It’s clear that the Trump administration has little use for science that doesn’t align with the President’s beliefs, or even for science in general.  The overwhelming scientific consensus that climate change is real and caused by humans is nothing more than a “green new scam.”  Support for scientific research in general is not viewed, as it was by all previous administrations, as a vital function of the Federal government.

The result is an unprecedented and previously unthinkable war on science.  

In the last year and a half, the Trump administration has slashed research budgets by billions of dollars, cut staff at science agencies by approximately 20%, and canceled nearly 8,000 research grants across the National Institutes of Health and the National Science Foundation alone. Funding has become so tight that some labs can no longer afford to maintain their equipment, while staffing cuts have cost our federal agencies critical institutional knowledge and pushed the next generation of scientists to seek opportunities abroad.

And if driving top U.S. talent away wasn’t alarming enough, the Trump administration seems equally determined to keep international scientists and researchers from entering the country.

Late last year, the President said he would be imposing a steep $100,000 fee on H-1B visa applications, making it prohibitively expensive to bring in highly skilled workers from abroad. The measure has been challenged in court, with one judge voting to block the fee, another voting to uphold it, and a third case in progress—but the damage has already been done. Regardless of how unconstitutional or illegal it is, no lab or company is going to risk the expense while our legal system gets it sorted out.

But that’s not even what has us most worried.

Surrounding all of this is a broader assault on scientific freedom and integrity—and the Office of Management and Budget just took it to a new extreme.

Under the agency’s recently proposed rule change, political appointees will have the final say in the federal grantmaking process, and whether or not a project is funded will come down to its alignment with the Trump administration’s policy priorities. It doesn’t matter if a proposal has substantial scientific merit. It doesn’t matter if it passes peer review with flying colors. Political loyalists with no relevant qualifications will be able to shut it down on the grounds that it doesn’t serve the President’s political agenda—and the calls they make will determine where hundreds of billions of dollars in research and development funding go.

Devastating doesn’t even begin to cover it.

The Trump administration seems to have no use for science. But this time, it will cost us far more than global competitiveness and advancement—it will cost us the people who have dedicated their lives to building a better world, research that significantly improves our lives, and the ideas and curiosities that give us hope for a brighter future.

But don’t think for a second that the scientific community is giving up. Nor should we.

Nearly 5,000 young researchers have unionized to push back on the Trump administration’s actions. Groups like Stand Up For Science are mobilizing thousands of advocates across the country and giving them the tools they need to fight back. And even if it’s taking time, the state leaders challenging these policies are winning their court battles.

Let’s help them out by doing what we do best—flooding the zone and making our voices heard!