The murder of expertise. Russ Vought as science czar would just about do it. [View all]
Trump is literally driving science out of the USA, and in its place "partisan" science.
The Trump administration has spent the last 18 months gutting funding for scientific research, forcing out nonpartisan experts, and elevating the most alarming conspiracy theorists in their stead. Now, a new rule proposed by the regime is threatening science itself.
Normally, changes to rules about how the federal government awards research grants would probably be a somewhat sleepy topic, impactful to people who do that research for a living but not a five-alarm fire for the rest of us. But we live here now, so we all get to worry about a world where people like Russell Vought, the anti-science freakshow who heads the Office of Management and Budget, would have complete veto power over federally-funded scientific research.
A new proposed rule puts OMB atop science, despite not being a science agency staffed by scientists. Actually, it’s worse than that. What OMB proposes is to take its existing authority to promulgate general guidance on financial management for government agencies and transform that into rules every agency must follow for every discretionary grant of any kind.
Political appointees would have complete authority over funding decisions, rather than career experts. Grants would be evaluated based not on how they advance science or the nation’s goals, but against how well they push President Trump’s personal policies. Grantees would be muzzled from discussing anything the administration considers a “divisive” ideology and could be revoked at any time without explanation if a political appointee feels like it.
New in PN: The murder of expertise
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar.com) 2026-06-11T12:12:16.061Z
"The Trump administration has spent 18 months gutting funding for scientific research, forcing out nonpartisan experts, and elevating the most alarming conspiracy theorists in their stead. Now, a new rule proposed by the regime is threatening science itself."
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