BRIEF OF AMICI CURIAE UNION OF CONCERNED SCIENTISTS, CENTER FOR OPEN SCIENCE, AND ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION NETWORK IN SUPPORT OF PETITIONERS AND REVERSAL

The brief contends that removing Civil Service Reform Act (CSRA) protections for federal employees with policymaking or administrative responsibilities would allow the Trump Administration to fire scientists based on political disagreement rather than merit. It argues that independent science is a statutory requirement for agencies like the EPA, CDC, and HHS to faithfully execute laws related to air quality, chemical safety, and vaccinations. The authors provide case studies on the Clean Air Act, ethylene oxide regulation, mRNA vaccine development, and hepatitis B vaccinations to demonstrate how political interference in science endangers public health and safety.

• The Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB) ruled that the Civil Service Reform Act (CSRA) was unconstitutional for certain petitioners, concluding that federal employees with policymaking or administrative authority can be fired at will to ensure the President can faithfully execute the laws.
• The amici argue that upholding the MSPB decision would enable the Trump Administration to fire federal scientists based on disagreements over scientific methods, analyses, or conclusions, thereby undermining the independence of science in government.
• Multiple federal statutes mandate that agency actions be based on the best available science, including the Clean Air Act, the Endangered Species Act, the Clean Water Act, the National Environmental Policy Act, the OSH Act, and the Food Drug and Cosmetic Act.
• The brief documents a pattern of attacks on federal science under the Trump Administration, including staff cuts, reduction of research grants, the removal of scientific information from websites, and the nomination of a non-scientist to lead the National Science Foundation.
• Political interference in the EPA's Integrated Risk Information System (IRIS) has allegedly led to the reassignment of scientists and the questioning of well-documented health risks associated with ethylene oxide (EtO), a carcinogenic gas.
• The development of mRNA COVID-19 vaccines is cited as a result of long-term federal investment (over $330 million over 35 years) and scientific decision-making that would have been impossible if federal scientists were subject to political chilling or removal.
• The brief highlights the dismissal of all 17 members of the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices by HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., replacing them with individuals including vaccine skeptics, which led to votes to end the hepatitis B shot recommendation for newborns.

APA

Union of Concerned Scientists (2026). BRIEF OF AMICI CURIAE UNION OF CONCERNED SCIENTISTS, CENTER FOR OPEN SCIENCE, AND ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION NETWORK IN SUPPORT OF PETITIONERS AND REVERSAL. https://files.ucs.org/2026/UCS-COS-EPN-amicus-brief.pdf

Chicago

Union of Concerned Scientists. BRIEF OF AMICI CURIAE UNION OF CONCERNED SCIENTISTS, CENTER FOR OPEN SCIENCE, AND ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION NETWORK IN SUPPORT OF PETITIONERS AND REVERSAL. 2026. https://files.ucs.org/2026/UCS-COS-EPN-amicus-brief.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Union of Concerned Scientists |title=BRIEF OF AMICI CURIAE UNION OF CONCERNED SCIENTISTS, CENTER FOR OPEN SCIENCE, AND ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION NETWORK IN SUPPORT OF PETITIONERS AND REVERSAL |date=8 June 2026 |url=https://files.ucs.org/2026/UCS-COS-EPN-amicus-brief.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{unionofconcernedscientists2026brief, author = {{Union of Concerned Scientists}}, title = {{BRIEF OF AMICI CURIAE UNION OF CONCERNED SCIENTISTS, CENTER FOR OPEN SCIENCE, AND ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION NETWORK IN SUPPORT OF PETITIONERS AND REVERSAL}}, institution = {Union of Concerned Scientists}, year = {2026}, month = jun, url = {https://files.ucs.org/2026/UCS-COS-EPN-amicus-brief.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }