Silencing Science Tracker

Intelligent Design Bill Introduced in Oklahoma State Senate

Date: 01/15/2026
Explanation: Interference with Education
Scientists Affected: Other
Agency(s):
State → OK
Presidential Administration: N/A
Summary:
A bill has been introduced in the Oklahoma State Senate that, if enacted, would require public and charter school teachers who teach evolution to also "provide instruction to students on the concepts of creationism and/or intelligent design."
Update Status: Legislative Update

RFK Jr. Makes False Claims about Fluoride, Vaccines, and Infectious Diseases

Date: 01/06/2026
Explanation: Bias and Misrepresentation
Scientists Affected: Public Health
Agency(s):
Federal → HHS
Presidential Administration: Trump Administration (Second)
Summary:
In an interview on January 6, 2026, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., made several false or misleading claims about vaccines, fluoride, 5G cell towers, and infectious diseases.
Update Status: No Updates

Trump Administration Shutters Goddard Space Flight Center Library

Date: 01/02/2026
Explanation: Budget Cuts
Scientists Affected: Climate, Other
Agency(s):
Federal → NOAA (Commerce Department)
Presidential Administration: Trump Administration (Second)
Summary:
On January 2, 2026, the library at the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center closed. The library had housed historical records of past missions, many of which are not digitized or available elsewhere.
Update Status: No Updates

Trump Administration Plans to “Break Up” the U.S.’s Largest Climate Research Center

Date: 12/16/2025
Explanation: Research Hindrance
Scientists Affected: Climate
Agency(s):
Federal → NSF
Federal → OMB
Presidential Administration: Trump Administration (Second)
Summary:
On December 16, 2025, Office of Management and Budget Director Russell Vought posted on social media that the Trump administration planned to “break up” the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Colorado, the largest federal climate research center in the U.S.
Update Status: Additional Anti-Science Action

NIH Pauses Grants that Include Terms like “Health Equity” and “Structural Racism”

Date: 12/15/2025
Explanation: Budget Cuts
Scientists Affected: Public Health
Agency(s):
Federal → HHS
Presidential Administration: Trump Administration (Second)
Summary:
The Trump administration has paused funding for NIH grants that include terms such as “health equity” and “structural racism,” and address other topics that do not align with the administration’s priorities, pending further review.
Update Status: No Updates

AZ Senator Prefiles Bill Requiring Public Schools to Teach “Intelligent Design”

Date: 12/11/2025
Explanation: Interference with Education
Scientists Affected: Other
Agency(s):
State → AZ
Presidential Administration: N/A
Summary:
An Arizona State Senator prefiled a bill that would require all public schools in the state that teach evolution by natural selection to also teach the theory of “intelligent design.”
Update Status: Legislative Update

Experts Excluded from ACIP Review of Hepatitis B Vaccine

Date: 12/02/2025
Explanation: Government Censorship
Scientists Affected: Public Health
Agency(s):
Federal → HHS
Presidential Administration: Trump Administration (Second)
Summary:
On December 2, 2025, the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) met to review the hepatitis B vaccine, but vaccine experts from within and outside the federal government reported being shut out of the meeting.
Update Status: No Updates

EPA Removes References to Human-Caused Climate Change from Its Website

Date: 12/2025
Explanation: Government Censorship
Scientists Affected: Climate
Agency(s):
Federal → EPA
Presidential Administration: Trump Administration (Second)
Summary:
The Environmental Protection Agency has removed references to the human causes of climate change from its website, along with scientific data that provided evidence of human-caused climate change.
Update Status: No Updates

FDA Makes Unjustified Claims about COVID Vaccine Deaths

Date: 11/28/2025
Explanation: Bias and Misrepresentation
Scientists Affected: Public Health
Agency(s):
Federal → FDA
Presidential Administration: Trump Administration (Second)
Summary:
The Food and Drug Administration’s Chief Medical and Scientific Officer, Dr. Vinay Prasad, issued a memo claiming that COVID-19 vaccines have killed 10 children in the United States without providing evidence to support that claim, and made other misleading statements about the dangers of COVID-19 and the safety of the vaccine.
Update Status: No Updates

CDC Adds Debunked Link Between Autism and Vaccines to Website

Date: 11/19/2025
Explanation: Bias and Misrepresentation
Scientists Affected: Public Health
Agency(s):
Federal → HHS
Presidential Administration: Trump Administration (Second)
Summary:
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) wrongly suggested there is no scientific basis for the view that vaccines do not cause autism when, in fact, numerous studies found no causal link between the two. Scientists have accused the CDC of “promot[ing] false information” about vaccines.
Update Status: No Updates