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
White House Altered Scientific Data on Coal Ash Hazards
The White House altered findings from the EPA that underlined a rule to regulate pollution from coal-fired power plants.
Bowing to Industry, EPA Failed to Collect Pollution Data from Industrial Farms
The EPA withdrew a rule that would have required concentrated animal feeding operations to provide needed data on how its activities contribute to water pollution.
White House Pressured EPA to Make Particulate Matter Standard Less Health-Protective
The OMB directed the EPA to ignore their science-based recommendations.
Fish and Wildlife Service Officials Used Flawed Science to Jeopardize an Endangered Beetle
Officials at the FWS adopted flawed scientific models and maps of an endangered species.
FDA Allowed Pfizer to Downplay Science on an Arsenic-Containing Animal Drug
The FDA downplayed the results of a study which showed that chickens treated with a pharmaceutical drug had high levels of arsenic in their bodies.
Obama Administration Ignored Science and Restricted Access to Plan B
The FDA Commissioner approved removing the age limit on the emergency contraceptive pill Plan B.
President Obama Ordered the Dismissal of a More Health-Protective Ozone Standard
President Obama ordered the EPA to withdraw its draft rule for ozone pollution.
The Minerals Management Service: Bad Science in the Name of Private Interests
Regulator MMS has an extensive history of suppressing science and underestimating environmental impacts in order to ensure the speedy approval of oil industry projects.
NOAA Officials Mischaracterize Report on the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill
NOAA officials sidelined scientists and misrepresented a report on the fate of oil spilled in the Gulf of Mexico after the Deepwater Horizon oil spill.
DOI Failed to Protect Whales from Drilling Operations
The DOI issued hundreds of permits for oil drilling and seismic surveys without carrying out the scientific analyses required by law to assess the impact on marine mammals and endangered species.
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.