Silencing Science Tracker

80% of CDC Leadership Positions Remain Vacant

Date: 04/01/2026
Explanation: Personnel Changes
Scientists Affected: Public Health
Agency(s):
Federal → HHS
Presidential Administration: Trump Administration (Second)
Summary:
As of April 1, 2026, 80% of the top positions at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention remain vacant, including the director, chief medical officer, and principal deputy director positions.
Update Status: No Updates

Anti-Vaccine Theorist Appointed to CDC Advisory Committee Reviewing Covid-19 Vaccines

Date: 03/2026
Explanation: Personnel Changes
Scientists Affected: Public Health
Agency(s):
Federal → HHS
Presidential Administration: Trump Administration (Second)
Summary:
A review of Covid-19 vaccine safety is being led by a known vaccine skeptic, who lacks relevant qualifications. His prior work on vaccine safety has been criticized by experts for failing to meet basic scientific standards.
Update Status: No Updates

Alabama Governor Signs Law Restricting Use of Scientific Research in Policy-Making

Date: 02/19/2026
Explanation: Bias and Misrepresentation
Scientists Affected: Climate, Public Health, Other
Agency(s):
State → AL
Presidential Administration: N/A
Summary:
On February 19, 2026, Alabama Governor Kay Ivey signed a bill into law that restricts the types of scientific research that can be used to set environmental regulations. Critics argue that the restrictions create an “insurmountable burden of proof for agency rulemakings that is out of step with scientific practice.”
Update Status: No Updates

President Trump Calls Climate Change’s Threats to Public Health a “Scam”

Date: 02/13/2026
Explanation: Bias and Misrepresentation
Scientists Affected: Climate, Public Health
Agency(s):
Federal → White House
Presidential Administration: Trump Administration (Second)
Summary:
Following the Environmental Protection Agency’s repeal of the 2009 Endangerment Finding, President Trump stated that the science establishing that climate change negatively impacts public health is “a scam.”
Update Status: No Updates

DOE Lays Off 134 Employees at Renewable Energy Lab

Date: 02/10/2026
Explanation: Personnel Changes
Scientists Affected: Climate
Agency(s):
Federal → DOE
Presidential Administration: Trump Administration (Second)
Summary:
The Department of Energy laid off 134 employees, including scientists and operations staff, at the National Laboratory of the Rockies (formerly the National Renewable Energy Laboratory).
Update Status: No Updates

Climate Science Chapter Removed from Reference Manual for Judges

Date: 02/06/2026
Explanation: Government Censorship
Scientists Affected: Climate
Agency(s):
Federal → DOJ
Presidential Administration: Trump Administration (Second)
Summary:
A chapter titled “Reference Guide on Climate Science” was removed from the online version of the Fourth Edition Reference Manual on Scientific Evidence after a group of Republican state attorneys general (AGs) called it “biased,” despite it having undergone extensive peer review. The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine has retained the chapter in its version of the guide.
Update Status: No Updates

RFK Jr Touts Keto Diet as ‘Cure’ for Mental Illness

Date: 02/04/2026
Explanation: Bias and Misrepresentation
Scientists Affected: Public Health
Agency(s):
Federal → HHS
Presidential Administration: Trump Administration (Second)
Summary:
At a public event, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., made false and misleading claims about mental health and eating habits, suggesting that a ketogenic diet could “cure” schizophrenia.
Update Status: No Updates

Trump Posts False Claims about Climate Change

Date: 01/23/2026
Explanation: Bias and Misrepresentation
Scientists Affected: Climate
Agency(s):
Federal → White House
Presidential Administration: Trump Administration (Second)
Summary:
On January 23, 2026, President Trump posted false claims about climate change on social media, asking that “Environmental Insurrectionists please explain — WHATEVER HAPPENED TO GLOBAL WARMING???”
Update Status: No Updates

NIH Ends Funding for Research Using Human Fetal Tissue

Date: 01/22/2026
Explanation: Research Hindrance
Scientists Affected: Public Health
Agency(s):
Federal → HHS
Presidential Administration: Trump Administration (Second)
Summary:
On January 22, 2026, President Trump announced that the National Institutes of Health would no longer fund biomedical research that uses human fetal tissue.
Update Status: No Updates

Trump Admin Ends Financial Support for NASA Advisory Groups

Date: 01/16/2026
Explanation: Budget Cuts
Scientists Affected: Other
Agency(s):
Federal → NASA
Presidential Administration: Trump Administration (Second)
Summary:
On January 16, 2026, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) announced that it would end financial support for 8 independent planetary science advisory groups.
Update Status: No Updates