Tips for resisting the anti-science lurch
November 4, 2025 | Anjana Ahuja, Financial Times
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.
Burkett, also a lead author on three Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change reports, opposed efforts to dismantle climate research programs inside her own organization and resisted pressure to soften a key national report assessing climate impacts. Her acts of defiance, she claimed, earned her a demotion from her role as associate director. She eventually had her leadership position and salary restored under the Biden presidency and last year filed a whistleblower complaint, in a bid to protect other government scientists who speak out…
Her first tip: never compromise on scientific integrity and do not change facts or conclusions to mollify critics. “If the public does not have confidence in science”, she warned, “they will not rely on science to make decisions.” The loss of robust evidence in the public realm harms us all.
Second: find allies. Burkett found hers in the USGS Office of Scientific Integrity and among peers in climate research. She also sought help from the non-profit CSLDF.