Trump Is Attacking Climate Science. Scientists Are Fighting Back.

An article from The New Republic written by RCEI affiliate Robert Kopp examines how the second Donald Trump administration has systematically targeted U.S. climate science infrastructure—while researchers mobilize to defend and preserve it.

The piece begins by explaining that for more than 75 years, the United States has led the world in climate research, launching major modeling centers and building foundational data systems through agencies like National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, NASA, and the National Science Foundation. These investments have helped cities design flood protection, informed agricultural decisions, and improved hurricane preparedness. By 2023, federal climate research funding had reached $4.3 billion annually.

However, the article demonstrates that this legacy is now under threat. It details sweeping funding cuts, mass layoffs, and the dismantling of key programs. Among the most consequential actions was the dissolution of the U.S. Global Change Research Program, which coordinates federal climate research and produces the National Climate Assessment. The administration “fired all the USGCRP support staff, dismissed the assessment’s approximately 400 authors, and eventually turned off the USGCRP website and removed the previous quarter-century of National Climate Assessments from the internet.” This underscores the scale of the disruption—removing not just personnel but decades of publicly accessible scientific information.

The administration also formally withdrew the U.S. from participation in the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and targeted major research institutions. The Office of Management and Budget announced plans to dismantle the National Center for Atmospheric Research, with OMB Director Russell Vought calling it “one of the largest sources of climate alarmism in the country.” These actions illustrate the administration’s broader effort to characterize mainstream climate science as politically motivated rather than evidence-based.

In addition to funding cuts, the article describes new executive orders requiring political appointees to sign off on scientific information and grants, as well as the removal of climate information from federal websites. It also recounts how a Department of Energy report attempting to undermine the Environmental Protection Agency’s greenhouse gas endangerment finding was criticized for lacking peer review and legal compliance.

Despite these setbacks, the article emphasizes that scientists are organizing in response. The American Geophysical Union has supported litigation to defend federal scientists and helped create the U.S. Academic Alliance for the IPCC to ensure American researchers can still contribute internationally. When a DOE report promoted what the article calls “disinformation-rich” claims, 85 scientists, including two RCEI Affiliates Pamela McElwee and Robert Kopp, collaborated on a 450-page technical rebuttal within weeks—demonstrating coordinated resistance from the research community.

Ultimately, the article argues that climate science cannot be defended in isolation. It contends that the survival of American climate research depends on broader support for democratic institutions and scientific independence. The closing message is clear: protecting climate science now requires political engagement and solidarity across the scientific community.

Read the full article, here.