FACT SHEET THE STATE OF SCIENCE IN THE TRUMP ERA

The Union of Concerned Scientists reports that the Trump administration systematically attacked scientific integrity through censorship, the dismissal of advisory panels, and the suppression of research. The document details specific harms in air pollution policy and climate change communication, while providing a roadmap for the 116th Congress to implement legislative and oversight checks to restore science-based policymaking.

• The Trump administration has undermined air pollution policies by dismissing scientific advisory panels focused on toxic pollutants like ozone and particulate matter, and by suppressing a report on the public health dangers of formaldehyde.
• Federal scientists have faced censorship and a 'chilling environment,' including directives from the Department of Energy to avoid terms such as "climate change," "emissions reductions," and "Paris Agreement" when formulating energy policy.
• The administration has reduced the government's reliance on independent scientific advice by dismantling or freezing advisory committees, such as the EPA's decision in October 2018 not to convene an expert panel on the health effects of ozone.
• Regulatory reforms have been used to limit science-based safeguards, specifically through Executive Order 13771, which requires the repeal of two rules for every new rule, and an EPA proposal to restrict the use of studies whose raw data are not public.
• The administration has halted or altered scientific studies, including a 2017 National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM) study on the health effects of mountaintop removal coal mining in Appalachia and Treasury analyses on the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA).
• Scientific integrity has been compromised through the attempted suppression of reports, such as an Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) report on PFAS chemicals, and the ordering of career staff at the Department of Labor to alter a study on tip-pooling.

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/si-losses-lessons-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/si-losses-lessons-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=February 2019 |url=https://www.ucs.org/sites/default/files/attach/2019/01/si-losses-lessons-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 = feb, url = {https://www.ucs.org/sites/default/files/attach/2019/01/si-losses-lessons-trump-2year-fact-sheet.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }