A new executive order gives political appointees sweeping control over US federal research grants, raising alarms about scientific independence.
Fred Schwaller reports for Deutsche Welle
In short:
- The order allows political appointees, rather than scientists, to make final decisions on which federal grants are funded, potentially overruling expert peer review.
- Research on critical topics — from vaccines to climate science, gender, and DEI initiatives — could face cuts if deemed inconsistent with the administration’s priorities.
- Experts warn this could undermine the US’s global leadership in science and make research environments hostile, particularly for early-career scientists.
Key quote:
"[The order is] a shameless, full-bore Soviet-style politicization of American science that will smother what until now has been the world's preeminent scientific enterprise. Until this administration, the single overarching priority for public funding of research has been scientific excellence."
— Victor Ambros, 2024 Nobel Prize winner for physiology or medicine
Why this matters:
Trump's latest executive order threatens both US scientific credibility and the practical ability to tackle major health and environmental challenges. Public health initiatives, from pandemic preparedness to environmental protections, rely on unbiased science. If funding becomes a political game, communities could end up paying the price in delayed solutions or weakened protections. Collaterally, the US risks losing its edge in global research, as top scientists look for environments where their work won’t be filtered through a partisan lens.
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