WASHINGTON (September 9, 2025)—Public participation and engagement is a core tenet of U.S. democracy, yet the Trump administration is systematically cutting the public out of federal decision making, according to a new report from the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS).
The report, “Access Denied: How the Trump Administration Is Eliminating Public Input,” found that six federal science agencies did not allow public participation in 182 out of 591 rules that were issued, rolled back, or delayed between January 20 and July 31 of this year.
“This is one of several ways that the Trump administration is stripping people across the country of their right to have a say in rules that affect their health, environment and safety,” said Darya Minovi, senior analyst at UCS and report co-author. “Public comment, which is legally required, is the bare minimum for fair and accountable governance. Without it, the foundation of our democracy is weakened.”
Of the six agencies UCS analyzed, the Department of Transportation (DOT) disregarded standard notice and public comment processes most often, followed by the departments of Agriculture, the Interior and Energy and the Environmental Protection Agency. The departments of Health and Human Services rounded out the list.
One decision that exemplifies this regulatory about-face occurred when the Trump administration scrapped a DOT requirement for states to track vehicle greenhouse gas emissions. The Biden administration finalized the rule in 2023 with input from nearly 40,000 public comments and years of technical review, yet its complete reversal followed no such process.
“The recission of that rule, done without any public input, silences those 40,000 voices,” said Minovi. “Without public comment, only loud and powerful voices—largely corporations and their surrogates—are heard.”