Swapping science for ideology
What could go wrong?
In Trump’s second term, he has intensified attacks on science by bringing extreme ideologues into the federal government to dismantle it from within. That effort, however, has been hindered by their considerable incompetence.
Chris Wright, Secretary of the Department of Energy and a former hydrofracking executive, recently claimed that there are “pluses to global warming.” His agency also recently published a report that was widely criticized as “a deeply misleading antiscientific narrative” by leading climate scientists. This report is now being used as the basis for proposed environmental deregulation; a recent joint comment by CSLDF and the Jacobs Institute explains that the flimsy justification does not pass legal muster.
In May, Trump’s Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) published its Make America Health Again (MAHA) report, which referenced non-existent studies and misrepresented scientific conclusions, among other errors; HHS was forced to issue a corrected report (which contained new errors). In June, HHS Secretary and anti-vaccine crusader Robert F. Kennedy Jr. fired all 17 members of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Advisory Panel on Immunization Practices, replacing them with fellow vaccine skeptics who “at times seemed unsure about the meaning of their votes” on vaccine guidelines.
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) rolled out an artificial intelligence (AI) tool to all staff in May to help “modernize the agency and gain new efficiencies.” However, the tool responded to staff prompts with statements like “[c]limate change is real and is supported by a vast body of scientific evidence,… largely due to human activities such as burning fossil fuels, deforestation, and industrial processes”—directly contradicting EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin and the administration’s many false claims about the human causes of climate change.
These and other reckless actions have led to hundreds of legal challenges, many of which have succeeded in halting or curtailing illegal activities, as well as widespread condemnation and pushback from public health experts, climate scientists, Congress, and the general public.
This administration’s apparent sense of invincibility and lack of fear of consequences may help lead to its downfall.
Their increasingly desperate attempts to silence, deny, or alter scientific truth are doomed to fail. When that happens, we will be here to help pick up the pieces—and hold those who tried to destroy the environment, public health, and our democracy accountable.
Please note that things are moving very quickly and may have changed by the time you read this newsletter.
We remain committed to protecting and defending scientists. If you or someone you know needs assistance, please reach out for a free, confidential 1:1 consultation with one of our attorneys.
News & Events
GSA Connect 2025: Free Legal Consultations
Scientists attending the Geological Society of America’s annual conference, GSA Connects 2025, can meet with CSLDF attorneys for free and confidential legal consultations regarding their careers, research, the First Amendment, or academic freedom rights.
CSLDF opposes Trump administration’s attempt to repeal endangerment finding
September 23, 2025 | Chris Marchesano, CSLDF
CSLDF, along with the Jacobs Institute of Women’s Health, submitted a comment opposing the Environmental Protection Agency’s direct attack on established scientific fact through its attempt to repeal the endangerment finding.
Scientists strive to be apolitical, but they can’t keep politics out of their labs
September 14, 2025 | LA Times
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.
Podcast: Trump gets rude awakening as organization fights back
September 8, 2025 | Meidas Touch Network
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 our work has changed since the first Trump administration, and just how difficult it has become in the second.