January 14, 2025
3 min learn
50,000 Scientists Urge Congress to Defend Analysis from Trump
Two open letters from scientists and science advocacy teams replicate a rising nervousness about the way forward for federal science below President-elect Trump
President-elect Donald Trump is greeted by Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on stage throughout a marketing campaign occasion at Desert Diamond Enviornment in Glendale, Arizona, on August 23, 2024.
Tom Brenner for The Washington Publish through Getty Photographs
CLIMATEWIRE | Greater than 50,000 scientists and their supporters have signed an open letter asking Congress to safeguard federal analysis and scientific jobs forward of the incoming Trump administration.
The Union of Involved Scientists, a nonprofit science advocacy group, spearheaded and revealed the letter Monday morning. The doc factors to issues that President-elect Donald Trump might eradicate or reorganize federal science businesses, cut back workers, and assault rules aimed toward defending public well being and the atmosphere.
“The Trump administration’s present agenda guarantees to eviscerate the protections that Individuals depend on and assist: clear air and water; secure meals and drugs; merchandise that will not hurt us; and safety from excessive climate and different damaging results of local weather change,” the letter said. “With out sturdy federal science, individuals will undergo, and traditionally marginalized communities will proceed to bear the burden of those harms.”
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The letter additionally requested members of Congress to “oppose anti-science nominees to any federal company who don’t agree on the document to observe and/or implement a scientific integrity coverage of their company.”
Additionally on Monday, 28 organizations submitted a letter to members of the Senate asking them to vote towards political nominees who don’t have acceptable {qualifications}, exhibit conflicts of curiosity, fail to acknowledge the scientific consensus on points related to the company, or have a document of disregarding scientific integrity.
Signers included public well being and medical associations, environmental organizations and science advocacy teams, the Union of Involved Scientists amongst them.
“The selections you make about nominees will decide whether or not businesses use the substantial scientific experience of presidency workers and advisors to safeguard public well being and financial stability, or whether or not bias and misinformation block efficient responses,” the letter mentioned.
Trump was “re-elected by a powerful mandate from the American individuals to vary the established order in Washington,” mentioned Karoline Leavitt, a spokesperson for the Trump transition, in an e-mail to POLITICO’s E&E Information. “That is why he has chosen sensible and highly-respected outsiders to serve in his Administration, and he’ll proceed to face behind them as they battle towards all those that search to derail the MAGA Agenda.”
The letters replicate a rising nervousness amongst scientists and science advocates concerning the way forward for federal analysis below Trump. Consultants have raised issues that the incoming administration might downsize federal businesses, shift or curtail their analysis priorities, censor scientists and alter or destroy federal datasets.
Trump has constantly disavowed the seriousness of local weather change and pledged to withdraw the U.S. from the Paris Settlement for a second time. He’s additionally just lately tapped a lot of political nominees identified for denying mainstream science on topics associated to public well being and the atmosphere.
A few of Trump’s picks for the brand new administration embody key authors of Venture 2025, the conservative coverage blueprint spearheaded by the Heritage Basis. The doc requires dramatic reorganizations of some federal science businesses, like NOAA and EPA, and says that “the “Biden Administration’s local weather fanaticism will want a whole-of-government unwinding.” Some nominations have raised issues that the coverage plan might affect Trump’s priorities after taking workplace.
“The primary 100 days of the Trump administration will probably be completely important for taking motion that may save science that saves lives,” the united statesletter to Congress states. “It is a essential time to point out the administration that members of Congress of each events are united in championing the science that helps defend the communities they symbolize.”
Reprinted from E&E Information with permission from POLITICO, LLC. Copyright 2025. E&E Information offers important information for power and atmosphere professionals.
