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.
Due to the large number of attacks on science we’re seeing from the second Trump administration, we are currently providing regular summaries of documented attacks.
- A Backward March: Another Month of Attacks on Federal Science (April 2, 2025)
- A Hundred Attacks and Counting: What Happened to Federal Science in February (March 12, 2025)
- How Science Has Fared in the First Two Weeks of the New Trump Administration (January 30, 2025)
Below is the list of documented attacks on science that occurred under the four previous administrations. They include disappearing data, silenced scientists, suppressed studies, and other assaults on science-based policy. More information on these attacks can be found in our peer-reviewed study and in our data repository.
Attacks on science
EPA Retracts Methane Information Requests
The Trump EPA withdrew a request (initiated by the Obama EPA) for data on methane emissions from the US oil and gas industry.
HHS Rolls Back LGBT Data Collection
The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) stopped including questions about LGBT people in two surveys.
Government Data Disappears Across Multiple Agencies
Previously public government data from several agencies has been removed from public view in the early weeks of the Trump administration.
The Congressional Review Act: A Radical Threat To Science
An obscure, radical, and rarely used congressional trick called the Congressional Review Act (CRA) has put crucial victories on public health and the environment at risk.
Transition Team Restricts EPA Staff Attendance at Alaska Conference
The EPA's White House transition team cut staff attendance at an annual Alaska environmental conference in half, which had conference attendees wondering about the future of environmental protection for their communities.
President Trump Signs Anti-Science "Two-for-One" Rule
President Trump's executive order requiring agencies to rescind two regulations for each new one they promulgate is arbitrary and unreasonable, violates the law, and threatens public health and safety.
Federal Agency Websites Altered
Scientific content has been changed on several agency websites in the early weeks of the Trump administration—and the alterations share some common themes.
EPA Grants and Scientific Studies Reviewed by Political Appointees
When EPA contracts and grant awards were frozen for review by political appointees on the Trump transition team shortly after the inauguration, that review included scientific data and studies may have violated the agency's scientific integrity policies
CDC Cancels Climate Change Conference
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, facing likely opposition from the incoming administration, canceled a planned conference on climate change and health—setting a worrisome precedent of self-censorship and denying scientists an opportunity
Trump Transition Team Temporarily Halts Grants and Contracts at EPA
A freeze on new EPA grants and contracts, announced within hours of President Trump's inauguration, did not result in any immediate funding cuts. However, the episode raises troubling questions about how the agency will operate under Trump.
Related resources
Report
Advancing the Scientific Integrity Act
Scientific Integrity Act Policy Brief
Activist Resource
Scientific Societies Call on Congress to Save Science
This open letter, signed by more than 40 prominent scientific societies and organizations, was delivered to Congress in March 2025.
Activist Resource
Cumulative Impacts: Recommendations for EPA
To improve environmental health, UCS prepared eight fact sheets summarizing the recommendations of the NEJAC Cumulative Impacts Workgroup to the EPA.
Activist Resource
Resources for Federal Scientists
Are you a federal scientist, contractor, or federal worker? Here are resources to have on hand during the Trump administration.