A new executive order from former President Trump puts political appointees in charge of defining scientific standards in federal agencies, threatening to erode protections meant to shield science from partisan manipulation.
David Michaels and Wendy Wagner write for Science.
In short:
- Trump’s executive order lets political appointees override agency scientists, effectively eliminating the safeguards put in place by the Biden administration to protect scientific integrity.
- The order demands a retrospective review of Biden-era scientific work, with the power to rewrite regulations based on vague definitions of “gold standard science” untethered from accepted scientific norms.
- Under this policy, federal scientists face the threat of discipline or dismissal for dissenting from political directives, and recent actions suggest this framework could gut agencies’ scientific capacity.
Key quote:
“By formalizing political control over agency science, the EO institutionalizes a ‘doubt science’ approach to shaping policy.”
— David Michaels, epidemiologist and professor at the George Washington University Milken Institute School of Public Health, and Wendy Wagner, University of Texas, Austin, School of Law
Why this matters:
If scientific standards are dictated by political operatives rather than trained professionals, decisions about vaccines, pollution limits, chemical safety, and climate risks could be based on ideology rather than evidence — harming public trust, health, and the environment.
