating the legislation, however increasing it to cowl extra survivors.
UCS has additionally organized in-district conferences for our supporters, and offered sources to point out the native financial impacts of federal assaults on science. And for UCS supporters who plan to attend city hall-style conferences hosted by their members of Congress, we created a toolkit and supplied digital trainings to assist them have interaction on the problems they care about.
Holding the road
UCS is working defensively towards the Trump administration’s assaults, with the intention of stopping, slowing, and derailing its efforts to dismantle federal science businesses and minimize their funding. The alarms we’ve raised over potential cuts and proposals to radically restructure businesses like NOAA, its Nationwide Climate Service, and the Federal Emergency Administration Company have had an impact, with a number of the worst results paused or on maintain. And we’re utilizing our public profile to boost issues with the present nomination of Neil Jacobs—who was discovered to be in violation of NOAA’s scientific integrity coverage for his function in ‘Sharpiegate’ in the course of the first Trump administration, politicizing information on Hurricane Dorian and throwing his personal scientists beneath the bus. We’re persevering with to battle for NOAA, together with internet hosting a day of conferences with lawmakers this week, and a digital “motion hour” coaching for scientists and consultants July 29.
UCS has additionally been working to mobilize the scientific neighborhood towards President Trump’s decree on science-based decisionmaking in authorities, the deceptively named “Gold Commonplace Science” government order. Below this order, political appointees may use these requirements to decide on what science (together with pseudoscience) their businesses are allowed to contemplate when setting insurance policies. My colleague Jules Barbati-Dajches and I printed an opinion piece in The BMJ rallying scientists to disrupt this assault on impartial science, and we’re maintaining a drumbeat within the media and amongst our supporters.
We’ve additionally gone on the offense: UCS filed a lawsuit through the Marketing campaign Authorized Heart towards the so-called Division of Authorities Effectivity (DOGE) for appearing past its constitutional energy to slash federal funding, dismantle federal businesses, and hearth federal staff. Our swimsuit was mixed with an identical case filed by 14 states, and in Could, a federal choose dominated that it may well proceed in court docket. We joined one other swimsuit difficult the Trump administration’s removing of public info from local weather and environmental justice federal company web sites—a few of whose information we’re internet hosting on our personal website, so it received’t disappear.
And for federal scientists—those that have been compelled out of their positions, and those that stay—we’re offering help, connections, and sources.
Making progress the place attainable
Let’s be clear: progress on UCS points remains to be attainable—and it’s taking place. The state of Maine simply offered an ideal instance, as its legislature and governor accredited a invoice requiring the state’s energy to come back from 100% carbon-free electrical energy sources by 2040, saving ratepayers cash and cleansing up polluting and heat-trapping emissions from energy era. UCS employees rallied help for the legislation by testifying at hearings, selling a foyer day, and dealing with native companions.
Throughout the nation, now we have sturdy working relationships with state businesses and legislatures that assist us make related progress on our points, together with in California, the place we’re working to strengthen insurance policies round electrical automobile adoption, and within the Midwest, the place we work with electrical grid operators and customers to assist increase renewable vitality use.
And because the Trump administration disbands essential scientific advisory committees whose members present professional recommendation on federal protections and safeguards, we’ve launched a toolkit to assist any consultants convene their very own impartial science advisory committees. Within the absence of federal management, impartial committees can create a chance for public enter on important scientific subjects, assist counter misinformation within the public sphere, and permit scientific progress and consensus constructing to proceed. These committees also can present scientific recommendation for decisionmakers at different ranges of presidency, together with in states, and put together suggestions for future choices when the chance arises.
Whereas we lay the groundwork for future progress, we’re working to garner help for a legislation that may shield scientific integrity throughout the federal authorities, guaranteeing that federal science and scientists are correctly shielded from inappropriate political affect in present and future presidential administrations. Certainly, we’re internet hosting occasions with members of Congress and UCS supporters this week to advocate for the Scientific Integrity Act’s passage.
Staying within the battle
For these of us who care a few practical democracy, the preservation of human rights, combating local weather change, environmental justice, defending public well being, and our surroundings, the previous six months have been hellish. In case you’re drained, overwhelmed, drained, dispirited by the torrent of unhealthy information and worse coverage bulletins, depressed, offended, or some mixture of all of those—I’m proper there with you, and so are my colleagues at UCS. Our six-month report completely lays out the brutal toll this administration’s actions have taken on the problems we care most about.
However what we’re combating for is definitely worth the effort. UCS is staying within the ring, monitoring and resisting the Trump administration’s worst assaults with each instrument in our arsenal, and making all of the progress towards our targets that we will. And as a guardian who (like all dad and mom) is deeply invested in my youngsters’s protected and wholesome future, I can promise you that we’ll by no means cease imagining and combating for the higher world we all know is feasible.
