FACT SHEET THE STATE OF SCIENCE IN THE TRUMP ERA

The document details how the Trump administration sidelined independent scientific advice by disbanding committees, restricting the appointment of grant-receiving scientists, and reducing the frequency of committee meetings across multiple federal agencies. It specifically highlights losses at the EPA, DOI, DOE, HHS, Commerce, and Labor departments and provides a set of legislative recommendations for the 116th Congress to strengthen the Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA) and restore scientific integrity.

• The Trump administration restricted the appointment of independent experts to Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) advisory committees by prohibiting scientists receiving EPA grants from serving, while exempting industry scientists and state, local, and tribal entities.
• The EPA significantly reduced its scientific expertise by not renewing the terms of numerous members on the Science Advisory Board (SAB) and the Board of Scientific Counselors (BOSC), and by disbanding or refusing to convene the Particulate Matter and Ozone Review Panels.
• Multiple federal agencies experienced a failure to meet the meeting frequencies required by their charters during the administration's first two years: 70 percent of EPA committees, 67 percent of Department of the Interior (DOI) committees in 2017, 44 percent of Department of Energy (DOE) committees in 2017, and 71 percent of Food and Drug Administration (FDA) committees.
• The administration disbanded several key science-focused bodies, including the DOI's advisory committee on climate change, the DOE's Secretary of Energy Advisory Board, the FDA's Food Advisory Committee, and the Department of Commerce's Advisory Committee for the Sustained National Climate Assessment.

APA

Union of Concerned Scientists (2019). FACT SHEET THE STATE OF SCIENCE IN THE TRUMP ERA. https://www.ucs.org/sites/default/files/attach/2019/01/federal-advisory-committees-trump-2year-fact-sheet.pdf

Chicago

Union of Concerned Scientists. FACT SHEET THE STATE OF SCIENCE IN THE TRUMP ERA. 2019. https://www.ucs.org/sites/default/files/attach/2019/01/federal-advisory-committees-trump-2year-fact-sheet.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Union of Concerned Scientists |title=FACT SHEET THE STATE OF SCIENCE IN THE TRUMP ERA |date=January 2019 |url=https://www.ucs.org/sites/default/files/attach/2019/01/federal-advisory-committees-trump-2year-fact-sheet.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{unionofconcernedscientists2019fact, author = {{Union of Concerned Scientists}}, title = {{FACT SHEET THE STATE OF SCIENCE IN THE TRUMP ERA}}, institution = {Union of Concerned Scientists}, year = {2019}, month = jan, url = {https://www.ucs.org/sites/default/files/attach/2019/01/federal-advisory-committees-trump-2year-fact-sheet.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }