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 Refuses to Regulate Rocket Fuel Chemical in Drinking Water
The EPA has officially announced that it will not regulate perchlorate, a common ingredient of explosives and rocket fuel, in the nation’s drinking water supplies.
Fetal Tissue Research Blocked by a Biased Advisory Committee
13 out of 14 NIH grants submitted since September 2019 that involve fetal tissue are likely to be rejected based solely on the recommendations of the Human Fetal Tissue Research Ethics Advisory Board at the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).
White House Demands Rewriting of CDC’s COVID-19 Guidelines for Schools
Vice President Mike Pence ordered the CDC to rewrite their school opening guidelines for reasons that appeared to be primarily political.
Trump Administration Takes Away Hospitalization Data From the CDC
The Administration mandated that hospitals bypass the CDC and send data on COVID-19 hospitalizations, to a private third party.
Trump Administration Endangered People Evacuating From Coronavirus-Infected Cruise Ship
State Department officials overrode science-based concerns of CDC officials and allowed 14 infected people to board an airplane with over 300 non-infected people.
White House Hides Economic Analysis Showing COVID-19 Downturns
The White House will forego the publication of an economic analysis on budget projections in the summer of 2020.
NOAA Fisheries is Restricting the Use of the Words “COVID-19” and “Pandemic”
An official memo, issued by NOAA, stated that the agency’s “preferred approach” is making “no reference to anything COVID related” in public-facing documents.
Trump Administration Buries COVID-19 Information For Religious Communities
White House officials instructed the CDC to delete certain sections of a COVID-19 guidance measure for communities of faith.
Trump Administration Ignores CDC Scientists on COVID-19 Temperature Screenings
Scientists at the CDC were ignored by the White House when they stated that the best available science shows that temperature checks are not a reliable tool for screening COVID-19.
Climate Change Resilience Study Halted
The Trump administration indefinitely froze a six-year study looking at future flooding risks in the New York-New Jersey area.
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.