Abandoning Science Advice

The analysis finds a systematic and unprecedented decline in the use of federal science advisory committees under the Trump administration, characterized by fewer meetings, reduced membership, and the disbanding of key panels. This pattern of neglect is evident across multiple agencies, including the EPA, DOE, and Department of Commerce, potentially compromising public health and safety.

• Federal science advisory committees met less frequently in the first year of the Trump administration than in any year since tracking began in 1997, with nearly two-thirds of these committees meeting less often than their own charters require.
• Membership in science advisory committees dropped by 14 percent from 2016, a decline significantly higher than the first-year decreases seen under the Obama (7 percent) and Bush (less than 1 percent) administrations.
• The Environmental Protection Agency, Department of Energy, and Department of Commerce have fewer experts serving on science advisory committees than at any time since 1997.
• Specific agency actions demonstrate a pattern of neglect, such as the Department of Commerce disbanding the Advisory Panel for the Sustained National Climate Assessment in August 2017 and the FDA disbanding its 25-year-old Food Advisory Committee in December 2017.
• The Department of the Interior's 2017 freeze on advisory committees meant that decisions regarding the reduction of national monuments in Utah were made without the input of expert external advisors.

APA

Union of Concerned Scientists (2018). Abandoning Science Advice. https://www.ucs.org/resources/abandoning-science-advice

Chicago

Union of Concerned Scientists. Abandoning Science Advice. 2018. https://www.ucs.org/resources/abandoning-science-advice.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Union of Concerned Scientists |title=Abandoning Science Advice |date=18 January 2018 |url=https://www.ucs.org/resources/abandoning-science-advice |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{unionofconcernedscientists2018abandoning, author = {{Union of Concerned Scientists}}, title = {{Abandoning Science Advice}}, institution = {Union of Concerned Scientists}, year = {2018}, month = jan, url = {https://www.ucs.org/resources/abandoning-science-advice}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }