PRESS

The firing of all 22 current members of the National Science Board stands out as one of the darkest moments of Trump's second term. “They’ve basically taken a wrecking ball to this [board], and we don’t know exactly how they plan to rebuild it, but if history is any indication, they will want to put in very administration-loyal, probably unqualified people,” said Lauren Kurtz, CSLDF Director.

"If scientific uncertainty was the real reason for disregarding benefits, a good-faith response would be to conduct more research to reduce the uncertainty. Instead, the Trump administration has systematically canceled research programs, closed laboratories, fired scientists, distorted research results, and generally attacked the scientific enterprise."

As the Trump administration deletes and alters critical data, scientists are pushing back. Chris Marchesano, CSLDF attorney, pointed to a fact-check created by more than 80 scientists that challenged an Energy Department report filled with inaccuracies about climate change.

As Trump continues his war on science, “I think it’s critically important that academics and scholars are sort of stepping up to fight back against misinformation,” said Chris Marchesano, CSLDF attorney. “It has important legal implications.”

Climate scientist Virginia Burkett was awarded the 2025 John Maddox Prize which honors those who have shown courage in defending science and evidence-based policy, especially in the face of public hostility.

“Climate” has become almost a taboo realm... And YET - There are many real-life heroes who are still finding ways to keep their critical work alive.

When Virginia Burkett was targeted by political appointees during President Trump’s first term for her climate and land use research at the US Geological Survey, she fought back.

So widespread has been the harassment against scientists that an organisation was set up to counter it: the Climate Science Legal Defense Fund.

One needs a scorecard to track the devastation wreaked on scientific efforts by the current administration. As it happens, one exists: the Silencing Science Tracker, co-managed by CSLDF and the Sabin Center for Climate Change Law.

Lauren Kurtz (CSLDF) joins Court Accountability Action’s Lisa Graves to talk about CSLDF’s work to protect scientists against all kinds of attacks, how their work has changed since the first Trump administration, and just how difficult it has become in the second.

A law firm with ties to the conservative movement has asked for the retraction of research on opposition to offshore wind, saying it is preparing to escalate the matter to the Trump administration.