Overview

• Members of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine issued an open letter warning of a 'climate of fear' in the research community.
• The Trump administration has cut funding for key scientific agencies, fired thousands of federal scientists, and restricted access to public datasets.
• Researchers report abandoning studies, altering grant proposals, and avoiding terms like 'climate change' to prevent political repercussions.
• The letter emphasizes that dismantling the U.S. research enterprise could take decades to reverse and risks ceding global scientific leadership to other nations.
• Scientific institutions, including NASEM, remain hesitant to oppose these policies publicly due to fears of losing government funding or charters.