Science is at the core of a healthy democracy. But for years, presidential administrations have, in differing ways, sidelined scientific evidence and attacked scientific integrity.
Due to the large number of attacks on science we’re seeing from the second Trump administration, we are currently providing regular summaries of documented attacks.
- Science Under Fire in Washington (June 12, 2025)
- The State of Science at 100 Days: Co-Opted, Hindered, and Undermined (May 8, 2025)
- A Backward March: Another Month of Attacks on Federal Science (April 2, 2025)
- A Hundred Attacks and Counting: What Happened to Federal Science in February (March 12, 2025)
- How Science Has Fared in the First Two Weeks of the New Trump Administration (January 30, 2025)
Below is the list of documented attacks on science that occurred under the four previous administrations. They include disappearing data, silenced scientists, suppressed studies, and other assaults on science-based policy. More information on these attacks can be found in our peer-reviewed study and in our data repository.
Attacks on science
Lead Poisoning Prevention Panel Influenced by Industry
The CDC was preparing to consider whether to revise the federal standard for lead poisoning set most recently in 1991. Just a few weeks before the committee's scheduled meeting, the George W. Bush administration intervened.
White House Council on Environmental Quality Edits EPA Administrator’s Op-Ed
Officials in the White House CEQ revised an op-ed by EPA Administrator Christine Todd Whitman scheduled to appear in Time Magazine.
Evidence on Iraq’s Aluminum Tubes Misrepresented
Department of Energy experts disagreed with CIA that confiscated aluminum tubes bound for Iraq were to be used in gas centrifuges for enriching uranium, but Bush administration officials said Iraq planned to use them for nuclear missiles.
Coal Slurry Spill Investigation Suppressed
Bush administration political appointees pressured investigators at the Mine Safety and Health Administration to prematurely wrap up an ongoing investigation into the causes of the massive October 2000 coal slurry spill in Martin County, Kentucky.
Press Releases Controlled for Political, Not Scientific, Importance
For years, NASA and NOAA officials have held back from publicizing significant climate change science to avoid highlighting research contradicting the administration’s policies.
Arms Control Panel Dismissed
After the George W. Bush administration came into office, the entire scientific committee that advised the State Department on technical matters related to arms control was dismissed.
Scientific Advice on Endangered Salmon Deleted
Six leading ecologists were asked to remove science-based recommendations from an official report on the recovery of populations of salmon in the Northwest.
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