Since January 20, the Trump administration, including figures like Elon Musk, has consistently undermined scientific knowledge, methods, and institutions. In response, over 1,900 researchers are directly appealing to the American public to resist these attacks, warning that they pose a serious threat to everyone.
The signatories, members of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, typically provide evidence-based guidance to the government. However, due to the administration’s dismissive stance on science, they have taken their concerns directly to the public through an open letter.
“As individuals, we feel compelled to speak out. We perceive real danger in this moment,” the letter states. “Despite our differing political beliefs, we are united in our commitment to safeguarding independent scientific research. This is an urgent warning: the nation’s scientific foundation is being systematically dismantled.”
The letter highlights the administration’s targeting of universities, with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement detaining students such as Rumeysa Ozturk and Mahmoud Khalil—actions described as violations of the First Amendment.
“Ongoing investigations into over 50 universities send an alarming message. Columbia University, for example, was threatened with the loss of federal funding unless it changed disciplinary policies and shut down a targeted academic department. Such destabilization of higher education puts vital research at risk,” the letter warns.
The Trump administration has issued numerous executive orders restricting the autonomy of scientific institutions. Critics have called these orders unconstitutional and discriminatory. These measures range from policies affecting transgender and non-binary individuals to withdrawing from international agreements like the Paris Climate Accord and the World Health Organization. Public institutions have also been forced to remove mentions of diversity and equality. For example, NASA altered the Artemis program’s original mission of landing the first woman and first person of color on the Moon.
Meanwhile, Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency has significantly cut resources in key agencies. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, for instance, saw meteorologists and engineers fired from the Hurricane Research Division, the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center, and the Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory.
In another alarming move, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has canceled meetings intended to prepare the next winter flu vaccine, instead channeling funds into disproven claims linking vaccines to autism.
The letter calls for immediate action: “We urge the administration to end its systematic attack on U.S. science, and we implore the public to stand with us. Share this statement, contact your representatives, and educate your communities on what’s at stake. Science benefits us all, and if our research institutions are dismantled, we all stand to lose.”
Read the letter HERE.
